Chapter 29: For a Few Hours

Adeline lurched from her bed; her feet slapping on the cold floor as she made her way to the window.

Shoving aside the curtain that was, somehow, still hanging on despite being in tatters, she peered out of the newly replaced window.

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness of night, but once they did, she could see perfectly well. Adeline could see an owl perched on the ancient Oak Tree that she loved to climb when she was a child, its wide, unblinking eyes scanning the forest floor for the quiet steps of a rodent.

Dragging her eyes away from the animal of wisdom, she scanned the forest floor, looking for the warriors that were no doubt racing after the idiotic wolf.

But the only movement in the forest was that large owl, now staring directly at her.

The bird she now recognized as a Great Horned Owl stared at her with those depthless golden eyes, its grey and brown wings tucked in close to its body.

There was something about owls that she absolutely loved; they were such regal, beautiful creatures.

They were the Travelers of Darkness...

The Messengers of Wisdom.

The Great Horned Owl stared at her for a moment longer before spreading its wings. The feathers of pure wind and soil caught in the moonlight, casting a glow over the regal bird.

Leaping from the tree branch, the owl effortlessly flew through the air, black talons tucking in tight to its body.

Adeline could only watch as the bird of wisdom zoomed through the darkness, its wings so steady and smooth that it seemed like the bird had been flying for centuries.

She was still watching the owl as it steered itself behind another oak tree, and didn't appear again.

It was as if the earth had opened up and swallowed it whole.

Adeline was still staring out the window, even minutes later, staring at the branch that the large bird of prey had occupied.

She wondered what it would've been like to be an owl.

So free...

So respected...

So unburdened.

????

Alexandra woke up to an empty bed and a twisting sensation in her gut.

Her wolf was in a panic, ramming into the barrier that kept it from completely taking over. 'Mate! Where is mate! Wolf left pack- foolish wolf. Find wolf! Find mate!'

"Calm down," Alexandra growled out loud, trying to calm the agitated animal. "Everything is alright. Calm down, calm down."

It didn't help much, if anything, it made her wolf panic even more.

Flipping back the sheets to her lonely bed, she padded over to the master bedroom door.

The Luna's head was held high, her back ramrod straight, and her shoulders pulled back. The form of a woman destined to lead a pack of beasts.

She was a melody of dominance; a chorus of instincts; a ballad of honor and pride. She was the rightful Luna of this pack, and would always be until she passed the title down to her daughter. No one would ever take that title from her; after all, the right to the title hadn't come easily. She had to prove herself over and over again: by intelligence... or spilling blood.

Breezing down hallways and passing through various rooms, Alexandra finally reached out to her silent mate. 'Love? Where are you? Who had left?'

Opening her end of the mate-bond a little more, she felt Dillon's anger flow over her; caressing her wolf... drawing it forward.'

'I am eight miles from the mansion, standing in front of the human-made road.' His voice was tight with barely contained rage.

Alexandra's steps quickened as dread reared its ugly head. The second that she stepped outside, her wolf form was going to take over her current, weaker one. If she thought correctly, then she would need to get there as fast as she could.

Practically leaping down a flight of stairs, she stalked through the mansion, heading straight towards the large, double-doored entry doors.

Throwing open the doors with a swipe of her morphed hand-paws, Alexandra took two steps before her wolf skin took the place of her human one.

Shredded clothes erupted around the molten grey wolf, floating around a fuzzy muzzle and pointed ears. Shaking her shaggy body, loosening her tense muscles, the grey wolf prepared herself for the anger and hopelessness that had already begun to set in.

It seemed like hopelessness was all she felt these days.

Large paws ate up the ground- spitting it out behind her, propelling her over fallen trees, creeks, and the occasional boulder.

The she-wolf's ears were pressed back against her head and her strides were strong, but dread, heavy and suffocating, darkened her brown eyes.

It took no time at all before she saw the silhouette of a wolf she knew all too well.

'Dillon?' Alexandra slowed to a halt, slowly approaching the dark male. Her mate was sitting on a steep hill that they often used to watch the human roads branching to and from their territory, his back facing her.

