Date: Sun, 29 Mar 2020 13:47:42 -0700 From: Ay Huh Subject: Wolves Don't Just Howl At The Moon Part 9 **Hey, I'm sooooooooo sorry for keeping all of you waiting for this chapter for so long. Life was not being very kind to me the past few years. (T.T) But, with all this time I have at home now I am hoping to be able to finish a lot of the stuff I had planned. Such as this story and hopefully getting a few other ideas out as well. The followinf story is a work of pure fiction. Some of the material may not be suitable for individuals under the appropriate age in you location. This story is not intended for print or resale as it will be copyrighted. Please enjoy the chapter and all feed back is welcome. I have been bit slow with checking my email since I forgot my password and Gmail is harder to get into than Ft. Knox. Lol. But, will be checking it mor frequently. Howlatthe@gmail.com Also, please don't forget to donate to Nifty at http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html. Chapter 9 The Strong Prey on the Weak Part 3 Damien is keeping up with the blades that are flying at him. He doesn't appear to be getting tired yet but, everyone knew eventually he was going to burn out. Bethany has two Sai blades in hand that use the wielders spirit and is going toe to toe with the Lions Breath user wielding the sword. The others are split between staying out of the way and attacking the Lions Breath user with whips. Soon, the Lions Breath users stop fighting retreating for the tree lining but not actually stepping in. They stand in formation waiting. Their blood seeps back into their wounds and close. Glowing eyes approach through the trees as a giant wolf emerges from the forest. As he passes the three naked men, they kneel to him until he passes. Along with the wolf, are a mix of wolves and men dressed in all black. The wolf appears to be scanning the field. He sends out a wolfish chuckle that only stops when he sees the three alphas walking towards him from the back patio. Though his laughter stops, the smirk on his face never leaves, as he looks at each alpha starting with the smaller wolf. Alpha Dominic, is all black with three white small circular patches on his forehead. His eyes are a glowing white like fresh snow. His white fangs are showing with a perfectly placed snarl. He moves onto the black lion with the squinted glowing yellow eyes. He then shifts his gaze back until they meet with the fierce looking tiger, whose glowing ocean blue eyes are piercing into him. `Raiden, let's end this before any more deaths happens.' William says. Raiden snorts fiercely. `Then, join me William. I will make you this offer one last time for the sake of my daughter-in-law.' Raiden says not breaking eye contact. His voice was dark and filled with an evil that made the Skyland teams avert their eyes from the alpha. `You know we won't do that. Just give up on this suicide mission and leave with your lives.' William says more sternly. `Then, you will all die, right here!' Raiden says signaling his men to prepare for battle. The men took out their weapons and the wolves clutched the ground preparing to run for the enemy in front of them. `You won't be walking away from this battle Raiden. This is a war you can't win.' William growls out. At that moment a loud howl echo's out from the top of the mountains. All heads turn in the direction it came from. `That's my son, I know his howl anywhere. But, it sounds different. It's a mix of anger, frustration, sadness, and more than anything power unlike anything I've ever sensed.' Alpha Dominic says in amazement. `Looks like my son completed his task.' Raider tells his team smirking. Back on the battlefield, Michael and Koga are still fighting back to back. All fighting stops when the howl is heard. Everyone looks up to the mountain peaks. `I feel like this isn't going to be good. Who do you think it is?' Koga asks. One of the enemy wolves speaks. `It has to be Darien. He finally has arrived.' He says with excitement. `This battle is over. You guys might as well give up.' The wolf turns back to face Michael and Koga who glance at each other. I stop running when I hear Alex howl loudly. It scares and also excited me. I look back and see a blast of white fire shoot into the air and explode into sparkling flames. I pick up my speed racing to arrive at the house and stop the assault. I can feel Michael as I am getting closer to him. They are still far from the house. As I get to the battle field, I see fighting through the tree lining. As I enter the clearing, a barrier closes behind me. I get the feeling that this is really going to cause problems for Alex. I shake off the feeling and run to find Michael. I needed to know he was okay first and foremost. I run passing a bunch of wolves that snap at my hind legs but I'm moving too fast. I see Michael fighting back to back with Koga. They are surrounded by wolves that look to be planning a group assault. Michael feels me and looks in my direction. Two wolves take the opportunity to attack him. Anger rises in me and I jump into the air. The force of it propels me 25 feet into the air landing on the first wolf snapping his neck. The second jumps at me but, I