Chapter 129 Torn between two worlds
Chapter 129: Torn between two worlds
Damon pov
"HOOAH!" All the shadow warriors gathered, shouted back at the same time, slamming their fists against their chests, and stumping their feet rhythmically on the ground. The sound echoed like war drums.
Other warriors started gathering too, drawn by James's commanding presence. He was good at this… really good. And from the respect he was accorded, he had built a tighter bond with the pack warriors…
It was something I would never admit out loud.
"We have trained for this!" James continued, pacing back and forth like a general giving a speech. "The Righteous Pack thinks they can attack us while we are distracted!. They think we are WEAK!"
"We are NOT weak!" someone in the crowd shouted.
"YES, WE'RE NOT!" James agreed, pointing at them. "We are the MAFIAN PACK! We are STRONG! We are FIERCE! And we will show these invaders what happens when they threaten our home!"
A collective battle cry from the crowd shook the very foundation of the arena.
The crowd was getting stirred up now, pumping their fists, their eyes red glowing red, ready to fight.
Commander Josh stepped forward, his face filled with seriousness of the whole situation.
“GUNS AND MACHINERY UNITS, ADVANCE.”
Different growls answered his command. As warriors in his units all filed up behind him, taking in up their fighting stance, ready for war.
‘SHIELD AND DEFENSE UNIT. SET UP”
“ARCHERY UNITS. SET UP...”
and for once he didn't look angry at me. He looked focused on the real enemy. "Shadow units, take the left flank! Iron Claw warriors, you're with me on the right! Hunters, spread out and pick them off from range!"
Other commanders started shouting orders too, organizing everyone into different groups. The fight we were having before was long forgotten, as everyone focused on the real enemy.
James turned back to me one last time. His eyes are dead serious now.
"Go," he said quietly for only me to hear. "Protect your mate. We have got this."
Mate?? There was that word again.
Before I could think about it too much, the warriors started shifting. All around me, humans were becoming wolves…bones cracking, fur sprouting, clothes tearing. In seconds, the arena was full of giant wolves in different colors: brown, gray, black, white.
They threw their heads back and howled…a battle cry that made my blood sing with the need to join them.
But I looked down at Milo again. His face was so pale. His breathing was so shallow I had to watch really carefully to see his chest move at all.
James was right. Milo needed me more.
“WAIT!”
I shouted for James to stop, digging inside my cloak, I pulled it out.
“Here, I was wrong before.”
James stared dumbfounded at the command sigil. The Beta crest in my hands. For a while I thought he would break down in tears, but then he gathered himself.
“thank you alpha. I will wield it with my life.” James swore, already turning away. "GO NOW!"
So I ran.
I held Milo tight against my chest with one arm, while using my other arm to balance selene on my shoulders as I sprinted away from the howls and battle cry coming from the arena. My wolf-strength let me run fast, really fastt despite carrying heavy weights on my shoulders. Jumping over obstacles, dodging people who were running around in panic.
Behind me, I heard the battle cries getting louder as my warriors rushed toward the northern border to meet the enemy head on.
Please be safe, I thought, sending the prayer to James and all my fighters.
I burst through the door to Daphne's healing room so hard the doors almost fell off it hinges. BANG!
Daphne jumped about a foot in the air, spinning around with wide eyes. She'd been sitting at her desk, and her face was all red and puffy like she'd been crying.
"DAMON?!" she gasped. "What are you…"
But then she trailed off, when she saw Milo in my arms, her whole face went white as snow.
"Oh my Goddess," she whispered. "What happened? Is he…"
"He shifted," I said quickly, carrying Milo to the big healing bed in the corner. "His first shift. And then he collapsed. He's barely breathing, Daphne. You have to help him. Please."
I laid Milo down gently on the bed. He looked so small, and so fragile wrapped in nothing but my coat. but I could see bruises that had formed all over his skin… purple and blue and ugly.
Daphne rushed over immediately, her healer instincts kicking in. She pressed her fingers to Milo's neck, checking his pulse. Then she lifted his eyelids to look at his eyes. Then she put her ear to his chest to listen to his heartbeat.
Her face got more and more worried with each thing she checked.
"Will he be okay?" I asked, my voice coming out smaller than I meant it to. Almost…scared. "Daphne, please tell me he'll be okay."
She pulled back, chewing on her bottom lip… something she only did when she was really nervous.
"It's... it's up to him now," she finally said.
"What does that mean?!" I felt panic rising in my chest like water filling up a bucket. "What's wrong with him?"
Daphne went to her shelves and started pulling down bottles and jars, mixing things together in a bowl. I noticed her hands were shaking in the process.
"He has been poisoned," she said quietly. "I can smell it in his blood. And the poison was the reason for his forced shift…”
She trailed off, her face deep in thoughts. But I was not ready for those now, I needed answers.
“How is the poison the reason for his forces shift?? And who will dare poison Milo under my protection.” I raged.
“Lunaris Draught." She said simply.
The name hit me like a punch to the stomach. "Lunaris Draught? But that's... that's illegal! That poison has been banned for over a hundred years!"
"I know." Daphne's voice was grim. She brought the bowl of medicine over and started rubbing it on Milo's chest and arms. "It's a rare poison that messes with a wolf's mind. Makes them lose control. See things that aren't real. Hear voices that tell them to give in to their beast…"
I drones out whatever she was saying. The memories of the evil voice. That dark, mean voice that had been spewing lies and poison to milo flashed across my thoughts.
It wasn't just Milo's darkness. Someone had poisoned him. Someone had wanted him to lose control during the death match..
"Who would do this?" I growled, my hands shaking real hard to break something, preferably the culprit's jaws. "Who would…"
"I don't know," Daphne interrupted. "But whoever it was, they knew exactly what they were doing. Lunaris Draught is specifically designed to trigger first shifts violently. To make new wolves go berserk and hurt people." She looked at me with sad eyes. "Someone wanted Milo to become a monster tonight."
The urge kept on growing stronger and stronger. I wanted to find whoever did this, and rip them apart with my bare hands.
He'll, I needed all the fucking answersi could get!!
I looked at Selen for the first time since I had dropped her on the table the first time I came. She knocked out stone cold, and wouldn't be answering questions anytime soon.
But first, I needed Milo to survive.
"Can you cure him?" I asked, desperation clearly in my voice. "Can you get the poison out?"
"I'm doing everything I can," Daphne said, rubbing the medicine on Milo's skin. "But most of the work has to come from him. His body needs to fight the poison off. His wolf needs to be strong enough to push it out." She paused. "All we can do now is wait."
Wait??
I hated waiting.