Nix's POV
I ended up falling asleep last night and I just woke up at twelve today. I must have really needed that sleep. I make my way downstairs to the kitchen where Jason, Daniel, Malik, and my dad already are.
"How are you feeling man?" Daniel asks.
"Better, I think I feel better to have the closure. I now know that she is at rest."
"That is good to hear," my dad says.
"Malik, how are you doing?" I ask him.
"Okay, I guess. I know that one day I will see her again."
I feel like I will see her again one day, but what scares me is that I feel like that day is soon. I can't leave my family after we just lost Chara. I don't know if Jason can take losing me right after losing Chara. I sigh shaking the thoughts from my head.
"Are you guys ready to go find Valanter?"
They look at me slightly shocked. I hold back the urge to roll my eyes at them.
"We have to go find Noc, it is what Chara wanted us to do."
"Okay, we will eat breakfast and then pack as long as it is okay with Dad," Jason replies.
"Of course, you all go and carry out her final wish. Please try to make it back in one piece though," Dad responds.
"Thanks Dad," I smile at him.
We eat our cereal and then all head to our separate rooms to pack up to leave, Jason deciding to come with us this time. We finish packing quickly and get into Daniel's car. We drive for the next two days and two nights only stopping for gas and to get some sleep. This time our journey to Matericus if much shorter because we know where we are going this time. We park on the outskirts of the city and walk into it. Okay, we need to try to locate this bar by ourselves. We follow one of the first people we see. They walk into a coffee shop. We follow another person, and another, and another. All of them leading to different spots such as a hotel, a restaurant, and the sports field. We follow another person right before giving up and this person walks down an alley and into the woods. We hesitantly follow them into the woods, and they come out to a tree. He does two quick knocks, three slow ones, and then two more quick ones. A door appears in the wood of the tree and the man walks in. I walk over to the tree trunk and do the same sequence of knocks. The door appears and a slight smile forms on my lips. We all walk in and the scent of alcohol immediately hits my nose.
'We finally found it!' Zane exclaims while wagging his tail.
I smile at his remark and tell him to change into his gecko. He does so and I put him in the hood of my hoodie. We make our way to the bar and grab a drink to not draw attention to ourselves. We sit at the bar and I order a beer along with the others. Once we finish, I lean into the bartender and ask her where the portal is.
"It's in the back, first door on the right. Are you sure you don't want to stay? I can show you a good time."
"I am good, thanks though. Come on guys," I say, and we all walk in the direction of the portal.
The door says supply closet and when I open it there is a dark purple swirling in front of me. It is almost mesmerizing. We all grab on to each other and we envision the entrance to Valanter. None of us are sure of what it looks like, but we try our best. We all step into the portal and we are engulfed by darkness. About a minute passes and I see a bright white light. I close my eyes because the light burns them. The light fades and we are left in an open field dead in the centre. I look around to see nothing there, but open field surrounded by trees.
"I have been here before," Daniel says almost in a whisper.
"What? When?"
"This is where I was sent to greet Chara after she met with Realia. I can't believe that this is where the entrance was all along."
"Woah, that is weird," Malik states.
"I agree," Jason says.
We look around for any clue as to how to access the gate to Valanter. I decide to sit on the grass in the centre of the field and close my eyes. For some reason, I feel like this is what I must do. I place my hands on the ground and focus on finding the gates. I open my eyes and see a piece of paper sitting in my lap.
"Guys, look what I found!" I shout to the guys.
They all sit around me and wait for me to read the paper. I pick it up and I tell everyone what it says.
"List of Occupants of Valanter:
Lapire
Natur
Madica
Noc ✕
That's so weird, why is Noc's name crossed out? Does that mean he got out?" I ask the group.
They all just stare at me and then at each other. No one knows what this means, how in the world would he have escaped on his own? If he did escape, we have to find him. another possibility pops into my head. What if he died?
"What if he died? What do we do then?" I ask them.