teleport beside him extending, my claws swiping his throat, and he collapses. I put a telekinetic shield around us. I walk over to Michael rubbing against him. He is still bigger than me but, not as much as he was before the transformation. `I'm glad you're safe.' Michael says embracing me lovingly. `As, am I.' I reply with a slight purr. I look over and see that Koga is being attacked fiercely. `This ends now.' I say dropping the shield. I drop down to the ground preparing to attack. My eyes glaze over and metallic flames appear in their place. I take off with lightning speed through the battlefield. My fur starts to sizzle as the metallic flames engulf my body. I zigzag through each fight spitting flames like a dragon at the enemy wolves. They set fire and the battle is over in less than a minute. I stop and see all of my side circling me. All the men are staring at me hard. The women all lower their heads. I forgot that I was in heat and I'm setting the men off. `All single males stay back.' Michael commands, realizing what is happening as he is walking towards me with Koga at his side. He looks over at him once they break through the crowd. `You have to stay back as well. His heat will affect you as well.' Koga nods and stops in his tracks. `Where is everyone else?' I ask looking around. `They are at the house. All the alphas are about to get in the battle. It's the final fight.' Michael says. `Let's move quickly. Everyone fall in behind us and stay 15 paces behind us.' At that moment I hear Alex howl again. He's not that far behind us. `He's trying to catch up to me but we have to get to the house first. If I see him I'll lose my focus.' I tell Michael. `Let's go.' He nods and takes off for the house. As we get closer to the house, I start to feel a sickening energy that feels like it's fighting with my own to take my life away. My pace staggers a bit but I am able to maintain my speed. Michael glances over at me. `Are you alright?' He asks concerned. `It's Raiden. His energy is trying to drain mine. I have to hurry and get there before he does. Be careful and I'll see you when you arrive.' I take off using my new speed. Back at the estate, Samantha picks up on a new presence. She smiles in relief. `Father, Gabriel is getting closer. We need to end this before it gets out of control.' She tells Alpha William. `Keep me updated. I'll try and end this quickly.' Alpha William responds. `Wait, something is going on out there.' Samantha says all of a sudden. As I'm running I feel movement coming towards me. I stop instantly looking around. Ahead of me I can see shadows moving too fast to make out. I feel Michael and the others coming up behind me. They stop and Michael walks over to me. `What is it Gabriel?' He asks looking around. `Do you see them?' I ask. `Who?' Michael replies still looking around. `The shadows, they are moving really fast and I can't seem to make out the figures.' As I am about to continue explaining it, one of them flies towards us. I teleport us back out of the way and in front of the others. Once they are all close enough, I throw up a shield. I walk outside of the shield, ready to confront these intruders. I close my eyes and focus on the movements of the shadows. There are about four or five of them. `Face me.' I say in a commanding tone. I open my eyes showing the metallic silver has covered my entire eye. I am able to make out the figures now. They slow down and come forward. "Well, look at who we have here boys. So, they finally released you from your cage. It's been a while Eve. I wasn't sure if we were ever going to see you again. I always hoped we would though. There is so much that I have to pay you back for." A man in a black trench coat says. His skin is pale to the point of almost being translucent. His frame is strong and his shoulder length hair is slightly curly. His eyes are completely crimson. His lips are dark and his smirk reveals a set of fangs. `Gabriel, this is Rasputin from the history books. He is a vampire. He is very old. I defeated him around the time of Zar Nicholas II. He was a human at first but, his thirst for power corrupted him and he became a vampire. You need to do away with him quickly. They are not as powerful as they think. You have the power of me, my daughter, and your own. Unleash it and you will win, before Alex arrives.' Eve tells me. I nod to her. "What's wrong Eve have you forgotten about me that easily?" Rasputin asks waving a hand dramatically. I close my eyes taking a breath channeling all of my power. `Stop speaking as if you know who I am you blood thirsty heathen.' I say watching his face change to an angry look of surprise. He wasn't expecting a male voice. `I will give you one warning to leave and live for another miserable day.' He bares his fangs glaring. "Look little boy, you will regret that threat. We will take our time draining every last drop. Fuck Raiden's orders." He says as they prepare to attack. I feel the power forming inside of me like a glass about to over flow. This release will be far from a small blast. They form into shadows again and rush toward me. I close my eyes and dig into the ground bracing for shock and taking in a deep breath. Right before