When fate and worlds collide

18 | Next steps

Daegon

Sweat beaded on Deagon's forehead as he finished training with his pack, bare chest glistening in the light and muscles flexing. The sun was rising high into the sky and the patrol party were getting ready to head out on their rounds. An uneasy feeling sat in his chest all morning, tugging in a strange way after a short and painful sensation had shot through him. Trixa had been concerned, as well as many of the pack members as they all had felt it, and for a moment Daegon thought that it had been his Aura power responding to something beyond his own senses.

Wiping his face Daegon tugged on his shirt, ignoring the stares of the other She-wolves that were practicing around him, many were still unmated and were hoping Daegon would find pleasure in their company, as he had done a few times in the past, but lately he had no appetite for intimate moments from any woman. Trixa sat on the balcony railing overlooking the makeshift training yard, a smug look on her face. Daegon ignored her to, she had been insisting on the possibility his mate was nearby all morning.

Accepting a bottle of water from Beta Treyton, the Lycan King clocked the whereabouts of all his pack, making sure each member was doing his or her job in keeping their base safe and secure. He watched as the Patrol team leader, a delta named Blayde promoted to beta under Treyton, gave out instructions. In order to get Trixa off his back Daegon had instructed the patrols to do a pass by of the cities boarder, and to look for anything out of place.

It had been unusually quiet the past few weeks, and even Daegon was worried about the absence of the beasts.

As he was observing his pack around him a painful tug started building in his head, as if something sharp was pressing against his temple. Scrunching his eyes briefly Daegon downed the rest of his water, trying to force the pain away. After a moment it ebbed, only to come back full force, causing him to stumble and fall to one knee. A grunt left his lips as his Aura powers surged, a strange and unusual feeling and emotion washing through him.

A small yelp cause him to look up to where Trixa had been sitting, seeing her clutching at her own head, falling from the railing to the balcony with a thump. Gradually, others with Aura abilities followed suit, clutching at their head as the pain intensified.

Just when he thought the pain was about to become unbearable, a ripple surged through the packs link, many passing out from the immense pain and disorientation. Daegon's vision went white, ears ringing, he felt himself reach out a hand and steady himself with the cold and hard ground, using the rough feeling of the concrete to centre himself.

After a few seconds his vision started to clear, hearing slowly coming back as he blinked a few times to disburse the white lingering in his eyes. Treyton was in front of Daegon, a worried look on his face as he called his Alpha's name

"Check Trixa" he ordered. Treyton didn't hesitate, he knew the importance Trixa held within the pack as he dashed into the house and appeared a moment later on the balcony where Trixa had been, crouching down at eye level with the Aura. After a few moments Daegon felt her presence in his mind

"I am Alright." she stood and dusted herself off, brushing away Treyton as he tried to help steady her "What in the goddess was that?"

"I was hoping you could tell me" Daegon responded, rubbing his head. He reached out to grab hold of his powers, only to find it alive with a strange current, as if it had been super charged. He made his way over to a few pack members that were still passed out on the ground, others trying to prop their heads up and make them comfortable "it feels as if the Aura has been affected by an outside power" he crouched down and inspected a gamma, a thin cut in the processing of healing where the she-wolf had hit her head as she fell. Trixa reached out to inspect the magic herself, her concern washing over Daegon

"Why does it look like that?" that question worried the Lycan King. Out of his pack, Trixa had been the one to attend the academy the longest; if anyone was to know what happened, it was her

"Something is wrong" he heard Trixa scoff from above him

"You deduce that from what just happened, did you?" her sarcasm caused Daegon's eye to twitch. As he stood and surveyed the area he realised two things; One, the forest surrounding their base had gone eerily quiet, the birds that could normally be heard singing were now silent. And two; that strange and sharp tug in his chest was not only still there, it was now stronger than before. He rubbed his chest slightly, eyes unwillingly travelling past the tree line to the city that lay in the distance

Trixa appeared in front of him, her brows pulled together in a frown, eyes glowing as she pulled on her magic and prodded her Alpha. Daegon blinked in surprise a few times before frowning himself, irritated at her lack of respect recently

"I don't have the patience today Trixa" he growled out loud, but Trixa didn't move. Instead, she frowned harder - if that was possible - her powers prodding Daegon even more. A deep growl rumbled through his chest in warning, standing tall and pushing back against the Aura. Others around them either dipped their heads in submission, or bent over as they bowed to their Alpha.

