CHAPTER 53: Jared's Guilt

CHAPTER 53: Jared's Guilt

Jared's POV
I forced myself to stand, even though my body screamed in pain. Georgia and my children were walking toward danger, and I couldn't let them face it alone.
"Jared, you need to rest," Oracle Mira urged. "You used all your energy."
"I don't care," I said, stumbling forward. "My family needs me."
The three Original Lycans landed in front of the palace gates, blocking Georgia's way. They were massive—twice the size of normal wolves, with eyes that glowed like fire.
"Finally," the first one said in a voice like thunder. "We wake."
"Who dares disturb our sleep?" the second one growled.
The third one sniffed the air and looked straight at my children. "Guardian children. Interesting."
The Lycan King's army had stopped moving. Even he looked nervous now.
"Ancient Ones," the Lycan King called out, bowing low. "I am Daemon, King of All Lycans. I did not mean to wake you."
"Yet wake we did," the first Original said. "And someone must pay the price."
"What price?" Georgia asked, stepping in front of our children protectively.
The three Originals focused on her. "You. You are the mother. We smell the traditional magic on your children. Your bloodline woke us."
"It wasn't her fault," I said, finally reaching them. I stood beside Georgia. "It was her mother who tried to do the ritual."
"Then where is this mother?" the second Original asked.
"Gone," Shadow said quietly. "I erased her from existence."
The Originals looked at Shadow with interest. "You have power we have not seen in ages. Silver magic. How?"
"I don't know," Shadow revealed. "I just do."
"This changes things," the third Original said to the others. "The prophecy mentioned silver magic."
"What prophecy?" Oracle Mira asked.
But the Originals ignored her. They were having some kind of silent chat with their eyes.
Finally, the first one spoke. "We will make a deal. The mother and her five children will come with us. We will teach the children to control their skills. In return, we will not destroy your pack."
"No deal," I said instantly. "They're staying here."
"You have no choice," the second Original said. "We are the Original Lycans. Our word is law."
"Your time is over," I shot back. "The world has changed in a thousand years. You don't rule anymore."
The first Original laughed. "Brave words from someone who can barely stand. But we respect bravery. So we will give you a choice."
"What choice?" Georgia asked.
"We take the children and train them for five years," the Original stated. "They will be safe and well-cared for. After five years, they can choose whether to stay with us or return to you. Or—"
"Or what?" I asked.
"Or we destroy everyone here and take the children anyway," the Original said simply. "Your choice. Five years of separation, or instant death."
Georgia's face went white. "You can't ask me to choose that."
"We can and we are," the second Original said. "You have one minute to decide."
I looked at Georgia. Through the mate bond, I felt her pain. She'd already lost six years with Shadow. Now she might lose five more years with all her children.
And it was all my fault.
If I hadn't refused her that night, none of this would have happened. She wouldn't have been exposed. Caleb wouldn't have hurt her. She wouldn't have gotten pregnant. The children wouldn't have been born with these dangerous skills.
Everything traced back to me. To my pride. To my stupidity.
"I'm sorry," I whispered to Georgia. "This is all because of me. I destroyed your life."
"Don't," Georgia said, tears running down her face. "Don't do this now."
"I have to," I said. "You need to know. Everything bad that's happened to you—the rejection, that night, the isolation, five years of suffering—it all started with me. I'm the reason your life fell apart."
"Thirty seconds," the first Original announced.
"Mom, what do we do?" Emma asked, looking frightened.
Georgia pulled all five children close. "I don't know, kids. I don't know."
"Maybe we should go," Shadow said quietly. "If it saves everyone else."
"No," Georgia sobbed. "I can't lose you. Any of you. Not for five years. Not for five minutes."
"Then they all die," the second Original said, pointing at the pack members behind us. "Their blood will be on your hands."
I couldn't let this happen. I couldn't let Georgia make this hard choice.
So I made it for her.
"Take me instead," I said.
Everyone stared at me.
"What?" Georgia breathed.
"Take me instead of the children," I said to the Originals. "I'm the Alpha. I have power too. Train me for five years. Let the children stay with their mother."