they touch me I exhale, open my eyes, and release all that power I had been harnessing. At the estate, the two sides are rushing to fight each other. Raider's men are strong, each one taking on multiple enemies at the same time. Raiden walks towards the other alphas slowly, confident that he will win. His smirk is still very present on his face visible even in wolf form. The three alphas form a triangle with William in the middle, Dominic close behind him flanking his left, and Xerxes flanking his right. All three taking defensive stances until he gets in range. Raiden slows his stance then does something unexpected. He uses an unnatural speed to reach the alphas. The movement takes them by surprise. He uses their surprise to his advantage. He appears to the right slapping the lion with a force that causes Xerxes to fly across the yard and into the back patio. He lands in a pile of broken floor boards. William and Dominic instantly recover from their mental stupor and start a simultaneous attack. William goes to attack Raiden's lower hind legs to stop his mobility, as Dominic launches over him going for Raiden's neck. Raiden counters by jumping over William, in the process he bites the scruff on the back of Dominic's neck like a pup and yanks him down to the ground backwards. Dominic yelps swiping all four paws at Raiden, trying to land any strike he can. William catches himself from missing Raiden. He uses quick reflexes and is able to turn in time to catch the two wolves as they land. His front claws fly forward with blinding speed clutching onto the right side Raiden's back. Raiden growls and snaps at William, releasing Dominic who rolls from underneath him. Dominic attacks, going for Raiden's neck again, as he is focused on William. He is able to bite down and grab ahold of the fur above Raiden's left shoulder blade. Dominic viciously shakes his head using his razor sharp fangs to shred the wolf's flesh. Raiden stuck between the two uses his size to overpower the smaller wolf. He throws his weight into Dominic's muzzle causing him to yelp again and release his hold. William all the while uses his size to try to throw and pin the wolf down but is countered when to wolf rolls over with the move. The tiger is rolled over the bigger wolf losing his grip as well. Raiden gets back to his feet as the black lion leaps over the tiger tackling him to the ground as they swipe at each other at the same time. Dominic and William return to their feet running in to assist Xerxes. They run in at the same time attacking from both sides. Raiden is able to notice from his peripheral vision. He reaches up using his powerful front paws to push the lion off balance causing Xerxes to fall back. Still on his hind legs Raiden launches to tackle the smaller wolf. He is able to push Dominic on his back. Raiden rolls over him, pulling Dominic on top of him. Once Dominic is in position on top of him, Raiden uses his hind legs to propel Dominic up and over himself into William, as he dives in to attack from a jump. The two collide, landing on the ground a bit disoriented. A blast of white light shines through the tree lining. The fighting stops momentarily. Sophia is looking at the thermal scans and at that moment, sees the entire screen fade yellow. "Sam, what's going on out there? The thermal readings are out of control. Nothing is visible." She says talking to Sam and the other telepaths. "One second." Sam says to Sophia. `Gabriel, are you okay? What's going on out there' Sam sends him a telepathic message. The light from my blast clears and I am able to see the burning ashes of all the vampires that attacked. I get a message shortly after from Samantha. It was such a relief to hear her voice again. It felt like an eternity. `Sam, I'm right outside. I was just attacked by some vampires. I handled them though. Where is dad?' I ask her as I look back dropping my shield. `Dad and the other Alphas are fighting with Raiden. It's not looking good Gabriel.' Sam responds and my heart starts to race. I look passed the group behind me and see the shield that went up in the distance start to crack. Alex must be breaking through. `We are on our way.' I tell her as I look at Michael. `Dad and the Alphas are fighting Raiden but, he has the upper hand. I need to get there.' I start to take a few steps to run but find myself really exhausted. I stumble and Michael instantly is next to me holding me up. Raiden uses the distraction to his benefit. He jumps to his feet, using his advanced speed to get to Xerxes. He bites the lions neck getting a good hold on it then, throws him into some wolves that are on his side. The wolves see the alpha lion land in front of them and they pounce on him. Raiden then runs over to Dominic, who is looking at Xerxes fighting off the wolves. Raiden dives at the smaller wolf knocking him to the ground with a hard tackle to the side. The force of the impact knocks Dominic's breath away and he is pushed down to the ground on his side. Raiden pins the smaller wolf down with his body weight and grins evilly as he bites down on Dominic's right hind leg snapping the bone. The smaller wolf releases a loud whimper of anger as he wiggles relentlessly to get