Chapter 55: The Alpha’s Goddess

~GUNNER’S P.O.V~

At the snap of Jade's finger, the unfamiliar yet familiar place comes into view. Since I have been there, we were able to use my mind to teleport to the destination.

Upon arrival, I see my pack running around frantically.

“Someone do something!” I heard being yelled frantically.

“Someone, anyone! Help!”

Oh god, what happened!?

“DADDY NO!”

“Grab her arm, Alpha James!”

Dad? I started to run towards the group of people. Upon getting closer, I saw my dad reaching out to grab the arm of a girl. I see blonde hair falling loosely from her face, revealing who it is. OH GODDESS CALLIE! I couldn’t smell her! I couldn’t smell anyone. I was only gone a few hours. Fuck!

She looks drugged. What happened!?

I pick up speed, rushing to my mate before someone escapes with her.

I make it to the group as my father falls forward where a man and my mate once stood.

Gone. Gone. This can’t be happening, all these people here and he got away? She is gone. My Callie was abducted AGAIN!

“Dammit!” I heard my father scream as he pounded into the ground with his fists.

“God Damnit! I almost had her! How did they get away? I touched her fucking arm!”

My heart is pounding a million times over. And then I see her, the redhead that started all this. I’m going to fucking kill this bitch!

“It was you!” I roared, making everyone turn to look at me.

Fear etched across the girl's face as she realizes she is among many who’d rather her dead than alive.

“I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry.” She kept repeating like that would save her. I’ve killed for less. I could feel Timber itching to come forth and take her life with his own hands. He is still furious at being locked away and forgotten and now our mate being kidnapped was the cherry on top.

“Seize her, she will die tonight with the moon high in the sky so the goddess can see her actions and judge where she will go.”

A few guards grab her arms. And she starts moving around.

“Gunner, please you have to listen. You won’t find her without me.”

“I wouldn’t have lost her if it weren’t for you!”

“That’s not true, he was already in your pack waiting for the right time. This situation just helped make it easier in his favor. Please, you have to listen to me. It was only one plan of many he had. He won’t stop, he is resilient.” Her eyes pleaded for me to listen.

“And why would I listen to someone who put false memories in my mind for her gain?”

I could see her visibly flinch at my tone.

“Because I’m his daughter. I’m done being his puppet, I’m done being his pawn in the game that never seems to end. I want out, I want to be happy. I’m so sorry I did what I did to you. It was him. I just didn’t know how to say no. And at the moment when he said to claim my mate, it sounded like I’d be able to be happy if he got what he wanted. I never realized just how cruel it all was. I pretended if I didn’t look at it for what it was, then it wasn’t real. But then Derrek happened, and my entire world crashed at my feet. I’m so sorry Gunner. Please, you have to believe me.”

There’s no way I believe her after all she has done, but she has a point. He is the best warlock in the entire world, and she knows his home better than anyone being his daughter. I may need her help, but never will I trust her.

“She has a point,” Asher says as he walks over, stretching his arms out. He looks at the ground where some random lady lies with blood pooling around her body and shakes his head.

“She isn’t trustworthy, but she did stand up to both of her powerful parents, begging them to let her go. She may be the only person we have that truly knows the inside of the warlock's home. Aside from her brother.”

Her eyes shot up to Asher.

“How do you know about Leonidas? Daddy never let him leave. Daddy never spoke about him. Nobody knew he even existed.” Her eyes showed just how terrified she was of anyone knowing his name.

“My mom is your aunt, so she, of course, remains up to date with all of you. My mother is the one that figured out your father's plan before she succumbed to the illness. Which is why we came back. She wanted to stop him before she died. Her dying wish was to stop Jakus and protect Callie. Therefore, she learned everything she could about your father. All of his strengths and all of his weaknesses,” Asher says with emphasis on the last word.

“Why does your father pretend he doesn’t have a son?” I asked, interrupting their conversation. Praying to the goddess that he isn’t more dangerous.

