Chapter 65 - The Alpha’s Goddess

~CALLIE'S P.O.V~

It all happened so fast. One minute we are gathering up the troops and the next I am pulled into a whirlwind of mass destruction. I couldn't comprehend what was going on. My vision was coming and going, it was like I was in a lucid dream. One I couldn't escape. The last thing I recalled was Gunner walking up to the castle when I was freeing the next person from Jakus's magical hold. I looked around, unable to comprehend what had just happened. I then looked up at the castle, the way Gunner had just walked away not even five minutes prior, trying to put together what I had just seen.

"Luna, we have a lot of troops to get through. You have only freed a few of Jakus's victims. We must keep going so we can quickly finish." Laken said, pulling me back to reality. Wait, if I am not done with releasing the troops yet, then that means that what I had just witnessed wasn't real. Right?

'It was very real. We must not let it happen.' My wolf whined in my mind.

I cut my eyes back up to the castle. Then what the hell was that? I looked around the area once again in a dazed and confused state until it hit me. I saw the future. I saw what would happen if I continued freeing these people. This was his plan all along, weakening me to the point where I could not fight, to the point that I had no energy to protect anyone, not even myself. Oh, hell no!

My heart clenched in my chest again at the thought of what I had just experienced. It felt so real, like an out-of-body experience. The pain still echoed in my soul as if it had occurred. I won't allow my mate to have that future. Once someone is dead, they cannot simply be brought back to life. However, you can alter the future by your actions in the current timeline for a different outcome.

'Laken, new plan.' I decided to mind-link our Beta.

'Okay, what's the plan?'

'We need to take these men to where they are normally held captive. Then I want each of our witches at a corner of the compound containing them.'

'So... we aren't freeing them?'

'Not yet. I see now that freeing them this way is a bad idea.'

'What if they escape and attack?'

'Then we will fight.'

'But you said they could be innocent.'

'They are innocent. But our pack and team's lives are more important.'

'Why the sudden change of plans?' Laken asked.

'I cannot explain in detail yet, but I have to change the future. Freeing these men this way will only make me vulnerable and unable to fight. However, I can free them another way, a way that doesn't require all of my energy before a fight.'

'How? I thought this was the only way?'

'It was the safest way, at least that is what I thought, but I was wrong. If Jakus dies, they are all free from his evil tyranny. All I have to do is kill Jakus.'

'Isn't he powerful? You could use all of your energy in battle.'

'Maybe, but it will also weaken his energy as well. Making him vulnerable enough that, if needed, someone who has the energy could kill him.'

'So, the new plan is to contain all the troops?' Laken asked for clarification.

'That is right, we will only need to contain them long enough for me to take down their master.'

'Okay, I will start that now.'

'Actually, first I need Lovett in the magic containment cuffs. She is a threat.'

'Yes, Luna.' Laken replied.

I am not ready to tell him the whole truth. He doesn't need to know that Gunner dies in the future or what happened to anyone else. The future is not yet set, we can change things to alter what happens, which is exactly what I am going to do. As long as I have my strength, Gunner will live. I just have to be very careful about altering the future. One little mistake and the future aligns once again.

'Okay, so once the troops are all in the compound I will put my barrier up, then I need our witches to contain it. Once they take over the reins of containment, I will go up to the castle. I want every other pack and team member to be ready for a fight if anything happens. But before we start any of that, I want Lovett cuffed.'

I want him on a need-to-know basis right now. I don't need my second-in-command stressed out over what could happen. Because my goal is to change that. If I told him what I saw in the vision, he would want to help take Jakus down, but I have him doing exactly what I need him to be doing.

'Got it, Luna.' Laken replied.

'Find Lovett, cuff her, and then we can announce the changes. I will free a few more captives in the meantime to not draw attention to the sudden alteration of plans.'

Freeing a few more wouldn't affect my strength. Freeing hundreds from him is what relinquished my energy. I won't make that mistake twice. Plus, right now, I have no idea if Lovett was in on her father's grand scheme or not.

'Luna, we cannot find her. She must've slipped away when we were all occupied.' Laken said, a few minutes later, bringing me out of my thoughts.

Fuck, that means the vision is happening faster than I had anticipated. Or maybe I just didn't see this part. Either way, I am running out of time to save Gunner.

'Fuck, okay I will inform everyone now, I am going to take a few there and start the spell. We must move quickly. I will inform the team.' I closed Laken and my direct mind link to open it up to everyone at once.

