Chapter 66 - The Alpha’s Goddess

~CALLIE'S P.O.V~

As Jakus charged forward, I leaped into the air, my body gliding inches above his own as he collided with the ground.

"You think you can just pop up and run my life?” I yelled out with force.

"I can and I will!" Jakus screamed, attacking with his magic. His magic hit me full force, pushing me against the barrier.

The barrier is more of a dome shape, encasing only Jakus and me within it. The barrier is an inch away from the bodies of my team. I ensured that the barrier did not touch them. That way, if we hit the barrier, we would only collide with what feels like an invisible wall and not with a person. I stood back up, dusting the dirt off before countering his attack with my own. As my magic left my hand, it collided with his own as he attacked once again. Our magic was fighting for dominance. The magic remained fairly even most of the time. However, sometimes it would get closer to him, while other times, it would get closer to me. I decided to then use my other hand as a side-attack. Praying to the goddess that this would work in my favor. The magic left my hand as it hit his body, making him fall to the ground.

"I have been practicing for this very moment," I said while casting a glare his way.

"We're not so different, you and me," Jakus said, taking me by surprise. What does he even mean? That was far from the truth, I was nothing like him.

"You let all of those troops die." He then said, taking me out of my brief thoughts.

"You didn't save them. The mind bomb must have been combusted by now." He spoke once again when I was speechless.

"There was no saving them, Jakus, you and I both know that."

It's true, I saw it. I had to make a decision. I had no clue that the magical hold was a bomb. He could be lying about that for all I knew. I just thought if I locked them away temporarily it would protect them from him when he arrived. However, it was also a way to keep them away from harming my team or someone hurting them. The plan was to hold them inside until I could set them free by killing Jakus.

"Do you know the pain and suffering you have caused this world?" I decided to say as we circled one another waiting for the other to attack.

"Ahh, well, I am a dark warlock, so I imagine a lot."

See, he has no empathy. He doesn't care that he has murdered many people, he also doesn't care that he imprisoned his son in a sedated coma, or that he is trying to forcefully take someone as their chosen mate. He only thinks about himself, or what would benefit him.

"So, are we going to dance or fight?" He asked as we continued to still circle one another. I decided to take the first shot.

"UH-UH-UH-UH-UH!" I screamed out as I shot small, rounded blasts from each of my palms simultaneously. Some he managed to block while others hit him forcefully.

"Well, that wasn't very lady-like!" Jakus screamed as he countered my moves, bringing out what looked exactly like the magical spear that killed my mate in the vision. I jumped out of the way as it came flying through the air. The spear hit the dome, causing the ground to shake.

"WHERE IS SHE!?" I heard screaming from a distance. It was Gunner's voice. After a few seconds, both he and Leonidas came into view.

"Better question, where is everybody?" Leonidas states, looking around confused.

Perfect, it worked. They cannot see us. The last thing I needed was for them to try to stop this fight. The fight between me and Jakus was inevitable, it had to happen.

My moment of distraction was not lost to Jakus, he took the opportunity to strike. However, instead of a physical strike, he did it differently. A sudden ring sounded in my ears. The stretching sound could make a normal person go deaf if they listened to it for more than a few moments. I covered my ears quickly so that my eardrums wouldn't pop. The sound came from an object Jakus held in his hand. It looked like a bivalve shell or maybe a marine oyster. You know the ones that can open and close that normally carry pearls inside of them? Where did he get that from? The mollusks were white with streaks of gold. It was no ordinary shell, it was huge, something straight out of a book. Inside of it held a necklace of some sort. The necklace looked like a seashell, the kind you would put to your ear to hear the echoing sounds of sea waves hitting the shoreline. But what caught my attention was, in the middle of the shelled necklace held a pearl with engravings etched along the sides. Jakus removed the necklace from the shell, placed it in his palm, holding it out, leaving every detail on display.

"I will not kill you; I need you. This necklace will ensure you listen. It contains the voice of a mermaid. Their music is like the voice of a thousand angels." Jakus says as he closes the screaming shell that contained the necklace. Once the horrid screaming stopped, I removed my hands from my ears.

"Those screams are the sounds of all the lost souls screaming for help... It also would stop anyone from retrieving what is inside the shell. Whoever opened it and didn't know the consequences would drop it instantly as soon as the screeching began. That is if they weren't deaf or dead by then. It comes in handy when you don't want what's inside of it taken. But this beauty, this beauty has all the mermaid resources to work in my favor." He said as he moved the necklace around.

