Mated to More Than a Myth

Chapter 3

Everybody’s heads shot towards Grandma Charlotte in shock as she stood regally with a pleased look on her elegant face.

“How did you know where they were?!” Colton squeaked, looking between Alarick and the elder former Luna Queen.

“Like I said. I have an idea of who it is and I know if it’s her, then that’s where she’d be. So portals please. The clock is ticking!” At her now firm tone, Eric and Delia raised their hands and made two colorful swirling portals. Grandmother Char went first, then Vlad and Kayla, followed by Alarick's parents with Colton and Miranda. Alaric walked through cautiously with Eric and Delia. Once Alarick steadied himself and swallowed his nausea from the weightlessness and blinding colors of the portals, he opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was the smell of blood. It was so thick he thought he might choke on it. As he looked around, he saw his friends and family standing in a field in stunned silence. Beside them was a transparent yellow bubble with his men in it standing guard, looking pale and shell-shocked. Behind them were the three kidnapped young royals curled up with each other appearing to be peacefully asleep.

Alarick was about to ask the guards for a report when he heard a blood-curdling scream followed by the sick snapping of bones breaking. He jogged over and stood by his grandmother, who leaned heavily on her cane with a now concerned look on her face. She looked on the verge of tears as she stared into the small field where the screams were coming from. Alarick followed her gaze and felt sick at the spectacle before them. Being the Alpha King, he had been to war many times, but this was something that shook even him to his core. There were body parts strewn about haphazardly as well as several female rogues clutching each other in terror as they wailed with their eyes closed. There were werewolves that were cut down mid shift, which made no sense. The magic in a wolf should automatically change them back to human at the moment of death. There were dead vampires that seemed to be drained of blood and missing their fangs. They should have turned to dust the moment they died. There were also fairies missing their wings and elves missing their eyes. They too should just be piles of dust.

“Alarick something horrible is happening but I’m excited. Do you smell that?!” Ambrose was whining and pacing frantically in his mind, wanting to be let out. “Yeah buddy. I feel and smell the same thing. Stay alert.” Alarick was having a hard time trying to control his and his wolf's emotions. Just then, about 12 more rogues came tearing through the tree line, heading straight towards the barrier containing the guards and children. He tried to shift but couldn’t. He looked at his parents, sister and Beta, but they all had the same scared and confused expressions. His friends were no better. Eric and Delias’ magic looked to be completely gone as they threw their hands up to shoot energy at the rogues. Vlad and Kayla hissed their frustration as their eyes refused to influence the enemies’ actions and their fangs wouldn’t lengthen. Everybody came to the same conclusion simultaneously. This was going to be a brawl of only skill and physical strength.

As Alarick stepped forward to lead the fight, he ran face first into a new barrier.

“What the f**k is going on?!” Eric bellowed, as he pounded against the new barrier to no avail. “How many f*****g fae are here?!” Vlad bellowed and began throwing his full body weight at the barrier. Alarick again felt another intense wave of unease as the 12 rogues were about to run past them to the children. When the rogues realized that the royals were stuck and powerless to intervene, they had the gall to stand in front of them and laugh. One of the larger wolves stepped forward with matted dirty hair and glowing red eyes. He gave a big grin of rotted broken teeth as he scratched a scraggly flea-infested beard.

“Lookie here boys! It seems we came right in time! We’ll have to tell the boss that those new dark elves and chaos fairies are worth their weight in gold. They managed to catch all the royals for us!” The men behind him laughed harder. But the one thin female rogue in the back looked terrified and anything but amused. She looked over at the blood-soaked field to the now quiet female rogues. She tilted her head as if listening to something in the wind. She gave a slow nod and as quietly and quickly as possible slunk over to the other women huddled together. Alaricks’ group stood quietly as they all had noticed the strange behavior. The group of rogues were still laughing and slapping each other on the back when the leader's heart was pulled cleanly from his chest. A short figure, shrouded in shadows, that seemed to have appeared from thin air, stood calmly holding the trembling organ. It took a moment for the laughter to die as the rogues slowly realized what happened.

