Chapter 82

The silver-plated spear cut the flesh with ease... Blood appeared on the already

stained clothes, soaking them rapidly. Ruby-red drops were falling onto the

flooded floor, dissolving in the water within seconds as if they were nothing.

As if his blood was nothing...

Brayden looked at Riannon with a sad smile on his lips.

“I told you I would always protect you,” he said and fell onto his knees, Ria tried

to process what happened when she saw the one who threw that spear and an

internal snarl left her chest.

Roxanne was glaring at her from the other side of the dungeon. Breathing

heavily, the little hybrid gritted her teeth. She did not mind killing her fake mate.

She did not care enough about him even though they did spend so much time

together.

She had a bigger fish to fry. That spear was for Riannon. Because she cared

about her death. She wanted her dead more than anything at that moment in

time. That woman was the source of all her troubles. That woman could take

what she wanted from her, and she wasn’t having any of it anymore.

“Haven’t you done enough?!” Ria screamed at the fox while catching Brayden

before he fell face flat into the water. She slowly lowered him to the ground,

noticing his ragged breathing.

“This one is on you!” Roxanne hissed, narrowing her eyes. “All of this is on you!

He blew up the house not even caring that I was inside! Was it some kind of

punishment for you? After all, he loves to train his girls! But with you he is so

different! This madness will be over the moment you are dead! And everything

will get back to normal!”

Ria scanned her face, realising that her enemy was talking about Castiel.

Everything was even worse than she imagined. Roxy didn’t just love him. She

was obsessed with him. It was an unhealthy sick addiction that was driving her

crazy, making her break all the imaginable and unimaginable boundaries.

“Do you even realise that he has been experimenting on you?” she decided to

ask, feeling how life was slowly leaving Brayden who now tucked his head in the

column or his neck for support. “He used you! He used your siren abilities, used

you as his Guinea pig! He was intoxicating you and all these other women with

fake mate scents! And now that I think of it, I bet you were a frequent visitor to his

laboratory. There’s no way someone like him wouldn’t try to copy the siren

pheromones!”

“That was because I am special to him!” Roxy snarled, growing her claws. “He

treated me better than anyone else!”

“Then it’s just sad,” Riannon admitted, “Because he was putting you under other

men with ease. He never cared whether you stayed dead or alive in the process

of his schemes. And he never even asked about you while he...”

“Shut up!” the fake omega screamed hysterically, “Who are you to judge me? You

didn’t even fight for your man when he brought me to your home!”

“I did fight you the first time,” Ria heard herself saying and felt Brayden twitching

in her arms. But she did not regret her words.

Her secret wasn’t important now. The reality changed so much that there was no

point to hide it because she didn’t possess any essential knowledge about future

events anymore. This life was going very differently from what she knew. So

different that no events were the same with the exception of the over. “I lived a

ute wnere i was rigning for the man wno was clearly wrong for me! I lovea nim

anai thought that I could fix things between us if I just try hard, be perfect, do

something... I was wrong. And I paid the price. Because you killed me. And the

man I practically sacrificed my love for probably didn’t even notice...”

“What kind of bull sh*t is this?!” Roxy stared at her in shock, her chest heaving.

“How do you think I knew everything you did before you even tried to act? How

do you think I knew all the things I wasn’t supposed to know?”Ria gave her a sad

smile, “The Moon Goddess brought me back in time. At first, I believed that it was

only to change my course of life. But now I see that a lot of people needed things

to be changed. Including you, Roxanne. Look at what you are doing! You are

going to have a baby, for Goddess’ sake!”

“Shut up about my baby!” Roxy looked around in search of a weapon. Anger was

filling her heart and soul; fury was burning in her veins.

This was why everything happened! She wanted to kill that woman once and for

all! She could have won. Could have fulfilled Castiel’s task and expectations. But

Riannon changed everything! It wasn’t fair! It seemed like some cruel joke of the

gods!

Roxanne found a metal stick with a sharp end and decided that this was good

enough. She wanted to wipe that Alpha-female from the face of the earth!

But as soon as she made a step, she felt a kick on the back of her knees.

“Not so fast!” Maya growled and knocked the stick out of her hands. Ash

appeared nearby and helped her to subdue the girl. Regardless of the hatred

they both felt towards her, they didn’t want to hurt a

pregnant woman. It wasn’t who they were.

Brayden sighed and Riannon was finally able to concentrate on him. She

carefully turned him on his back and placed his head in her lap. Their eyes met at

last and there was so much understanding in his.

