Chapter 162
“My mind was heavy at first, but once I shifted to human form, my mind cleared. It felt like a weight had been removed.”
“I wanted to take him back with us. We tried to take him down.”
“Aren bit him on the arm, bit down, holding on to him, but he shook Aren like he was made of paper!”
“He did something to Zanel, and he fell. It looked like his eyes and ears were bleeding, but I didn’t get a good look.”
“He kept looking at his Gamma, like some babe lost in the woods.”
Misha sat forward, his eyes on his father.
“So, we went for the Gamma. He was strong, as I’ve said, but it was the only option.”
“It was when that Gamma of his went down that he went wild,” he explained, his eyes shifting to the spellcaster.
He leaned forward more, his forearm resting on his father’s knee as he spoke directly to the older shifter.
It was at this point that Marian’s eyes left the fire.
This was a part she had missed. Jackson’s view had been blocked by his many attackers. She had not been able to see what had happened from this point, up until Jackson regained consciousness.
“He howled. It was like nothing I had ever heard before!”
“He was in human form, but he howled.”
“It was loud, yet not so loud. It sounded like…felt like…a waterfall. The crashing of a waterfall.”
“It was in my head, yet it was around me. It was…far away, distant, but, at the same time, it was right inside my own chest.”
“Like he was calling something?” the older shifter, Jorak, asked quietly.
“Yes! He was calling something! He called something,” Misha confirmed, his face becoming slightly pale as he continued.
“I…,” he gazed up at his father as he continued to lean on his leg like it was a piece of furniture.
Tobias stared down at his son, unblinking.
Misha swallowed, his blue eyes on his father.
“The sky changed,” he said softly, “for a second. It was night, the moon was bright, but it…the moon…it…”
He turned to the spellcaster, flicked his gaze to Eaden, then back to his father.
“It filled the sky, almost. It got large, larger than a sun.”
“The stars were still out, but they seemed closer. The moon, seemed closer, but larger than it should ever be.”
“Only for a moment.”
“That was when his eyes changed. They turned white. Full white, and every one of our people fell where they stood with just a gaze.”
“He didn’t strike anyone; he just looked at us.”
“Three of us were on him, but he started from Slade, who had been on the tail of one of his guards.”
“I think he broke him. I heard bones snapping like those bubbles on a Bubble Warp.”
“Then he turned to those on his Gamma. I don’t remember hearing any sound, but they all stopped moving.”
“The Gamma had shifted by then. Our people had taken enough bites out of him to weaken his wolf. His wolf couldn’t hold his form.”
“Then he faced those of us on him.”
Misha sat up, gazing at the three men.
“I thought my brain was melting. That’s what it felt like.”
“Aren couldn’t even howl. No sound. It felt like…,” his voice drifted off as he glanced sideways, searching his mind for the right words.
“You were being pulled apart from the inside. Your wolf was disintegrating,” Jorak breathed.
Misha’s head snapped to the spellcaster. The older shifter was ashen. His eyes were damp.
“Yes…,” Misha whispered.
Jorak, who had been sitting on a log, slid down to his knees.
“Praise the goddess,” he whispered, hands shaking as he placed them together in supplication.
“Praise the goddess!” he yelled, raising his arms to the night sky.
He bowed his head to the ground and remained there for a full minute.
Tobias and Eaden were on their feet, staring at the bowed spellcaster as Misha’s eyes and Marian’s darted between all three older men.
“Jorak –” Alpha Tobias called quietly
“Alpha! It is here! It is upon us!” Jorak cried out joyously, his eyes dancing as he gazed up at the Bloodrayne Alpha.
“What is here? Speak clearly,” Eaden spat
“You know what it is, Head Protector!” Joark stated with a wide smile, still on his knees, as he turned to Eaden, standing on his left.
He turned back to Alpha Tobias, who was on his right.
“The Alpha of Alphas. The King of all Kings. A Lycan has finally woken among us! We don’t need the annual rituals anymore. A Lycan has come!! Jorak declared joyfully.
Misha stood.
“What do you mean?” Misha snapped, “WE are the descendants!” he said, beating his chest once, his eyes ablaze.
Marian gaped at him.
Since she had met Misha, he had never had such an aggressive outburst.
Jorak was speaking.
“This is true, but…he has chosen another…he has the choice,” Jorak said excitedly, his trembling eyes on Misha.
He turned back to Tobias, moving forward on his knees.
“Alpha! We have our leader now!” he breathed.
Tobias stared down at Jorak. His face pale, his lips pursed.
His hands were relaxed at his sides, but his chest was too still. He had stopped breathing.
His eyes were darting left and right as his mind raced.
Without a word, he sat back on the log he and the others had been sharing.
Marian stared at him.
Slowly, her eyes drifted to the others.
Misha was staring at the ground, Jorak was staring at his Alpha, and Eaden was looking away to the side.
Marian swallowed.
Her mind was still playing catch-up, but someone else was already prodding her.
Marian murmured, and all eyes snapped to her.
She gazed wide-eyed at the four Bloodrayne shifters.
“Are you…saying…he is…,” she breathed.
“Yes,” Jorak replied, still smiling widely, nodding excitedly.
“But…he is asleep. He hasn’t woken. He –”
“Ah! Yes!” Jorak said quickly, rising and dusting his knees. “Alpha, I must consult with my people. We must –”
“Go,” Tobias droned, his eyes on the very pale Marian.
“Yes, Alpha,” Jorak said hurriedly as he ran past the surrounding wolves who were now facing inward, all eyes on their Alpha.
Marian swallowed.
The atmosphere seemed to have shifted.
The cold was no longer touching her.
Her mind was hazy, and her breathing had become more rapid.
Tobias stared, and a sharp pain hit Marian’s head.
“Argh! What are you doing?!” she snapped, her pitch high. Too high.
“What are YOU doing, little wolf?” Tobias droned.
“I told you I need information! Am I not here with you?! Why would you –” Marian complained indignantly.
“Who is behind your eyes, little wolf?” Tobias continued as if she had not spoken.
“Be at ease, young one. Release the girl,” a soft voice spoke from the tree line.