"I think if he is dead, we have no hope when it comes to this war. It was Chara's only idea to find out who she can trust for this war," Daniel replies.
"I know," I add, "Where to now? Either way, Noc is no longer in Valanter."
"Honestly, I don't know. I can't believe we can't even fulfill he last wish," Jason tears up.
"I know Jason, I know," I respond.
We just sit in the grass for a while in silence. All of us caught up in our own thoughts. I am snapped out of mine when I hear a twig snap from behind me. I let out a threatening growl as I turn around. I see a figure in the treeline. I immediately shift into my big wolf and let out another loud growl. Zane changes into his golden retriever which surprises me because it isn't very threatening.
Without taking my eyes off of the figure I ask Zane, 'what the hell do you think you are doing? Shouldn't you shift into something more intimidating?'
'Trust me on this, he won't hurt us. Just you wait. I remember everything now which only means one thing,' he takes a pause, 'That is Noc, God of the Night.'
'What?'
I just stand there in wolf form watching the figure, shocked. The others behind us are confused. I shift back eventually as the figure starts moving towards us.
"What are you doing Nix?" Jason asks, confused as to why I shifted back.
"It's alright."
No one asks anything more; we just watch the figure as it slowly comes into view. I see Zane's tail start to wag vigorously. The man in front of me looks very similar to Chara, and I can see that they are related. Chara has his high cheek bones and jet-black hair.
"Hello, where is my daughter? She should be here," Noc asks.
"Hello Noc, did you not hear what happened to Chara? I thought you would have known. How did you get out of Valanter?"
"I thought it was Chara who brought me out. There are only two ways I could have gotten out of Valanter, either Chara can and opened the gate for me or she died and that released me. So, tell me, where is my daughter?" his voice got deeper with the last question.
"I am sorry to break it to you Noc, but Chara died a couple days ago. We came here in hopes of releasing you not realizing the only ways you could be released is by Chara opening the gate or Chara dying," I explain to him.
"No, she can't be dead. That changes everything, the prophecy can no longer be fulfilled. Tell me everything that happened and who the hell all of you are," he demands.
I nod and explain how we were looking for the gates to Valanter which took up to Matericus to find Haler. When we first went, we met Grim, God of Sight and Destruction. We mistakenly trusted him to take us to Haler, but instead he took us into a trap. He locked up all up in separate cells. He interrogated Chara because she had a lot of power, but her aura showed she was a werewolf. I told him how he beat up Chara really badly, but Chara didn't heal herself to protect the rest of us. I told him how we escaped and made it to Ketsworth Supernatural Hospital. I then told him how her injuries were to severe that they couldn't save her.
"We had her funeral a couple days ago at my pack house in my pack cemetery."
He looks shocked and heart broken, "Who are you all to my daughter?"
"I am Jason, one of her good friends," Jason holds out a hand which Noc shakes.
"I am Daniel, I was Chara's guide in her destiny, but I fail her."
Noc puts a hand on Daniel's shoulder and reassures him that he did everything he could do.
"I am Nix, I am…was Chara's mate," I hold out my hand which he takes.
"How are you holding up?" Noc asks me.
"I am trying my best to be strong for her."
He nods in response; his gaze then travels down to Zane. When he sees him, his eyes widen in shock and then lights up with happiness.
"Zane! You are alright! I am so sorry for leaving you without notice, what have you been up to for these past eighteen years?"
'Noc, I can't believe I am seeing you again! I became Chara's bonded and looked after her all these years. I am now staying with Nix as he was Chara's mate.'
'It's so good to see you again bud. Thank you for taking care of my daughter when I couldn't.'
Zane nods, for some reason I could hear their conversation, maybe because of the link I share with Zane. I see Noc look up and notice Malik standing half behind me.
"Malik?" Noc asks, tears in his eyes.
"Hi Dad," Malik replies with the same expression.
