Isaiah watched as Zira walked across the bridge with James. He hated this stupid plan. It should’ve been him going with her and saving their son, not that prick of an Alpha. When they disappeared inside, he went back to his group. George plopped down beside him from one of the trees.
George placed his hand on Isaiah’s shoulder. “I know how you feel, man. You know, Harry is the biggest flirt in the pack. Even though he says he’s just super nice. Yeah right.”
“I don’t want to think about it,” Isaiah growled. “Let’s just keep up with the plan. The faster we do this, the closer we get to getting inside.”
“Well, the sigil is set. Now we are just waiting for the signal,” George reported. “Do you think she knows?”
Isaiah shrugged. “According to Mirja, whatever power she’s pulling from is ancient. We just have to keep on our toes and prepare for anything.”
They waited for what seemed like a long time. Without any word from anyone. Isaiah was itching to link Zira but he didn’t want to distract her. So he linked George.
Any word from Harry?
No. I can’t seem to connect with him. You?
Isaiah shook his head. George was about to say something but Isaiah stopped him. He lifted his nose to the air and picked up a rotten smell. He knew there were rogues inside the castle but these scents were coming from the opposite direction.
He glanced over the wooded area for any signs of rogues, but there was nothing there. Still, something bugged him and before he could investigate, Zack and his group were walking towards them.
“What’s going on? Shouldn’t you be in the castle,” Isaiah asked Zack.
“There seems to be a problem,” Zack started with a worried expression. “I can’t get a hold of Mirja through the link or through these?”
Zack held out the walkie and the only thing coming from it was static. Isaiah was starting to panic. He had to get in there. He couldn’t feel Zira at all. What if she was hurt? What if Alias-
“I can wait out here any longer. I have to get it there,” Isaiah growled while moving towards the bridge.
“Just wait! We have a pla-”
“Fuck those plans. Those plans are the reason I’m not with her when I should be.”
Isaiah pushed away from Zack and made it to the bridge before Zack caught up.
"Even if you find a way through that drawbridge, you still have to get through that force field. So we have to wait," Zack said while holding him back.
Isaiah was about to protest when he felt a pain rock his body. Zack caught him before he fell to the floor. Isaiah knew something was happening to her. She was in danger. Zack helped him to his feet as Bronx yelled at him from across the way.
"Guys, we have company."
They ran back to the woods and saw rogues surrounding them from all sides. This was expected but still their numbers were more than expected. All the rogues growled at them with foam gathering around their quivering lips.
“Shift,” Zack yelled out as their entire crew shifted to their wolves, awaiting for the signal to attack.
Everyone was ready for a fight and, without thinking twice, Zack gave the signal. He wanted to strike first and catch them off guard, which actually worked. Wolves collided with each other until it became hard to tell who was who, but the smell of a rogue is a scent that never goes away.
Isaiah looked back at the castle, hoping to get a sign it was safe to get it in. There was an unsettling feeling inside his stomach. This made him afraid. Afraid for his mate. Afraid for Arias. Please, please keep them safe, he prayed to the Moon Goddess before shifting into his dark blue wolf to join the fight.
*****************************
Mary gripped the bottle behind her back as the rogues glared at her. She tried controlling her fear as she got closer to them but it was taking over. She was still just an Omega.
“No one should be in this area,” growled the she-wolf.
“I’m here at the request of Luna Alaia. She wants me to check on the baby,” Mary said with her nerves taking over.
Mary tried to step through them but the she-wolf held her back. Mary was able to get close enough to spray the pheromones on the she-wolf.
“We have to check with Alaia first,” the she-wolf said, nodding to the male wolf who started to leave. “You can stay here with me.”
Mary stood next to the she-wolf, worried that the pheromones weren’t working, so she tried spraying her again. Mary noticed the top was stuck so she opened the bottle and tried to dab a bit on the she-wolf. The she-wolf turned suddenly, making Mary trip and spill the content all over the she-wolf.
Oh no. Mary jumped back with a shocked expression as the she-wolf looked at the substance all over her skin.
“What did you d-”
The she-wolf words dropped when they heard a growl at the end of the hall. They both turned to see the male wolf staring intently at the she-wolf. Mary casually moved into the corner.
“Connor?” Connor ran full speed and lunged towards the she-wolf but she quickly dodged him. “What the hell?”
Connor ran for her again and this time pinned her against the wall. He closed his eyes and took in the scent Mary sprayed. This gave the she-wolf time to reverse his move and pin him against the wall.
"Connor, I don’t want to hurt you,” the she-wolf growled, but Connor’s senses flew out the window as he tried to dominate her. The she-wolf threw Connor down the hallway and he slid into the wall. That gave her enough time to turn her attention back to Mary.
The she-wolf growled at Mary as she stalked her across the hall. Mary grabbed the vial of wolfsbane, prepared to use it at the last minute. Right before the she-wolf got to her they heard a chorus of growls behind them. The she-wolf turned to not only see Connor looking her way but two more rogues coming from different halls.
They all lunged for the she-wolf and at the same time fought to get to her first. She easily dodged them and made a break for it down one of the halls. Mary waited for them to disappear before letting go a breath she didn’t know she was holding.
She calmed herself before going into the room. She immediately felt a chill as the darkness seemed to surround her. The only source of light came from the moon high in the sky outside. Mary had the urge to run until the soft cries of a baby got her attention. She slowly walked over to the crib and there he was, sitting up looking at her with tears in his eyes.
