Chapter 26: Chapter 26

Lue had called them to the Alpha's office two days after the incident with Luca. Kathy didn't see Luca after Asher warned him. She sat on the same chair she sat in last time, nervously fiddling with her thumbs.

Would Lue's plan work? She thought worriedly.

Raven sat opposite her, unusually quiet. Raven was usually the talkative one and his silence made the atmosphere even tenser. Lue had been going his plan again before he would present it to the Alpha. Asher was on his way from a meeting with the elders and he asked them to wait.

The wait wasn't long as Asher walked in a few minutes later. He sported a frustrated look and his hair looked like he ran his hands through it a few times. Kathy felt warm immediately he entered the room and her nervousness reduced. Her feelings confused her.

"How did it go, Alpha?" Raven asked as soon as Asher sat down.

"There were some concerns but I finally got them on our side. Elder Wale needed a little more convincing." Asher's eyes met hers and noticeably brightened. She turned away making him frown. She was scared of how he made her feel. The feelings were unfamiliar and strange.

"That old man has always been a pain in our rear ends. As long as they all agreed, we can get started." They all nodded at Lue's words.

Asher let out a deep sigh and got more comfortable. "Tell me all about your plan."

And Lue began to fill them in.

****

"Now remember, Lunae citizens have colored eyes with moving crystals while the shadow warriors have black soulless eyes," Asher warned. "We move at dawn."

Raven and Lue bowed and left the room.

Kathy tried to digest everything, making sure she didn't miss an important part of the plan. Lena was smart but Lue's plan was almost flawless. She could only hope that it worked out as easily as Lue said. But from experience in battle with the shadow warriors, Kathy knew that it would not be easy killing people that could not be killed.

She stood up to leave, not wanting to be alone with Asher.

"Kathy wait!"

She halted in her steps, still not looking at him.

"Why do you avoid me so?" He asked in a soft tone.

She didn't reply and only stared at the door in front of her. It wasn't until he stood in her line of sight that she looked at him. His scent tickled her nose in a pleasurable way. He smelled of nature if nature had a smell and hint of cinnamon which reminded her of cinnamon rolls from the diner. Stacy always made them so deliciously.

"Talk to me, please."

The desperation in his tone made her heart skip a beat. Instantly she turned to him and he smiled.

"What is going on with me? What did you do to me?" She quizzed, plopping onto the chair. He frowned as she moved away from him but she needed space from his overwhelming presence.

"What do you mean, Jewel? Are you perhaps sick?"

"Jewel?" That was all she could ask. She had been called many names but not that.

He smiled. "Your eyes remind me of the precious Sapphire stones and the crystals in your eyes make them sparkle so beautifully."

She couldn't help the blush that coated her face, traveling down to her neck.

"I'd like to see how far that blush travels," he spoke in a very deep voice that sounded different from his.

Her eyes widened in mortification and her blush deepened.

"Sorry, that was my wolf. He took over for a moment."

"Oh, your wolf has a separate personality?" She asked. His wolf must be the nastier one of the pair.

"Yes, our wolves are like our subconscious. They take over when we shift, sometimes in our human form but they are always in our minds, talking to us and seeing things through our eyes." She nodded in understanding. She would like to know what his wolf was thinking.

"Now tell me what you meant earlier. Are you sick?" He asked her, coming to sit on the table in front of her.

"It was nothing." She couldn't tell him how he made her feel. How she wanted to jump his bones whenever she saw him.

He gave her a look of disbelief. "You do know that I know you are lying."

She pouted. "I am supposed to be the empath here."

"I so badly want to kiss the pout of your lips,"

"Tell me about your wolf." She rushed out, trying to turn the conversation away from him kissing her, or she would turn to a wet mess. Kathy couldn't remember when she became a horn dog. No one ever made her feel like that. Her attraction for him increased the longer she stayed on the same roof as him. She wanted to know if he felt the same way or she was the only one. Of course, he didn't, he had a mate somewhere. That thought dampened her mood.

