Chapter 35: Lydia

This is going to be a long drive,' Alexandra thought dryly. Leaning back in her seat, she turned her head towards her silent mate. His jaw was clenched in a silent fury, the muscles there fluttering.

But his eyes didn't once leave the road.

They had been on the road for less than an hour, but, already, everyone was getting restless and irritable. And it certainly didn't help that Dillon was constantly looking in the rearview mirror, glaring at the Western Pack Beta.

And much to her relief, Finnian had enough brain cells to realize that there'd be no winning with the alpha. Alexandra didn't feel like breaking up a male pissing contest today... not that she ever felt like it, but having to tear apart two wolves in a van didn't sound like a good way to spend the day.

Folding her arms over her chest, she tore her eyes away from her mate, and up to the rearview mirror. She could see Sasha in the row behind her, her red-headed mate sitting to her right, and a western pack warrior named Darius to her left. In the row directly behind the Oracle, three other males sat, all looking as if they'd rather do a five hour run through a desert then be heading to a witch's lair. Alexandra couldn't blame them.

Going to go see a witch was the last thing that she wanted to do; but leaving to go see Lydia, a witch that she despised, was even worse.

And it didn't help to know that Lydia could possibly be the one that had cursed Adeline.

Her lips curled in disgust. The things that she would do to that witch...

The wolf hidden deep within Alexandra let out an eager howl, looking forward to the screams and pleas of mercy that would leave the witch's mouth. She would take her time torturing that witch, a drawn-out process that would last hours upon hours.

"Do any of you want to play 'I Spy'?" Sasha said, shattering the silence that had descended the moment the van had peeled away from the mansion.

When no one answered, the Oracle shrugged. "That's alright... but since I am an Oracle, I nominate Eric to be the first person to guess."

For the first time since leaving her daughter chained up in the basement, Alexandra's lips lifted into a small smile. 'She pulled the dominance card.'

The warrior opened his mouth in protest but snapped it shut when the little vixen let out a hum.

"If I remember correctly, it's not polite to refuse someone of my status... cause', after all," she let out a snort. "I am an Oracle."

Eric's eyes widened considerably, his eyes melting into a fiery blue.

Dropping her eyes from the rearview mirror, she let her head fall back against the headrest.

It most definitely was going to be a long drive.

????

Clint's eyes didn't stray from the alphas' daughter. She hung limp, her wrists bound and elevated by bands of pure steel attached to chains that were anchored to the walls on either side of her. It was difficult to think that a girl as young and pitiful as she, was dangerous, but the thick chains and silver bars said otherwise.

He remembered the day that she was born; so little and fragile that her parents hadn't let anyone touch her until she was nearly three months old. Up until that fateful day, she had always been a sweet, goofy, kind girl. Sure, she had her problems growing up, everyone had problems, but she had been the gem of the pack, the ray of sunshine piercing through a horizon of storms.

Everyone loved her, because she was being raised by the best alphas this pack had ever been governed by.

Before Alexandra and Dillon had taken over, the Southern Pack had been dictated by a ruthless, cruel alpha pair. In the beginning, the former alphas didn't do too much damage other than lowering dominant wolves down to Subordinates, or Omegas. But once every dominant had been demoted to a lower rank, that was when the alpha pair started their twenty-year reign of torture.

The things that they had done...

The things they were going to do, had the current alphas not stepped in and defeated them.

Clint, and every remaining member had the scars, the secrets that they would take with them to their graves.

Letting his head fall back until it rested against the stone wall, he stretched out his long legs, then his arms, trying to push away the restlessness that had begun to take hold.

"Whore," Clint heard one of the warriors whisper from where he was stationed. He didn't even have to turn his head to know that they were talking about him. "He couldn't even wait for his mate. Pathetic."

The warrior sneered in disgust, still whispering to the male stationed beside him. But Clint knew that they were fully aware of his presence; it was like a slap to the face. "How did he even get promoted to Delta, anyways? Aren't titled wolves supposed to have a thing called 'control'?"

Snickers and snorts rang throughout the room.

One after another, they all laughed.

'If only they knew,' Clint thought darkly. 'If only they knew; then they wouldn't be laughing.'

An hour passed, then another, and another, until, finally, the warriors exchanged their posts.

But the former warriors, as they left the basement, threw looks over their shoulders at him; some sneering, others wrinkling their noses in disgust, one even spitting on him, sending the wad of saliva through the bars and down next to his feet.

All Clint did, all he could do, was get up to his feet, and pace the length of the holding cell, hoping and praying that the alphas would return quickly to release him from this damn cell.

But for now, all he could do was pace, and watch the unconscious she-wolf hang from silver chains.

????