She instinctively reached out for him but before she could pick him up, she was jerked back and thrown against the wall. The stuff from her bag scattered on the floor. After shaking away the dizziness, she looked up and saw Omega Lisa smiling down at her.
“Well, if it isn’t little Mary. I thought you would’ve been dead by now. What are you doing here?”
The way Lisa looked down at her brought up past memories of being tortured by Lida many times. From being pushed down the stairs to being pulled by her hair on multiple occasions. Mary sat in the corner, frozen by the sudden fear, while trying to muster up as much bravery as she could. She could do this. She has got this far. Omega Lisa grabbed Mary by her face with her claws digging into Mary’s skin, breaking her from her thoughts.
“I asked you a question, you little twerp. Where’s that courage now you don’t have Victoria here to save you?”
“I don’t need anyone to save me,” Mary said to her in a hushed tone.
Lisa laughed in her face. “Oh you’re going to change your mind when Alaia traps your little friends outside. They think they’re so smart, hiding in the forest. The rogues are going to pick them off one by one.”
Mary’s eyes went wide with this information. This was a trap and Alaia knew. She had to warn them before it was too late. She wasn’t sure if it was the fact that she hated Lisa or the fact that baby Arias was crying a few feet away, but she felt that courage building back. With all her strength, Mary pushed Lisa away from her, causing Lisa to leave claw marks on her face.
“I’ve said this before and I’ll say it one more time so you can understand. I think the world might just be better without you in it.”
Mary took out the dagger from her bag and threw the bag at Lisa. All the contents flew everywhere as Lisa swiped at the things coming towards her face. This gave Mary enough time to charge her, driving the dagger into Lisa’s chest.
“YOU BITCH!”
Lisa backhanded Mary away from her as her hands went for the dagger in her chest. She pulled it out as blood squirted from the wound. She didn’t think too much of it as she turned her gaze to Mary, who was slowly getting up from the floor.
Mary watched as Lisa started making her way towards her at a slow pace. Around the fourth step, Lisa stopped with a wide-eyed expression. She looked down at her wound and noticed she wasn’t healing.
“What did you do to me,” Lisa asked, looking at Mary.
Mary smiled as she held up the empty bottle of wolfsbane she dosed on the dagger. Lisa was shocked as she fell to the floor. Mary picked up the discarded dagger and walked over to Lisa. Her hand with the dagger was shaking no matter how much she tried to control it.
Lisa looked up at Mary, trying to smile through the blood coming out of her mouth. “You don’t have the gu-”
Mary quickly glided the dagger across Lisa’s throat before she could finish. She wasn’t really in the mood to hear any insults. She turned away from Lisa and walked over to Arias. He was crying something fierce right now. Mary picked him up and rocked him back and forth.
“Shh, it's going to be okay. It’s going to be okay.” Mary made sure Arias didn’t see Lisa dying in the corner as she moved around to pick up her things. She tried using the walkie talkie but she must have broken it when she threw her bag. She mentally slapped herself in the face. She looked down at the baby in her arms.
“Don’t worry little guy. I’ll get you back to your mother, but first we have to blow up a bridge.”
*****************************
Mirja followed her necklace to the lower floor. The walls looked eerily like her walkway to her basement. She opened the door and for a moment it looked as if she had traveled back in time to her basement. From the infinite wall of books, a large table full of witch paraphernalia and runes. She felt a pang in her heart about the loss of her bar, but she shook the thoughts away. The Algiz rune she was interested in laid on top of a mantel, glowing as bright as the moon.
She quickly coated her dagger with her blood and with a small incantation she stabbed the rune with the bloody dagger. The impact threw her across the room. She blinked a few times to clear the fog in her head as she mentally slapped herself in the face.
“Such a rookie move, Mirja.” She slowly got up and dusted herself off. After giving Harry the confirmation, she went back to tracking the grimoire. The necklace gravitated towards a painting. “You’ve got to be kidding me. How original, Alaia.”
Mirja took a deep breath and tried putting her hand in it but nothing happened. She figured the grimoire wouldn’t heed her call. She took off the necklace and placed it on the painting. Her hand finally went through and she pulled the grimoire out. Although the grimoire was part of the dark history of her family, it felt great to have it back in her arms.
She took the bloody dagger and broke the necklace with her ancestors' blood on the grimoire. Mirja held the dagger over her head, looking down at the last thing she had that belonged to her family. Her hands shook with anxiety but she knew she had to do this. She had to destroy the grimoire.
“Deleatur,” Mirja whispered while bringing the dagger down. The grimoire created a shield and Mirja could feel the dagger breaking through, but it wasn’t enough. Something was different.
She thumbed through the mostly empty pages until she came across a picture of a necklace she used for Alaia’s power. She turned the page and saw a picture of a baby. Mirja gasped at the realization of Alaia’s sacrifice. The next page was even worse. It was a picture of Alaia. She actually sold her soul to the grimoire.
Who would go this far, she wondered. Who would give up their child? Or even themselves? She could feel the anger building up inside. No matter how many times Zack disagreed with her, she was partly responsible for creating a monster. So now it was up to her to bring Alaia down. She needed blood from one more person and she knew exactly where to find her.