"When we shift for the first time, we name our wolves. I named mine Hunter because he loves hunting. Hunter is an Alpha wolf who loves dominance. He demands respect and isn't ashamed of saying what he wants. He has no filter too." He chuckled. Kathy could see that Hunter was not the sweet pet she thought he was.

Kathy giggled at her thoughts, imagining Asher's wolf in bow ties and dog shoes and that made her laugh harder.

"What amuses you, Jewel?"

"Nothing," she replied, still giggling. Hunter would certainly be disrespected by her thoughts.

"Even Hunter is curious, now tell us," Asher demanded, still she refused to tell them.

His eyes darkened. "I didn't want to do this but you leave me no choice," a deep voice growled.

"What?" She asked, nervously moving back. Her smile disappeared.

His dark smirk sent shivers down her spine. She was supposed to be scared but couldn't help but be turned on. He sniffed the air and growled in delight, his eyes darkened even more.

"Your arousal smells delicious, Princess," he spoke while moving closer to her. She felt a knot in her abdomen that kept on building the longer he stayed close to her. She didn't know wolves could smell arousal.

She knew Asher was no longer in control but she didn't feel disturbed that his wolf turned her on.

He pulled her up and she followed willingly like she was in a trance. His demanding presence did that to her. His huge arms wrapped around her waist and she gasped, the room felt too small for both of them.

"Tell me!" He said in a tone that she couldn't ignore. It felt like she was compelled to tell him.

"I thought of you in a bow tie and dog shoes," she said in one breath.

He pulled her even closer to him and she didn't complain, she loved being in his arms.

"I am glad that the thought of me in an embarrassing costume made you laugh, Princess."

Instantly his eyes turned back to their beautiful grey color, Asher was back. He unwrapped his hands from her waist making her frown and move away.

"What was that?" She asked, still in a daze. It was like she couldn't control herself and all she wanted to do was jump him. When did she become so out of control? And for a guy who has a mate.

With that thought in mind, she ran out of the room and into hers with one plan in mind; to avoid Asher as much as possible. That man-made her lose her train of thoughts whenever she was in his presence and that wasn't good. She was in the wolf pack to get help for her people and nothing else so she would do just that.

The next day at dawn, she woke up after sleeping for just a few hours. Restlessness did not let her sleep for long. Asher and the war occupied her thoughts. She could feel his presence in front of her door. He came to her door a few times before dawn and it took a lot of resistance to stop her from opening the door and finishing what she so badly wanted him to do. She thought of his mate and how badly that would affect her and she decided against letting him in. After the battle she might never see him again, that is if she didn't die in the process of the war.

After a quick shower, she pulled on a pair of combat pants, a black shirt, and a pair of ankle boots. She left her room and went to the living room. Asher, Raven, Lue, and Riley were waiting for her. Asher's eyes followed her up the stairs and into the living room. She tried so hard to not look into his eyes.

"We will address the people at the training grounds," Raven told her and she nodded. At the training grounds, Kathy was amazed at the number of people who turned up for the battle. She could feel their nervousness but also their determination.

"Wolves of the Royal Wolf Pack," Asher started with a yell.

"Years ago, our Alpha King, my father was brutally murdered by an evil shadow magician now called the dark queen."

Growls of anger were all Kathy could hear; anger for Lena and her minions, the anger she could clearly understand.

"Now!" Asher yelled over their voices and silence returned.

"Now, that vile woman is trying to take over Lunae. The citizens of Lunae not only share a border with us but are our brothers and sister by the goddess. They were created alongside us by the Moon goddess. An attack on them is an attack on us!" Asher cried out and a chorus of agreements rippled through the area.

Kathy watched teary-eyed as people she didn't know were happy to put their lives on the line for her people. Asher was leading his people into battle he wasn't sure they would win for her people and she couldn't be more grateful.

"So why don't we show those shadow people why we are wolves!"