"Oh son, I am so glad you are alright! I am so sorry for not being there for you. How is your mother?"
"She is alright, she really misses you. I heard plenty of stories from her about you."
"She isn't angry with me?" Noc asks, confused.
"No, she doesn't believe that you left her out of your own will. Can you tell us what really happened?"
"Of course, Malik. Shalhalla had always had feelings for me, but I never loved her back. I fell in love with your mother almost twenty-two years ago. About nineteen years ago, she told me she needed help, that she was in trouble. As a god, it is my duty to help other gods if they are in trouble," I see them nodding their heads letting me know they understand.
"I went back to our realm and searched for her. When I found her, she had Perla, Goddess of Love and Beauty, use her powers to make me fall in love with Shalhalla. Soon, Shalhalla found out she was pregnant with Chara and I couldn't be happier about that; however, I always felt something was wrong. I was good friends with Aluca and his wife at the time was pregnant with his son Altair. We were so excited to have our children grow up together. One day, right before Chara was born, Shalhalla told Baltimar, God of Time and Gifts, that I was fraternizing with the enemy, Aluca. He was one of the only gods that thought Aluca was bad at that time, so he thought I was going against the rest of the gods by taking with Aluca. That was the day that Baltimar banished me to Valanter. I never got to see Palama or Malik again, and I never got to meet Chara. Shalhalla is working with someone to try to take over and rule the other gods. Everyone thinks it is Aluca, but it is actually Shalhalla."
"Does that mean? No, it couldn't," Daniel starts.
"What?" Noc questions, confused.
"Altair," I state.
"No, he couldn't be working with Shalhalla, I swear Aluca is good. He is just misunderstood."
"We know Aluca is a good guy. Chara has spent time with him and got to know him. Unfortunately, Altair is hellbent on hurting and killing Chara."
"I can't believe it; Altair is working with Shalhalla?" Noc says in disbelief.
"Can I see Chara's grave?"
"Of course, it is about a two-day drive from here back to my pack house," Daniel says.
"Why don't I just teleport us there?" Noc suggests.
I turn to look at Zane, "Yeah, I guess we could have just teleported all this time instead of driving, right Zane."
'Oops, I never thought of that, but in my defence, Chara didn't either.'
My smile fades a bit at the mention of her name.
'Sorry,' Zane apologizes.
'It's alright Zane, let's go to the car.'
"We will have to swing by Daniel's car to bring it back," I tell everyone.
"I can take us all back, and Zane can teleport Daniel to his car and then teleport back to the pack house," Noc suggests.
I look to Zane who nods, "Okay, let's get this show on the road then," I say.
We appear in front of my pack house and a minute later, Daniel and Zane show up with the car. The tires are all flat.
"Woah, what happened there?�� Malik asks.
"Stupid people think slashing tires is a funny joke," Daniel sulks.
"Where will I find the cemetery?" Noc questions.
"Are you guys coming, or are you staying here?" I ask the others.
Zane steps forward saying he is coming, but the others are going to stay at the house.
"Follow me," I tell Noc and Zane.
We walk through the forest to the graveyard. It is a three-minute walk there and I stop just outside the gates. I take a deep breath and Zane rubs against my side telling me that everything will be alright.
"Come on, just this way," I say to Noc, walking through the gates. We walk to the back where all of the Alphas and Lunas have been buried since the beginning of this pack. We walk past all of the graves and I keep my head bowed out of respect for them. The back row has Chara's tombstone with a spot beside her for me when I pass. I stand in front of it with tears in my eyes. The tombstone reads, 'Chara Shade: Goddess of Sinalo, Beloved Mate, Friend, and Sister. 2001-2019.'
No one speaks at first, but when I managed to pull my gaze away from the tombstone, I see Noc looking confused.
"What is it Noc?"
"I don't sense her. Was she properly buried?"
"Yes, our pack priest knows how to do a ceremony for a god. It was truly beautiful."
"Yes, it is," he still looks slightly confused.