“I thank you for arriving so quickly gentlemen. I was beginning to think that I wouldn’t be able to eat my fill before the children’s parents could collect them. But since they are here I’ll make this quick.” With that serene, lightly accented statement, chaos ensued. She was everywhere and nowhere as she cut a bloody path through the screaming men. All that could be heard were the breaking of bones, wet suction of organs leaving bodies and her satisfied growls as she fed off the blood of a select few. If Alarick weren’t a royal wolf he knew he wouldn’t have been able to see the occasional blurs of her attacks.

“Am I just getting old or is this woman moving too fast to track her?” Alaricks’ usually silent father, Alexander, gruffly asked in an impressed tone. There was a unanimous, “She’s fast.” as they all watched silently in awe. When there was but one survivor gurgling his last breath, with her fangs deep in his jugular, his Grandmother stepped forward.

“Everybody get behind me and stay quiet. I need to speak with her.” Everybody but Alarick immediately protested in unison. But the minute she cut her glowing blue eyes at them and growled lowly, everybody bowed in fear and respect and stepped back. Even at her advanced age, nobody dared to question the Royal Silver Wolf. When they looked back at the mysterious woman, she had righted herself with her back towards them and appeared to be looking at her bloody hands. Her long curly hair shone black in the moonlight. It hung heavily as it dripped blood on the trampled grass. Alarick had to bite back a deep growl of arousal at the small waist that lead to a large heart-shaped bottom. Blood-soaked rags barely covered her ample ass and thighs while clinging like a second skin. “Make her turn around Alarick! We need to see the rest of her.” Alarick was almost surprised at the sudden interest from his wolf, except he felt exactly the same about the woman. “We need to take Grandmother's lead Ambrose. We don’t want to mess this up or have her disappear. Be patient, we’ll get our chance.” Alarick mentally assured his almost frantic wolf.

His Grandmother stepped as close as she could to the barrier without touching it. She laid her cane down gently and stood tall and strong.

“Tiger Lilly is that you?” The moment the name left his grandmother's lips, the woman’s head tilted back as if sniffing the air. She turned around and everybody gasped at the now clear sight of her. She was terrifyingly beautiful. She was covered in blood, and was only wearing a scant amount of rags. Her hair was a tangled mass of thick tight curls that hung past her full breasts. Her face was oval with perfectly arched brows above glowing cat eyes, that swirled blue, red, black, yellow, pink and gold. She had full bow-shaped lips with a pair of long sharp fangs, peeking through. She was short in stature compared to everyone there, but her full breasts, flat stomach, wide rounded hips and thick thighs made it clear she was a woman full grown. But the glowing Moon Goddess symbol on her brow was the most fascinating and confusing part.

Everybody snapped out of their musings as she walked up to his Grandmother slowly and cautiously. She tilted her head from one side to another, studying the older woman like a confused animal. When she righted her head she spoke softly with the accent Alarick still couldn’t place.

“I believe it’s been many years since I was called by that name. Who are you beautiful one?”

Everybody was shocked with mouths agape when his grandmother giggled and blushed like a young girl at the compliment. “I know I’ve grown old but I was about 8 the last time you saw me. I’m Charlotte. You saved me one snowy afternoon from a group of hunters. You healed me, then we played until dawn and after that you returned me safely home. You said that since I was your friend that I could call you whatever I liked, and I picked Tiger Lilly.” The woman’s eyes widened slightly as recognition began to appear in their depths. She quickly snapped her fingers, breaking the barriers, and stepped closer to the older and much taller woman. His grandmother bowed slightly in front of her as the young woman reached up to touch a lightly wrinkled cheek before gently gathering a handful of silver hair. Neither seemed to care that her hands were covered in now sticky blood as she brought the strands to her face to breathe in. After taking a moment to process the scent, her eyes blinked open to reveal that they had changed to swirling gold and yellow with hints of pink. She gave her a beautifully joyful smile.