"Sirens do not work on women." I quickly stated. In most of all the stories I've been told, they lure men into the sea with their beautiful voices, they use their magic to put them in a trance and allow them to do what they please with them. Most of the sirens lure them to their death.

"Ah, well, that is where you are wrong, my dear. Elder sirens can use their voice on anyone. However, there are very few elder sirens remaining. And after I got this beauty, they became even more extinct." He said with a low chuckle.

He brags like that will give him brownie points. The man is pure evil, nothing about him screams attractive to me. I'm not sure what Ingrid saw in him, or any woman for that matter. I hear powerful men attract women that aren't as powerful, but I'm not so easily fooled. Or maybe it's because I am more powerful than him, so his powers don't affect me the way they do others.

Speaking of Ingrid, I haven't seen her since I dropped the bombshell. I wonder if she is, okay? I wonder if she survived the fire and got away from this place. I just hope some sense was knocked into her and I hope she is far away from this place. Her child deserves more than this man has to offer. Just look at how he treated his son. Who is to say he wouldn't do it to their child too?

"You don't seem so surprised at my revelation," Jakus said, taking me out of my thoughts.

"I'm not surprised you would do such a vile act against another."

"Do you like where I got the idea from?" He asked, causing me to scrunch my face with confusion.

"It was Lovett's favorite Disney movie growing up, but I ensured this necklace had a twist. I not only took her voice, but I also took all the magical properties she had. This necklace is more powerful than any relic you will ever find. There is so much more to it than just mind control. I put some of my powers into it, making it not only indestructible but also making it the most powerful object known to exist. It controls the person's thoughts, words, and actions. Similar to my spell on those troops but also different. It consumes the person, it makes them be exactly who you want, without the zombified effect. It will serve well if you choose to use it in other ways too. Like a lie detector, for instance. It is more than mind control. That is just the main power, it has so many different powers swirling in it." He said as he tapped on the necklace's pearl, a hue of white surrounding the necklace as the etching along the sides rearranged, becoming brighter, and began to move in a circular motion until the words changed into another sentence. He rubs it more as the top of the necklace begins to send out vibrations and sounds, I've never heard before.

Melodious, angelic song of vocals. It sounded like a beautiful voice harmonizing with the swishes of water hitting the shore. The sounds relaxed my body. I seemed to relax even more as the song began to play all around the dome. Completely engulfing me in its words.

'AHH-OO-WOO, AHH-OO-WOO. FOLLOW YOUR HEART AND TAKE ME SOMEWHERE, EVERY DESIRE YOU CHOOSE TO BARE, FOLLOW MY VOICE, AND I'LL TAKE YOU THERE. INTO THE PLACE WHERE NOBODY CARES. I'LL TAKE ALL YOUR TROUBLES AND MAKE THEM MY OWN, JUST FOLLOW MY VOICE AND YOU'LL NEVER BE ALONE. AHH-OO-WOO, AHH-OO-WOO. '

Their voices sounded so nostalgic and mysterious. A mix of happiness combined with a lot of sadness. The sound of her voice vibrating within my eardrums, allowed me to understand exactly how she felt. Lost, Scared, Hopeful, she wanted to feel love, to be loved. She was me and I was her. We were one. I felt this overwhelming feeling of desire and need. I found myself mindlessly walking towards the necklace in Jakus's hand.

'STOP! I AM YOU AND YOU ARE ME, NOT HER. DON'T ALLOW THE SONG TO OVERTAKE YOU, WE HAVE TO RESIST!' Emery screamed in my mind.

I tried getting my mind to listen, but this overly strong desire to take the necklace was consuming me more.

"WHERE THE FUCK IS MY MATE!" I heard a distant scream out loud.

'THE BARRIERS ARE SHAKING. WE CAN'T HOLD THE MAGICAL BARRIER MUCH LONGER!' I heard another voice screaming in my head. Fuck, why can’t these voices let me be free and happy?

'BECAUSE IT'S NOT REAL, GET OUT OF THE TRANCE CALLIE!' Emery screamed.

'LUNA, THE BARRIER IS BREAKING. WHAT DO WE DO!?' I heard another voice asking in a frantic tone.

I started to get tunnel vision, focusing in and out on the necklace. All I could see was it. So pretty, I need to touch it.

