She walked on a vast open land that was flooded with blood that had her feet making sloshing sounds with every step. Her heart felt like it had been torn apart bit by bit and the feeling only intensified the more dead bodies she saw. She was surrounded by death as life seemed to have fled minute the reaper joined the party and sorrow drowned he soul at her failure to stop it.
She saw it then, a head on its own, black fur, one vacant silver eye and another vacant oceanic eye, when the realisation struck she felt as if her very life was sucked out of her and she couldn't breathe. Her lungs burnt in protest as she stood frozen to the ground and her eyes drowned in salty waters that only fell to stain her cheeks and impaired her vision as if to keep the image from her.
If only that could have been the case but reality refused to be ignored, Aurelius lay dead and decapitated, and that meant her Maximus was just as gone to never be seen again. Except it was in that moment she quit her heaving and came to realise that it wasn't real, for if it were, she would be looking at Maximus not Aurelius, for at death werewolves change into their human form, that she knew for a fact.
But she still knew the message, it was loud and clear and had her sitting up with a gasp on the bed, gulping much needed air, listening to the erratic beating of her heart as if it wanted out of its confines. Maximus had left hours ago only for her to dream of his oncoming death, she didn't know whether to weep or get out of bed and go chasing after her true mate in hopes that death would stay away then.
She felt frightened, they would die, they would all die and there would be nothing she could do. She remembered what the king had said, more reports than normal, it truly had begun and by the looks of it, time wasn't on her side, it wouldn't wait for her to find a possible loophole and save everyone from their impending doom. Fading was the hope she held that there had to be a solution to their problem, that, where she and Maximus were concerned, things weren't typical, weren't normal and the bond that somehow still miraculously held on tight meant something.
She was too caught up in her mind to notice the darkness she sat in until a knock came on the door and she allowed them entry. It was a young woman holding a tray of food as she walked in toward the table that sat between the crisp white couches, only to stand back up and face the human that sat on the bed that wasn't that of her new mate.
The young woman however, didn't care for gossip, she asked Amoura if she should turn the lights on, to which she received a polite yes and she couldn't help but pity the human then. For she seemed too sweet to be subject to the king's games, she hadn't been at the event that was still whispered about in the servant's quarters, about how a human was a true mate to an Alpha, an Alpha the king had ordered to be mated to his daughter.
She could imagine the pain she must have felt witnessing her own mate mark another, for she herself was a very territorial woman when it came to her mate whom she loved with all her being. Perhaps it was why she felt promoted to ask the human.
"Are you okay your highness? " using her newly found title that would make her queen someday, for she was mated to the crown prince. A title that made Amoura cringe
"Please don't call me that, Amoura will do. And I'm okay thank you... " she waited patiently for the help to say her name
"Melanie, Miss" she said and Amoura couldn't help her snort, now that she had her memories, she knew she had no good history where a Melony was involved. She realised then that her reaction might have come off as offensive to the help, she explained herself without need
"I'm sorry, it's just ironic that that's your name, the Melony I know probably wouldn't give a damn if I'm well or not, heck I'm sure she's dancing in joy where ever she is at my predicament"
"If that's so, then that would mean she's definitely not a nice person. A situation such as yours is far from a laughing matter. Doing so would be absolute cruelty" said Melanie and received a tight-lipped smile from Amoura at her words
"And you're too kind. Don't worry though. Was it Maxy that told you to bring me dinner? " she couldn't help but ask, Curious as if whether servants kept tabs on if whether you've eaten or not only to take matters into their own hands by bringing you food without being asked to, when you miss a meal.
"If you mean Alpha Maximus then yes, he made sure to inform us of your terrible eating habits, and said to make sure you eat at least twice a day" Amoura couldn't help but laugh then, she really did have the terrible habit of skipping food, not because she was looking out for her figure, however, because she can simply forget to do the simple task sometimes. A habit she had had even when she was little, she found it funny it stuck after all these years.