free of the bigger wolf. William charges in spearing into Raiden as he is about to bite down on Dominic's other hind leg. Using all of his body weight, William is able to push Raiden a good distance away from Dominic that he can get in between the two wolves. Michael is helping me walk to the house. I am recovering faster with the walk. I stop to sit for a second and just focus on building my energy. I glance back again and see the shield being shattered. I stand instantly. `I have to get to the house now.' I tell Michael. `Alex will be here very shortly.' `You can't run. You almost collapsed a second ago from exhausting too much power.' Michael argues. `Michael I have...' A loud yelp cuts off my sentence. `NOW!' I yell running. My heart racing as fear of what I'm about to see sets in. Raiden paces left then right looking at William who is standing defensively ready for any kind of attack. Raiden runs forward ready to go for the tiger's throat. William seeing the attack coming prepares to swing his right paw with all his might, hoping his claws slice enough to cause some deep damage. Raiden stops right before he reaches William whose swing causes his body to turn slightly. Raiden strikes going for the back of the tiger's neck. Finally, getting a good hold on the tiger, the big wolf used full force to swing the tiger off its feet throwing him a few feet away, landing on its back stunned. Raiden slowly stalks forward toying with the tiger. I see the clearing to our backyard in the distance. We pick up speed and burst through the tree lining. Michael and I stop as the others join in on the fighting. We are scanning the yard looking for our Alpha. I see a Black lion fighting off a group of wolves that are attacking him furiously. Koga sees it and roars as he rushes at top speed to help his father. I see a black wolf laying on the ground struggling to get up as some men are creeping on him. They stop and turn seeing some wolves rushing them. I continue looking and see a big tiger on the ground as a big wolf walks toward him looking to attack. Anger and fear fill me completely as the wolf starts to run at him. I appear right behind my father, stepping over him as if to protect him baring my fangs. The wolf stops snarling at me with a smirk. `Raiden, you dare challenge my power?' I ask as my anger takes over my entire body, my voice going dark and my eyes glazing over again. I can still feel the fatigue but, I am not concerned. The big wolf begins to shift into a man. "Daughter, you already knew this was coming." He says smiling with open arms like this was a normal situation. He did the gesture as if I would run to him with open arms and embrace him. Talking to me like this should be obvious. "I told you, there would only be one chance but, for your sake, I gave them another chance. They refused so, as punishment for their defiance, they must die. I refuse to let anyone stand in my way. They will be dead before the night is over." `You must have lost your entire mind thinking that I would allow that to happen. You know very well that I have the capability to stop you. I will kill you before you harm anyone else out here.' I said shifting back to my human form. All the fighting around us had long stopped as they began to realize what was transpiring between two people of immense power. "You dare challenge me daughter? I won't kill you because you will give birth to my grandchildren but, you will be punished." Raiden says growing more and more confident in his ability. "STOP, calling me daughter! You won't be alive long enough to even see my ultrasound. My children will be in no relation to you. You have lost all right by plotting your sons against each other. They may not have seen it but, you had every intention of having Darien kill Titus. But, in the end, they both chose their love for me over their loyalty to you. You, are evil incarnate. I wanted to end this all peacefully, but now I finally understand. You would never let that happen." I tell him as my anger rises further. My eyes have flamed over and are sparking with electricity. "You want power so bad, you stooped low enough to make a contract with a demon." His anger flared and he glares at me through squinted eyes. "You foolishly thought that little parasite of a creature could stop me? You have truly underestimated my usefulness. You..." I stated but, was surprisingly stopped. Raiden uses a speed almost equal to my own to get to me. He grabbed me by the throat and threw me into the air across the yard. Still fatigued, I was a bit slower to react. "Gabriel!" I heard Michael, who shifted back to human form, yell angrily as he ran out to attack. I vanish and appear next to him, holding my arm out, stopping him. "Stay back Michael. I can't take him and worry about you getting in the way as well." I said walking back to Raiden. "Are you done with your foolish rant?" Raiden asks as he walks towards me. "Oh, I'm quite done talking." I said using my speed to get to him. I throw a right hook trying to reach his jaw but, all of my teleporting wore down my energy. My movements are much slower than they should be. Raiden moves back dodging it. I continue throwing left and right combos but, to