“Ri,” Brayden breathed, “I am so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she was assessing where the spear went through, and came to the

conclusion that it probably got his heart as well. Which was a bad thing for a

shifter. Hearts almost never regenerated... The blood was still gushing and she

tried to apply pressure, knowing that now everything depended on whether

his wolf would be able to heal him or not. It did not help that the spear was

silver.. It was a bad sign.

She remembered how Brayden purchased it at some auction for a ridiculous

amount of money even though she protested against it. And how proud he was to

display it in their house.

“The joke is on me,” he tried to chuckle, but coughed up some blood instead. He

probably knew what she was thinking and her lips curled into a little smile.

He was becoming more and more the Brayden that she used to know and love. It

did not change her feeling towards Gideon, but she was glad to know that at

least she had not made that man up. They weren’t meant to be, but she hated to

see him lose everything he worked for all his life, including his own personality.

A part of her was still angry at him. She used to think that this part of her would

always be angry.

But everything changed when he took that spear for her, risking his own life

without hesitation. Before Roxanne, she always felt safe with him...

At the distance, Roxy was still struggling against Maya and Ash, who tried to

sustain her but not hurt her too much. Their eyes met and something crazy

gleamed in Roxy’s as she started cackling. this! Soon you are au going to...

“Your Castiel is dead!” Maya interrupted her speech and the fox’s head snapped

in her direction. They all became silent and only the sounds of water dripping and

splashing from broken pipes could be heard.

“You are... lying!” Roxanne stuttered in disbelief, but Maya met her gaze with

ease.

“Hurts, doesn’t it?” the Beta said bitterly, watching her worst enemy suffer finally.

But when Roxy fell to the ground helplessly and tears started rolling down her

cheeks one by one, her chest shaking uncontrollably as if she wanted to sob but

couldn’t... Maya realised that the sight was not making her happy. It was not

making the loss of her brother any easier. It changed nothing. What a

disappointment.

“I’ll take her,” she said to Ash and gestured at their Alpha who was holding her

ex-husband and whispering something to him. “You stay and help them and I will

call more people to come here and finish things up.”

This time Roxanne did not struggle. She let her hands be cuffed in silver-plated

cuffs and seemed lifeless when the Beta was leading her away. She just followed

her. As if there was no point in her fighting anymore. As if there was no point in

doing anything...

By now Riannon knew that Brayden was not healing properly. He knew that as

well.

“If we keep the spear inside, we might win some time and get you to the

hospital,” she said, thinking of what was the best way to transport him there,

when his hand caught hers.

“No use,” he said, but she shook her head.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she insisted. “A good doctor might still help you. You are an

Alpha, you can hold on for a long time. You will make it through...”

“Not this time, Ri,” he tried to smile again, but she knew that it was hard for him.

“It’s okay. It’s fine. Don’t cry...”

She didn’t even realise that there were tears in her eyes. Riannon tried to wipe

them away quickly, but the new ones were appearing in their stead.

He was an important part of her life, her friend. Yes, he made many stupid

mistakes but losing him was still painful.

Her tears were now falling onto his face and he brushed one palm over her

cheek, smearing it with blood.

“I’ve been such an j***t, Riannon,” Brayden smiled, his voice getting weaker and

weaker. “I can say am sorry a thousand times but it would never be enough.”

“It’s all right,” she sniffed seeing how pale he was getting. His body was not

healing and he barely had a few minutes left. Sadly, werewolves were not

immortals...

“It’s all right, Bray,” she repeated, her tears now uncontrollably falling onto his

face,“I forgive you. I really do.”

“Good,” a smile formed on his face, “At least I will know that he will take good

care of you. Better than I ever did. Goodbye, Riannon...”

She didn’t understand what he was doing at first, but Brayden grabbed the spear

and pulled it out of

his body in one swift and immensely painful move. Now they were sitting in a

red puddle of his blood that couldn’t stop gushing out of him.

Ria held his hand, the two of them looking into each other’s eyes. But at the very

last moment, she bent and whispered into his ear what Onyx had just told her.

wiae, you ana your wou will be reborn in a new ure. Ana in that new ure, you

will be given a mate. ine one that will be right for you and you alone. It will

happen...and you will find your happiness.”

She distanced herself, to see that he was looking at the ceiling with glassy eyes.

But even now there was a vague smile reaching the corner of his lips.