"Is everything okay?" I ask.
He looks at me as a single tear falls down his cheek, "I can't believe that I never got to meet her. I tried so hard to help guide her and I don't even know if I ever got through to her."
"If it helps, I know for a fact that she has heard you when she needed to. She heard you when you told her to only trust herself and Zane. she heard you when you told her she had to 'get out of there' when her car crashed. She heard you when you told her to not trust the other gods and go to Paleric. She took every bit of advice you gave her and followed it knowing that it was you talking to her."
More and more tears continue to cascade down his face. He falls to his knees in front of her headstone and sobbed. He mumbles some incoherent words, but I catch some of what he was saying. He apologizes for not being there for her and that he never got to see her grow up. I stay there in silence and Zane lays down at Noc's knees. Even though Zane stays with Noc for now, he keeps looking up at me to make sure I am okay. I manage and small smile for him to reassure him I am alright.
After fifteen minutes, Noc stands up and asks to go to his pack house. He would like to rest and meet with my father. I nod and we begin walking back to my home and soon we reach the doors. I open them and we are greeted by my dad on the other side.
Dad bows his head, "Noc, it is truly a pleasure to meet you."
"No need for formalities Liam. I am honoured to meet you as well. I didn't realize that this pack was the Royal Pack."
"Yes, we are the royal pack. I want to give you my condolences for Chara. We truly loved her around here and she would have been an amazing Luna."
"Thank you. Can I have a room to rest?"
"Of course, Jason can take you up to the guest room."
Noc nods and leaves with Jason. I turn to my dad, "Is everything alright?" I ask him.
"Yes, how did you find him?"
"He was released from Valanter when Chara died. We found him at the field where the gates are."
My dad nods, "We have to ask him if he knows when the war is supposed to start. We need to come up with a plan to try to prevent it."
"Okay, I will ask him in the morning."
I head to the kitchen to make a sandwich, realizing I haven't eaten in so long. After eating I head outback to join some of my pack members with training. I walk up to the first two that are in their fighting stances. It is Layla, Ryan's mate, and Katrina, who always insists that she is Jason's mate. I see that Layla's feet are too close together.
"Layla, widen your feet and Katrina, bend your knees."
They do as I say and then Katrina jabs first. Layla doges to the right and punches Katrina hard in the ribs causing her to stumble. Layla takes this chance to pounce on Katrina to take her to the ground. Layla lengthens her claws and holds them to Katrina's throat, waiting for her to give up.
"Uh, fine. You win," Katrina admits.
Layla jumps up off of Katrina and smiles. She offers a hand to Katrina to help her get up, but Katrina wacks it away.
"Good job Layla," I congratulate her.
"Thanks Alpha," she smiles, and I roll my eyes at her.
She knows I don't want to be called Alpha until I have the title. She still calls me that sometimes to get me riled up though.
"Alright, you want to play like that. How about you go against me next?" I ask teasingly and her eyes widen.
"No, I'm good. I want to be able to move for my date with Ryan tonight."
"Mmhmm," I reply tauntingly.
I continue to help the other that were out training improve their skills. After a long training session, I head upstairs to shower. I wrap my body with a towel and walk to my room. I stop in front of my door when I see someone standing there. Katrina.
"What do you want Katrina?" I ask while silently cursing at myself for not bringing clothes into the bathroom.
'What does SHE want?' My wolf asks me, talking to me for the first time since Chara died.
'The hell if I know.'
"You look so hot in just a towel," she smiles.
"What do you want Katrina?" I repeat my question.
"I want you to finally come to your senses and realize that you need a queen to talk over the throne. I would be a perfect fit and it is time that you mark me to claim me as yours," she says in a flirty tone.
I roll my eyes, "I do not need a different Luna Katrina, especially not you. Chara is and forever will be my Luna."
"But she is dead."