“My little snow princess has grown more beautiful than I could have imagined! Age can never change that type of beauty, my silly girl.” Again his grandmother surprised them all yet again by yipping like an excited pup before giving a squeal of joy and wrapping the unusual woman in a tight hug. They both laughed happily as the woman purred loudly while rubbing her face against his grandmother in a very feline fashion. Once they had finished bonding, his Grandmother gently asked, “Would it be alright if I introduced you to my friends and family? I’m sure they are dying to get to know and thank you for helping us.” The woman all of a sudden appeared to be a skittish kitten as she peeked at Alricks’ parents around his grandmother’s shoulder. A greyish blue-green color began to take over her eyes, as she appeared uncertain about meeting new people. Ambrose whined sadly in Alarick's mind at her clear unease.

“Are you sure Princess? I don’t want to embarrass you in front of the people you love.” Her voice was so low and sad that he felt a lump building in his throat. Before his grandmother or he could even react, his mother made a tsking sound and came forward with the other women of his group. His mother towered over the girl as she scooped her up in a soothing hug only a mother could give. The girl looked shocked for only a moment before purring and melting into her warmth and embracing her back. When his mother stepped back she kissed both of the woman’s cheeks, paying no attention to the dried blood and softly said, “You can never be an embarrassment. We are honored to meet you. I’m Carol. I’m Charlotte's daughter-in-law. These two women are Fae Queen Delia and Vampire Queen Kayla.” Kayla and Delia both embraced her as his mother had while thanking her profusely for keeping their children safe. His sister stepped forward with the same greeting. The women were so taken with the newcomer that they seemed to forget the men until Alarics’ father cleared his throat and stepped forward.

“I am Alexander, Charlottes’ son. What would you like for the rest of us to call you? I don’t want us to overstep any boundaries by calling you by my mothers’ pet name for you.” Everybody snickered at the Former Alpha king as he actually blushed and awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. He was every bit the strong and silent type, so this was black mail gold for them.

“My name is Lilith, but I don’t mind being called just Lilly.” She smiled and stepped closer to the males of the group. When she spoke her name and stepped just a bit closer, her full scent hit Alarick, and he lost control. He lunged forward knocking his father and friends aside, roaring “Mine!” Lilith was so shocked when Alarick grasped her around the waist and yanked her to his chest she instinctively wrapped her thick thighs tightly around his hips and her arms around his neck. He growled his approval as he moved his hands down to cup her full ass. Time seemed to stand still as he firmly squeezed and massaged the soft globes while grinding her exposed p***y against his now throbbing c**k. She purred as he licked the spot on her neck where he planned to mark her. Her hips tilted forward and down and he felt how hot and wet she was getting for him through his thin basketball shorts. He didn’t know how long they stood like that when he heard his Beta say, “Hey boss? Uhhh…. I’m happy and all for you man, but you might wanna take this somewhere a bit more private. But it’s just a suggestion, of course.” Alarick growled in frustration and turned his head to his friends and family. He noticed that the guards, children, female rogues, queens and Vlad were all gone. Eric stood grinning like a fool holding a portal open, and Colton was trying to look everywhere but at Alarick and his new mate. His poor father was trying to shoo his giggling wife and mother into the portal while dragging a cackling Miranda behind him who had her phone out recording the entire situation. “How f*****g long have we been like this?!” Alaric silently asked Ambrose. “Didn’t you pay attention in school you nit wit?! We’ve begun the mating process. This means for us time doesn’t really exist on a normal scale until we complete the process. Why do you think most newly mated wolves go MIA for a couple weeks until the process is complete….?” The more Alaric thought about it the more it made sense. “So what you’re saying is that we need to hurry up and get her home to complete the process?” Ambrose didn’t hesitate in growling “Now i***t!”

Just as he was about to carry his newly found mate through the portal and make a mad dash to his bed chamber, to continue the mating process in peace, Lilith let out a threatening growl. He jerked his head back towards her, expecting a new danger when his stomach dropped. She was taking in big whiffs of his chest and the space between their bodies. She raised her head slowly and made eye contact with him. Her eyes kept flickering from bright red to a deep blue. They were filled with soul-shattering pain and insurmountable rage.