She closed his eyelids with trembling fingers and took a deep breath of air, trying

to hold back the sobs. He was her husband once. He was her friend first... He

was her partner for a long time. And now that man was gone forever.

But even in his last moment, he was dreaming of his true mate that he had never

got to meet. His one true desire...

“I hope you two will be happy in your next life,” she kissed his forehead one last

time and only now noticed Ash that stood next to her.

“I’ll take him,” the Gamma lifted his best friend’s body in his hands without asking

anything.” Everyone else in the house is either dead or out. Let’s go.”

Riannon followed him, trying to gather her thoughts. This wasn’t the time to be a

soapy mess.

Her heart was broken from the loss of Brayden, but she would be truly dead if

something happened to Gideon.

She already had a mate, the one who meant everything to her, the one who

never failed her and the one for whom she was ready to do anything.

And her mate was fighting an army now. She couldn’t leave him.

“Maya,” she called her Beta, “Call everyone who can fight. We are going to the

lycans. Now. Leave just a few people for protection here and to help the

wounded. We will deal with everything else later.”

They were in cars in just a few minutes and took the shortest way imaginable to

the Western Kingdom overspeeding on their way. The closer they were getting,

the faster Riannon’s heart was beating. She couldn’t sense her mate through

their bond even when they were supposed to be in the range for mind-linking.

She couldn’t feel him even when she saw the battle before her eyes. And that

brought fear to her soul because she could go through anything. But only as long

as she knew that Gideon was fine.

She got out of the car and took the spear with her. Ever since Ash took Brayden’s

body, she couldn’t let go of it...

She knew that field. She already saw this place in the vision that Onyx showed

her after her return. And she swallowed uncomfortably, knowing that this was the

battle that would decide the fates of many.

All the scents were mixed here and it was hard to find the one that she was

looking for.

Riannon froze when she saw a man holding another man in his arms right on the

hill where she witnessed Gideon holding Reid in her dream. Everything was

repeated and it suddenly became harder for her to breathe.

She closed her eyes and when she opened them again, she saw that the man

was actually blonde and not as well built as Gideon. Now that she looked at him,

he looked more like a fox. And it brought a little bit of relief to her.

All she wanted now was to help her people, the Union that they formed for

peace... and also to find her mate.

She motioned for her warriors to join the fight and didn’t stay behind herself. She

didn’t shift, using the spear as her weapon successfully to kill the enemies on her

way. It helped her to manoeuvre better

Her bond wasn’t working for some reason, but she knew that there was no way

that Gideon was dead.

However, if something did happen to him, she wanted to find him sooner rather

than later.

Riannon pierced some fox’s head with the spear when she finally found the one

she was looking for. But she didn’t know whether it was a good thing or a bad

one...

ttt

They knew about the upcoming sneaky battle, so Kyle met the enemy forces

earlier than they anticipated and attacked first. But the element of surprise was

working only for so long... The bears and the foxes brought a whole army with

them. And lycans didn’t have enough time to call everyone who was on their side

in time for the battle. Most were still on their way

Though even when they all would be here, there was still a risk that Savvy didn’t

get all the names right and traitors could be between them. The possibility of

being stabbed in the back was huge and they all knew that.

However, lycans were strong and soon Savvanah arrived with werecats, who

jumped right into the epicentre of the battle, fearless, elegant, powerful. One of

the best allies they had.

Gideon and Reid were working efficiently, targeting the biggest bears and killing

them first, so that the werewolves and cats did not have to. The lycan king tried

to find who the leader was but no matter how hard he searched for, he couldn’t

find one.

Shrill screams, growls and screeching were turning into a background noise for

him. Too many warriors were dying at both ends. But each time more foxes and

bears were arriving. The whole battlefield was a mess of blood, dirt and dead

bodies... Sometimes not even whole bodies.

“You know what we have to do,” Mars said but Gideon snarled at his constant

companion. “No!” he refused that idea.

“G, you know what Riannon saw!” his wolf insisted. “As of now, there is a 60%

chance of us winning this battle. But that’s a big maybe and only if a lot of our

people give their lives... But if we let him out...”

Gideon hated to admit when his wolf was right at a moment like this.

He hoped for quite some time that he wouldn’t have to do it. But now it was clear

that he had to. For the men and women who fought on his side, for his little sister

who turned out to be way stronger than he ever imagined... For his beloved

mate, who deserved to be a queen and would do a good job even if he was no

longer around.