That last sentence made me snap, "YOU WILL NOT DISRESPECT MY MATE LIKE THAT! SHE IS MY LUNA WHETHER SHE IS ALIVE OR NOT! LEAVE NOW IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU!"
I use my alpha voice to make her know I am serious and very angry. She whimpers and then scurries away. I sigh, a single tear falling down my face. In a way she was right, in order to take over the throne I need my Luna by my side. If that is what it takes, then Jason can take over as king, I will not make another wolf my mate. I walk into my room, shutting the door behind me. I put on a pair of boxers and climb under my covers. I drift off into a peaceful sleep.
I wake up to Chara in my arms, she is kissing my lips passionately. I kiss back, wanting to have my mate here with me. She begins to kiss down my jawline, and then down my neck she kisses where my collarbone is and then I feel a sharp pain at the base of my neck.
I jolt upright out of my bed to notice it was only a dream. I try to move myself to lean against the headboard when I feel a sharp pain go from the base of my neck up to my jaw and down my shoulder. I wince and look down at my collarbone. I see two red bite marks there and I feel confuse. I look around and see a beaming Katrina sitting on the edge of my bed in a Skippy outfit. I am furious.
'Did she just…?' I can't even finish my question to Lupus.
'Oh no she didn't just mark us!' Lupus shouts in my head fighting me to take over.
"What the hell did you just do?" I yell at Katrina.
"Aren't you happy baby, my mark looks beautiful on you."
I let Lupus take over because I don't care what he does at this point.
'Try not to kill her, okay Lupus.'
'I guess I will try.'
With that Lupus lunges at Katrina, holding her by the neck. She yelps, but not much sound come out. He pushes her off the bed and onto the ground. Lupus takes out his claws and claw at her stomach, legs, arms, and then finally where her mates mark is supposed to go. She is crying at this point and Lupus growls. He reluctantly let's go of Katrina and stands up. He huffs and barges out of his room ripping the door off of its hinges. Still breathing heavily, Lupus walks straight to Dad's room and swings open the door. My dad, startled, sits up in bed and his eyes widen when he realizes it is Lupus and no me.
"Lupus? What's wrong?" he asks.
"My room. I am going for a run," that is all Lupus says before running towards Dad's window and jumping out of it, shifting into Lupus's true form on the way down. He then bolts off into the forest at full speed. Lupus runs and runs in no particular direction. I tried to talk to him, but he has blocked our connection so I can't speak with him. all I can do is watch what he is doing. He arrives at the waterfall where I would go with Chara. I hear him start to cry and lay down watching the water. He lets me talk with him again.
'How could she mark us Nix?'
'I-I don't know Lupus.'
'Now we can't mark Chara and she can't mark us,' Lupus lets out a whine.
'Lupus, you know Chara is gone. She isn't coming back. We will never be able to mark her.'
'I know, I know. I just…I still feel so attached to her Nix.'
'I do too, and I don't think that will ever go away. What are we going to do about Katr…?'
Lupus cuts me off, 'don't say her name. she will be kicked out of the pack and suffer the need to be around us.'
'What do you mean Lupus?'
'Since she marked us, she and her wolf will feel the strong need to be around us like she would with her mate. Luckily, we didn't mark her, so we won't feel the same. By banishing her from the pack, she will most likely go crazy. More so than she already is.'
'Well, good to know. Sounds like a plan Lupus. Can I have back control now so I can go see Dad and explain what happened.'
'Okay.'
Lupus shrinks back into the corner of my mind, thinking about how we will never mark Chara and even if we could she could never mark us. I block out his thoughts, so I don't break down in tears. I run back in wolf form and shift in front of the house throwing on a t-shirt I had out there. I see my father standing on the porch, so I walk up to him, he looks mad.
"What the hell happened? How could you let Lupus attack Katrina?" he asks trying to hold back his rage.
"Dad, calm down," I say trying to keep my cool.
"Calm down!" he yells," I will not calm down when my son beat a fellow pack member to the brink of death!"