'ANNOUNCEMENT, CHANGE OF PLANS. EVERYONE GRAB SOMEONE AND MEET ME ON THE COMPOUND WHERE THE CAPTIVES ARE KEPT.

ASHLEY, JASMINE, JADE, ASHER, AND ALANA, ONCE I CAST A SPELL FOR THE BUILDING TO HAVE A BARRIER AROUND IT WITH A CONTAINMENT SPELL, I WANT YOU ALL TO SPREAD AROUND IT TO KEEP THE SPELL IN PLACE LONG ENOUGH FOR ME TO ELIMINATE THEIR MASTER.'

It was easier for me to inform everyone since I could speak to those outside of my pack as well with one of my gifts as a Goddess.

'YES LUNA!'

I heard several voices say. I grab a hold of a few hands to start taking them back to the compound. I will have to end Jakus's reign fast. With this many troops, the bounding spell surely wouldn't hold very long. Especially if they are all under his influence at once and trying to break out.

Within minutes, we gathered up all the troops of the first group that was released and put them in the building with the other half. I started my business by getting a barrier placed on the building to contain them all. Once satisfied with my work, I linked all those I needed to maintain it.

'Jade, Jasmine, Ashely, Asher, and Alana please meet me at the front of the building.'

Within seconds, they were standing before me ready to do whatever I asked of them.

"I need each of you to take a spot and maintain the barrier. I am afraid that if Jakus does his mind manipulation on the remaining troops, the barrier may not hold as long. I need each of your help to maintain the magic until I can kill Jakus and they are all released from his hold." I said aloud to the group. I looked at each of them until my eyes landed on a girl with black hair, fair skin, and beauty beyond belief. Her kind eyes shined with admiration and determination.

"Sorry to stare at your highness, my name is Anne. I live at the royal palace. I came here with Jade to help rescue you."

"Thank you, Anne."

Something was tugging at my heart at the idea of her, something felt familiar yet calming. Like I knew her before what happened to me.

"I am a witch; I can help maintain the barrier," Anne replied.

I nodded my head at her agreeing. I then looked over to Jade to see a smile spread across her face.

"Um, where is Lovett?" I heard a question I would love to know as well. I turned my head to look over at the voice that spoke. Ashley was standing there waiting for a response. Ashley is Lovett's biological maternal aunt. What would she say if I told her the truth? That her niece was evil at heart, that she had no remorse for destroying lives to get what she wanted? In the end, I will have to explain it all. But my question is, who would she remain loyal to in the end? A woman she hardly knows but has laid her life on the line every time for, or her flesh and blood?

'Family runs deeper than blood.' Emery said in my head. I sure hope she is right because a lot is at stake if she isn't.

"Lovett has disappeared. Moments before the plans changed, I had a vision of the future. Lovett was at the center of the mass destruction of many lives, doing Jakus's bidding. I altered my plans after the vision so that I could change the future. I am not sure where she is currently, which is why I need everyone to be alert and aware of their surroundings. Lovett cannot be trusted as long as Jakus is alive." I said while looking between her three family members standing before me. They haven't turned on me yet, so I have to trust they won't. I have a feeling they wouldn't betray me, but I can't be sure until they are put in a position where they would have to choose.

"That goes for everyone," I said when she didn't respond, looking at the group before me. Once, everyone shook their heads in understanding, I then continued speaking. "Okay, y'all know what to do. I need to go inform everyone else."

Everyone turned to walk in different directions.

'Okay, the plan is that everyone will guard this compound. If anyone escapes, take them down, and try not to kill, but if it is your life or theirs, you save yourself. Stay on high alert for danger, in or out of this compound. I will go to the castle to find Jakus and finish what he started. Does anyone have any questions?' I mind-linked the group.

'Just one.' I heard a manly voice say.

'Okay, what is it?'

'Who is going with you?'

'Nobody.'

"Yeah, that isn't happening. Where you go, I go. Period." I heard him speak aloud next to me. I turned to see my biological brother standing behind me. Next to him was the muscular man I had seen in the vision I had. He looked almost identical to Daxton.

"Fine. But I don't want you to do anything irrational. I have a plan and for that plan to work I need you to be in the background."

"We'll see little sis." Daxton winks as he starts walking up to the castle without me. The muscular man was still standing there frozen in place, not saying a word, his eyes saying all his mouth couldn't. A lot of emotions were shining through. Pain, happiness, anger, courage, bravery, eagerness. He was going through all his emotions as he stood there silent.