“You dare to try and claim me with the stink of you and another female rutting still fresh on you Little King?” Lilith growled through bared and lengthening fangs.

There was a collective “Oh s**t” from the others behind him. Before he could open his mouth to beg for forgiveness, Lilith head butted him so hard he thought his neck broke. But judging by the metallic taste of blood pooling in his mouth she just broke his nose and cracked a couple of teeth. When the tears cleared from his eyes he saw that Lilith was shaking in front of him. She was breathing heavily as her eyes continued to flicker rapidly from blue to red. She roared loudly and threw her head back. The force of that roar had enough force to throw everybody onto the now quaking earth.

“We need to get out of here!” Eric yelled while trying to hold the portal open. But as soon as the words left his mouth, the portal evaporated in a puff of smoke. There was now no way of escaping her wrath.

Liliths’ head slowly leaned forward as she made eye contact with Alarick. He was frozen in place, even as his wolf howled in pain at the look on her face. Her eyes were now glowing, with one a solid deep blue and the other was a bright blood red. The whites of her eyes were pitch black and seemed to be welling with black tears. Her face was void of emotion as her eyes continued to well. Just as the tar-like tears were about to spill onto her cheeks, there was a bright flash of light. Alarick had to raise his arm to shield his eyes from the blinding light. While he was protecting his eyes, he heard what sounded like the wings of a large bird moving at an incredible speed. He even felt an intense gust of wind pressing him and the others into the earth. When he lowered his arm he saw an auburn-haired man as tall as him standing behind Lilith. He had huge white bird-like wings that fluttered gently in the breeze. He was bent over Lilith with an arm around her waist pulling her into him and a hand clasped tightly over her eyes. The hand over her eyes smoked and sizzled, and judging by the wince on his face, it hurt like hell. He placed his mouth on her ear and said gently, “Sleep baby girl.” Just like that, her body went limp in his arms.

Alarick panicked at the lifelessness of her body. This time he roared while charging the man. He only made it two steps when amber eyes met his. The stranger hissed out “Sit. Down. Dog” and like a well-trained dog, he dropped to the ground and sat.

“What the hell did you just do to my mate and me?!” Alarick bellowed as he couldn’t seem to move from his seated position.

“Oh, so you’re the i***t who f****d up. I was wondering what dumbass could make my girl go nuclear so fast.” The unusual winged man quipped in an unconcerned tone as he gently laid Lilith on a clean patch of grass.

“What the f**k do you mean your girl?! She is my mate! Get the hell away from her!” Alarick was practically frothing at the mouth at this point and his wolf was no better, as he roared in rage and pain.

“Alarick! Quit being an ass and shut your damn mouth! You’ve already done enough damage here!”

Alarick instantly shut his mouth and hung his head at the harsh, disappointed tone of his grandmother. She slowly made her way to Lilith and the man. He couldn’t tell if she was walking slowly because her cane was now missing or if she was being cautious of the burning amber eyes that tracked her every movement. When she reached their side, she stood tall and strong as she held his intense burning gaze. He seemed to be looking for something in her gaze, and he must have found it, judging by the pleased smile on his face.

“Ah! Now I see why my little Lilly was so taken with you all those years ago. Before she was captured, she told me how excited she was to make such a wonderful friend. Thank you for giving that to her. She deserves all the happiness in this world.” He looked down at Lilith with so much love and concern that Alarick and Ambrose could only whine and hang their heads in shame and regret.

“The pleasure was all mine. She saved me from what I’m sure was a fate worse than death. Then she gave me one of the happiest days of my young life. She is truly the most amazing being I’ve ever had the good fortune to meet. But may I ask who you are Sir? You seem to care greatly for her.” The man stood up regally and as he did so his wings dissolved into a white energy that flowed back into him. He reached forward with his uninjured hand gently grasping his Grandmother's hand to bring it to his lips for a soft kiss. He grinned widely at her flushed cheeks showing off deadly-looking fangs.

“I apologize for my rudeness beautiful. I am Lucifer and sweet Lilith is my little sister.”