no avail landing any. Raiden even begins to laugh. Tired of playing, he grabs ahold of my left wrist as I swing, and hits me in the chest with a palm strike using his left hand. The force of the blow pushes me back a bit still sliding on my feet refusing to fall. I catch my breath that had left my lungs from the hit. I look up in time to see him about to use another palm strike with his left hand. I push it to the side with my hand jumping up, lifting my right knee close to my chest, and slamming my foot flat on his chest causing him to fly backwards. As he is flying back I run forward. I jump backwards doing a back handspring dodging a whip that came for my neck. I propel myself forward again as my feet hit the ground. Raiden lands on his toes, using his right hand to claw the ground slowing his slide backward. He takes off running at me. I jump at him raising my right arm bent at the elbow. He slows to block so, I teleport behind him. Still in the air, I bring my arm down slamming my elbow over his right shoulder aiming for his collar bone. I miss and he grabs my arm with both hands. He pushes his hips backwards into me and yanking my arm causing me to lift off my feet. He tries to slam me to the ground in front of him but, I land on my feet causing the ground to indent from the force. He is grinning at me. I smirk forcefully throwing my left knee up and landing a strike to the top of his head. He releases my arm and staggers back. I fall to my back lifting my hands to the ground on both sides of my head. Raising my legs bent at my knees over my body, I push off the ground pushing with my arms and land on my feet again. I turn in time to catch his right foot flying at my face. With my left foot, I kick his left leg behind the knee causing it to buckle then, quickly deliver a powerful kick across his mid-section with my right. He crosses his arms blocking the kick and just slides back on his left foot from the force. In the distance, we can hear another loud howl. This time it's not that far off. "The fun is just about to begin." One of the men that came with Raiden says with excitement. "Unfortunately, that howl, is not in your favor." I say as I steady my breathing. "I am done playing this game." I crouch down closing my eyes. I hear a footstep and throw up a shield to protect myself from any attacks. Eyes still closed, I begin harnessing the rest of my energy into a shockwave. The blast will affect Raiden and his men but, will have no effect on my own people. "Stop her." Raiden yells. The fighting again resumes as the enemy tries to get to me and my people try to protect me. My breathing becomes labored as I am finally ready to let loose my shockwave. I open my eyes releasing the energy. "Daughter!" Raiden says holding my father by the neck in his tiger form unconscious. I manage to section off them from the attack. The effort takes a lot of untapped energy, causing me to fall to my knees. "As I thought..." He says shaking his head in disappointment. I look around realizing that not as many people as I thought would be effected by my attack were still untouched and fighting. I look back looking at Raiden. He throws my father to the ground using his speed to get to me. He grabs me by the throat again lifting me off my feet. "You see daughter, you are more predictable than you may realize. You are still bound by your fear of losing people you love. It's a weakness." Raiden says pulling my face close to his own. I thought he was going to try and kiss me but, he instead, whispers in my ear. "See look how futile all the efforts were." I look over seeing that Raiden's men are getting the upper hand. It's not that surprising, his men have been trained to kill for so long and not much can stop them. I see Damien losing stamina; Bethany is wearing out as well. Michael and Koga are back to back again trying to protect Father and Alpha Xerxes from the group of wolves trying to reach them. Fear again begins to take over me. The feeling of hopelessness is setting in and my body begins to shake. I close my eyes. "No." Raiden says slapping my cheek lightly to get my attention. I open them looking at him. "Watch and feel everything as it happens." He turns me around and holds me against his body. The sight is becoming too painful to watch but, I can't close my eyes. Suddenly, we are both knocked to the ground. Raiden releases me and I see a leopard on top of Raiden, clawing and biting at his arms that are blocking his face, neck, and chest. Cameron came out of nowhere and saved me. I slowly rise to my feet to help him. My legs are still shaking. I am trying to gain control of my body again before Raiden can but, my body is still moving way too slow. I start taking steps towards them. I see Raiden is gaining control and is about to attack. My instincts set in and I rush passed them grabbing Cameron just as Raiden is about to knife hand him through the chest with his claws. "Stay back Cameron." I say finally able to move freely. Raiden has risen back to his feet and uses his speed to reach us. I watch in horror as he kicks Cameron in the stomach so hard, he flies to the tree lining hitting a tree, cracking it. His body falls to the base of the tree not