'CALLIE HELP!' A scream sounded out, bringing me back to reality.

My eyes blurred for a split moment before I was able to fully comprehend what was going on. Shit, the necklace! I quickly yanked it out of Jakus's hand. As soon as I had it in my grasp, I rubbed the shell, praying that Jakus was not an exception to the rule. As my fingers glided up and down the shell, I could feel vibrations as the melody began to sing its song once more, only this time it was playing it for Jakus. His eyes began to gloss over, a cloudy hue took over the color of his eyes. He walked mindlessly to me after he reached me, he was completely overtaken, like I almost was, and that is when I decided to give an order.

"Kill yourself."

I could see him trying to fight the siren song, but completely failing as he retrieved a blade from his boot and quickly spliced open his own throat. Blood began to squirt out, coating the ground around him with crimson. He continued to bleed out as he fell to his knees, his hands now clenching his throat. His mouth began to quiver, he was desperately trying to speak, but instead of words protruding from his mouth, it was blood.

I raised my hands above my head, bringing them back downward as I slowly lowered the barrier that contained him and me. Once the barrier was down, the group unclasped their hands, tears in some of their eyes as they were the only ones to be able to witness what went down inside the dome. Gunner and Leonidas's faces went pale as we magically appeared out of thin air.

They both charged in our direction. Once they reached me, I saw Leonida's eyes glance over to see his father's body lying on the ground motionless. He looked back at me. "You did it." He said, amazed. "You did it!"

"Of course, I did. Did you think it wasn't possible?" I asked.

"I just wasn't sure if we could do it, but you did it. He is gone."

"Are you okay with that?" I asked, knowing even though Jakus was evil, he was still Leonidas's father.

"Fuck yeah, I am." He said as he crossed the threshold of the many bodies still in a circle around me. Pulling me flush to his body as he kissed my forehead.

"We were so worried." I heard from my left as Gunner appeared. Leonidas released me so that Gunner could pull me into his arms. I took a deep breath inhaling his smell to help with my nerves from everything that had just happened.

"I am so glad you're safe. I am so sorry that we weren't here." Gunner said, making my heart skip a beat that he included Leonidas in his feelings.

"You were exactly where you needed to be." Tears pooled in my eyes because my mate is alive and well. I altered the future. I beat the odds of destiny, that bitch can keep her alternate fate. Because I have my mates alive and well, both of them.

"Luna, Lovett never showed." Laken's voice interrupted our moment. "I think she fled the universe. She is nowhere on site." He reported when I didn't immediately respond.

"Okay, we will just have to be on high alert for her." He nodded in agreement. "How about we go home?" I said to the group. Everyone cheered in victory.

"What about all of them?" Jade asked as she joined us, nudging her head in the direction of hundreds of men, women, and children. They aren't dead! Oh, thank Goddess, my actions changed the future for them too.

"Hello, my name is Callie. I am the Luna of the Silverlake pack, and I am the Goddess. I have released you from your captors. If you choose to come with us, we will find your shelter and a place for you to stay until I can either get you back to your pack or get you settled in a home within our pack. It is up to you all what you would like to do. If you choose to separate ways from us, that is a choice you also have. However, you will most likely become a Rouge. If that is what you want, it is your right to choose. I will not force you to come, you are free now." I spoke to the gathering group of terrified faces. They began to chat with each other. Some walked away while others stayed still.

"Okay, those of you wanting to go back home with us, please follow us to the edge of this universe so we can transport you all there. We will go in groups so that not everyone is gone at once until everyone is transported safely back to our pack grounds."

We all walked to the edge, and I stayed behind to make sure that everyone was easily transported, and none were left behind. I gathered all of the maids and butlers from the land and gave them a choice as well. I didn't see Ingrid in the group. I hope she is safe. I wonder if she escaped before this madness.

Once we all made it home safely, I began to sort out sleeping arrangements. The majority decided to come back with us, and a few decided to part ways. I get that, although I allowed them to go free, it still scares me that I may have let evil walk out into the world. These people have been through so much, I don't know if they are mentally capable of being on their own. But I wasn't going to force them to come. Some would see that as me taking control.

"Luna, Ma'am. My name is Lexi and I just wanted to personally thank you for rescuing us. I have been in that camp for 10 years. I don't think I could go back to my pack and endure the stares from everyone. I just wanted to tell you that I am thankful for this opportunity to live my life again and I won't let you down." A small woman around the age of 30 said as she approached me with tearful eyes.

