The Knights Revenge

CHAPTER 9.

　　”Come one!”

　　”Harder, faster, better!”?

　　”You fight like my nana, do it again!”?

　　I stood by the sidelines, watching the warriors prepare for battle and listening to my brothers' motivational words.?

　　I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes. I had a migraine growing fast and wanted to go find my mate.?

　　Avery had been busy with the preparations for the Luna ceremony. I knew she wasn't too stoked about that which was another reason why I had kept my distance.?

　　I didn’t want to look at her forced smiles and fake happiness. I wanted her to be genuinely happy about this. I wanted her to want this and not be forced into it.?

　　But at the same time, I knew that she wasn't like the rest of the she-wolves.?

　　Avery grew up believing she was human. She had never heard about Alphas or Lunas other than storybooks and movie franchises.

　　This was all overwhelming her.

　　She went from being human to being a hybrid werewolf-witch, fighting a war and killing her birth father within months.

　　How she was still here, I couldn't understand.?

　　But Avery was strong, she was fearless. She was a Luna in its’ most purest form.?

　　”Why isn't our Alpha fighting?” I heard one of the warriors snap at Alex.

　　I dropped my hand and refocused on what was happening in front of me.?

　　Alex turned slowly, facing me with a lifted brow.?

　　I lifted my head and stepped up to the warrior.

　　I saw him cower back slightly, his hand shaking and his head falling.

　　The three others that had been enjoying his rebelliousness against their Alpha were standing behind him.?

　　”You three, circle me.” I ordered.?

　　They all looked at each other. They looked ready to piss their pants.?

　　I rolled up my sleeves and let my arms drop. When I noticed that nobody moved, I let Blade rise to the surface.?

　　”IT’S AN ORDER.” I roared making everyone jump.?

　　The three started circling me and Hanson- the rebel- stood before me.?

　　”I want too see your very best.” I said.

　　I waited for them to get ready. One by one they started moving slowly. One of the guys took his shot and jumped me from behind. I quickly turned and grabbed his arm, twisting it until I heard a c***k before pushing him back.?

　　He fell to the ground, groaning from the pain.

　　The two others ran towards me from either side. I waited until they were close enough before I stepped back and grabbed one of the guys by the neck. I flung him up in the air and punched the other one in the gut.?

　　As the second fell with a thud, I lifted him up by his throat and threw him onto a tree.?

　　The three were down. They weren't getting up. And one of them would have to wait until his arm healed.?

　　I turned and faced Hanson.

　　He looked at his friends before slowly turning his head back to face me.?

　　”Ready?” I asked him.?

　　Hanson took another glance around. All warriors had stopped their training and were focusing on us.?

　　Nobody was speaking. Everyone had given us their fullest attention.

　　When listening in I could hear Hansons heart beating erratically and his breathing was fast. He was afraid.

　　He wasn't a skilled fighter, hunter or warrior. He had only started to train with them this year which explained the obnoxious attitude.

　　He turned back once again and locked his eyes with mine. His head bowed down and he went down on his knee in a slow motion. Only when he had fully submitted, kneeling before me did I move closer.

　　”I do fight. I do the practice. More so than anybody else here. Next time the urge to question my authority arises, you better be prepared to beat me.” I said.?

　　~Avery~

　　My bones ached. My brain felt as though it had been plucked from inside my skull and then placed back in. My insides were twisting and my entire body felt to be on fire. It was aching, burning, and breaking. It wouldn't go away.?

　　The pain was excruciating. I tried opening my eyes but I couldn’t. I couldn't bring myself too look or to feel, to cope with everything going on.?

　　I tried once more.?

　　Nothing.

　　Darkness.

　　Something was wrong.?

　　A gust of wind blew past me and the scenery around me started to form. Unlike the forest I had once witnessed, this one was cold, white, and dreadful.

　　I took a step. My foot pushed down in the snow.?

　　The crushing sound sent some kind of warmth down my veins. Snow had always been a favorite thing of mine. Winters, when I would wake up and see the grass and trees be hidden by layers of snow was wonderful. Magical.

　　I looked around. There were houses buried under mountains of snow and hills that begged to be played on. A Child's wonderland was surrounding me. My wonderland. All around me was glistening white snow. Crystal-like beads shone through the thick-white clouds of snow.

　　Ice crystals were hanging from the trees and the windows of the houses.?

　　A part of me was worried. Worried for whoever lived in those houses. But then again I knew that nobody lived there.?

　　”Not anymore, they don’t,” I jumped from the voice and turned around.

　　”Selene,” I gasped.

　　”Hello my child,” I couldn't help the goofy smile that was forming on my face. I hadn't realized how much I missed her.?

　　A loud laugh escaped me as I urged my feet to move. I ran up to her, throwing my arms around her and wrapping her up in a hug.?

　　But upon contact, I pulled back with a gasp and horror in my eyes. A strange sensation filled me.?

　　”It’s okay,” she said and stretched her arms, wrapping them around me.?