"You must be proud of the man you've raised." I finally said. Sadness rolled off of him in waves.

"I am." His husky voice finally spoke. "But I am also proud of my daughter for all that she has overcome and continues to overcome with strength and courage." He said again before I could get a word out. If only he knew how much of a crybaby coward, I had been up until very recently.

"I have to get up there, time is of the essence," I said as I began to walk around my biological father.

"You can do it, Rai, you always could." He said from behind me, making my heart clench in my chest.

"Thanks. I needed that."

I continued on the path to the castle, catching up with Daxton in no time.

'Laken, make sure to be a leader and regulate the movement, make sure everyone is doing what they were asked to do. I also need you to tell them all of the backup plans we discussed between you and me back at home, okay?'

I mind-linked Laken, so I know I have someone in charge in the absence of both Gunner and me.

'Got it, Luna, now go and save the world from his evil intentions. Make him pay for all he has done.'

I plan on doing just that. Maybe even more. I plan to make him feel the pain he made me feel when I lost Gunner. I know that it wasn't real, at least not yet. But the pain was very real in every sense that counts.

As we neared the castle, smoke was coming out all across the land. Shit, smoke. This means at any minute Jakus will appear on the field. Then, not even five minutes later, my mates would follow.

"Wait!" I said to Daxton, stopping him with my hand mid-step from being able to continue.

"What is it?"

"We need to get to the field. The castle is no use."

"But..."

"No buts, it’s too late up there, we need to get to the field," I said as I turned around. I took off in a sprint to get to the field where all this went down. I glanced quickly behind to see Daxton keeping pace with me. Behind him the castle was in a full-blown fire, flames blazing.

"Rai! Rai! Stop running, the castle is on fire. We have to go save Gunner! Come on, stop and talk to me!" Daxton screamed from behind me. I slow down to a steady pace so that I'm not full-on sprinting, but also not walking. That way we could talk without physically stopping. I still have a place I need to get to.

"Okay, so we aren't stopping, but come on talk to me. What's going on? I can feel your stress and sadness in our bond."

"I forgot about our twin bond. I'm just trying to get this right. I can't make a mistake. It's life or death."

"What is life or death? What is going on, Rai?" Gunner asked with concern laced in his tone.

"I had a vision of the future."

"That’s awesome! That could help us do things differently so that a life-altering mistake doesn't happen."

"That's just it. Life-altering mistakes. It can't happen! I have to correct it!"

"Okay, calm down, I will help you. You're not alone in this, okay?"

He is right, I kept all this hidden to shield everyone else from feeling the way I do. Maybe if they know it will help fix this, not me, us. All of us need to make a change to prevent the possible future from happening.

"I'm not alone..." I said with the realization that I was never alone in this.

"No, so talk to me," Daxton said breathlessly. We were still running and, although it isn't a sprint, talking while running can leave anyone breathless.

"The vision ended with Gunner dying in my arms because I was too weak. I used all of my energy on the troops. I made myself so weak that I couldn't even stand up, let alone protect my mates."

"Mates?"

"That’s all you got out of that!?" I asked angrily.

"No... Sorry, that part just took me by surprise. Was Jax up there?"

"No? Why would Jax be..Oh...Right, you don't know about Leonidas."

"Leonidas?"

"My mate, Jakus's son."

"WHAT!?" Daxton said while yanking my arm in his direction, bringing us both to a halt. I could see in his eyes the concern.

"He is good Dax. He isn't like him."

"But Lovett proved countless times that she can't be trusted, and she is also Jakus's offspring."

I see what he means. I didn't believe it at first either, but he is good. Everything in me tells me he is one of the good ones.

"Give him a chance, Dax. Right now, it is not about questioning my judgment on who is and isn't good. It's about saving Gunner's life. That is what is important right now."

"You're right, I'm sorry."

"Let's get to the field near the compound so I can protect every member of the team and take down Jakus."

Daxton nodded in agreement, releasing my arm. We took off in a full sprint, making it to the field within a minute.

'ATTENTION. I tried to get to him in time, but the timeline was working very quickly. I underestimated the time from the vision to reality. As most of you know, the plan changed due to me seeing a vision of the future. I changed the plan to change the future because, in the vision that I saw, we lost Gunner.' I heard automatic gasps at the bombshell. My head is filled with people panicking and concerned for their Alpha.

'EVERYONE STOP TALKING!' I screamed over our link with my Goddess aura to make everyone submit. Normally, I would never use my power to make someone submit, but this isn't a normal kind of situation. When the link went radio silent, I spoke again.

