Howls of Apollo

Undecim

Skaia was in the front yard with Lyra and the young alpha when the sound rang out. It took a minute for what’s happening to sink into her before she ushered both Lyra and the child back to the pack house.

Adrenaline washed over her at an insane speed she almost ran into a broad hard chest as soon as she stepped into the pack house. She looked up to see it was her mate looking at her with worry mixed into his usual serious and unreadable eyes. The blank calm of his face replaced with a tension she could only guess was caused by the sudden sound of alert.

“Stay here.” He ordered lowly. The words coming out like a command though he didn’t intend to. Skaia could guess he was more wolf than man right now.

Skaia ignored his tone and gave him a sharp nod instead. There’s a breeze of malevolence in the air and she can’t help but show it by the way her eyes are flitting over his face. A cross between voicing out her feelings and committing his face to memory to keep her calm.

“Please be careful.” She whispered to him. Apollo took in what she said and nodded sharply, giving his mate a kiss on the forehead before making his way out.

From the glass of the windows, she can vaguely see him being joined by the men they came with along with Atlas, Achilles and their respective guards. They look to be barking words to each other, the gravity of the situation was more palpable now from how the tension seems to be running high with the alphas.

Not a moment too soon, they all shifted and broke out into a run. Their wolves a blur of motion as everyone sped away, disappearing into the distance.

She was surprised she didn’t feel the need to involve herself with the action. Instead, she feels a sense of protectiveness with the people she was currently in the bunker with. The vulnerability she could see in their faces struck a cord in her and for the first time, she understood what it means to be Luna. Running deeper than just being mate to the alpha, engineering business plans and battle strategies. She sees now, her role runs deeper than that. She was the pack’s last line of defense should all else fails. The survival and preservation of the pack is on her.

They were in the bunker for an indeterminable amount of time. Both she and Lyra have been taking turns checking on everyone, especially the children. She was grateful the young alpha was in a calm mood the whole time, completely content being held by either her or his mom.

Lyra tells her she’s been keeping tabs on what’s happening outside and both Atlas and their beta have told her it’s been eerily quiet. There were three guards on patrol injured, the ones directly placed on pack gates. The rest were fine, but they reported the oddity that they didn’t see anybody cross the border at all. They only came to find their comrades on the ground, unconscious but breathing.

Naturally, she asked about her mate too and all Lyra told her was that he too had no choice but to wait for the unknown enemy to make themselves known. Somewhere in the pit of her stomach, she had a feeling she knew who dared trespass into Clara Solis. She couldn’t shake the coincidence of the event. Just so happened for them to be here too.

She trained her eyes to Lyra and noticed she had a faraway look in her eye. The envy slowly creeped in but she pushed it down with her might. They hadn’t completed the mating process yet, so she has no way of communicating with her mate at the moment.

Through the quiet, they suddenly heard muffled voices from above. Everyone stilled. All of a sudden a shrilling scream was heard and thudding footsteps retreating from above.

Everyone shuffled about their places in panic, clearly thinking it might be one of theirs. Lyra immediately tried to calm them but Skaia could see that even she is worried about what could have taken place upstairs.

She made the decision then to go and check, handing the young alpha to his mother. Lyra looked at her, completely perplexed, her judgment was divided into the distress of a luna and a worried sister in law. Skaia assured her she’d be fine when she saw the conflict in Lyra’s face and made her way out, before the Luna could utter a word.

There was absolutely no sign of life the minute she got upstairs. Everything was as they left them, a few things scattered around but not in total chaos, just a tell-tale sign someone left in a rush. Which was exactly the case. There was an odd sound from the she thought she could hear amidst the silence, if one could hear silence and it completely unsettled her.

Just as she made a step into the living room, a blast went off from the right of her and she went flying to the other side, the force so strong, she went through the enormously wide glass window of the living room. She barely had time to react as everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The world turned upside down in front of her eyes, the glass flew everywhere, lodging into her and some no doubt she’ll land on.

She landed with a hard thud, her ears ringing from the intensity of the explosion. Through blurry eyes, she can vaguely see the mountain of a hole on the side of the pack house, going from one side to the other. Men in familiar black cloaks piled in one after the other standing side by side. Her vision danced as she tried to focus, which was enough challenge as her body was beginning to register the various places pain was erupting in her body.

She mustered what strength she could to get up to her knees. They stopped a few yards from her, merely staring at her. When her sight finally cleared, she could see there were ten of them. And getting a look at their faces, she staggered back a little when she realized they all looked exactly the same.

“We have a gift for you dear Luna.” They all said in unison, the sinister tone of their voices sent a shiver of unpleasant feeling akin to bad omen down her spine.