"What Lupus did was right! I am surprised that he even listened to me and didn't kill her! She came into my room while I was sleeping and marked me!" I shout uncovering my shirt from my shoulder.
My father gasps at the sight and his anger turns to sorrow, "I am sorry son, I didn't know. Katrina said you dragged her from her room and Lupus then attacked her in yours."
"Yeah right, does a drop of truth ever come out of that mouth of hers?"
"What do you want to do with her? You do know how this will affect her right?"
"Yes, Lupus explained. I want her banished from this pack and I want all of the packs to know that she was banished from the royal pack."
"Okay, I will get that started. First I will have her escorted off of the territory and then I will inform all of the Alphas."
"Thank you, Dad."
"Of course."
I have a slight smirk as I make my way up to my bed knowing no one here will have to deal with her again. I lay down in my bed and drifted off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.
I wake up to the sun shining on my face, I go to stretch and then feel the pain in my shoulder.
"Crap," I whisper.
'Does it usually hurt for this long Lupus?'
'No, this is because we are both rejecting the mark. Eventually it will stop hurting, but it will never disappear.'
'Okay, how are you holding up Lupus?'
'Alright I guess, thanks for leaving me be after Chara died.'
'No problem.'
I make my way downstairs, heading towards the kitchen when I smell smoke. I run down the stairs as fast as I can and turn the corner into the kitchen that is filled with smoke. I see Noc by the stove just standing there looking lost. I walk up to him.
"Noc, what the hell?" I ask him while coughing.
"I tried to make bacon, but the stove caught on fire and I am not sure what to do."
I continue coughing as I grab the fire extinguisher from under the sink and carry it back over to the stove. I use it to put out the fire and then set it down on the counter. I then hurry out of the room and out the front door to let my lungs heal from the smoke inhalation. Noc appears beside me almost giving me a heart attack.
"Geez Noc, are you trying to give me a heart attack," I voice my thoughts.
"No sorry."
"It's alright. I actually have something to ask you."
"Go ahead."
"Do you by any chance know when this war is supposed to happen?"
He thinks for a moment, "Why does that concern you? You will not be there."
"I will be there on behalf of Chara. I will explain to them everything."
"No, if you go then you have a death wish because going to a war that will occur between gods is a suicide mission."
"I don't care anymore. I am doing this for Chara. Now, do you know the date; yes or no?"
He sighs, "Yes, it will happen in two days."
My mouth drops open, "Two days?"
Noc nods, "Can I ask you some questions now?"
"Of course."
"What was Chara like?"
A smile comes to my face when I think about her, "She was the most beautiful person I have ever seen," I reply, "She was also very strong and could beat anyone in a fight. Her battle strategy was off the charts. She could always find someone's weakness. Outside of training, she was cheery and nice to anyone she felt she could trust. I am really going to miss her," I have tears in my eyes I am fighting to keep back.
"I can see you really loved her. Thank you for being there for her when I couldn't," Noc replies while putting a hand on my shoulder and giving me a smile.
"Of course, she was the love of my life. I would do anything to trade places with her."
"I know, but don't do anything rash to be with her. Everything will work out how it is meant to. I have one last question; what was her powers?"
"You don't know?"
"No one does, it is unknown to everyone, even Lahalo's."
"Oh, well the real question is what power doesn't she have."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, there was never a power that Chara couldn't master, and I don't think there is one."
"Oh, my gods," Noc says.
"What is it Noc?"
"Um…nothing. That is just so amazing, she was very powerful," he says but I feel like he is lying to me.
"Okay, come on. Let's grab some breakfast now, I am cooking," I chuckle and Noc does as well.
We make our way into the house to the kitchen.
***
Today is the day of the war. It is set to start in an hour on the Gradziel Field. We are just fighting over who is going to come just like we have been for the past two days.
"I am going! She was my best friend!" Jason shouts.