moving. Something in me snaps as my heart breaks. My fangs shoot out of my mouth and my body begins to spark with electricity. My eyes have glazed over with flames, the sparks on my body catch fire, and everything begins to move in slow motion. `Don't let this power consume you. This is the full extent of all three of our powers combine.' Eve says in my head. My body has gained back all of my energy and then some. I feel like a battery about to explode. I can feel the power radiating off and pulsing around me. I look around and see all my loved ones getting weaker and struggling to stay alive. I have all this power but can't even defeat one foe. What if I just share it? I question myself. I begin forming a little phoenix copy full of energy and send it to Cameron. The bird flies over to him and his whole body catches on fire in a wave of silver metallic flames. His eyes shoot open and he leaps to his feet moving normally with everything still in slow motion. `I don't know what you did but, I feel amazing. All of my energy is back and I feel a whole lot more power coursing through me than I ever have before.' Cameron says before shifting and walking over to me. I hug him instantly. I was relieved he was okay. He embraced me back and held me close. I felt him nuzzle my neck and realized he could smell I was in heat. I released him, grabbed his hands off of my lower back and stepped back a bit. We both looked around. "I guess that worked better than I thought." I told him. "Did you slow everyone down?" He asked me not understanding what was going on. "No, I didn't." I said smiling at him. "We are just moving a lot faster than they are. It's time to help the rest of our people out." I said closing my eyes and holding hands out palms up. I began focusing on everyone around me. Thanks to the telepathic links, I was able to find everyone that needed help. I began focusing my energy into the same phoenix copies. The amount of power I felt was more than I expected. I begin lifting off of the ground as small birds start popping out of my palms like popcorn. Once they formed, they start flying in orbits around me. I open my eyes and see these birds the size of soccer balls flying around me in these in random patterns circling me. I glance down and see Cameron smiling up at me in amazement. I'm levitating about 15 feet off the ground. I look over and see that Raiden's figure is beginning to pick up speed trying to match my speed. I pull all of the birds in close to me and then release them all at once to their designated hosts. Their take off is so fast it was like seeing a firecracker explode as one by one they disappear in the people I have been fighting for. Suddenly, I feel a hand grab my ankle and yanks me to the ground. The power was not that forceful due to my current state. I land on the ground softly feet first coming face to face with Raiden. "You just keep surprising me." He says. He was about to continue but, now I was his superior in power and speed. I grab him by the neck lifting him off the ground. "This is checkmate." I say before throwing him into the air. I begin teleporting around him so fast I am beginning to make copies of myself around him. All at once, I throw different combos at him. With so many different attacks and directions he can't keep up with all of them. I am hitting him with multiple palm strikes, kicks, left and right hooks. The force of the strikes, keep him in the air as he is flung around like a ragdoll. I teleport above him; hitting the top of his head with an axe kick that sends him plummeting to the ground face first. The impact was so hard, the ground craters. I levitate down to him as he slowly tries to pick himself up. "This still won't change the outcome of this battle." Raiden says still on his hands and knees. I smile at him as I walk over to him. "Are you sure about that?" I ask him grabbing his arm and lifting him off the ground. I levitate us so he can see what I mean. I slow down our movements to real time. The battle has just about ended. Raiden's men and wolvers have been over powered and are all on the defensive and badly losing. "What you think is a weakness is proving to be our strength. Losing your wife made you lose sight of what really matters." I state as we watch his followers fall one by one. Soon, there are only about five of them left. "This fight is over." I say in a commanding voice. I throw Raiden to the ground. "Your alpha is defeated and so are all of you. You won't win this battle no matter what advantage you think you hold over us." My voice is booming even though I'm speaking softly. My voice is dark though, fueled with all the power I hold. I float to the ground once more. I begin walking towards my father. My steps leave flaming footprints. My footsteps halt, as an intense feeling hits me. I look at the tree lining. I hear the deep breathing approaching. Two big glowing purple orbs come into view and my breath catches. All heads turn as well, feeling the power seeping out of the forest like a thick and suffocating fog. All the wolves except for Dominic and Raiden lower their heads in submission. Soon, the biggest wolf I've seen walks into the moonlight. He stops walking and