"I still can't get over how much you all eat," Sasha said, cocking an eyebrow at the burger sitting in her mate's hands, it was his second burger out of four, and it was a quarter-pound of pure meat. "I mean, seriously, you guys are probably keeping that restaurant in business for the next three years."

"Did you know," Alexandra set down her half-eaten burger, and twisted in her seat to face the Oracle. "A Gray Wolf can eat up to seven pounds of meat in a day, and a human can eat up to five pounds of food a day. With a wild, hungry animal inside of us, we need to eat large portions of food daily to keep it happy and healthy. If we don't eat a lot of meat, or enough of it in a day, our energy begins to falter, and, if the situation is dire, our wolf with go silent... dormant."

Taking another bite of her own slab of meat between two buns, Sasha tilted her head to the side. "Can your wolf, die, if you don't eat enough food for a long period of time?"

The stalled van quieted instantly.

'Wrong question?' Sasha asked her mate.

Desmond answered back quickly after. 'No... you can ask whatever questions you want, but the topic about death isn't very welcomed right now.'

'Crap,' She hissed, mentally slapping herself in the forehead with the palm of her hand. 'Why didn't I even think that through?'

For a split second, Sasha felt pulling sensation in her ribcage, right below her heart. Her magic was beginning to replenish!

'Its about time,' She groaned.

"Yes..." Alexandra answered the Oracle's question. "Under severe circumstances, a wolf can die, leaving its human skin permanently dormant. But its extremely rare for a Lupis to become wolfless... in fact, to starve your wolf to the point of no return, a Lupis can't ingest anything of protein for years upon years; and even then, the wolf can just be laying in a comatose-like state, waiting until it gathers enough energy to take control of its human side."

Sasha's eyes widened. "Wow... So, if a Lupis's wolf dies, it stays dead? There's no way to bring the wolf back, or replace it with a new one?"

The Luna nodded, "Yes. Just like everything else on Earth, once a soul leaves its body, its dead. There is no way that a wolf can be replaced, because, essentially, its part of the soul."

When Alexandra turned away from her, facing the endless road in front of them, Sasha knew that the time to ask questions had passed.

Slipping her hand into Desmond's, the Oracle twisted in her seat, resting her head against her mate's strong shoulder.

She felt him place a gentle kiss to the top of her head, "I love you, Sasha." Pulling back, Desmond laid his stubby chin on her head, his arm wrapping around her small form and pulling her into the shelter of his body.

"I love you too, D." She answered back. Closing her eyes, she nearly purred when his strong hand began to rub her back in soothing strokes.

'Go to sleep, Sasha.' His voice was deep. 'I will wake you once we arrive.'

'Bossy mutt.'

????

It seemed like she had just closed her eyes when Desmond began to gently shake her.

Pushing off of his shoulder, she looked around warily, blinking away the crust from her eyes.

'You have drool on your face, too.' He laughed, patting her head as if he were reassuring a child.

Sasha growled, swatting away his 'mothering' hands. "I have drool on my face?" She let out a harsh laugh. "I am surrounded by mutts! Mutts that are late on their flea treatments, and haven't had their rabies vaccination yet."

A warrior scoffed, "Fleas? Please, we are Lupises, not dogs-"

The red-headed wolf shook his head at the warrior, "Don't engage with her. She's like an attention seeking toddler, she'll leave all of us alone when we don't give her what she wants."

"Hey!" Sasha cried out. "You just took the 'wag' out of my swagger! The bite out of my bark! The-"

"Are you all done talking?" Dillon asked, his voice sounding very strained.

"Are you done pouting up there?" Sasha challenged.

'That's enough, Sasha.' Desmond gripped her hand, squeezing it for emphasis.

They were parked right in front of a white and black trailer. It had a small orange canopy propped up over the entry door, and a few lawn chairs were sitting around a dead firepit. The grass surrounding the trailer was a perfect, Irish green color, but when Sasha looked out into the rest of the trailer park, all of the other yards were either un-kept, or dead.

A witch indeed.

Then, the door to the trailer swung open, revealing a young woman clad in a loose-fitting grey shirt, and a long skirt that brushed the ground where she was standing. The woman's long, dark hair was braided down the center of her back, and her skin was a healthy tan.

"Lydia." Alexandra growled.

The witch grinned softly, flashing pearly white teeth. Lydia had almond-shaped eyes, and soft, innocent brown eyes.

Pushing open the car door, Alexandra stepped out, followed shortly after by her mate.

"I see that Sasha Murphy, Oracle of the Western Pack, is here. May I ask, why?" Lydia threw the Oracle a soft, formal smile.

"We have much to discuss." Dillon said, stepping in front of his murderous mate.

From where she was standing behind Dillon, the Luna snarled "And you do not ask the questions, Lydia Pura. We are here for my daughter."