And yet Trixa still did not move

"She is here" she mumbled. The growl died instantly as recognition shot through Daegon, his wolf practically howling with delight at that statement; his mate was nearby

"Not again Trixa" Daegon brushed it off and began walking away, his pack moving to let him pass as they picked up those that still hadn't woken up from the burst of Aura magic

"I don't know how, or why, but that surge of power is related to our Luna" he spun around, teeth bared at the word. Trixa cowered back in shock at the sudden aggression

"She is no Luna of my pack unless I say so"

"She is the fated mate and Luna the Goddess has granted you" Trixa argued. God, why was she so stubborn on this?

"I do not care if the Goddesses granted me ten fated mates, it does not change my opinion or my decision Trixa. I will not tolerate this discussion further" he boomed. Trixa bared her teeth but bowed her head, submitting just like the rest. Although she could have been his Luna at one point, she still did not have the power to resist his authority; only the true Luna did.

And that was something Daegon was never going to allow.

"Whether you want to accept her or reject her, Alpha Daegon" she ground the formal name out "you still need to find her." Daegon closed his mouth. She wasn't wrong, while his fated mate was still out there she was a ticking time bomb. As much as he would prefer to ignore that possibility, if the vampires were here in this dimension, including the Dark Aura, and they discovered his mate then they would be able to use that bond against him.

Daegon was silent for a moment as he thought his next steps through. The entire courtyard was frozen as they waited for their Alpha and King to move or speak, not daring to even cough in fear they would be reprimanded. If his mate truly was somewhere in the city, it meant he would have to risk the lives of his pack to go and find an individual in an area they had not properly scouted or mapped, due to the sheer number of feral rogues, or Vargulfs as they were called, and bloodfiends, creatures that appeared to once be vampires, now twisted and animalistic.

"What happens if the Dark Aura figures out your mate is here? We haven't seen Nerezza since she collided our worlds" Trixa added. Daegon let out an irritated huff before storming away, the pack parting around him. Treyton looked at Trixa, a worried expression on his face. Her words caused him just as much worry, but they both knew their King was too stubborn to change his mind.

Once their Alpha had disappeared from sight Trixa turned her attention back to the Beta, her eyes blazing

"There is something we are not seeing Trey, it's been almost four years and not once have we seen an actual vampire. Nerezza did not go through all that trouble on stealing the crystals, killing the blue moon pack and merging our two worlds, just to have her entire species turned into twisted mindless beasts" she looked towards the city

"What do you propose? Our King has forbidden entering the city, only authorising Patrol team A and B to scout the boarder, and the Vargulfs don't wonder this far from the city anymore" Trixa was silent as she pondered

"If our Luna is in the city, as well as the Dark Aura, eventually Daegon has to realise we cannot ignore that entering the city in a necessity"

"And what about when we find the Luna? Daegon has no interest in accepting her Trixa, even you cannot change his mind on that decision. There are many within the pack that hold the blessings of the moon goddess very high, it would not go well if he rejects her so easily" the look she gave Treyton was worrying. He knew that her connection to their King was the only reason she could push the boundaries, but even she had limits to her jests and disobedience

"Our King needs a Queen, all Alpha's are strongest with their Luna's at their side, it has been known though all werewolf and Lycan history" They looked in the direction Daegon had left in

"It seems he may have willingly forgotten that Trixa"

"Or had it beaten from him" she mumbled before walking away, leaving Treyton stunned at that small revelation.

~*~

Aiyanna

My heart crashed against my ribcage, head swooning from the sudden surge of adrenaline as my fear overrode my senses. I watched the creature stand up from behind the counter, its frame thin and skeletal, skin stretched to far across its frame, blood red eyes standing out against its pale and scar ridden face.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Rohnan freeze, hand halfway to gabbing another pack of cards. I could smell his fear that rolled off him, the panic that resonated through our link.

"Rohnan, back away slowly, I will keep its attention on me" I instructed. His panic spiked again at my instructions

"No mum, you can't-"

"God dam- do as I ask!" I shouted in the link, using my commanding voice to compel him to move. I would have preferred to run into a feral, at least I knew I could kill them. I didn't even kill the last nightmare I had faced, and now I had the life of my son to worry about. I watched as he stepped back slowly

"It looks starved" Xavier remarked. It did, which meant it would be weaker, but more violent and unpredictable. It also explained why I didn't sense it, even now I could barely feel the last of its life ebbing away

"Get Rohnan out" I instructed Xavier, he moved to the left without debate as I stepped to the right loudly, drawing the creatures attention. I watched as it opened its mouth, drool oozing to drip on the counter. As I stepped sideways again, noting Xavier was almost at Rohnan, I watched in horror as he slipped, falling to the ground with a crash. The next few moments seemed to happen in slow motion.