"Of course, thank you Melanie" the young woman bowed
"You're welcome, Amoura, I'll take my leave if you don't need anything else that is"
"No, I'm good" Amoura reassured and watched the young woman close the door behind her.
When she looked out the balcony glass doors, with night high up in the sky, she realized that once again she had slept the day away, and wondered, just since when it was, that her body needed so much rest.
***
Maximus could tell that something wasn't right as they drove into the seemingly abandoned pack land of the Sterling pack. For one, there hadn't been any wolves on patrol and any to meet them by the entrance, something highly unusual for a pack. As they drove into the driveway, nothing could have prepared him for what they saw, bodies upon bodies were dead, from women to children to men and he couldn't fathom just what had happened.
He knew that there were some packs that either didn't focus on making sure every pack member knew how to defend themselves, some shunned such training, preferring a select few of men to serve as pack warriors that protected the pack, and as he looked at the massacred pack, he knew that this might have been a pack as such, and it seemed to have worked against them.
As he walked around he picked up a familiar stench and he knew it was rabids that were responsible and it made sense that seemingly, no one was spared. Something about that revelation struck him hard and had him slightly fearful of just what he had done as he remembered his true mate's ominous words.
Knowing that there was no longer need to be there much longer, he instructed a few of the men he had driven over with to collect the corpses and place them in a pile so they would be burnt, for even though the pack may seem small, there were too many dead bodies to dig graves for. He knew that they also had to hurry over to the next pack that was closest to this one, that might be needing assistance with rabids that may have taken of from here.
With his mind set, he drove out of the pack with a car of men whilst the others remained behind to take care of the mess, only to join them later on. Even as he drove away, the feeling of something terribly wrong still clung to him, he worried for a second that it might have involved Amoura, however, he could tell it didn't. It was a dreadful feeling, that had him on edge until they arrived at the Moonrise pack, a day later.
Which turned out to be a contrast to the quietness they had been met with at the Sterling pack. For, this one was lively as people were either busy with this or that. With their escort, they were led to the Alpha's office and away from the curious and slightly frightened eyes of that pack members. He summed their fear up to be because of the king's men he had for company, knowing just what tales were whispered about the king, the frightening kind. He found it good that they were scared, that at least that meant that they would be on alert should something happen.
They were at war, and it wasn't one that involved enemies or other species, but the universe on its path to setting things right again, he really rued the king's existence then for he had begun it all, and he himself hadn't done anything to keep it from getting any worse. As the image of the Sterling pack came to mind, he found himself struck by a heavy sense of guilt that scram at him that he was the one responsible for it all. Perhaps it was why he had felt inclined to help regardless of who the order had come from, just, he simply hadn't expected the ton of the reality of it.
"Alpha Maximus, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit this morning? " The Alpha questioned as he stood up from behind his office desk at the other Alpha's entry.
"Rabids" was one word Maximus spoke, enough to wipe of the welcoming smile the other Alpha had presented forth. Clearing his throat, he motioned for Maximus to take a seat
"Of course, what else could have been more urgent. I see the king's received our message" he started
"Mhmm, question is, do you know what actually happened at the Sterling pack?" Maximus shot right for the jugular, he saw no use to be dancing around the issue with senseless conversations
"Yes, believe it or not, there are a few survivors that came barrelling through my walls not so long ago asking for entry and a place in my pack"
"Can I speak to some of them?" Maximus threw the question that seemed to make the Alpha fidget in his seat as he shook his head in refusal only to explain himself
"No, I turned them all away minute I heard their story, I'm afraid I couldn't put my pack at risk like that" he defended as he saw Maximus clench his jaw
"And what did their story entail exactly, that prompted you to turn away people that needed your help most?"
