From Prisoner to Primordial

CHAPTER 18 - Retribution Part 2

*Nova’s P.O.V*

***FLASHBACK***

*DECEMBER 27TH, 2022*

    I was in Kane’s office with him, and we were waiting on a conference call from Alpha Andrew, Ariadne, and Khonsu.

    The phone rang and Kane answered it immediately. “Alpha Kane, Luna Nova,” he greeted.

    “Alpha Kane, Alpha Andrew here. Have you read the inter-wolf newspaper?” Alpha Andrew asked.

    “Not yet,” he admitted.

    “I sent a copy to your e-mail if you’d like to read it. I highly recommend you do.”

    “Okay, give me just a moment,” Kane responded as he opened his e-mail. He clicked on the e-mail from my uncle, and we read it together.

        12/25/22: BREAKING: ELDER COUNCIL CALLED TO SIGN DEATH WARRANTS

    The Elder council has been called to the Blue Moon pack to sign death warrants for two she-wolves after their attempts on the lives of multiple ranking pack members.

    While the details are still being discussed, we have been informed that Jane Morris and Ashley Pickens had created a bomb meant for Jane’s rejected mate’s second-chance mate and Beta-female Brielle Ludwig.

    The details of how the bomb was intervened remain unknown, but what is known is that after the package was removed and disabled, multiple ranked members of the Blue Moon pack went to investigate Jane Morris’s cottage and found incriminating evidence.

    However, while there were photographs of the evidence, the evidence itself was destroyed by another larger-scale bomb that had been detonated in the home of Jane Morris by Ashley Pickens after the attempted murder of Tristan Shaw.

    As for the bomb that was disable, three sets of fingerprints were recovered: two sets matching Jane Morris and Ashley Pickens, and the third set is believed to belong to a dark witch that Morris had recruited the help of.

    As we gather more information, we will keep the werewolf community updated.

    “How did they even get this information?!” Kane exclaimed once we finished reading the article.

    “Wolves talk, pissed off wolves talk louder,” Alpha Andrew said simply. “But is all that true? I know what Ariadne told me; she told me her sister is a dark witch being accused of helping them in creating the bombs and kidnapping Tristan. She wants to be there for the execution of these two wolves. We were planning on being there by the 29th. When are the executions scheduled?”

    “They are scheduled for tomorrow,” I answered. “And before you ask, you three are more than welcome to be here, if you can get here on time.”

    “Then we will board our jet in two hours’ time and be there by tonight,” Alpha Andrew said. “Oh, and Luna Nova?”

    “Yes, Alpha Andrew?”

    “That’s Uncle Andrew to you. I am so excited to finally meet my long-lost niece and see what a great Luna she has become.”

    “I can’t wait to see you, either Uncle Andrew. When you land, let us know your ETA and we’ll be sure to meet you out front.”

    “Will do,” he said before the line went dead.

    “I’ll have the omegas get two guest rooms ready on the third floor. Given that it’s still early, I imagine they will be here just in time for dinner,” Kane told me. His eyes clouded over briefly and then returned to their normal turquoise color. I gave him a kiss. “What was that for?” he asked.

    “For letting them come early. I’m sure it will be quite a shock to Jane and Ashley. I can’t wait to see Jane’s face.” I said, and Kane laughed and nodded in agreement.

*LATER THAT EVENING*

    Kane and I stood on the porch just as the rental SUV drove up to the packhouse. The drivers’ side door opened, and out stepped a middle-aged man who I recognized as one of Uncle Andrew’s guards. He walked around to the passenger side door and opened it.

    I couldn’t stop myself from running up to him once he stepped out of the vehicle. “Uncle Andrew!” I yelled and hugged him, catching him off-guard. He quickly regained composure and wrapped his arms around me, hugging me back.

    He looked exactly the same as I remembered and not a day older. While he and my dad were twins and looked alike in many ways, Uncle Andrew had dark hair and green eyes while my dad was blonde haired and blue eyed.

    I heard a low growl behind me, so I stepped back and felt an arm snake around my waist. “Alpha Andrew,” I said, regaining my composure as I held out my hand. He shook it firmly once.

    “Luna Nova, Alpha Kane,” he said, holding his hand out to Kane, who shook it firmly. “This is Ariadne and Delta Khonsu,” he introduced as they stepped out of the SUV.

    I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face. “Delta, huh?” I asked Khonsu as I shook both his and Ariadne’s hands.

