The Alpha's Triangle Book 2: Luna's Redemption

CHAPTER 5 Found it

Zira waved her hands in front of Percy’s face to get his attention. “Come on, Percy. Remember what that silly pixie said?”

“Right! She said it would speak to me. That I would feel a pull towards it,” Percy said, walking near the three doorways. “But we have to be careful. One wrong direction could lead to a trap in these old places.”

Zira nodded and waited for him to start. He closed his eyes and held out his hand, feeling the open air as if there was an invisible wall blocking him. Zira stood quiet, thinking the silence might help him hear something, but she was impatient and there was still a dragon after them.

“Well…” Zira’s nerves were at a peak.

All this time she spent searching for this place and she was hoping it wasn’t another dead end. Just that thought alone made her want to cry. Not for herself but for Zacharias. Her baby boy needed this to be the right place. Percy opened his eyes and they were glowing a bright silver/blue color. He looked at her and smiled before pointing down the middle passageway.

“Are you sure,” Zira asked while going down into the dark passage ahead.

Percy nodded. “I’m sure,” he said, grabbing her hands.

She nearly jerked away from him but was soon overcome with just how sure he was. Zira could feel herself nodding at him and smiling. They were so close.

“Alright, let's do this,” Zira said, moving down the hallway.

With her wolf, Nina’s vision, she was able to see in the dark as they moved down the passageway. Luckily for them, it was short and opened up to a huge, circular corridor. The place was dilapidated with crumbling steps and stone archways covered in ivy and creeper plants. The columns led up to stone rooftops with little holes where the sunlight got through. Zira was happy it wasn’t big enough for Blaze to swoop down on them, but still she wanted to hurry.

The place had a gathering set up with stone pathways leading down to a sort of fountain. Then she saw it. Floating in the middle of a fountain was the crystal she was looking for. She nearly ran towards it and just as she got closer, she felt Percy’s hand on her arm. He pulled her back against his chest and held her tight.

She was about to say something when he pointed ahead of her. She followed his finger and saw the gap she almost fell into. Her eyes widened at the size and she was happy to have company with her. For a moment she sank against him, using his heartbeat to calm hers. When she felt calm enough, he released her, and she walked to the gap.

She was calculating the distance as the roar outside shook the ground they stood on. They needed to figure out something fast. She thought about shifting and having Nina make the jump, but she knew Nina was tired from the running they had done hours before. Zira took a deep breath and laid her bag on the ground.

I’ll take one for the team, she thought. “Okay, Percy. I need a boost.”

Percy looked at her like she was crazy. What the hell was she thinking? “Zira, there’s no way you’re going to make that jump.”

“Alone, no, but if you use your wolf’s strength you could throw me, right?”

Percy looked skeptical until she grabbed his face and forced him to look at her. “We’ve made it this far, Percy. We can’t turn back now.”

Percy looked at the impossible gap, then back at Zira. “I don’t know, Zira, what if…”

“No,” she cut him off. “No more doubting. I believe you can do this. For me. For Arias. For the other white wolves. For yourself. We’re so close,” Zira said while nodding her head.

Percy stared into her beautiful hazel eyes, and he could see she meant everything she was saying, even if he didn’t. It’s been a while since someone believed in him like this. He looked at the impossible gap and now it felt a little possible. He felt himself nodding his head.

“You’re right. We’ve been through a lot these past six months. A little gap isn’t going to stop. No matter how big the gap is and the drop…” He stopped looking down at the bottomless pit, nerves taking over his body.

“Percy,” Zira snapped. “Focus on me, OK. We can do this.”

Percy took a few deep and nodded. He didn’t know how she did it, but every time she got him to do something he wouldn’t normally do. One look, one word from her and he would e*****e the world.

“Let’s do this before Blaze decides he’s tired of flying,” Percy said with renewed energy.

“Yes,” Zira said, jumping up with excitement. “Okay, I’ll get a runoff and you'll grab my arms and spin me around to build up momentum before you release me. I’ll do the rest.”

Percy was about to ask more questions, but Zira was on a mission and was heading to the far side of the cave.

“Ready,” she asked, but she didn’t let him answer as she ran full speed towards him.

Percy steadied himself as she flew towards him. He grabbed her outstretched arm and spun her around two times before swinging her with all his might. His wolf added the extra power before releasing her and watching her soar into the air.

This wasn’t the first time Zira felt like she was flying, and it probably wouldn’t be her last. She had the crystal in her sight only a few feet away when she noticed she was going to come up short.

“Zira!”