　　And then I felt it again.

　　She was healing me. The ache in my bones eased and the stabbing pain in my chest and abdominal were subsiding.

　　”What is happening?” I whispered as I leaned into her embrace.?

　　I closed my eyes, feeling my body and mind being healed and new energy beginning to form.?

　　”You will need all your strength for what is to come.” She said as she pulled back. A good thing she did too because I was nearly falling asleep in her arms.?

　　”In all honesty, you will need more strength. You need to practice. You need to master your magic and sync with Xena.”

　　”But I thought… am I not already in sync with her?” I asked. My smile fell.?

　　I thought me and Xena were perfectly synced. I mean, we were the same.?

　　We shared a mind.?

　　”In your case, you must take into account your powers as well as hers. Xena is much more than your ordinary wolf. She is as extraordinary as her human. Get to know her and you will see. You two need to be completely and unbreakably as one.”

　　I pondered on her answer.

　　’Get to know her’

　　Perhaps there were things I didn't know yet. Things about Xena that were as hidden as my powers were.

　　Did my wolf know?

　　”No, she does not. You two will find out together what powers she beholds.”?

　　Right, Selene can read minds. I scoffed and rolled my eyes.?

　　I looked around, my mind wandering to a million different places all at once. I needed answers. I seem to always need answers.?

　　It was getting tiresome.

　　”Who used to live here?” I asked her quietly as I stepped towards one of the houses. It was a small wicker house with a rustic bell hanging by the door.?

　　”An entire village of people,” she said. Selene clasped her hands in front of her and stood majestically beside me.?

　　”What happened?” I wasn't going to ask. But the question had been on my mind and Selene already knew that.?

　　She drew in a breath, a small-sad- smile tugging at her lip.?

　　”Many years ago, there was another war being fought. One where power and greed were once again the thriving forces. They wanted death upon the creatures that could roam as they pleased. Jealousy wears many faces, Avery. They were vampires, they had to stick in the dark but the werewolves could live during the day, soak in the sun, and sleep at nightfall. They weren't as cursed-”

　　”Why?” That question flew out of my mouth before I knew it.?

　　”Why what?”?

　　”Why aren't they- I mean we, as cursed as the vampires?” I asked her.?

　　”You were once. But as the werewolf species evolved, so did their genes. Instead of shifting only on the full moon, they began to shift when the night came. Many years after that, they gained more control and could choose if they wanted to shift at dark or stay in human form.?As time went on, vampires began to hunt the werewolves, thinking they were superior.

　　That was when I decided to bless the werewolves with the choice too only shift when they pleased. My family was dying so I did what was necessary to keep the werewolf species alive.”

　　She looked around at the snow-covered houses and sighed.?

　　”But some things are out of my control and need to take its own course. The pack that lived here, lived in peace. They kept to themselves. Their closest allies were the Knights and the Red Moon pack,” My head jerked to her.?

　　”One dark night, the vampires came in masses and slaughtered several of the pack members. Living in peace is good, but not being prepared for the ones that oppose the peace you cherish, is foolish. So many had already been killed before the Knights made it here. Among the vampires, was a little girl. She had followed her family and was about to- unknowingly -have her life turned upside down. The vampire who took charge was called Draco. When he saw the Knights and their pack arriving, he knew they stood no chance.” Selene paused.?

　　”Did they stop? Did the Knights manage to stop them? The killings?”?

　　Selene smiled and wiped away snow from a broken window. She plucked out a rose.?

　　As she held it in her hands, the fragile, withered rose, began to rise. It gained its color and grew to its size, the leaves puffed out and the red rose brought much color to an otherwise white land.?

　　”The killings were a maneuver, they were stalling. Waiting for the Knights to arrive. That is when the actual plan took motion,”?

　　”The war had begun. Blood was pooling from the dead bodies, children were crying and the women were screaming as they saw their husbands shift and join the others. The howling and the hissing echoed through this small village, leaving everyone paralyzed. They didn't know what to do, they weren't prepared for an ambush. The little girl ran out on the field, she too was crying. Draco took out a stake and as everyone else was busy fighting, he plunged the stake into the stomach of the little girl.” My mouth hung open. I couldn't believe what I had just heard.?

　　”Another saw this, he saw the girl falling to the ground, her crying stopped. Everything slowed down, not on the field but in front of him. The little girl laid there, barely breathing as her life was being pulled away from her,” Selene stopped. She turned around and started walking away from me. Her body was calm but in her eyes, I could tell that she was re-living every detail of the horrific past.

　　I took a deep breath, noticing how I wasn't breathing. I ran after her.?

　　”What happened? What happened to the girl?” I yelled as I caught up to her.?

　　”Did she survive? Did she live?” I was reaching for answers. I needed them. And as always, the easy way wasn't how I was going to get them.?

　　”Yes and No. But who knows, perhaps now is when she gets her life back,” with that, Selene disappeared right before my eyes and I knew that I would have to find the answers myself.?