“Because he isn’t like him. He isn’t like me. So, my daddy would rather pretend he doesn’t exist and lock him in his room. He is special.”

“Like slow?” I asked, confused.

“Oh no, um. It's more like he has a gift that we’ve never seen before, and my dad or mother didn’t know how to control it. He isn’t evil, he has the purest heart I’ve ever met. Daddy wanted to use his gift for his own gain, but Leonidas wouldn’t allow it.” She saw I was listening and continued explaining.

“Instead, Daddy gave him a potion that put him in a vegetative state, a sedated coma you may also know it as. His maids have a schedule to give it to him around the clock. It’s been wearing off faster and faster over the last month or so and we aren’t sure why. He is now down to needing the potion every 3 minutes. Last I heard, it is changing so rapidly that it may be even less time than that. I’m not sure how much longer my father can keep him sedated.”

“Is he like your father, only even more powerful?”

“Let’s just say, his power radiates even while in a vegetative state. My father doesn’t even portray that level of power while walking and using energy, let alone a complete rest.”

“Okay, so he is extremely powerful. Great, but is he a weapon?”

“A weapon? Of course not. Leonidas was better, his heart was purer. He refused to help my dad with anything that would be wrong. Dad knew he was powerful and knew one day he would try to stop him from doing what he wanted to do, bad things. And so, he put him in a vegetative state so that he would be the most powerful. He knew Leonidas would never allow him to do what he was doing right now. So, to answer your question, no, he is not like my father. He is so good; he just needs to be rescued too. Which is where we have to come to an agreement.” Lovett says as she releases her breath.

“Your life is the agreement. If you don’t get Callie out unharmed, I will kill you. If you do, you live. That is our agreement.”

“Please, I should have saved him a long time ago, but I acted like he was happy. I knew he wasn’t happy. I’m a terrible sister, no I’m a terrible person!” She yells out as tears start to slip from her eyes. My heart clenches a little. God Dammit that potion!

Finally, I cave, I pray to the goddess this doesn’t fuck us over.

“Okay, stop crying, help us save Callie and we will help you save your brother.” I finally came to an agreement that was semi-reasonable.

‘Killing on the spot was reasonable.’ Timber mutters, he was still beyond pissed. He was not affected like I was by the potion. Which is weird, since we are the same.

“Really? You’d save him even if it’s only my word as to why he is drugged?”

She has a point, she could just be getting me to help her and, once I do, I release the ultimate weapon that could destroy the world.

“We need to get Aunt Ashley. She is the only one left that can defeat my daddy, aside from my brother, who is locked in his home drugged. We need Ashley to get Leonidas so Leonidas can defeat my father. It’s the only way.”

Lovett's eyes move from me to Asher to Alana.

“I’ve only heard of stories of your mother. My mother, she sounded strong and kind-hearted. Daddy never allowed Mother to talk to us about her. But that never stopped her.” Lovett says as she looks over at the corpse on the ground, another tear rolling down her face.

“She loved your mom.” She says as her eyes meet the twins once again. “We need to go get her for this plan to work.”

They nod, agreeing. This man must be powerful if they want to go to the extent of getting someone that just came back from death.

I’m also questioning if I made the right choice in agreeing to help save her brother. What if he was eviler than his father? What if she is tricking me? But also, what if she is telling the truth and he is the only one that can stop his father?

“We will go get her. Everyone else meets back at the pack and waits?” Asher asks.

“How do you know where my mother lives?” Lovett asks her cousin.

“My mother kept up to date on y’all, remember?”

“Oh right. Duh.”

“How long?” I interrupted to ask, hoping the term ‘wait’ was only around 30 minutes.

“We will get back fast, an hour tops,” Alana reassured me.

“Okay, after all of us are transported back to the house, Asher and Alana are going to retrieve Ashley. Once all three are back in the pack we will formulate a plan. Someone grabs the silver cuffs and cuff Lovett. She will be a prisoner until she proves to us which side she will remain on.” I spoke to the group Callie brought with her.

