The Mortal Goddess

Narrow Escape

Chapter 1

Narrow Escape

“Are you sure this is a second-hand four-wheeler? I’m concerned for my safety!” Shouted Grace over the noise coming from both the motorbikes pursuing them and their hunk of moving metal. “I feel like we’re gonna lose a wheel or something.”

“Relax girl! We’re almost there! Are you sure you don’t want me to shoot their asses with my Glock 19.” Katherine patted the gun in her holster as if it was her long lost puppy. …and she wasn’t looking at the road!

“Kat…” she stressed, “eyes on the road!”

“I’ll take that as no.”

Grace appreciated her protectiveness. Even worse, she hates lying to her. Rules were rules though. No human was allowed to know that witches, vampires, shifters and other magical beings existed. There were severe punishments set by the council for this specific crime. They don’t mess around.

Kat pushed the four-wheeler to its limits as they sped down the old paved road on the hillside. They were far away from the suburbs and deep in the countryside now. Fields of young tulips stretch across the distant hills on the right of Parkhurst Forest, setting an oddly peaceful vibe to this chaotic moment. If only her life had been filled with more of this feeling. She refocused her mind on the present and attempted to think of a plan. It was hard though. Can they both pull this off?

“The dirt road is right around the corner. How are we gonna do this? They’re hot on our tails.” She worried the corner of her lips between her teeth, looking into the side mirror. They were so close!

“We can. Come on, get ready.” Kat grabbed Grace’s backpack from the backseat and pushed it into her lap without taking her eyes off the road. “On 3…”

“Wait! Wat are-“

“1…2…3 Go!”

This is crazy! There was a click and Kath flung her door open as they came to a stop. The screech of the brakes made her wince in pain. She landed on the balls of her feet and sprinted into the forest.

“Wait it out! You hear me!” Was the last she heard from Kat before she made a sudden U-turn, sending the shifters scattering. Grace didn’t look back as shouts and the screech of metal erupted from behind.

Her bestie was awesome like that. She grinned at that thought. She had to trust that Kat could take care of herself or she would run mad with worries. Being an ex-military officer, Kat now owns a martial arts studio in town and, for the past 3 years, she has worked hard for the success her business deserved. The funny thing is, Kat wanted to scare the shifters herself but, of course, that wouldn’t have ended well. Bless her soul for caring for me so much. I hope that everything turns out for the better.

When she was sure, she was far enough from the shifters, she crunched behind a cluster of bushes. She could hear the rush of water from the waterfall in the distance. Birds chirping and dried leaves rustling as small prey prepare for a cold night. It was the beginning of the dreaded frost season where every surface exposed to the weather had a thin layer of ice. The Isle of Wight never snows.

Her heart pounded in her chest and her breath misted as she exhaled. She was careful to keep her breath as silent as a hunter’s was. The longer they took to find her the more time she will have to reach the border of Moonbeam.

Grace shoved her arms through the straps of her backpack, wearing it in front. It nearly covered the delicate baby bump. She was nearing her due. It might not show in this form, but as a wolf, the evidence is more prominent. Whipping back several dark curls that had escaped her ponytail, she pushed back the overwhelming emotions threatening to render her useless.

With her mind finally cleared, Grace unleashed her wolf. A blinding pale light surrounded her before quickly disappearing. It took mere seconds. Her sharpened senses rushed back to her almost painfully. It was a week since she’d shifted. A necessary sacrifice to remain hidden.

Some of the contents in her bag hadn’t made it onto the earth, a dimension of pure magic that exists between realms. She didn’t know how it was done, but when a shifter changes his or her form, some object automatically stores itself in the eather, a mysterious dimension. Grace shuffled around the few articles of clothing and accessories she bought for herself over the years. I shouldn’t leave these out in the open. They might use them to track her down.

Among the accessories, she spotted a pendant her grandmamma had given her when she was barely a cub. It emitted a faint yellowish colour. It never did that before. She poked her snout through the pile of jewellery and gently picked the gem between her fangs. Placing it aside, she pushed the contents into a pile and quickly covered it with dirt and sticks she found under another oak tree. When she was satisfied, it was well covered, scent and all, she trotted through the forest using the sound of the river as a guide.