Dillon's ears flickered back, tuning in to her silent voice.

'I just don't know what to do anymore.' His voice was fierce, but it wasn't pure anger that leaked through. A sorrow so deep and gutwrenching laced the statement, drawing Alexandra towards him.

'I have tried everything. I have forced Adeline's wolf to submit, I have injected her with herbs and silver, I have chained her, I have loved and protected her from afar, respecting her wishes to be left alone. I have held back my wolf's fatherly instincts for almost three years now, all I... we want is to hug his pup... our pup.'

Alexandra pulled up right beside her lovely male, her hind legs folding under her body as she sat. The grey wolf turned her large head toward the male, brown eyes meeting tortured blue ones.

Alexandra already knew who had left.

She had known the moment that her mate had responded back to her question.

Turning her head away from Dillon, the Luna faced the network of roads that slithering in and out of their territory; it usually carried human farmers, traders, and human-wolf ambassadors on it, guiding them to and from neutral meeting grounds.

Even though the white wolf wasn't racing across the clearing- he had already left- she could still see him as if she were looking at a picture.

She could see a massive white wolf racing through the territory, his long, muscular legs carrying him fast and far. His muzzle would've been pointing in the direction of his destination like a compass needle, steering him towards his lover.

Towards that witch.

Lydia.

Alexandra didn't like witches, but dislike was too kind of a word for Lydia.

She hated her.

And Lydia wasn't even a full-blooded witch at that! She was a self-taught witch... a Medium Witch.

Medium Witches were humans that had gotten a hold of witchcraft materials and perfected it, allowing them access to a mild form of magic known as mundane magic. Mundane magic could be deadly to a young supernatural if the welder was experienced, but it was nothing compared to the magic that full-blooded brujas could wield and command.

Alexandra had had her share of full-blooded brujas to last her many, many lifetimes. They wielded a type of magic that could easily disarm a wolf and kill it.

She hated witches and brujas alike. Alexandra didn't care if they were a Medium or full-blooded, she hated them all the same.

'What are you going to do when he comes back?' Alexandra asked, pulling herself out of her thoughts.

Dillon let out a shuddering sigh, 'I do not know. Punishments no longer work on him,' It's not like they ever had, anyways. 'I do not know what to do with him. I have punished him, I have threatened to demote him, I have threatened to kill Lydia... nothing works. It is like he does not even care... I could kill him or disgrace him, and he would not care! Hell, I even think that he would be happy if I did that!' Dillon let out a snarl of rage, his eyes lightening into pure ice.

A boom of thunder sounded just then, rattling the air surrounding the two wolves. A heartbeat later, a flash of light ripped through the darkness right before their eyes; the spear of electricity racing to the ground before fading into the depths of nonexistent color.

The Alpha Male and his female could only watch as the storm raged on, sending bolt after bolt of lightning down towards the network of roads far below; thrusting the dark sky into flashes of blues, purples, and golds.

Perhaps another god entirely had heard the alpha's prayers.

Dillon had never wished ill on Clint, but at the moment, he was hoping that one of those bolts of electricity would zap his delta in the ass.

'Are we just going to sit out here all night, waiting for him to return?' Alexandra's voice was dry and humorless. 'I'm tired, hungry, and tired. You know that I don't like to sleep out in the elements.'

Huffing, Dillon looked out into the vast, dark, cruel world one last time before turning around and nudging his yapping mate towards their home.

Ducking quickly, the luna nipped at Dillon's throat right before dashing off, disappearing into the underbrush that lurked in the shadows of the trees looming above them.

'You little vixen,' Dillon growled, hurrying to catch up to her.

Apparently, she wasn't tired anymore...

????

For a few hours, the alpha pair forgot all about their troubles as they played together.

Dashing through creeks, splashing each other in the process.

Chasing each other around trees and rocks.

Leaping onto each other, nipping and biting softly.

Howling up into the night sky, singing a melody of true love, the distant past, and the near future.

They were nothing more than dark figures as they traveled the shadows, outrunning the rising sun.

But they couldn't outrun the orb of "life" forever.

The sun would resurface all of their troubles.

Awakening them...

Returning them home.