"That some of their pack members had somehow turned rabid out of the blue and decided to attack everyone. And their lack of fighting skills was reason they couldn't detain the crazed wolves. I figured if part of their pack could turn so unexpectedly, it was very possible they could too" Although the story may have sounded unreal to other ears, considering only a widowed mate or banished pack member could turn rabid, even then they turn rogue first before turning rabid. Maximus knew it to be the truth, he could feel that it was the truth as the feeling in his heart of some impending doom intensified.
"I see" was all Maximus could say as he wondered just what it was they could do to stop the situation from getting worse.
However, he should have known that there was nothing that could be done to reverse the effects of what had already been done. That even if a solution was out there, time was their biggest enemy. It showed that in the way wolves turned rabid in a blink of an eye and barely gave anyone time to react.
Screams blared loudly around the pack grounds as one bite from a rabid led to another losing their sanity only to play God and kill whatever it saw before it. That was what was different this time, the rabids didn't kill out of hunger for their bellies, however, a more frightening hunger for death, and the smell of crimson blood drove them over the edge even more.
Both Alphas knew from the first scream, just what exactly was going on outside, and it somehow shook them both to the core at the scene that played before them. These rabids seemed more fast and ravenous, practically untouchable as warriors tried to fight and kill them off only to be killed more in numbers compared to just one or two rabids that they were able to kill.
As Maximus watched the rabids' number accelerate, he almost thought himself in a nightmare, before his senses kicked in and Aurelius was in control. Being that a sample of Maximus' own power had awakened, it gave him an advantage, and he was like the prince of justice as he tore away at the rabids.
It didn't matter that he hated it, hated killing them but he knew deep down that they couldn't be redeemed, these ones were far too gone, and as blood assaulted his nostrils, true fear ripped away at him at the notion of this happening at the Castle and Amoura being left to defend herself alone.
It didn't matter that his mate seemed to be the epitome of lethal with the way she killed, he still felt like her protector, that she shouldn't ever have to lift a finger so long as he's alive to defend her, he felt he at least owed her that much. Thoughts of Amoura may as well have exposed just how she was his kryptonite, when he felt himself being slashed across Aurelius' belly and blood gushed out. Not caring to let that distract him because he knew he would heal, he returned his wounds by a tenfold.
Only he didn't realise the others that had somehow made him a target, perhaps it was the power that reeked off of him, it drew them in like sweet smelling nectar and they were Gods that needed it to live. He felt teeth plunge themselves into his back, only to have another jaw clamp on one of his legs.
As his bones broke when Aurelius ripped the rabid off of him, he paid no mind to the pain and clamped his jaw on the leg of the one that still bit at his back, only to tear away the furry skin. Maximus fought with all he had, he refused to die not when he had Amoura to return to, to protect. It seemed that although thoughts of her could be deadly, they could be livening as well, as they gave him enough strength to pull through.
When the mini war was over, Aurelius couldn't help but slump to the floor, closing his eyes to ignore the scene before him, he hoped he had saved enough, that they had killed them all and none escaped to raid the nearest pack. He felt himself change only to feel the onslaught of pure pain from his wounds, he terrifyingly realised then, that he hadn't healed even an inch, that he wasn't healing at all like he was supposed to. It became clear that these kinds of rabids were truly lethal, so were their bites. He fought to keep awake as the Moonerise Alpha ran his way with a few men, alas darkness claimed him for itself.
The pack members that remained alive had been stunned and most thankful to the Alpha, for it had seemed that minute he bled, that had seemed to draw all the rabids his way, giving the others the chance to escape into their safety tunnel. Some felt guilty for having not helped, especially as they saw him slump to the ground and lay as the dead did, some found themselves ashamed and more determined to rush to his aid.
When the Alpha lay in the hospital bed, patched up to keep him from any loss of blood, the doctors were relieved that they could finally stabilise him. They wished they knew just who this 'little red' was that he kept mumbling in the throes of pain, so they could have her come in, in time to see him before death claimed him. To them the wounds seemed most severe that they were afraid and deep down knew for certain he wouldn't make it. From his torn back and broken spine to the torn front and broken leg, he had leaked blood like an open faucet.