Lunar Wolves: A brighter dawn (Book 5)

Chapter 3 - Saving Olivia

BEING BACK AT THE CASTLE was just plain weird. People were walking around as if nothing was wrong and when Isobel visibly shivered, Circe asked her if she was okay. Isobel nodded and said that she would get over it as they made their way to the Councillor’s office.

To say that he was relieved to hear they were accepting his offer was the understatement of the year, but they didn’t have much time. They needed to get a couple of potent spells together before they left. If they were going to win against their uncle, they would need to be the hybrids they were born to be. They needed to be able to use both magic and the brute strength of their wolves.

There was no time to practice for anything as they stood in the library listening to what Violet had to tell them. They couldn’t take the chance of taking any grimoires with them because if they lost the fight, those spells would be in the hands of the wrong people, so they had to remember everything. Violet also arranged with the potions master to prepare a couple of potions for them that would help when their energy was running low and the Councillor made sure they had enough to eat packed in their backpacks.

As they went over the plan one more time. Circe sent up a silent prayer to the moon goddess that they win this time. If their uncle escaped, they would never find him again. She was sure of it. They had to kill him. They just had to.

After saying goodbye, they stepped through the portal Violet opened for them and they were just outside the territory of the rogues. Every detail of their plan had been carefully mapped out to ensure they could use their maximum strength when they needed to and use as little energy as possible when they didn’t.

Pulling out the pack from her backpack, Tabatha carefully placed it on the floor. They were in the middle of the dark forest, which was dangerous. They couldn’t hang around all day discussing which way to go, and she quickly pointed them in the right direction. The dark forest was filled with all sorts of evil creatures and, once again, they could only hope that their uncle didn’t have spies lurking about. At the moment, the element of surprise was their strongest power and they needed to stay hidden right up until they were ready to pounce. It was a long two-day walk before they finally reached the rogue border.

Circe whistled in exactly the way the Councillor told her to and on the other side of the clearing a ragged looking wolf appeared just outside of the tree line. He whistled back and that was the sign that it was safe to cross the border. Brielle had placed some kind of protection spell over their border which took the wolf some time to break, but as the girls crossed and nothing happened, all of them could breathe a small sigh of relief.

Introductions were fast as he led them into the forest and down hill to where the small rogue town was situated. On the way, they were informed how their uncle had so many rogues to fight this war for him and it was disgraceful! He promised rogues a new life. He promised them family and happiness, so they joined his pack. Only for them to find out that as soon as they were part of the pack, the witch put some kind of spell over them and they could not leave the territory without the exclusive permission of their new ruler.

Once they were capable of leaving, their legs took them in only one direction. It was as if he had hypnotized them into doing it. The rogue called Elijah explained how it felt when he was sent to fight the first time and it disgusted Circe that her uncle could do this. These rogues were all looking for love and family and he used their weaknesses against them so he could send them off to war.

Elijah slowed down and showed them all to hunch down as he pointed to the human town. He had also told them that their uncle had taken over the town and turned all the humans living there into her personal pets. Some were turned into wolves, but they were mostly his slaves. While they were human, they weren’t as strong and they couldn’t fight the monsters that had invaded his town.

It infuriated all of them to hear that their own flesh and blood was capable of this kind of behaviour, but until their uncle was dead, there was nothing they could do to save anyone else. Circe made a mental note to inform the council that her uncle had broken the number one rule in their community. That alone would be enough to justify killing him, wouldn’t it?

They watched the movement in the small town until darkness fell. Checking the map to where Olivia was one last time, they started to move through alleys to the building where Olivia was being kept. According to their spy, she was in the basement because he had been through the entire building, each room, and she wasn’t there, but her scent sure as hell was.

Circe went in first, followed by Willow and Tabatha, while Isobel and Glinda kept watch. The back door squeaked as Circe opened it and she shut her eyes, standing perfectly still. Her ears twitched this way and that, trying to find out if anybody was coming, and she finally breathed again when it seemed as if nobody else was in the building.

They found the basement, but it was the condition Olivia was in that shocked all of them. Some of her bruises were black and blue and others were slowly turning yellow as they healed. She could hardly open her eyes but Circe saw the incredible relief on her face when Willow rushed over.

Olivia was trying to tell Willow how sorry she was, but her mouth was too swollen for proper words to come out and they had to get out of there before anybody found out they were there. They decided that Glinda and Isobel would return Olivia to the castle as quickly as possible so her injuries could be checked, which meant Circe, Willow and Tabatha would be fighting their uncle.

They couldn’t actually leave Olivia in the forest while they waged war against their uncle, but now nobody was sure if the other three girls would ever return. There was also no time for Isobel and Glinda to get back in time to go with their sisters, since they had to move before the guard sounded the alarm that Olivia was gone.

The sisters gave each other a quick hug and, without a word, each went their own way as they moved into the small town. Their uncle and the witch were two doors down from the building they kept Olivia in and it was obvious that that was the building that had the most guards in front of it. They even had guards patrolling the terraces of each floor.

Circe sent up another silent prayer and gave the order for them to move in. She gripped the guard around his neck as soon as his attention was turned away and he went down in silence as Elijah quickly pulled him out of sight. Checking with Willow and Tabatha through the mind link, she breathed a sigh of relief to find out the coast was clear on both sides of the building and they moved in.

They were going to have to go from floor to floor and clear it before they reached their uncle at the top and it was incredibly sad to see the rogues go down, but they had no other choice. If they gave them half a chance, Circe was sure the rogues would kill them. On the last floor a loud growl echoed throughout the building as the sisters looked at each other for a moment before rushing up the stairs.

They knew that their uncle would know they were here now and, knowing him, he wouldn’t face them head on, so they made quick work of the wolf who sent out the alarm and rushed up the last flight of stairs. They rushed into the room where their uncle was meant to be staying and he stood in front of a portal grinning at them.

A feminine hand reached through the portal and grabbed him and it closed before any of them could follow. Willow growled so loudly that it shattered the windows and everyone around her had to cover their ears to stop their eardrums from bursting. They were too late! Their damn uncle had escaped again, but at least this time he didn’t have his damn army with him.