    “Yes, Luna Nova,” Khonsu greeted as I hugged him. Another growl told me Kane was getting over-protective of me.

    “Kane, he’s my dad’s friend. Quit it,” I scolded him as I hugged Ariadne.

    “Andrew!” my dad called from behind us.

    “Cooper, it’s been a long time, brother.”

    “That it has. How’s your son?”

    “He’s well. Almost ready to take over the pack so I can retire,” Uncle Andrew laughed.

    “I have a cousin, and you didn’t bring him?” I questioned.

    “Well, someone had to help run the pack in my absence,” my uncle defended himself.

    I nodded but grumbled to myself.

    “Nova, I have plenty of pictures of your cousin. But first, let’s discuss business,” Uncle Andrew said.

    “First, the packhouse omegas will show you to your rooms and then bring you to the conference room where we can discuss business,” Kane told him, and he nodded.

    Kane and I went over the plans for the executions tomorrow with Uncle Andrew, Ariadne, and Khonsu. We discussed strategy and when they would make an appearance. We decided to let the guards “warm them up” before their actual torture began, and that that was when Tristan and Ariadne would make their appearances.

*THE FOLLOWING DAY*

     “We’re… innocent!” Jane screamed.

    “Far from it,” Tristan said as he made his way so he was standing in front of Jane and Ashley. “Your death warrants have already been signed by the Elder council after I told them everything you did to me.”

    “You’re… supposed… to… be… dead…!” Jane growled between each lashing.

    “Yeah… about that… Bet your dark witch friend didn’t tell you there’s an antidote to the s**t you poisoned me with. Actually, she probably didn’t even know,” Tristan said smugly.

    “What in the hell do you mean?!” Jane screamed just as the guards finished lashing them.

    Ariadne and Khonsu stepped into her view then. “You’re a witch!” Jane yelled at her.

    “Ariadne, and yes I am a light witch. This antidote Tristan speaks of is only one that light witches know. And I’m glad I taught your Delta Cooper it and he was able to teach it to the pack doctors. Oh, and this is Khonsu, my mate,” she added.

    Jane screamed and struggled against the silver chains, trying to break free to kill her.

    “You ruined everything! EVERYTHING!” she shouted at her.

     “Actually, I believe you have yourself to blame for that,” Ariadne said, smiling. “Oh, and my sister, Stevie.”

    “She… she’s your sister?” Jane gasped.

    “Well, half-sister, but yes. Oh, and the Witch’s council has already captured her and stripped her of her abilities.

    Jane’s eyes widened as if she realized something. “No bum calling card. She simply couldn’t come to me,” she said accusingly.

    “No, there are no such things as bum calling cards.”

    “What’s going to happen to her?” Jane asked, curiosity in her voice.

    “The same damn thing that’s about to happen to you two,” Kane said, stepping forward. “Nova, Brielle, Aileya, and Kris?” he called out. All four of us stepped forward, picking our wolfsbane-laced whips.

    “Remember, ten each. That’s all,” he reminded us.

    Brielle and I started with Jane, who screamed in agony as the wolfsbane began to enter her system with each lash we gave her. My eyes were glowing gold as Venus had taken over. We were working as one to deliver as much pain as possible.

    I glanced at Brielle whose normal hazel eyes were now blue as she and her wolf were doing the same, taking their pent-up anger out on this abomination of a she-wolf.

    “Switch!” Kane called out, and Brielle and I moved to Ashley after resoaking our whips in wolfsbane.

    We took turns whipping Ashley until we had both counted to ten. Brielle was out of breath and clutching her abdomen.

    “Get Dr. Reid, now!” I yelled, and as soon as I said it, Dr. Reid was there with a stretcher. Gunther helped Brielle on to the stretcher and off they ran to the pack hospital.

    A few minutes later they returned. “False alarm, everyone. It’s just Braxton-Hicks’s contractions,” Brielle told us, clearly relieved. She wanted to make it another two weeks before giving birth.

    “Tristan, Braylen, Cannon and Kate?” Kane called out and they stepped forward. By now, the entire pack had gathered around to watch at a safe distance. “65 lashes each. Pick which one. Tristan, I know you have dibs on Jane.”

    “I’m with Tristan,” Kate said.

    “Braylen, Cannon, that means you two deal with Ashley. You four do as you see fit,” Kane directed them.