"No, you aren't going, one of us need to stay behind to ensure there will be someone next in line for the throne."
"Why don't you stay behind?"
"For the love of…she was my mate! Of course, I am going!" I yell.
Jason huffs, "You know what? Fine, go. Leave me behind. I will stay back."
"Finally," I say under my breath.
Jason glares at me as Noc walks into the room, "Please tell me you guys have come to a decision," Noc says.
"Yes, we have," I respond.
"Who is all coming?" Noc asks.
"Myself, Daniel, Malik, Zane, and yourself."
"Okay, let's go. We cannot afford being late for this."
We walk out to the front yard and we all put a hand on each other's shoulders. Noc takes a breath preparing for what is to come and then teleports us all to the battlefield. When we get there, there is no one on the field yet.
"Noc, when is Aluca showing up?" Daniel asks.
"He should be here any minute. He is supposed to come early."
"Noc!" I hear a shout come from behind us.
We turn around and there is Aluca walking towards us.
"Aluca! How are you?" Noc asks with a smile on his face.
"Better now that I have my best friend," Aluca smiles as he brings Noc in for a hug.
��Nice to see you man."
"Dido."
I look behind them and see our other friends. Gosh, I was hoping they wouldn't have to come. The rest of us walk over to them, leaving Noc and Aluca together.
"Hey guys," I greet.
"Nix!" Talia smiles and gives me a hug, "It's so good to see you again."
"Likewise; however; I wish it was under different circumstances."
"Same," Lina says.
I give her a hug as well and fist bump Jared, Mikhail, and Killian.
"So, you are all here, huh?"
"Yeah, we need to help Aluca and protect our home the best we can," Jared answers.
"I understand," I reply.
"So, where's Chara?" Talia asks with a smile.
"Oh right, you guys haven't heard. Um…Chara died a few days ago."
They all look at me wide eyed and jaws dropped. Tears fill their eyes.
"No, she couldn't have died! She was supposed to help us. How could she have died? She was one of my best friends," Talia reacts.
"No, no, no. She can't be dead. This is all just some horrible joke, isn't it?" Mikhail denies.
Jared turns to me, "I swear to god if you are joking, I will kill you; heir to the throne or not."
"I am not joking; we had her funeral a couple days ago."
Lina and Talia begin crying while Jared and Mikhail try to comfort them. Killian just has a blank expression on his face, looking at the ground. He looks up to meet my eyes and walks towards me, bringing me into an embrace. I hug him back and I understand his gesture. He is saying how sorry he is for me losing my mate.
"Thank you, Killian," I say as we release our embrace.
He nods and Noc makes his way over to us with Aluca by his side.
"I am so sorry for your loss, all of you," Aluca says, sincerity in his voice.
"Thank you, Aluca," Daniel responds.
"It is nice to see you again Malik. You probably don't remember me because you were just a baby when I last saw you."
"Nice to meet you Aluca," Malik says.
I introduce Daniel to the rest of the group and in no time, the other gods and goddesses arrive on the field. I take a deep shaky breath and prepare myself to talk with them. I also prepare myself to fail and possibly die. At least that way I will be with Chara once again. I walk forward with Zane at my side until I reach the other gods. I quickly recognize which one is Baltimar and walk over to him.
"Baltimar, God of Time and Gifts, I am Nixon Wood, next in line for the werewolf throne. I am here on behalf of Chara Shade to negotiate terms to end this war before lives are lost," I say as confident as I can.
"Nixon, I have heard of you. I am wondering, why is Chara not here herself?"
"Does it matter?"
"As a matter of a fact, yes it does."
"If you must know, she passed away a few days ago. She told me everything about what she wanted to say here. I hope you will listen to what I have to say before starting the war."
There is a pause before Baltimar replies with, "okay, tell us what Chara wanted to say."
