Chapter 63 - Supreme Ruler

~~~ Xander ~~~

When my wife was kidnapped, it was like I could not breathe anymore, I could not function properly anymore. I’ve barely been able to eat and sleep, I’ve missed her like crazy.

It was difficult to focus on my mission, but I did it with one thought in mind, to rescue her and destroy the monster that did that to her, the same monster that killed Allaya’s real mother.

Morrigan Waldgrave. The villain in everybody’s story.

Now I gaze at Aurora’s sleeping figure and I can’t get enough, I would hold her and watch over her for the rest of my life. I tighten my arms around her body, and inhale the sweet scent of her skin, praying to never be apart from her again.

But she is not sleeping peacefully, she is tormented. Her daughter, Elena, was the one setting the trap that led to her abduction, and while she doesn’t want to talk about what happened there, she is in pain. And how could she not be, when she was betrayed by her own blood?

My heart skips a beat when I sense some unfamiliar presence outside our home, my senses are on high alert. And then I hear it, the rock that breaks our bedroom window.

Aurora’s eyes widen and I jump out of my bed, there is a message attached to the rock. I feel a sharp pull in my heart as I read it.

<>

I run outside to catch the unexpected visitor, but there is no one in the sight, and I cannot sense the presence anymore. Whoever it was, he’s gone.

Allaya is powerful, she would be difficult to kill, but I cannot take the threat lightly.

“What is it, honey? What does it say?” My wife inquires as soon as I return to the room.

I grunt. “It’s a threat or a warning.” Then I hand her the piece of paper. “Read for yourself.”

Her hand flows to her mouth, she gasps in shock. “I thought… it was over.”

“Clearly, someone thinks otherwise.”

The blood drops from her face, she looks deadly pale before forcing the words out of her throat. “Are you thinking about Elena?”

“I was, but it’s not her handwriting. And she is the type that enjoys delivering surprises, so it’s highly unlikely.”

But who else would be if not her?

Out of nowhere, we hear a knock on the door. Aurora flinches in fright, gripping my wrist. Her hand is trembling, and so is her body.

“It’s Alita and her mate. Do not worry, love!”

I gently peel her hand from my wrist and open the door to invite them in.

“We are sorry to barge in here in the middle of the night.” She apologizes, but from the dreadful look on her face, I can tell that it’s serious.

“You have nothing to worry about, we were already up. Why? Because you are not the first to pay me a visit.” I take the note from the nightstand and hand it over to her.

After they both read it, there is a weird silent exchange between them. They must have a piece of information that I don’t.

“They don’t give my sister a fucking break!” Landon utters, his voice laced with anger.

I’m anxious to know why they felt the need to come over here at this late hour.

“Shoot!” I urge them. “I can tell that you are withholding information from me.”

Landon takes a deep breath, trying to compose himself. “This is why we are here. To request your help.”

“Morrigan had a back plan, in case he failed to submit or kill Allaya. I followed him a few times to a remote lab, it was heavily guarded, and I’m guessing it still is. He has plantations of wolfsbane and vervain, which are lethal to werewolves and vampires. And he managed to create a hybrid type between the two that would be fatal to Allaya.” Alita’s confession is blood-curdling.

“Who is cultivating those plants?” I ask. “No werewolves or vampires could do that work, it would kill them, or at least it would weaken them to spend so much time amidst those plantations.”

“Humans. He enslaved human biologists by compelling them, and they do all the work.”

“Take me there!”

“I want to come too!” My lovely wife declares, but endangering her again is something that I would not allow.

She is fighting back tears, and I hate to leave her alone.

“No, honey. You’ll stay here. Not even Landon can come, it would be too dangerous for him as well.”

“I’ll go back to my sister and warn her.”

* * *

We teleported to the location Alita described, ice–cold sweat runs down my spine when I see the extent of the lab. The plants here could eradicate all vampires and werewolves, sending them back into the fantasy stories, where humans think they belong.

“You came.” A man in his twenties greets us, excitement dancing in his eyes.

I open my mouth to ask how did he know that I’ll be here, but he beats me to it.

“Did you receive the message I sent?”

“You?” I study his form, he is an average human, he could not have had the strength to break the window or the ability to disappear instantly. “You couldn’t have broken my window. And you don’t seem to be compelled.”

“Not me, I cannot leave this place. They can’t compel me, I am mated to a vampire that gave me a pendant to protect me a long time ago. I just pretended to be under compulsion to find out what they were planning.”

Interesting. I came across many supernaturals that mated outside their species, in secret.

“That note provided no details. Should I have guessed about this place?”

“No, I witnessed the witch coming here secretly a few times, so I figured she was not exactly on the blood-sucker leader’s side. I had my hopes that she would bring you as well and here you are.”

“I see.” My eyes inspect the surroundings. “Where is Elena?”

“She took what she needed. You are already late.”

Fear creeps inside my bones. “What did she take from here?”

“Enough potions to kill an army of werewolves and vampires, along with the hybrid. You should hurry, everyone is in danger!”

Fear courses through my body, starting from my heart and reaching all my edges, but there is no time to panic.

“Take the humans out, Alita! Now!”

I cannot just leave, I need to protect the human and the supernatural world. From what I can tell, Elena plans to kill all werewolves and vampires and become a supreme ruler. Her desire is to enslave the witches and the humans.

Until now, my biggest concern was that she planned to get rid of Allaya to awaken Morrigan from his Eternal Sleep; if the one that sentenced him is dead, the sentence is no longer valid. But she is more ambitious, she plans to kill Morrigan as well the moment he is resurrected.

Elena has everything figured out, she is smart and cunning, she even fooled the devil himself.

I want until everyone is out and I murmur a spell to set the entire place on fire. I hope it is not too late, Elena already has what she needs.

“I need to tell you something else.” The human that sent me the warning conveyed.

Why do I have a bad feeling about this?

~~~ Landon ~~~

I shape shift to my human form as I reach the Council premises, and I stop to catch my breath, while I put on the pair of shorts I carried in my mouth.

My lungs are burning, I ran as if my life depended on it, from what I know, it might depend on it. My sister is in peril and if I lose her, if someone hurts her, I don’t know how I would react.

But there is no point to tap into that, it would never happen. Nobody will be able to touch a single hair of her head.

The atmosphere seems ominous as I step inside the dark castle, every hair on my body raises in response to the shady vibes I receive from this place.

My wolf is unsettled and my mind is spinning with endless possibilities, why do I have the feeling that I’m walking in a trap?

I stop in my tracks as I pick up a sickening scent, it’s coming from behind a close door. I hesitate before opening it only to stumble upon a pile of corpses.

A dozen or more of recently killed vampires, and from what I can tell, they ingested vervain.

She’s here.

My entire body turns tense as I understand the threat. Elena is already here, and it means that we all are in danger, including my sister.