She could hear Percy yell behind her. She was going to fall right into the bottomless pit. Why did I think I could do this?

“Because you’re not a thinker,” Nina said, obviously against the plan from the beginning.

“Nina,” Zira whined.

Nina huffed at her. “Just use my claws,” she said in a matter of fact way.

Before she got too far from the top of the platform. Zira grabbed the wall with a clawed hand. She scaled down the rocky wall, stopping only a few feet below the platform. She quickly clawed her way to the top and laid flat against the ground, trying to calm her heartbeat. What is it with me and almost dying?

“Don’t answer that, Nina,” Zira snapped, feeling Nina’s urge to say something.

“Zira, are you okay,” Percy yelled over the gap.

Zira held up her thumb and took a few more breaths before getting up. The crystal was finally within her grasp. She walked through the cool, murky water, hoping nothing would jump out at her. The closer she got to the crystal, the more she felt some kind of energy pulsating from it. She cautiously reached for it, keeping her eyes open for any traps, but there were none.

She grabbed it and pulled it close to her. Still, nothing happened, and she left out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She looked at Percy and smiled as she made her way out of the fountain. Then suddenly she was plunged into darkness. She was falling…or floating…or something not involving a ground to step on. Before she knew it, images flashed before her eyes.

She saw a beautiful town full of laughter and joy as she floated over it. In the middle was a fountain, the same fountain, glowing bright and full of warmth. Then suddenly, it flashed to the town burning and screams flooding the air. A portal-like structure, a black pulsating globe, stood in the middle of the fountain with a woman standing in front of it. She glowed with the brightest energy, then everything exploded. Zira covered her eyes from the explosion as she felt someone shaking her.

“Zira?!”

Zira opened her eyes and realized she was on the ground with Percy looking down at her. She wondered how he got over the gap as he helped her sit up. Then she noticed it was her who moved. She was back on the other side.

“How…how…”

“You just floated over here. Your eyes were closed but they were moving fast. Did you see anything?”

Zira thought about the vision and for some reason she didn’t want to share it. She wouldn’t really know how to share it. She saw him about to touch her arm when she pulled away.

“I’m fine. I just saw…darkness and felt pain,” she said as she stood up without taking his hand.

“We finally got it,” Percy said, looking at the crystal in Zira’s hand.

Zira looked down at the crystal in her hand. It felt cool to the touch, but she could feel a rhythm or humming sound emitting from it. She couldn’t believe something so small could potentially heal her son. She smiled at Percy, who jumped up with excitement and Zira joined in. They did it.

The roar outside brought them back to their current predicament as they settled down. With the crystal in their hands, she could finally save Arias and help a friend in the process, but first, they had to escape this dragon. Even that didn’t damper her spirits because now she was going home.

*****

A month later

“Watch it,” Percy yelled as Zira swiveled around the bend.

She flew down the road, keeping her eyes on the company speeding alongside them. She was not expecting this kind of a welcome, but honestly, she couldn’t blame them. Although this was her home to them, she was a rogue. At least to these wolves. They just had to make it to the packhouse. Intact.

“I thought this was your pack,” Percy said.

Zira could hear the panic in his voice and a part of her felt guilty that this was his first impression of the Black Moon pack.

“It is,” Zira yelled as she maneuvered around a few broken branches. “It’s just been a while since I’ve been back.”

A year, to be exact. The sound of howls and snarling werewolves followed close behind them. The panic in Percy’s voice heightened, which only added to hers. Another wolf hit the side of the car and she swerved a bit before regaining her balance. Maybe this was a bad idea.

“You think,” Nina snapped. She was pacing back and forth in Zira’s mind, anxious about this whole situation. “They think we’re rogues. Just get out of the car and let me take care of this.”

“And what makes you think they’ll listen to you?”

“I am their Luna!”

“We’re nothing but what we smell like to them. Rogues, Nina.”

Zira was going to call ahead but she wanted this to be a surprise. She has proven now that she’s not really good at having ideas at the spur of the moment.

“Really? Now you've proven that,” Nina questioned.

“Shut up so I can focus,” Zira snapped back.

She knew it'd been proven many times in the past, but she was excited to be back. To be home, to see Arias, her son, and Isaiah and her family. This trip had made her miss them all terribly.

Those thoughts vanished when another wolf hit the side of the car, making them spin out of control. They both screamed as it spun and came to a stop before hitting a tree.

It took a moment for her to get her bearings when she noticed werewolves coming from beyond the trees. I should’ve called, she thought as she watched them slowly inch towards the car, growling at them.