Kind of fucked up that this was my rescue team she formulated but will end up being a rescue team for her. These are her trusted picks. We are down 2 witches for teleportation, but luckily Jade is here, and her friend Anne from the palace. We also have Lovett, so luckily, we have enough to get us all home.

“Okay, everyone let’s get back to the pack house, get into your previous assigned groups. Those who rode with Callie go to Anne here.” I point to Anne showing who I am referring to. “And those who rode with the lady on the ground will go with me and Lovett. Lovett will transport us, and she will remain cuffed at all times to ensure she doesn’t do something foul. Everyone understands?”

I see everyone break off into groups.

“Okay, let’s go home,” I whispered to nobody in particular.

"Can we take my mom?" Lovett asks. I looked back at the corpse she referred to. I am sure Ashley would want a proper barrel for her sister.

"Someone grabs her body during the teleport so she can come back. We will deal with burial after we retrieve Callie."

After teleporting back to the pack house everyone scrambled around to get the required things Lovett told them we’d need.

It had almost been an hour since the twins departed to retrieve their mother. As time ticked on, I could feel my insides wanting to be ripped apart by my wolf. He was enraged, blaming me. How did I let this happen right under our noses? How’d I allow that potion to affect me? Why’d I let my hands travel up the sides of that girl or touch her anyway? He didn’t understand how a human could be tricked. If he weren’t inside of me, I’d punch him for all the finger-pointing and blaming. I needed a clear head if I were going to go into battle against the supposedly strongest warlock known in the supernatural world.

I couldn’t stop thinking about Callie and what she has already had to endure. Being alone with a man who wants you to become nothing more than a mating partner for power. I swear on all that is holy if he even lays a finger on my mate to harm her, I will remove his hand right from his arm!

‘Finally, something we agree on!’ Timber huffs out.

I look up at the clock as the hand gets closer to that hour mark.

‘Alpha’ I suddenly got a mind-link from one of the guards on duty.

‘Everything okay?’ I asked.

‘Fine sir, it’s just the King and Queen are here wanting to be let in.’ The king came to? Callie has yet to meet her biological father. I, on the other hand, trained vigorously with him during my Alpha training stay at the palace.

‘Let them pass. I’ll meet them at the door.’

I opened the front door to the pack house as their limo approached. I walked down the steps to meet them at their door. I leaned over to open the door, allowing the queen to step out.

“Very gentleman, like Alpha Gunner.” The Queen Lilah comments.

“Hello, Your Majesty,” I said with a small nod in acknowledgment of her status.

After Queen Lilah got out, soon followed by the bulky tall man that I used to love to sit and talk to. He had an interesting life with many lessons to be learned. Daxton looked like the spitting image of the King. The King, however, was huskier and had a scar down his cheek. I bowed my head again to the King.

“Where is she? What happened? What did you do?” His voice echoed into the air around him. Illuminating just how powerful he was.

“She was abducted.” I finally answered after a brief pause to collect myself from being demanded. Reminding my already enraged wolf of who he is.

“We placed her in this pack to keep her safe, then when it’s time to come home we find out she has already mated with you, tying y’all together, so we expected her safety to be a priority to you, seeing how you are her mate, and you sit here telling me that my daughter was abducted. In plain sight, in front of all of you and all you can say to me is ‘she was abducted’. I know this already, but what I don’t know is who did it and what our plan was to get her back safely!”

I could tell he was battling his wolf for control as well. Both of us are worried, while also both being Alpha wolves, all while trying to talk about a sensitive subject which is what put us on the verge of losing control in the first place.

Not a smart idea. However, I’m able to calm myself because I get it. I am her mate; I am the Alpha here. I was in charge, I was trained better, and yet not only did I allow myself to be abducted, but I allowed my mate to also be abducted by a man who I allowed into my pack.

Why the hell am I allowing people to join my pack during a time like this anyhow? I should be more attentive in the approval selection. Or I should have dug deeper than I did. For fuck's sake, the damn imposter was living among us for goddess knows how long, like a fly on the wall, and I had no clue until today. It shows you just how much magic can alter a person's perspective and reality. After we get Callie back, I am doing extensive research on every one of the members, old and new.