"No!" Georgia shouted. "Jared, don't!"
"It makes sense," I continued. "I'm older. Stronger. More useful to you than children."
The Originals considered this. "Interesting deal. But we want the children especially. Their potential is bigger."
"Then take me too," Georgia said suddenly. "Take both of us. Leave the children with people who love them. People who will keep them safe."
"Mom, no!" all five children cried.
"Time's up," the first Original said. "Make your final decision now."
Georgia looked at me with desperate eyes. "What do we do?"
I knew what we had to do. I'd known from the moment the Originals came.
"We fight," I said.
"You can't fight them," Oracle Mira said. "They're too powerful!"
"I don't care," I said. "I won't let them take my family. Not again. Never again."
I shifted into my True Alpha form, even though my body complained. Even though I had no energy left.
"If you want my mate and my children," I growled at the Originals, "you'll have to kill me first."
The Originals smiled. "So be it."
They attacked together, moving faster than anything I'd ever seen.
I managed to block the first punch. Dodged the second. But the third hit me square in the chest, sending me flying backward.
"Jared!" Georgia screamed.
I hit the ground hard. Blood poured from my mouth. I could barely breathe.
But I stood up anyway. Because that's what dads do. What mates do. They protect their families, even when it's impossible.
"Is that all you've got?" I mocked the Originals.
They attacked again. This time, all three at once.
I knew I was going to die. There was no way to win this fight. But maybe I could buy Georgia and the children time to leave.
Through the mate bond, I sent one final word to Georgia: "I love you. I'm sorry for everything. Take care of our children. Tell them I died protecting them."
"No!" Georgia's voice echoed in my mind. "Don't you dare die! Don't you dare leave me!"
But the Originals were too fast. Their claws reached for my throat.
This was it. The end.
Then something impossible happened.
My five children stepped in front of me, holding hands. Their combined magic—white, gold, and silver—exploded outward, hitting the Originals with such force that they actually stumbled backward.
"Leave our Papa alone!" Emma shouted.
The Originals looked shocked. "Impossible. Children this young shouldn't have this much power."
"We're not normal children," Kelvin said.
"We're family," Kelsey added. "And family protects each other."
The children's power grew stronger, making a shield around me and Georgia.
The Originals tried to break through but couldn't. The children's love for us was making magic stronger than ancient power.
"Fascinating," the first Original said. "We have not seen this in a thousand years. Love-based magic. The rarest kind."
"Perhaps we were wrong," the second Original said. "Perhaps these children are not meant to be trained by us."
The third Original nodded. "They are already learning the most important lesson. Love makes you stronger than power ever could."
The Originals bowed to the children. "You have proven yourselves worthy. We will not take you. You may stay with your parents."
Relief flooded through me. "Thank you."
"But know this," the first Original warned. "Darker enemies are coming. Enemies who will not be as forgiving as we are. You must prepare. Train together as a family. Because the next threat will require all of your combined power."
"What threat?" Georgia asked.
The Originals looked at each other grimly. "The one who made us. The one we fled from a thousand years ago. The First Evil. It's waking up. And when it comes, everyone will die unless you stop it."
"How do we stop it?" I asked.
"We don't know," the third Original revealed. "We ran from it instead of fighting it. That is our shame. But perhaps you will be braver than we were."
They started to fade away, returning to wherever they'd been sleeping.
"Wait!" Shadow called out. "How long do we have? When will this First Evil arrive?"
The Originals' words echoed as they disappeared: "Seven days. You have seven days to prepare for the end of everything."
Silence fell over the entire area.
Then the Lycan King started laughing. "This is great. Absolutely amazing. In seven days, we all die anyway. So why not settle our scores first?"
He looked at Georgia with hungry eyes. "I'm still taking you and Kaia. Because even if the world ends, I want you to suffer first."
His army started moving again.
We'd survived the Originals, only to face an immediate fight.
And somewhere out there, something called the First Evil was waking up.
We had seven days to save the world.
And I had no idea how.