    Tristan grabbed a syringe of wolfsbane and silver nitrate and jammed it into Jane’s neck. She screamed in agony and Tristan smiled. “After all you put me through, trust me, you’re getting the easy way out,” he said to her as he grabbed a wolfsbane-laced whip with two silver balls at the end.

    Kate grabbed the second one and they began taking turns whipping Janes. Cries and screams filled the air as both she-wolfs were tortured. By the end, both of them were bleeding and burned from the silver. For his final move, Tristan grabbed one more syringe of wolfsbane and silver nitrate, but Kane stopped him, so he lashed out with all his might with the whip.

    “Guards!” Kane called out, and the eight of them stepped forward.

    “Jane Morris, it is time you face Tristan in a one-on-one battle in your wolf forms. You will not try to run. Besides, if you do, you won’t get very far,” Kane said in his Alpha tone.

    She nodded meekly as the guards unchained her. She fell to the ground with a thud.

    “SHIFT NOW!!!” I commanded to Jane, and she shifted into her muddy-brown wolf with mud-colored eyes.

    Tristan stripped and shifted into Chase, and they began the dance. They circled around at first. Tristan was waiting for her to make the first move, and he was not disappointed.

    Aetna lunged at Chase, who easily dodged it. She kept lunging over and over, wearing herself out and giving Chase the upper hand. Aetna lunged one more time, but instead of dodging it, Chase met her head on.

    You could hear jaws and teeth snapping and growling all around as the two wolves fought to gain the upper hand. Within minutes, Chase had her pinned and was going in for the kill when suddenly, Aetna receded and Jane lay in human form, cowering.

    “Chase!” I called. “It’s over. Aetna submitted, refusing to fight for her human counterpart.”

    Tristan’s grey wolf nodded at me, and he shifted back, getting dressed as the guards chained Jane back up.

    “I’ve never seen a wolf betray their human counterpart,” I commented to Kane, who just shrugged.

    “Gunther, Jax?” Kane called, and they stepped up, grabbing the two large syringes of wolfsbane and silver nitrate.

    Gunther jammed his straight into Jane’s heart. “That is for trying to kill my mate and unborn children,” he sneered as Jane faded fast.

    Jax jammed the syringe into Ashley’s neck. “And that is for thinking you two would get away with any of this,” he told her as her eyes shut for the final time.

    As soon as Dr. Perez confirmed their deaths, the pack erupted into cheers, applause, hoots, hollers, and howls.

    “Apparently, the pack didn’t approve of the attempt on many of our lives,” I commented to Kane as the applause and howls continued.

    Ariadne came up to me then. “When will Stevie be brought here?” she asked softly. The sadness in her voice was evident.

    “In three to four days,” I answered. 

    “I don’t understand where I went wrong,” she mumbled.

    “What do you mean?” I asked her.

    “Shortly after she turned five, our mother died, and her father disappeared. My father is still around and tried to step in as a parent for her, but she refused, saying I was the only family she had left.

    “I was 23 at the time. I took her in and raised her as my own child. I thought she was good, a pure soul, but shortly after she had gained her full magic powers, she turned to the dark side and there was nothing I could do to stop her.

    “She disappeared shortly after she gained her full powers at 18. I never saw her again,” Ariadne said sadly.

    “I don’t know much about witches, to be honest. From what I know, unless a witch is mated to another supernatural, such as a wolf, bear, tiger, or vampire, et cetera, they don’t have a mate for life?”

    “That’s correct. Well, somewhat. Some witches are lucky enough to find their fated wizard, or male witch, mate. Some witches are given a fated mate within another witch, but it’s been rare and few and far between. Most witches decide on a chosen mate instead, which is what my father was for my mom. When I was 18, she met her fated mate, Stevie’s father.

    “When my mom died, it nearly killed him, just as it does for two fated wolves, bears, tigers, et cetera. Even for Khonsu and me, if I died, it could kill him from the heartbreak and pain.

    “But her dad just vanished even though he had a five-year-old to raise. He didn’t even tell her goodbye. She went to school one day and came home and he was gone. I found her crying in her room that evening. She hadn’t eaten since lunch at school, obviously, so I made her some food, but she refused to eat. I decided I would raise her right then.

    “She didn’t eat for days, and she refused to go to school for the rest of the week. Khonsu sent out the best pack trackers to try to track her father down. She didn’t live on pack grounds, but once I told Alpha Andrew what happened, he allowed her to live with us.