'I didn't want to raise concerns, but now time is of the essence. We need to quickly go into the plan Laken told each of you. Does everyone know what to do?'

The plan was made between Laken and me alone. Nobody else knew the plan. If anyone else knew, they would try to stop me. Laken took an oath that he wouldn't tell a soul.

As we neared the compound, I could already see the team taking hands and forming a circle.

"What is this, Rai?" Daxton asked.

I decided not to answer his question because I was about to say exactly what it was. We reached the circle, and I looked over to Daxton.

"Take a hand, Dax." He looked confused and upset.

"Okay, everyone. I have each of our witches maintaining the building with the troops. Everyone else will take a hand and form a circle. I will then cast a protection spell upon you all. You can break the circle if you need to protect your life. But do not, under any circumstances, break it for Gunner or Leonidas."

I see a lot of heads bobbing up and down at the command.

"Also, Leonidas is not an enemy, he will be with Gunner. He has black hair and lavender eyes. Do not attack him. That is an order."

A lot of people had worry etched across the command. "He is good. You have to trust me." I said again to try and ease the worry I could sense from everyone.

"Yes, Luna." Laken was the first to speak, making everyone else follow after.

"I will then teleport Jakus and myself into the circle. It will not hurt any of you. We will fight to the death. Once again, do not break the circle unless you have to, not because Gunner is trying to make you understand?"

Everyone nods in understanding but their faces disagree with what I am saying.

"Laken will not be in the circle. Since he is also part warlock, just like his mom and Jade, he will have an easier fight with Lovett when she shows up. So, he is going to wait outside of the circle. Does everyone understand?"

"Why?" Daxton asked, tears brimming in the corner of his eyes.

"Because I am the only one powerful enough to stop him."

"There are other ways."

"No, there isn't. None that guarantees Gunner survives."

"What if... What if-"

"I die?" I asked, cutting off the question I knew he didn't want to ask but needed to know.

"Yeah... what if you die?"

"Then that means that Jakus will be weak by that time. Weak enough that he will not be able to take on all of you and win. If I die, the circle will be broken automatically, and you will all attack him all at once." I said as I looked at all of the faces in the circle.

"Why can’t we do that first?" Daxton tried to reason with my decision.

"Because he would not be weak if we did that first and too many would die, not only Gunner but many of you. This is the only way, Dax. I'm sorry."

"Your sister is right, Daxton." An older version of himself, his father, or I guess our father said while grabbing his shoulder.

"What would you know!? You don't even know her!" Daxton screams as he forcefully shrugs his hand off.

"You're right. But I know she is strong. And I know she is wise. And I also know she would protect every last life here. She is making the correct decision, son."

Daxton has tears pouring down his face at this point. He may not agree, but he will understand.

"It's time," I say as I feel the atmosphere shift as his presence becomes very alert. Everyone started taking hands as the semi-circle became whole. I quickly cast my spells on them before walking a few meters out so I could lure him in.

"Well, this is not what I was anticipating. Where are all the bodies?" His vile voice asked.

"Locked away."

"Tsk Task. What a shame. I figured you would have saved them all by now. That ticking time bomb wasn't going to remove itself."

"Time bomb?"

"Oh, did Blaine forget to mention that part?"

He must've forgotten, maybe with the stress of reality, maybe he truly didn't know or maybe Jakus was lying.

"Never mind that where are all your friends?"

"They are around."

I used the invisibility spell to cloak them. Mostly to protect them from him, but I was also hoping that once we were in the circle, Gunner and Leonidas wouldn't be able to see any of us. That way nobody had to deal with either of them being angry and trying to get in. I walked over to where he was standing. I was now mere inches away from him, praying he touched me first, that way he didn't see it coming. As expected, he reached down to rub his hand on my cheek. When his palm touched my face, I quickly snapped my fingers, teleporting us into the circle. I ensured the spell was foolproof. It was the one spell I practiced for if I ever needed it.

"What is this!?"

"Your own personal hell," I said as I lifted my hand, using all the force I had to attack with magic. The powers seeped out as they burned his skin like acid.

"FUCK! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" He screamed in pain.

"Oh, does that hurt, husband?" I asked sarcastically. Half of his face was burnt to a crisp along with the left side of his neck, arm, and hand. "Because there is more, I am just getting started."

"You BITCH!" Jakus screamed as he charged me head-on.

'Time to show him he fucked with the wrong damn one!' Emery screamed with raw power.

I couldn't agree more.