I watched as the nightmares eyes turned from me to pinpoint my son, his mouth widening in almost a grin. Without hesitation I shot forward the same time the creature did, my shoulder colliding with the chest of the beast and sending it sprawling away into the wall. I turned and screamed at the two to move, scrambling over the fallen shelves. I shoved Rohnan and Xavier through the gap under the door just in time to hear the beast crashing behind us, screaming. I threw myself after the others as its long arm ending in razor sharp nails swiped after me.

Its arm sizzled upon contact with the light, flesh bubbling the smell of burning flesh filled my nose. The blood curdling scream that emanated from the nightmare grated against my ears and caused alarm bells to go off in my mind; it would alert any feral in the area to our location.

Scrambling to my feet I shoved Rohnan in the direction of home, screaming at him to run. We had only minutes before the ferals would arrive at the location, and from there begin their hunt for us. We needed to stay ahead of them.

I knew in order to keep Rohnan safe I would have to open a portal. He was against going through them, his experiences in the past had not been pleasant but it also meant leaving me behind. For some unknown reason I myself could not enter the portals I created, and instead had to rely on transporting myself to nearby locations I knew about, but even that had a range I could use.

And, as I had discovered in the past, it had a limit on the power I used as well.

"Don't you dare mum" Rohnan growled in our pack link, almost causing me to stumble "I won't leave you and Xavier" He must have felt my intentions. I clenched my jaw tightly

"This isn't open for discussion!" I growled back. I looked at Xavier, seeing his eyes glowing brightly as his Aura crackled around us. I heard the howl of the ferals from the way we had come, indicating they had caught our scent. Panic was starting to set in, scenarios of what could happened starting to play in my head. I tried shutting it out but my fear made it difficult.

Turning another corner I could see the peak of the Tower in the distance, we had been closer than I thought. I felt relief flood through me, quickly replaced by more panic when another howl responded, this one closer then before.

I resisted the urge to let out a scream when something crashed behind us, the unmistakable stench of the ferals filling my nose and causing more adrenaline to pump through my body. Panic was starting to rise in my stomach, wanting to take over at the thought of my son being torn apart by those creatures. I started to feed magic to Rohnan, allowing him to run faster than us, allowing him to pull away; I just needed to give him a head start.

Reacting on instinct I swiftly pulled out my gun and shot the feral that lunged at me from a building to the right, its limp body narrowly missing me and crashing into a few ferals behind us. My heart thumped hard against my chest as I drew on more power, feeding it into Rohnan in an attempt to get him far enough away from the pack. I knew what I had to do, I just didn't know if I had the strength to do it. Rohnan would miss me, probably hate me, but at least he would be safe.

Pain shot through my leg as the claw from a feral caught my ankle, tearing into the flesh and causing me to stumble. I heard Xavier scream my name but I forced him to keep going, I could feel his anger and frustration that the oath kept him from coming back to me

I slashed at the feral that had caught my leg, my knife slicing through its neck, black blood spraying the ground and sizzling on contact. Another feral crashed into me, sending me sprawling across the street, my head smacking against the pavement and shoulder scraping as I skidded to a halt. I pushed myself up onto my elbow, realising then that the ferals had lost all interest in Xavier and Rohnan; their sole attention was on me.

As if they knew who I was.

Gritting my teeth I pulled a small portion of my power away from Rohnan and shot to my feet, killing two more ferals and wounding a third. I backed away, seeing more ferals climbing over buildings in my direction.

"Aiyanna! Come on!" Xavier screamed, his fear and panic rippling through our link as he desperately fought against the oath bond. I knew he would regret taking that oath after this, but I had no other choice. I reached out to Liam, giving him my instructions on Rohnan being our successor, his fear and panic joined in with Xavier's weighing me down as Liam scrambled to gather the pack to come to our aid.

I cut off the link. I didn't need to feel his emotions. I turned and looked at Xavier, screaming at him to get my son to safety. I saw the hurt cross his face as he grabbed Rohnan, my son kicking and screaming for me, reminding me how young he still was. Tears stung my eyes as I turned away and faced the wave of ferals approaching.