Chapter 40: Chapter Thirty-Nine: Prisoners of Pride

Alexander Lykos

A growl slipped through my lips as I registered that voice... its owner was responsible for the pain and suffering of hundreds of innocent people. I flexed my fingers as my claws elongated, but before I could turn around and lash out at her... vines burst forth from the ground and wrapped themselves around my wrist, holding them at my side.

"We have never met before, Xander, but I am sure you know who I am and that I mean you no harm--"

I could not help but tilt my head back to let out a laugh at her words, Sapphire was right... she was too out of touch with her people and did not see just how bad the consequences of her actions were.

"Mean me no harm? Are you that delusional? Besides Damien, you and your sister have been the people who have hurt me the most... and even that I could bear, but hurting the rest, those that did not even have apart in your fairytale, and Sapphire is something I will never forgive for! You ripped apart families just to play our your sister's fantasy of true love, her joy came at the expense of so many others... so I hope you are happy with yourself!"

Spit flew from my mouth as I shouted at her, staring directly into her silver eyes.

"You were constantly in Sapphire and my head to set up your fairytale, but when we needed actual guidance... you left us alone! And now that monster has Sapphire in his clutches once more!"

She let out a soft sigh before walking towards me, her eyes sad and gentle... like a mother's eyes would when comforting her crying child. I let out a warning growl as she raised a hand to my face, but she paid no heed and placed it against my cheek, staring deeply into my eyes.

"How strange... Sapphire looks nothing like Rose while you look exactly like Xander."

I turned my head away from her touch but she used her other hand to gently tilt my head so that I was facing her once more.

"The last thing I would ever do, would be to hurt my children... that is something a mother could never bear to do."

I let out snort and sneered at her.

"We were told that you were the Great Mother of the Wolves, and were told as children that you loved us so much that you kept a record of each of our lives... so tell me. How did Cordelia Lyra Nightborne slipped through your precious records?"

She sighed and turned away from me so that her back no faced me, I tried to free myself from the vines but the harder I pulled, the tighter their grip grew.

"I feel ashamed to say it, but I have never really focused on Cordelia's records... my attention was mostly focused on Sapphire's as she was the chosen vessel. I did not even think that anything was wrong after Cordelia 'died' as the some of my children choose to wander the Earth for years before returning to me... choosing to make peace with their deaths, I thought Cordelia wanted to watch over her sister... not harm her."

"Well, I am sorry to say that she did, and has joined forces with Damien to abduct Sapphire. You choose me to be Sapphire's mate, and yet, because of you... no, because I did not protect her, she is suffering once more."

I hung my head as tears slid down my cheeks, I felt so ashamed of myself. I was Alexander Lykos, the Alpha of the Shadow Mountain Pack, a Pure Lycan but I could not even keep my mate safe, and she was taken right under my nose... from my own lands where she should be safe, where I promised her that she would be safe.

A soft hand placed itself under my chin to lift my head.

"What happened that day was not your fault, if anything, it is mine. My own pride started this whole nightmare, and so many have paid for my hubris. My sister and I spent so long to craft the perfect vessels for Rose and Xander, that we continued pushing even when things went south, we were too proud to admit we were wrong. And even after Sapphire brought us to our senses... it was too late, the damage had been done."

"Then help me to end it all... turn back the clock, kill Damien... do something!"

She sighed and ran her fingers through my hair.

"I have power over many things, but time is not one of them. And just like your said, I am the Great Mother of Wolves... I cannot kill one of my own children--"

"But you can lead those who are innocent to their deaths!"

"I am not saying that I will not help, but it will not be in the ways you have stated. I will take you to Blackwater, and provide you with the resources you need to free Sapphire... to free *them all*"

Her voice started to fade as mist seemed to swirl around us, masking the Moon Goddess from my view. Her touch disappeared from my cheek as did the rest of her while the vines still held me in place.

"Free them all, Alexander, they have been prisoners for too long."

I closed my eyes as the mist started to spin around me faster, I tried to pull myself from the grips of the vines but it did little help. I looked down to see that the ground below had started to crack with certain pieces falling away to reveal an abyss. I tried to escape, but the earth continued to crumble away, I managed to pull a hand free from its restraint... but it was too late, I feel into the abyss, darkness blinding my vision.

I shot up, my chest heaving as I scanned the area around me, hands groping at the damp earth. My heart rate began to slow as I surveyed my surroundings, sighing with relief as I spotted the rest of my group sleeping soundly around me, in human form, however the relief was only temporary... we were no longer in our camp.

We were still in a forest, but not one belonging to the Shadow Mountain Pack... and we were in a small clearing, completely exposed. I sniffed the mud on my hands, eyes widening when I registered the scent... we were in Blackwater territory.

"All of you wake up! We are in Blackwater territory!"

My voice jolted them from their slumber, it took a few moments for them to register their surroundings before they sprung up, claws and fangs elongating in case we were under attack.

"How in the world did we end up here? My memory might not be the best, but I am sure we decided to make camp in Shadow Mountain!"

"The Moon Goddess said she wanted to help us find Sapphire and the others, this must be her doing, Angel."

*"So she decides that the best thing to do was to drop us in a place were we have no coverage!"*

"There is no use blaming her now, Amelia, we need to move into the forest now! Grab the bags and--"

We stood there in shock as a numerous glass vials clattered out of my bag when I picked it up... numerous glass vials filled with clear liquid.

"There is no way-- there was none left at Shadow Mountain..."

Jared's voice faded into silence as this discovery rendered him speechless. I picked up one of the vials, running my fingers over the cool glass before looking up at the sky.

"This must be what she meant by giving us the resources to free Sapphire and the rest."

I quickly passed a vial to each of them. We all looked at each other before bringing the vial to our lips, tipping its contents down our throat, shuddering at the bitter taste. Angel stuck her tongue out before helping Amelia.

A crack caused us to form a circle, backs against each other as we faced the forest around us. I growled as I began to see more movement from the forest, in all directions... we were being ambushed.

Amelia let out a roar as wolves began to move closer to us, I started to growl even louder but soon stopped... something was not right. This wolves were not like us... there were much smaller and their scents were strange... primal, natural... and sad.

They began to step forward, and my mouth hung open. They were indeed wolves, but as the light hit them, it was clear to me that they were like nothing I had ever encountered before.

There was a mirage above each of them, a human shape shimmering in and out of view as they moved. All I could make out was that their human image wore dated clothes, and they were images of people of all ages... there were even pups stumbling out as they wrestled with each other... the wavering form of children playing with each other shimmering around them.

"Are you guys seeing what I am seeing?"

"Unfortunately, yes, Xander."

We stood there rooted to the spot as one of the wolves broke apart from the rest to run towards us, stopping a short distance away. He sniffed the air, the image of a strong well-built man in armour shimmering around him. Something must have registered with him as he stopped and walked right up to me, placing a paw in front and arching his back in a bow... the rest soon following his actions.

*"We have waited centuries for you to return, Your Majesty, and you finally have... you have finally returned to free us all."*