It had been at least ten minutes since she had reached the banks of the river and still no sign of the shifters. Night had fallen and the moonlight filtered through the trees onto the damp ground. The air was cool and the forest was eerily quiet. Maybe they gave up hunting her or maybe she was being delusional. There was no way Danny, her ex-mate and her alpha would give up so easily. She didn’t pursue the dark thoughts as they tried to force their way to the surface. It was best to keep focus. She wouldn’t have survived his cruelty this time, not when he knew she wouldn’t submit to his kind of ruling again.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I’m not gonna be that naïve ever again.

Frowning, she lifted her snout to the sky and sniffed the cool stagnant air. She shuffled through the scents in the forest until she picked up an odour that was undoubtedly Michael’s, Danny’s beta. She couldn’t smell the rest of the hunters but she knew they weren’t far behind.

Her wolf bent her hinge legs and sprang over the logs marring the banks of the river. She sprinted in the opposite direction to the river to the closest tower of the border. As she dodged low-hanging branches, she thought of the entire ruckus she'd been causing. She must have alerted them of her position because she could hear the thunder of their paws more clearly. They were getting closer. I should have seen this coming.

I told you they have not given up on us. Her wolf grumbled to her, speaking for the first time this evening. She did not sound happy about ignoring her for so long.

Not even a ‘hi’ first? She joked, shaking the leaves and twigs stuck in her grey fur. She was almost as fast as she was before her pregnancy, but this was hardly a weakness. A mother wolf is much more dangerous. She would fight viciously until the end, for her young life. She doubts that can hold them back though. They knew she was weakened from exhaustion and there was no way she could fight all twenty hunters, including the beta and alpha.

Her tongue lolled out of her mouth as she panted. Are you not gonna help here? It’s your life on the line too, you know.

I’m too vex. You’ve been such a meanie lately.

Yeah, well, Danny’s gonna do much worse if he catches us. Unless… you still think he’s your mate. If they caught her, there was no way Danny would let his guard down again. He would drag her back to packland and she could never leave the cell. He would dump them in until she was dead. A life of hell was not an option now. She had a cub to care for and only happiness was allowed in that chapter of her life.

Any mushy feelings I’ve had for him were gone from the time he raised that whip to your flesh.

I wish not to see our young children in such a scene. Her wolf’s words shone with determination as she gave grace her full attention. Head for the hill on your left. The tower is not that far from it.

Grace nearly stumbled at the intense emotion coming from her wolf. She had her full attention now. Some of her emotions leaked into hers, filling her with strength. She was ready.

Molten colours from the reseeding twilight lit the sky in the distance as she crested the hill. A stone tower appeared between clusters of pine trees. She slowed her pace the closer she got and scanned the area warily. All vampires’ borders are heavily guarded and this one should be no less. No sooner had she reached the cobbled path, than a vampire stepped out of the shadows behind a tree. His magnificent silver armor displays the Moonbeams emblem proudly on its chest plate. Her grandmamma had told her about this clan, the Elytis Clan. Their warriors didn’t wear their armor just for protection, it was to elicit fear in their enemies' hearts. Their armor covers one shoulder, most of their chest on the left side and cups their kneecaps. Under the armor, they wore thick leather that stretched firmly over their muscular bodies.

His unusual mauve eyes narrowed as he spoke to her. “Step no further, wolf.”

She sat her rump down and wined at him. Grace looked him straight in the eyes, hoping he would understand something. Anything. Come on. The wolves are close by. The prickle she felt behind her neck proved that they'd seen her. With great effort, she lowered her head in submission. She had to make him understand before it was too late.

His black leather boots came into view as he approached. He crouched at her level and patted her head. “Are you in some kind of trouble, little wolf?”

As if on cue, the wolves burst out of the treeline. The vampire’s head shot up at the new arrivals.

“I see the problem now.” He said between his clenched jaws. “You go to the tower, I'll take care of this.” He pulled out two wicked daggers from his boots and with a flick of his wrist sent one of them to the nearest wolf. Blue tendrils of magic surrounded his arms, twisting and swirling eerily as they extended and snatched the dagger from the wounded wolf. She was too exhausted to try to figure out how he was doing that.

As she reached the threshold, one of the wolves that had passed the Vampire tackled her to the ground. They tumbled into the tower, limbs tangling as one tries to gain the upper hand from the other. She yipped as the wolf’s claws dug into her hinge leg. She scrambled from under his hold and limped away from him. She turned back to the ginger wolf and growled warningly at him. She was gonna kill him if she had to. She didn’t care that he was another one of Danny’s dumb betas. They were nothing to her.