stands with pride. Attention totally focused on me. Soon, he shifts into Alex's new human form but, totally engulfed by his power. Short black hair that was once slicked-back, was now dirty blonde and moving by an invisible wind that was his power. Amethyst eyes glowing like bright LED lights. His body chiseled to perfection with muscles that would even put Apollo to shame. His movements alone demand respect as he takes a few steps. I can't even call them steps really since he appeared to be gliding across the grass with an easy going stride. Michael and Cameron run and stand by my side in a protective formation. Alex's face contorts into a mischievous smirk. All of his body language tells me this is a challenge and the result will be chaos for anyone in his path to me. I extend both my arms pushing them behind me still keeping eye contact with Alex as not to challenge him by looking away. "Both of you need to stay back. I know you're worried about me but, he will kill you without much effort. He has far more power than even I do." I tell them taking a few steps forward. Alex finally stops walking and just stares at me. A small part of me wants to step back and hide behind Michael for protection. Another small part of me wants to lower my head in submission. The rest of me has the urge to seek refuge in his embrace. So, the two of us just stand there, ten feet apart, holding a staring contest. He is the first to break the deafening silence that has taken over the whole area. "Come with me mate." His voice is deep, strong with power, and confidence. I get a shiver that runs from my tailbone and up my spine. I would love nothing more than to just run away with him from everything going on but, I know that won't be the right thing to do in the long run. "Stand with me mate." I reply with all the confidence I can muster. I keep my face emotionless, as to not show any weakness, and prove to him the conviction I have in my words. He simply holds out his hand to me. I instantly feel a distraction but, don't look back. "Gabe, don't go with him." Michael says stepping closer to stand beside me once more. Forever fearless as he is I fear for his wellbeing at this moment. Alex drops his smirks and his face turns into a stone stare. Evil laughter erupts from someone behind me. I don't even need to turn to know who it is. "Adam, you know they will NEVER let you take her." Raiden begins instigating the imposing destruction that is lurking over everyone I care about like a storm cloud rolling in from the distance. "No one will keep me from what is mine anymore." Alex says slowly taking a step towards me with his hand still outstretched to me. His voice was commanding. This was no longer a request from him for me to go with him. I swiftly push Michael behind me. He was not afraid but, I was. Not for my own safety but, for his. "Like I said before, the outcome will remain the same." Raiden says with delight. "It's over Raiden. You lost and that will no longer change." I hear Michael say from behind me. "You still don't understand cub. But, I am sure the light is about to click on for you daughter." Raiden says laughing again. Anger is rising in me from his continuous blabbering. But, like he said, a light clicks on. "There it is!" He laughs even louder. "It was never about defeating you, it was about time. I was simply stalling enough time to distract you from the real objective. You all were so focused on what was in my right hand you never once thought of what was in my left. I intentionally, said everything to lead right to this moment." I understood all of it. He had me going from the beginning. He kept me thinking that this was about him killing my family. No, it was a mind game. I was so focused on his wording and all that he was throwing at me to realize where he was leading me. This simple moment was about to break us. He didn't need to destroy us because we were about to be driven apart with whatever decision I make. He was right, this was all about me. Never once did I take the time to think about everything and see that I was the target. I totally went against what I said. If I hadn't hesitated and just killed him when I had the chance, I could have prevented this. "I wasn't saying it to be evil or malicious daughter. Your position at this moment is just too high of an importance for your heart to drive you. Your sense of attachment is inevitably you biggest weakness at this moment." Raiden say's my thoughts out loud to me. As angry as I am at him for putting me in this position, this is my fault. The flames surrounding my body dissipate. "What is he talking about Gabe?" Michael asks. "I have to go with Alex." I say simply. "No you don't, you just got home. Stay and we can all figure this out together." He replies. "She knows that is not an option." Raiden says, finally ending his laughter and turning serious. "He's right. If I stay, it will cause problems that I don't have the power to stop." I say as Alex finally reaches me. "Mate?" Alex says once more, his voice soft yet commanding a response. "I'm sorry." I say simply shaking my head as tears begin to fall down my face. ---------------------------------TBC------------------------------------