    “When she was 13, they found her father in a cave about two hours away from pack grounds. He was dead. To keep her mind off of it, I practiced magic spells with her, light spells, not dark ones, until she turned 18. That’s when she came into her full powers and disappeared…” Ariadne’s voice trailed off. “I haven’t heard from her since,” she finally said with tears in her eyes.

    “Do you… do you think her father’s disappearance and death at such a young age is what turned her to the dark side?” I asked hesitantly.

    “I’m sure it did. Her father’s death was no accident; he was a light witch and he refused to use his powers for dark purposes. But we discovered he had been killed by a dark witch who sought vengeance against him for… for taking away the love of his life. My father killed her father. He left a calling card, which the Witch council used to summon him and kill him.”

    “I’m… I’m so sorry.”

    “My father was never a dark witch until my mother left him for her fated mate, Stevie’s father. That’s when he turned to the dark side to seek vengeance. And I have a feeling that’s what Stevie was hoping to accomplish as well. Vengeance for her father’s death. She never knew that his killer had already been caught and killed. Khonsu and I wanted to wait until she turned 18 to tell her, but she disappeared the morning of her 18th birthday before we could tell her.”

    I had no words. This explained everything I had questions about. Ariadne had never spoke of her father, but she had always spoke highly of her mother. I also never knew that Ariadne raised Stevie in hopes to prevent her from becoming a dark witch.

    I looked up at Ariadne for the first time since she had opened up to me today, and I happened to glance into her eyes. I gasped when I did.

    “What? What’s wrong, Luna Nova?” she asked. I could feel the shocked expression on my face.

    “It… it’s just Nova for you, Ariadne. And… um… I don’t know how to explain this. You know I have powers, right?” She nodded, so I continued. “One of those powers allows me to sense someone’s soul if I look into the person’s eyes. I can tell if someone is good or bad just by looking into their eyes briefly. But it also allows me to sense… to sense souls that haven’t been born yet. How long ago did Stevie turn 18?” I asked her.

    “Eight years ago. She is 26 now. You… you’re saying I’m pregnant?” she couldn’t hide the excitement in her voice.

    “I believe that you are, but Dr. Reid can confirm it.”

    “We’ve been trying. We’ve been trying for years, Nova. I met Khonsu when I was 20. We’ve been trying since I was 21. We’ve been trying for over 20 years, Nova. Please tell me you’re not playing me right now.”

    “I’m not. You can ask every ranked female who has children. I detected their pregnancies before they knew they were pregnant. I’ve even detected my own from the time I conceived. Now let’s get Khonsu and take you to Dr. Reid.”

    Ariadne looked around for a moment before pointing towards our Deltas. They were deep in conversation.

    Roman? I mind linked him.

    Yes, Luna?

    Please send Khonsu over to us, Ariadne needs to see the doctor.

    Yes, Luna.

    I watched Roman say something to Khonsu, who took off running in our direction.

    “Is it true?” he asked as he reached us.

    “Damn it, Roman,” I muttered. “Yes, I believe it to be so. But Dr. Reid can confirm. Let’s go,” I said, leading the way towards the pack hospital. We entered the OB office to find Dr. Reid waiting for us.

    “Right this way,” she said and led Khonsu and Ariadne into an ultrasound room as I sat down and prepared to wait.

    “Nova, come with us?” Ariadne asked, turning back to face me. I nodded and stood up, following them into the room. I sat up by Ariadne’s head and held her right hand while Khonsu held her left hand.

    Dr. Reid did her thing and soon pointed at the TV screen on the wall across from the table. “You see that blob? That is your baby. Based on research done in the past, hybrid babies are usually carried to the term length of the father, which for wolves is five months. Based on your baby’s measurements, I estimate you to be about a month along, or the human equivalent to 10 weeks. Let’s get an NIPT done, a simple blood test, to check for genetic anomalies. It will also tell me the s*x of your baby, which I can tell you if you want me to.”

    “Yes, yes, yes I want to know!” Ariadne exclaimed, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

    A nurse came in after Ariadne was cleaned up and drew some blood. “Stay close to the Luna, please. Since Khonsu is not our pack member, we cannot mind link him, so Dr. Reid will mind link the Luna. Or you can come back in two hours for the results.”

    “We’ll come back,” Khonsu said to her. She nodded to them, bowed, and left the room.