In a flicker of motion, the surrounding warlocks started to move towards the center until they began to morph and only one man remained. He gave her a wicked smirk, his black soulless eyes staring her down. He raised his hand and all of a sudden, a child was in his hold.

Gut-wrenching fear gripped Skaia as she registered the child in the warlock’s hold was no other than the young alpha. She scrambled to her feet despite how weak she still feels, her knees shaking as she moved.

“No!” She yelled out when a dagger appeared his hand.

It became clear what he was going to do. The fear was crippling but the need to get to them was fueling her to get to them.

From the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar dark wolf emerge from the trees, coming at them fast. She turned her head back to look at the warlock and saw absolutely no fear in his eyes despite being outnumbered. The dagger raised. She’s not going to make it, the thought flashed in her head like bright headlights and she felt her heart sink to her stomach.

If she could just reach out and grab the child, or get there in time to knock the dagger out of his hand, the possibilities spun in her mind she struggled to keep up.

But she was too late.

Mercilessly, the warlock embedded the dagger into the child’s chest deep enough she could see the outline of the tip on the child’s shirt. Tears pricked at her eyes but with all her might, she pushed herself forward and grabbed the child from his hold, the dagger taken out as she did. With inhumane speed, she wrenched it out of his hand and without thought, she lodge it into his neck.

Blood gushed out as she hit her mark, the man gurgled uncontrollably. For a moment she wondered why he didn’t fight back, but she didn’t dwell on it as the last of her strength left her completely and she fell to her knees, just in time for Apollo to dive onto the warlock, aiming for the head.

She didn’t look to see the c*****e Apollo would leave and trained her attention to the child in her arms. She laid him down gently to examine his wound. The blood was pouring out fast, the paleness of his skin evidence of it.

She can hear multiple thumps of paws hitting the ground as the rest pooled into the main land but she paid them no mind, even the gore of Apollo’s rampage was mute to her ears as she stared at the child she cared for since he was born, who was slowly losing his life in front of her very eyes.

Her heart was shattering slowly and painfully. She let out a pained wail clutching the child’s chest where he was injured. Something inside of her was screaming not to give up, resisting to accept there was no hope.

A familiar grey wolf stopped abruptly beside them. She could tell the moment Atlas realized who was on the ground as he let out a painful howl when he did. The heartbreaking sound was loud enough to send Lyra and the others running up the stairs, the guards flanking everyone.

Lyra looked on in shock as she took in the sight before her, but she was more confused at the child Skaia was holding, as her son was right in her arms, unharmed.

She was about to open her mouth to speak when she was rooted to the spot at what happened next.

As she placed her hand on the child’s chest, something inside of her was screaming not to accept it. It was a defiant feeling, cannot be denied and soon she wasn’t able to suppress it any longer.

Something clicked inside her, and with unexplainable drive, she began to scour deep, looking for something. Then as if her senses were heightened, she heard the weak thump of the child’s heart. She even sensed the heat of the blood which this thing, whatever this is that seems to be driving her, is following as a guide. To where she doesn’t know. She doesn’t understand what’s happening, but she’s too stunned to stop, not like she could. Something was preventing her to.

Abruptly it stopped. Like one would when they realized they were right where they needed to be in the nick of time.

Everything faded into the background, she can’t feel or hear anything now.

And just when she thought it was over, she watched with wide eyes as the wound slowly started to close, but she felt a deep burning pain in her chest in return. It was a slow process, one excruciating wave after the next.

In the midst of the pain, it made sense then.  The wound was transferring to her!

Everyone looked on in horror and wonder. Not a breath was released as the witnessed the event. Apollo couldn’t understand the emotions he’s going through right now. He felt helpless and clueless. Both he’s never felt in his life. Ever.

Skaia groaned out in pain at the burn the pain left in its wake. She felt a pair of hands gripping her arms, and by the lingering warmth, she can tell it’s Apollo.

Two more waves of the hot burning pain, and finally she felt the process of the transfer subside. Despite the newly acquired wound, she felt a sense of relief when she realized the child is now safe.

Her body suddenly felt heavy, like a weight was on her, and she fought to keep her eyes open. She was short of breath, the pain in her chest making it hard for her to breathe. She tried to fight the incoming darkness but her body was failing her, and inevitably, she fell into oblivion.

Apollo clutched his unconscious mate close. He can see she was losing blood fast, and on instinct he made his way to the clinic.

He didn’t look back to see that the child was not his nephew but someone else. Lyra quickly told the guards to get the child to the clinic for the doctor to check as well. She realized the child was charmed to take the appearance of their son. It must have worn off when Skaia transferred the wound to her.