One by one, starting from the Alpha, the Beta, and the Gamma, and to the rest of the pack, everyone howled to the moon. It was the most beautiful sound Kathy had ever heard. They all sounded synchronized with each other.

The trip to Lunae was fast and filled with tension. She rode on Asher's jet black who wolf alongside the rest of the pack in wolf form. She could see Raven's big brown wolf galloping beside Asher and Lue's blonde wolf on the other side. Riley stayed back with the rest of the pack that could not fight.

Kathy knew she somehow had to warn her mother of their arrival. She had been away from Lunae long enough for the moon vine to completely leave her system. Hopefully, she can reach her mother through the mind bond even if she won't be able to reply.

She reached out to the bond that held her and her mother together. She could almost see the strands in her mind. She opened the connection but she couldn't tell if Hala felt it.

'Mother,' she said through the bond.

'If you can hear me, we are coming. The wolves agreed to help and we are reaching Lunae in a few hours. Prepare the people you can to help us in battle. Send messengers to other colonies, we are coming and we would need all the help we can get.'

She hoped with everything inside her that Hala heard.

They reached Lunae in a few hours and she showed them to the back of the castle. In no time she imagined the door and it appeared. The first part of the plan was to conquer the castle then take over the rest of the kingdom. It was easier said than done. Lue had every phase mapped out.

To the stables, they went. The number of guards doubled since she escaped but the wolves took them out in seconds and they entered the stables. Kathy went in first, accompanied by Asher and Raven who had shifted back to calm the maids working there while the rest of the pack stayed outside since all of them could not fit inside the stables. She did not see the girl who helped her the last time.

She looked up and saw Zena in a maid's uniform.

"Hello, cousin," Zena said, hugging her. Kathy hugged her back, happy to see a family member.

"I am so happy to see you, Zena. How are the rest of our family and everyone in the kingdom?" Kathy asked in a rush.

"Everyone is safe but we have to hurry. Aunt Hala got your message and sent me to warn you that Lena set a trap somewhere. She doesn't know what it is but Lena was confident by it. And by the way, Lena is going to make aunt Hala submit today at the combat grounds."

Kathy nodded and turned to Asher.

"Don't worry, Princess, my people are ready for the war and anything the dark queen throws at them. We've faced even worse enemies."

Lue led the third division and the archers to take cover and prepare for an ambush while the second commander took the second division to surround the castle. The remaining people, the third division waited for the sign from the first before they invaded the castle.

They first heard the battle cry and the sound of people screaming. Kathy hoped the screams came from the opposition. Few minutes passed and no sign came. When Asher's eyes turned hazy, they knew that the first division had entered the castle. Then the third division led by Asher and Kathy stormed the castle. The gates were thrown open and they flooded into the castle. Bodies of shadow warriors were littered all over the front of the castle, clearly slaughtered by the first division. Kathy knew that it was just a matter of time before they would rise again but Kathy and the wolves were prepared for them.

They reached the ballroom and joined the first division. There was very little moon vine in the air, probably because Lena had run out of them so Kathy could use her powers. That meant that she had not found the location where the plant grew and that was a great relief to Kathy. Kathy threw a ring of fire at a shadow magician who narrowly missed stabbing her and it hit his back that was turned to her. It seemed like the shadow magicians anticipated the war so they were all geared up.

The shadow warrior hurled his sword at her with the tip of the sword being inches away from her neck and she crouched to the ground, voluntarily almost falling on her face only to sweep him off his feet at the last minute. As he fell, she kicked the sword out of his hands and rushed to grab it. He also struggled to get the sword but she got to it first, then stabbed his abdomen and set him on fire.

The wolves tore into the shadow magicians, ripping off their limbs, thereby making it difficult for them to awaken in a complete state. Kathy searched for Hunter, Asher's wolf, and found him ripping into a shadow warrior. The battle was going as Lue planned but one thing was off. Where was Lena?