CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE: SHE’S ALIVE?
-Ashina's point of view --
Electric currents of magical lightning surged through my mother's heart, violently jolting her still form. Stuck in cardiac arrest, her silent chest laid bare before my helpless gaze. Time's relentless march screamed in my ears, spurring desperate pleas to the Moon Goddess. "Please, give me something!" My agony peaked as the monitor flatlined—a bleak anthem to my utter despair.
"No, no... not you, Mother," I sobbed, my trembling lips barely able to shape the words, my hands frantically trying to coax warmth and life back into her still heart.
The doctor's eyes, cold and resigned, flickered to the clock. "Time of Death," he pronounced, and the world threatened to crack apart.
Then, as if summoned by the very force of my plea, my mate's roar cleaved the heavy air. "STOP."
Beep. Beep. Beep. Disbelieving, I dared to hope, gazing once more upon the monitor. There, steadfast and true, her heart throbbed with life anew. "Oh, thank the Goddess!" My cry of relief melded with laughter and tears, and I collapsed to the floor, overcome with a tidal wave of gratitude for the Moon Goddess’s benevolence.
"Thank you, Moon Goddess, for sparing my mother," I whispered into the cool hospital tile, my heart swelling with each robust beat from the monitor.
Pulling myself up, I offered my sincerest thanks to the medical team, whose skill had walked the tightrope between life and death alongside divine intervention.
As I steadied my voice, the night's harrowing events replayed in my mind, the run-up to a trek of anxiety for what was yet to unfold.
Surrounded by vigilant doctors, my mother began wrenching free from the tangle of IVs and adhesive fixtures. Each removal was met with immediate renewal—a delicate dance between patient independence and medical necessity.
"Why continue in this?" I exhaled, frustration lacing my words. "The doctors must ensure your survival, especially after skirting the veil between worlds repeatedly."
With a regal wave of dismissal, my mother, the Alpha, the Queen, commanded the room, and even I, bound by familial reverence, dipped my head in respect to her determined will.
Queen Amira--
The tension was tangible in the room, a mosaic of furrowed brows and wringing hands—an assembly of worried doctors, my daughter frayed by angst, and her devoted mate standing dutifully by her side. Despite the storm of doubts brewing within them, clarity surged through me. I knew I must express the turbulent events that had unfolded.
Memories beckoned me to that pivotal moment, where destiny had hung in the balance under the watchful eye of the moon goddess. An unnerving choice had been presented: a crossroads between life and death. After witnessing the rippling consequences each path would forge, the decision was mine to bear.
As if whispered by the goddess herself, I found comfort in the contrast of my predicament. The choice formed into one of simplicity; for in the end, the scales would always tip in favor of my mate, my daughter, her love, the promise of future generations, and the realm that pulsed with my bloodline. They were my world, my responsibility—it was my imperative to shield them. How could the shadow of my own demise ever serve as a vessel for their salvation?
The time had come to pay the debt owed to betrayal—to exact retribution upon Malcolm. The scales would balance as he would taste the same bitter agony that he had so callously inflicted out to my family, to my kingdom.
I noticed their strained postures, a picturesque embodiment of respect deeply ingrained within our werewolf heritage. But the hour demanded expediency over formality.
With a voice tempered by newfound resolve, I issued my proclamation, "Hear me, every soul within these walls. My occupancy in this hospital ward ends this instant! By the grace of the moon goddess, not only have I been spared, but I have been reinstated to fullness. You will forsake all thoughts of hindering me with your machines. I release you from your silence—speak but remember your place."
Turning my gaze to Ashina and the warriors along with her mate, I beckoned them, waving them to follow me as I commanded, "Come on let's head over to the war room in this place. Your father and I built this facility when we heard rumors of an uprising."
Leading the way, I wrapped my arm around Andor's arm, laughing as my daughter's possessive wolf growled at me. There was nothing I wanted more than to meet the wolf that was born from my wolf, my wolf's child. Laughing again, I watched Ashina roll her eyes at me, while Andor was conflicted about whether or not to let go. As of right now, Andor still needed to undergo a parental interrogation, which had been long overdue by my mate and me.
Now was the time for real strategy. I am sure my daughter was an effective planner, but she did not have my warrior experience. I instructed everyone to sit at the long conference table, making certain I separated Andor and my daughter. They were to sit on either side of me at the head of the table. I could see Andor quietly having an argument with his wolf.
"Andor, what is your wolf's name? I want to talk to him." I commanded.
There is a reason why my commands can even have an effect on another king. It is simply because I come from a lineage with strong magic as well as being an Alpha Female and a queen. The double crown on his mate mark indicates that he is from a similar lineage, but magic is usually passed from mother to daughter. In the case of a sister, the royal dominance would pass to her, not the other way around.
This is when Andor's wolf made himself known and he introduced himself to me.
"Mother-in-law." Andor's wolf addressed me. "I am Jasper, I am an Alpha King and because your daughter Ashina abandoned us and often threatened to reject the bond. I do not like having her far from me, she is mine." The wolf growled lightly at me.
"Stand down Jasper! Are you telling me you are a weak wolf who cannot even be away from your mate for a minute? How can I think you will be a strong king for my kingdom?"
That is when I saw Andor's wolf retreat. I am sure he is telling him to deal with me. I laughed inside. Oh, they both had more interrogations to come from me. I smirked as I saw Andor sit back down.
"Ashina, come up here, will you please." I stood next to a board pulling down a map with a string embedded into a device, attached to the ceiling above the blackboard.
"On this map shows me the placement of troops and any shifter and their locations that are helping us. Also, did you get your father to safety?"
Ashina marks where dragons, bears, vampires, demons, and witches have been placed on the layout. The experience left me feeling impressed, to say the least.
I swapped out the vampires for witches in the castle. Malcolm's vampires were hard to detect because of magic.
Having experienced witches ourselves, we will be able to recognize Malcolm's vampires. Throughout history, witches have killed many types of vampires. Their presence in the castle was necessary in order to kill Malcolm's blood-hungry vampires.
Since bears were bigger than most ground shifters, they were at the front of the wolf armies. Whenever fighting became tough, the dragons would clear paths with fire, hiding in the air.
The Demons of Malcolms looked like regular pack members, which only other demons were capable of spotting and killing. It shocked me to discover that we had demon allies. A path cleared by the bears will be what opens the gates for the demons to enter all the grounds of the royal pack.
I instructed Ashina to lead from the outside, while I led everyone on the inside. Ashina protested, but she couldn't argue that she had no experience in war, nor did she know the layout of the kingdom like I did. I am still the queen until I relinquish the crown. What I say goes into law.
One of the soldiers that was already in the bunker seemed to feign illness. It was literally bad acting, like a "B" movie. Once he had left, I asked Dean to follow him.
Dean follows him out the entrance of the hidden bunker all the way outside into the royal pack grounds. That is when he overhears the warrior relay on his cell phone that the queen is alive, and the princess is as well. He was trying to explain our plans when Dean slit his throat and hid the warrior's body in the brush nearest the forest line.
Lee came back and reported the events to me. "Sh__! Malcolm now knows my daughter is well and breathing."