"No need to thank me, it was an honor to be able to save you and the others. You have nothing to prove here. I am glad that you decided to join us. This entire pack will be here for you. You are safe to live your life here. I'm glad I could offer you that security. Don't hesitate to come to me if you need anything. I am here."

She bowed her head before thanking me again and walking away. After I got all of the victims settled in, I went back to the Alpha floor where Gunner was showing Leonidas around. A smile crept up on my face, making me happy at how easily they got along. I am not sure how our relationship will work, since they are not mates, they only share one. But I have a feeling it will be blissful.

"Hey babe, welcome home!" Gunner shouts out.

"So, what are the sleeping arrangements going to be like here?" I asked, looking between the two.

"Well, I and Leo talked, and I am okay sharing a bed. Luckily, we have a Cali King, so we won't be crowded. You just get to be between the two of us."

He is already calling him by a nickname? Wow, whatever happened at that castle must've bonded them. I wasn't expecting Gunner to welcome him in with open arms. This acceptance honestly took me by surprise but fills me with joy nonetheless.

"That sounds perfect. Now that that's decided, I wanted to discuss other matters." I said to them,

"Okay babe, let's all sit down and talk."

We all walked to the living room, sitting down on different pieces of furniture so we could all face one another.

"If this is about our relationship arrangements, me and Gunner have already talked and-"

"No, although I am interested to know what y'all already discussed, it's actually about something else," I said, cutting Leonidas off.

"I have decided to hold a mandatory meeting. I am inviting all the leaders of different species here to introduce myself. I want to become what I was created for. If anyone challenges my word, I want to settle it. I am also going to use my magic to reach everyone that cannot come so they hear the details of the meeting. It is going to be a hard meeting because many men will challenge the fact that they are being ruled by a female."

"Okay, when would you like to do this?" Gunner asked curiously.

"As soon as possible. I figured it could be combined with my Luna ceremony since we kind of skipped that with all that has been going on. In the meantime, I would like you both to start scouting for a new location to live in. I want to move our pack somewhere centralized and much more accommodating. We are a growing pack, and I would like to be able to accommodate all of our new members."

"Okay, and what if we don't find a place on time?" Leonidas asked.

"We can find our new place, settle in, and then reach out. But the sooner, the better."

"How about let's make it a ball as well? A 2-day event. A ball to get to know one another, then the next day, a serious meeting to discuss serious matters." Leonidas then suggested.

"That's not a bad idea. We could host the ball to hold your Luna ceremony and then the next day, early in the morning, we would have the mandatory meeting." Gunner said, agreeing with his idea.

"That sounds nice. I want this meeting to happen within the next few months. Do y'all think we can make that happen?"

"I actually was already looking into moving us, mostly for your protection, but it serves us well still," Gunner said.

"So, there are places?" I asked hopefully.

"A few, yeah. I will start calling the properties in the morning. But in the meantime, how about a shower?" Gunner says while wiggling his eyebrows, leaping up, taking my hand, and making me giggle.

"Leo, you coming!?" He shouts as he kicks open the bathroom door. "The shower is big enough for us all!" He shouts again as he picks me up bridal style, walking me through the bathroom door, making my stomach flutter with butterflies. I've never actually seen Leonidas naked, and the thought excites me. The fact that Gunner invited him to join excites me even more. Time to experience the full extent of what it is like to have two mates!

'It's about damn time, mama needs some pampering!' Emery hollers with her excitement.

Gunner sits me down as he starts the water, making sure it was the right temperature. A few moments later, Leonidas walks in. It’s a little awkward since we haven't ever done this, but it also feels so natural. He walked over, his hand found the hem of my shirt as he gently lifted it over my head. His fingers grazed my sides, sending electrical currents over my entire body.

"You're so beautiful." He said as his lavender eyes met my own. He took my hand to help me stand up. Gunner walked over to join Leonidas, as he tugged on my pants. They both lead me to the shower. I stepped in, allowing the water to run down my head and body. A moment later, they both joined. Leonidas grabbed the shampoo, squirting some in his hand before massaging it into my scalp, while Gunner was using the soap to completely rid my body of today's events.

'I could get used to this!' Emery hollers as the electrical currents erupt all over my body at the sensation of them massaging me.

'Me too.' I replied in complete bliss.

This life was made for me, these men were made for me, just as I was made for them.