"I know that you believe Aluca is the evil from the prophecy and that him and Noc were conspiring to take you all down. That is not true. We have reason to believe that Shalhalla, Goddess of the Elements, and someone else is working to overthrow you Baltimar. They want to use this war as a distraction for you so they can take you down. Aluca took care of Chara for a long time and she trusted him with her life."
He looks a little angry, "Shalhalla, where are you?" he shouts to the crowd of gods. There is no answer. "Okay, Nixon, let's say you are correct and Shalhalla is working with someone to take over and rule with evil. Who is she working with?"
"I don't know for sure, but I do know the two people who wanted to hurt Chara. There is Grim, God of Sight and Destruction, he is the one who inflicted the injuries that lead to Chara's death the second is…" I am cut off.
"He is lying! I didn't inflict any injuries on a girl named Chara. I have never met her before," Grim says, walking through the crowd to meet us.
"Yes, you did, or have you forgotten about Matericus? Does the name Tara ring a bell?"
"What? No…that couldn't have been her. Why didn't she save herself? She could have easily taken me."
"She didn't want to put us in danger because she was afraid you would go after her if she revealed she wasn't just a normal werewolf."
"I-I didn't kno…" he was cut off, standing there frozen.
"I will deal with him later," Baltimar says, "Who is the other person?"
"Aluca's son Altair. While everyone in the underworld was so nice to Chara, Altair always tried to hurt her in any way possible."
I hear clapping come from my left and I turn to face the sound. Standing there is a woman, who I am guessing is Shalhalla, and Altair.
"Shalhalla, is it true?" Baltimar asks.
"Of course, it is, besides, you can't take us. We have too many people on our side."
"Who could possibly be on your side?" Baltimar almost laughs.
"Them," Shalhalla says as people become to appear.
There are demons of all rankings standing there, they also have Laren, werewolves, vampires, and half-gods. This will not end well. We are all outnumbered, even with the Ravenier demons, and the gods. I don't see us winning this war.
"If war is what you want, I guess war is what you will get," Baltimar says to Shalhalla.
"Nix," Noc says from beside me, startling me, "you need to go home. This isn't going to end well, and you should be with your pack. With your family."
"No. I am staying here to fight with all of you. I will not leave while this war affects my world, my pack. I will not back down."
"I understand where you are coming from, but Nix, you could die."
"So be it, I will see Chara once again. It would be worth it."
Noc smiles slightly at my response and says 'okay'. We all get prepared for the biggest battle of our lives and prepare for the worse.
'I love you guys,' I tell Dad and Jason through our mind-link.
I look around and see Zane has shifted into his true form. He looks like a wolf that stands ten or eleven feet off the ground. His fur is an ash grey colour and his K9's are huge and they do not fit in his mouth. His eyes are glowing red and he lets out a strong, powerful growl. I notice that on the other side of me, Killian stands next to Ryder who is in his true form as well. He looks like a huge hawk; he has dark brown feathers and stands ten feet tall. His beak, feet, and eyes are all red. I have to say, we have an upper hand with them. We all begin to fight, I see that everyone is struggling; Altair and Shalhalla are just watching, waiting. I try to make my way towards them, my mindset is that is I can take at least one of them down, we have a chance. I start running towards them in my wolf form and take down the few demons that stand in my way. Surprisingly, I make it to them, and I shift back into a human.
"What is a lowly werewolf doing at a battle of the gods?" Shalhalla asks.
"I may only be a werewolf, but my mate was the most powerful being on this planet. I am here for her," I shout back.
Altair laughs, "Your mate? You mean the one that died? I don't think she was that powerful if she died from some injuries."
I growl, but Shalhalla speaks up, "I am done talking with you."
Suddenly she raises her hand and I am on fire. I see the flames on my skin, and I can feel the heat, but it doesn't burn me at all. Shalhalla looks at me confused and shocked. Altair looks terrified while looking in the sky behind me. A confused expression takes over my features as I decide to turn around to look at what Altair sees. I look up in the sky and tears fill me eyes.
It's Chara.