“Reid, Sawy, Kyle,” he connected to his family who was close, “If anything goes

wrong, I want the three of you to try and put me down.”.

“No, Gideon!” Savvanah was the first to react. She had the same blood in her

veins and probably had the same thoughts in her head right now.

“What do you mean?” Kyle, however, didn’t get it at once.

“Gideon,” Reid also understood what he was about to do, “If you are decided on

that, you have to do it as fast as possible. You know that your beast is controlling.

He will never let you get the control back if he can... So, don’t let him come to his

full strength!”

“I will try,” he agreed, “But if it goes wrong, you know what I want you to do. I

need your words on that.”

“I don’t like it!” his sister said. She was the only one who knew how hard it was to

control the true royal lycan form. message to nis enemies.

.

“Promise me!” he growled, feeling how the lycan inside him was getting to the

surface. He was both him and Mars, but he was also something else. Something

stronger, something bigger, something that he couldn’t control well.

“I promise,” Reid said and Kyle repeated his words. Savvanah hesitated.

“Gideon,” she said, “You have to come back after this! For all of us. Or at least for

Riannon. She will kill us all if we don’t bring you back and your sacrifice will be in

vain.”

“I will do everything to return,” he said, and he intended to keep his word.

“Then I promise too,” his sister agreed, and he let out a long loud growl that

shook the mountains.

His bones started to crack again. Because his true battle form was different from

his usual wolf form. It was bigger and way more powerful. His muscles were

getting heavier, firmer as if they were made out of steel now, and the shape of his

body was changing. The wolf was turning into a lycan and for a few seconds, it

seemed that the battle stopped because of him. Everyone was staring at him

now. In shock, in fear, in disbelief... There were all kinds of emotions.

And when the beast that he now was stood on his two feet and let out another

mighty and soul-piercing growl, it was as if he took everyone out of their daze. –

Dozens of bears threw themselves at him. They knew that they would only have

a chance if they .! attacked now, while he wasn’t at his strongest yet. And only if

they fought wisely. Foxes tried to launch a series of smaller assaults but that was

like tickles to him now.

He didn’t even bother to look at the little red things when he crushed them with

his feet or backslapped them, sending them to the flight of their lives. Even bears

weren’t that much of a threat to him now. He was catching them and snapping

their necks with ease. Or catching two and crushing their skulls against each

other. He wanted their blood, he wanted to see their death, to feel that power

over their pathetic lives. The beast wanted more. More, more, more...

Catch, snap, crash. Repeat. Catch, snap, crash. Again.

Riannon couldn’t believe what she saw. She called her mate, she knew that it

was him. But Gideon wasn’t responding to her.

She knew that royal lycans did not like to shift into this humanoid wolf form of a

monster. She remembered how her mate was telling her about his struggles with

control. The stronger the beast was, the harder it was to get back after shifting

into him. And Gideon’s lycan was one of the stronger ones that ever existed...

She wanted to go after him but some fox jumped on her. The spear proved to be

useful again. And Riannon had to use it a few times as she ran after her beloved.

He was slaughtering their enemies one by one and cleaning the field off the rival

species.

From the corner of her eye, she already saw that the presence of the true lycan

was changing how the battle continued. Wolves and werecats were getting the

upper hand.

Gideon was now in the middle of a large enemy group. They were jumping on

him, trying to bite him, cut him, do anything possible to turn the tables.....

Ria tried to get to him but it was so hard in all that mess. Someone was attacking

her every second and her progress towards him was slow.

Before her eyes, a huge wave of bears and foxes covered her mate from her,

climbing on top of him, jumping on his back and forming some kind of a moving

mountain. mountain telt.

She tried reaching her bond, she tried calling for him... But he wasn’t responding.

As if he was not there at all.

Riannon did not know what was going on there but she tried to get to that part of

the battlefield whatever it cost her. Another fox, a grey one this time, sliced her

back and she screamed again, falling to her knees. She twisted and managed to

pierce the one who attacked her. However, a huge brown bear was there before

she managed to get up. He snarled loudly and was about to tear her into pieces

when a resounding roar shook the ground beneath them.

In one breath the bear was gone, his bloody head falling to her feet and a huge

black beast stood before her, his eyes grazing over her slender frame.

“Gideon,” she called her mate’s name but he did not respond. “Gideon!” she

sounded desperate now, but she did not care. He looked at her as if... as if he

did not know who she was...