A few days later, my wish came true. When the door to my cell opened, and my mate's face appeared on the other side, I cried tears of joy as I leaped into his arms.
"I have missed you so much!" I cried as I clung to him desperately.
Clay had tears streaming down his face as he lifted me into his arms to bring his lips to mine in a deep kiss. Someone behind Clay cleared their throat, smacking me back to reality.
My face burned as I peeked over Clay's shoulder to find my brother and sister standing there with their mates and, to my surprise, Shawn Altaha.
"We are here to save the day, sister," Asher says with a smile, "Now, let's get out of here before the calvary arrives."
"Hold on, there are others locked up right down the hall," I said as Clay set me on my feet. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I shifted and then took off down the hall; it was great to be in my fur again.
I transformed into my half-shift as I got to the door, then opened it to find that Father Lucas had added more Guardians after he removed me.
"These people are the loved ones of the Guardians who betrayed us," I explained as I motioned to Dawn Payatt and Tanner, "This is Dawn Payatt; I told Clay she is Elder Payatt's mate and their Grandson Tanner."
Clay nodded, "It makes sense now. I wondered why an Elder who can control water could betray us like he did."
"The things my mate did are unforgivable," states Dawn as I removed her shackles.
"Thank you for saving us," says Tanner, "I'm sorry about what I said."
"It's okay, little man, I forgive you," I said with a smile, then moved on to help Kelly while Clay and the others helped the last few left.
"Elder Payatt surrendered when he saw the size of our troops," says Asher before turning to me with a smile, "Every Guardian that saw you in the video has come to help."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"When you were writing out where you were over and over again, it touched the hearts of Guardians from all over the world," Waverly adds, "There are even some wizards and witches helping too."
"We need to check the other rooms," says Gray, "I saw a few more doors like this one."
After splitting into two groups, I followed Clay down the hall; when we opened the door, I was startled when I saw the familiar face of Headmaster Okhmhaka.
"Dad!" Gray yelled as he rushed inside.
The Headmaster was shackled to the wall and was covered in blood; someone had been torturing him for a long time. Clay and I rushed in to help Gray remove the shackles.
"Grayson?"
"I'm here, Pa," Gray said as tears streamed down his cheeks, "Who did this to you?"
"It was Laquetta Tocho," the Headmaster grunts out through clenched teeth, "She bares a grudge towards the wolves, mostly my father; he had her son killed for the pup's misdeeds that got a lot of Guardians killed."
"I met her daughter, Kelly," I explained as I removed the shackle around his ankle, "She told me that Miss Tocho hates that wolves are on the top of the totem pole."
After the shackles were removed, Clay and Gray helped the Headmaster, who was too weak to walk on his own and desperately needed medical help.
Gray smiled when he looked at Shelby, "Pa, I know this isn't the best time to tell you, but I found my mate," Gray explained as he nodded toward Shelby.
Headmaster Okhmhaka shook his head and smiled, "Of course, your fated mate would be a Denton."
"Why do you hate the Dentons so much?" I asked as we made our way up the steps
"Because I beat him in a pack duel," says a familiar voice.
When I looked up at the top of the steps, I found my father looking down at me, who was wearing nothing but a smile. I don't know when I will ever get used to seeing naked parts all the time, especially my brothers and fathers.
"Damn, Dad! Can't you cover up your junk!?" I said, covering my eyes with my hands, then tripped on the next step. Damnit!
Asher laughed as he helped me to my feet, "You need to stop being so prudish, sister."
"It's hard to get used to seeing my father or brother's dangly bits," I said as I stomped up the steps.
"Can we get back to why my dad hates the Dentons?" asked Gray, "I would like to know."
"You and your father were from the same pack as my wife Loretta after my father died. Your father challenged me to an Alpha duel and lost. The cost of losing a duel is death or banished from the pack, and your father chose to be banished."
"What? I didn't know this," Says Gray, "So I could have been in the same pack as Shelby."
"It was a long time ago," my dad said as he helped Clay and Gray, "Now, we need to stick together to survive this rising war."