They faced off each other like bulls. Grace was prepared to charge him when a dagger came sailing through the door. It hit the wolf on the side of his neck, sinking deep into his fur. The beta’s eyes widen before he collapses, dead. Blood pooled around his prone form, soaking his fur in a rusted red. She backed away from the sight and limped her way to a stairway she could see. There she allowed her body to give in to exhaustion. As deep sleep took her, she dreamed of the same thing she always dreamed.

(Zachary POV)

The dizziness became bearable as they exited the temporary portal. Zachary rubbed the spots of his eyes and scanned the area. They were on Warden’s farmland. Good. He turned to address Liam but paused.

“Bloody hell, Liam. What are you doing?” He whispered fiercely. Liam's head shifted as he sniffed around a pile of clothing and trinkets covered haphazardly with dry leaves.

Take a look at this, a female has left her belongings here. Is that not strange?

He stepped into the forest to where the hybrid feline was using his paws to brush away the leaves. Liam Argos was a rare mix between panther and leopard. His fur was pure black except for a few distinguished spots on his legs.

As he reached the area, the most enticing scent hit him. Fresh moss on the damp forest floor with a hint of lavender. It was like the fearylands, where the forest grows wild without any human pollution.

It smells of other wolves as well. Do you think something happened here?

Zachary reached the oak tree and crunched to examine the pile without answering Liam’s telepathic question. The female’s scent was much clearer there and so were the other wolves. Maybe a dozen of them? He looked around the area for a sign of a fight but found none. There was no blood, scratch marks on the trees or broken branches. He picked up a shirt and brushed off the few damp leaves that were almost frozen into it.

“These seem to be clean. Do you think it was a kidnap?” he asked Liam.

We have not had a kidnap for 50 years now. We should follow the scent.

Those were his thoughts as well. Maybe they used some kind of magic here. His breath misted as he sorted through the scent in the area.

“No magic was used here. They followed her though.”

Let us go before it is too late.

Zachary dropped the shirt and got up to follow Liam. As he stood up, he felt a sharp echo of pain in his left leg. What was that? It felt as though something took a chunk from his leg. He shook out his leg and the sensation disappeared. Ignoring the memory of the strange pain, he ran after Liam.

They came to a point in the forest they recognised as the area around the Southern Tower. Growls and whines assaulted their ears as they neared the tower. Two wolves burst from the bushes further from their right, limping and bleeding from several cuts on their bodies. The pungent scent of fear was wafting from them. They did not even glance in Zachary or Liam’s way, too consumed by their need to flee. Was it the female’s doing… or someone else?

“Liam, who did General Fuji put in charge of the Southern Tower?” Zachary asked, slowing as they reached the cobbled path to the tower.

I do not know. It is either Morgan or Samuel. They usually take Tuesday shifts.

“You should go and break up the fight. We can’t have dead wolves on our hands right now.”

He waited until Liam disappeared around the corner of the towering structure before entering the tower. The silver rays of the moon cut through the dark hall from the small windows two feet above his 6 foot 5. As he moved deeper into the tower, that enticing scent hit him again in full force this time. He tracked the she-wolf to the area under the stairs. Her deep breath ruffled the thick fur on her stomach. Her swollen stomach. What was she doing here? The strange feeling he had been having simmered down a bit. It was unusual to see a wolf shifter who was not only pregnant but also injured without her mate pacing around her protectively.

The memory of his mother flashed before his eyes. No! He would not stand and let a woman suffer as his mother did.

He crunched out of her sleeping form and examined her injuries. Her hinge leg was the only part of her that sustained the worst. Other than a few scratches here and there, she seems to be fine.

He hunted in his pouch for anything he could use as a bandage. Just as he finished tending to her injury, he heard her sharp intake of breath and a new scent permeated the air. Either she was having contractions or she was in labour.

Alarmed, Zachary stood up ready to get the nurse when Captain Eamon came rushing in.

“Eamon, get a nurse. Quickly.”

“Oh…” Coming to a stop, he was surprised to see Zachary there. “Of course, your majesty.” He said, bowing his head until it nearly touched the floor.

“Captain Eamon.” He chided him.

“Umm… yes, Sir” He replied sheepishly before taking off.

Eamon thought that because he and the king were close, like brothers, Zachary was royalty. He bristled at the thought. He did not care about royals. All he wanted and will ever be was a warrior, a protector and a cold-blooded killer when the need arose. Nothing else.

He waited until they had arrived before he left her side and joined Liam. He wanted to meet the pack’s Alpha and if he was to find the She-wolf’s mate, he cannot promise the bastard would live to see another day.