Chapter 68

"Are you sure about this, Thalia?" I asked the white witch hesitantly. "Dominic was adamant I stay away from the war."

Thalia fixed me with her piercing gaze. "Your mate needs you, Freya. I would not go against his wishes if the situation was not dire."

My chest tightened with dread and concern for Dominic, but I was determined. He had forbidden me from joining the battle, convinced I would be safer here. Yet Thalia's solemn words rang with the weight of truth.

Taking a steadying breath, I met Thalia's eyes squarely. "I'm ready then. More than ready to help my mate and pack win this war." I flexed my fingers, calling on the magic thrumming through my veins. "But how will we reach the battlefield undetected?"

A mysterious smile curved Thalia's lips. "The same way I managed to slip Sage out of Lucas's grasp when she required my assistance in escaping."

If they were overwhelmed, my power could turn the tide. Thalia was right - my place was by their side, consequences be damned. "Let's go," I said firmly. "My mate needs me, and I won't fail him."

Three long days had passed since Dominic, Alpha Scott, and our pack warriors marched off to confront Alpha Lucas's forces. I kept sending up frantic prayers to the Moon Goddess, begging her to keep my mate and our allies safe. The wolves from Lucas's side hadn't stirred up any trouble so it didn't seem as if they were playing tricks on us.

Dominic was still alive, every instinct in me screamed that truth. But I had this ominous pit in my stomach.

Before I could spiral further into my fears, another thought crossed my mind. My head whipped up, locking eyes with the white witch. "But who will look after my son and oversee the pack in my absence?" my responsibilities as a Luna and the pack's leader opposed with the desperation to be at Dominic's side.

Thalia rolls her eyes, "I've already instructed Micheal and your mother to take good care of Mathew secondly the beta will take care of the pack, plus, the pack is in good order. I sense no bad omen," she says, holding out her hand for me to take.

I bent down and gently pressed a kiss to Mathew's sleeping forehead. My little son slumbered peacefully, unaware of the turmoil roiling within me. I made my way downstairs following the white witch when I came in contact with Micheal, I guess Thalia had planned everything ahead.

"Michael," I said softly to my friend, "take good care of Mathew for me."

"You know you can count on me, Freya." he assured.

Satisfied, I turned and strode out to join Thalia waiting outside.

No sooner had I emerged than a massive tree materialized before us with an open door within its trunk. I didn't question the white witch's magic, simply taking her offered hand as we made our way inside the tree portal.

Thalia shut the door behind us. When she re-opened it, the scene before us was one of utter carnage making me gasp.

I tightened my grip on Thalia's hand, steeling my resolve as we surveyed the raging battle. Somewhere within this chaotic massacre, my mate was fighting for his life against Alpha Lucas.

"You know what we must do," Thalia stated solemnly.

Thalia pointed with a grim expression, and I followed her gesture, only for horror to seize me. Littering the blood-soaked field were fallen forms - my pack-mates, wounded and unmoving. Worse, I spotted burns that could only be inflicted by one insidious substance.

"Silver," I gasped out, eyes widening in shock. "They're using cursed silver ammunition!"

How could we have not thought of this? They would go to this extent using silver that wounded them just by touching it!

I desperately scanned the chaos, frantic to locate Dominic's familiar form amid the wolves. If he had fallen victim to the poisoned rounds...

Before I could spiral further, Thalia knelt down next to one of our injured warriors. In her hand was a small vial containing a shimmering golden liquid.

"A healing potion I have concocted," the white witch murmured. "It requires a century of ritual preparation to brew even in small doses like this. It can only help those who are injured and are alive. If they're dead then unfortunately I can't help them."

I watched in amazement as she administered just a few drops to the grievously wounded wolf. Within moments, the shallow, pained breaths gave way to a deep inhalation as life seemed to surge back into the broken body. Immediately the wolf wined in gratitude before rushing back to help fight.

Thalia met my astonished gaze evenly. "You can help turn the tides of this battle, Freya. Your powers extend beyond the mine."

I stared at her in bewilderment. "How? I can only create shields and change someone's perspective on life."

"You can heal, Freya. Just as you passed that ability down to young Mathew, allowing him to revive plants and trees. The same way you helped your pack member with the wound to heal."

My mind whirled. And how could Thalia know all this?

"How do you know-" Thalia shook her head firmly. "There will be explanations later. For now, embrace whatever hidden powers you possess - they are sorely needed here."

I glanced around at the fallen warriors, at the unstoppable savagery all around us. Find Dominic. Help our pack. Those were the driving thoughts.

A massive wolf barreled towards Thalia with jaws agape, but the white witch was too swift. With a flick of her wrist, shimmering dust exploded outwards, engulfing the beast. It crumpled to the ground, unconscious before it could strike.

I kept moving, dodging and weaving to avoid the snapping fangs and slashing claws around every turn. Bodies already littered the field, the dead and dying intermingled.

My gaze swept over the scene with mounting dread. It should not have been this even of a conflict - Dominic's forces had outnumbered the rogues and Lucas's own pack combined. Yet the raging battle showed no clear victor emerging.

A wolf lunged at me from the side. On instinct, I twisted away even as my hands thrust out. It trusted hard into the ground and I used that moment to lay my hands on him before he had a chance again to attack.

Almost in an instant the powerful creature, whimpering piteously unable to get up, I had made it old and weakened, sucked out its energy.

Within moments, the powerful creature collapsed at my feet, whimpering piteously. I stared at my own hands in shock, stunned by the primal energies I had somehow unleashed.

"Luna!" a familiar mental voice mind-linked.

I remember him. Memories flashed of the wolf-man begging me to heal his grievous wounds and Dominic's jealous irritation when he embraced me after healing him.

"Help me."

I knelt beside the fallen wolf, reaching out with that newfound wellspring of power. Closing my eyes, I willed the energies to flow into the broken body before me, mending wounds and expunging the insidious silver poison.

Within moments, the wolf's eyes fluttered open, and it staggered back up onto four paws. It paused to give me a grateful nod before rejoining the fray with a howl of fury.

"Thank you," the gravelly mental voice echoed in my mind.

But even as I accepted the wordless gratitude, a knifing sense of pure dread ran through me, stealing my breath. Something was horribly, terribly wrong.

I whipped my gaze across the battlefield. Though our pack's numbers were growing rapidly with Thalia's help, but yet the feeling of horror only intensified. A yawning pit of emptiness and loss echoed through my very soul.

Dominic...where was my mate?! If he were alive, then surely I would sense his powerful presence out here amid the chaos. But I felt nothing, only the gaping hollowness of...

Horror gripped me as I sprinted forward, uncaring of the death surrounding me. Only one thought consumed my mind - find Dominic, at any cost.

Suddenly my eyes caught him. My heart stuttered in my chest at the sight of his unmoving wolf form, crimson pooling beneath him. I flung myself down at his side, sobs ripping free.

"No...no, please don't leave me and Mathew!" I cried brokenly, cradling his head in my lap. His features were deathly pale, eyes closed as if merely sleeping. But the bullet wound in his side told a different, horrific truth.

With trembling hands, I raised my palms to his stomach, preparing to release every last ounce of my power into him. I would pour my life's essence into restoring his if that's what it took!

Just as the energies began to build though, a cruel laugh shattered my concentration.

Mia. My sister.

Mia stepped into view, an evil smirk twisting her beautiful features.

My own sister...she was the one who betrayed us to the enemy? Clutching Dominic protectively closer, I met her cold eyes with ones blazing hatred through my tears.

"Seems it was not meant to be then and it was not meant to be now," Mia purred mockingly. "You and your pathetic mate's time is at an end here."