“Follow me,” I said as I started to walk back to the pack house. “We are meeting in the office.”

We went up the stairs and back to the office I came from.

“We are waiting for some allies to arrive; they are going to get more help. Actually, you both may know her. Her name is Ashley.”

They both looked back and forth between each other the moment her name left my mouth.

“Y’all found her?” Lilah asks.

“More like, we found each other.” A voice spoke from behind me. A female voice.

We all turned around, Ashley standing right in the doorway.

“Y’all are here. I was starting to get worried for a moment, we need to get there before anything happens.” I said, my heart slowing down knowing help had arrived.

“First things first, y’all need to understand Jakus. He may seem stand-offish and acts scared, but the man is a force to reckon with. Therefore, we cannot jump into this lightly.” Ashley says as she looks at everyone present in the room.

“Hey, they found you.” She says, looking at me, but I can see the pain in her eyes from losing her sister.

“So, what do you suggest?” I asked, knowing she was most likely prepared for this moment.

“First things first, we need to get past his barrier. He has a magical barrier that has always been placed in his palace. If anyone unwelcome got near, they will instantly forget what they were doing and why they were walking in that direction. We just need to get close enough to destroy that barrier but far enough to where we don’t get affected. I suggest we have someone walk ahead of us and once they get confused, we will know where a safe distance is.”

I nodded in understanding.

“Then once we’ve broken the bond he will be alerted immediately, we will need to be fast. That’s where Lovett comes in. She knows the kingdom, she knows where the bunker is that Jakus has kept neat and prepared, waiting for the goddess.”

I looked over at the handcuffed Lovett, starting to feel a little guilty. She deserves the benefit of the doubt, she was meant as my mate after all. Which scares me, what if I allow her to get to me and I forget my oath? Those memories she gave me are still fucking with my mind, clouding my judgments. I just need to be near Callie and my senses will come back.

“After Lovett gets into the room, she has to transport Callie to a safe place,” Ashley says, making me realize my eyes have been on Lovett too long. Fuck. I know she is no longer my mate, but it’s still fucking with me. The idea of what my life would’ve been like with her. But I need to shake the thought. My only mate is Callie, the one that accepted me, the one that didn’t commit suicide to sever our bond. The one that truly loves me.

“I think it’s wise that Alana goes with Lovett, for safety measures considering the circumstances. No offense, Lovett, but your track record is not the best.” Ashley says as she looks over to Lovett, her head hung down in shame.

“I promise I won’t betray y’all. I now understand why you protected her, and I am so sorry, Auntie, for everything. It’s all my fault.” Lovett says as she releases a small sob.

“It is your fault, but no need to sit and have a pity party. Now it’s time you stood up to that evil man and fixed your mistakes. Got it?”

“Yes ma’am. I will fix this.” She looks up from the ground, her deep green eyes meeting my blue eyes. “I will fix this Gunner, I will get you your mate back, I promise.” She says as another tear rolls down her cheek.

I wanted to reach over to wipe it away. God Dammit, this potion needs to be fully out of my system. I have my memories, yes, but Daxton said it would take 72 hours from the last drink I had of the potion for it to be out of my system. I am only 36 hours in.

“And then finally, we fight,” Ashley says, which grabs my wolf's attention.

‘RIP HIS HEART FROM HIS CHEST AND EAT IT!’ Timber roars in my mind.

Okay, that’s disgusting, it’s our primal instinct to protect what’s ours. Timber is technically an animal, and to top it off, he is an Alpha. Which means heightened emotions, and right now he is beyond furious that this man tricked us for so long. He wants revenge, he wants blood. He wants his heart on a plate. At this point, so do I.

He has caused so much pain and hurt to my mate's life. Both of them, actually, but my concern is more about my precious Callie. He deserves to die.

Mark my words, Jakus, you will die before this is all over. Even if it’s the last thing I do.