Goldie and the Three Wolves

Chapter 3: Closure

Chapter 3: Closure

The moon is high and bright in the night sky. A witch called Willow stands in the middle of a field listening to the whistling sounds of the wind. On this summer night, an odd chill hangs in the air. The stars seem to dim as the moon shines bright, standing out above all to light the night.

There’s an eeriness in the air. Willow has spent many years preparing for this night, a night no one expected. She always knew it would come, but when it would was always the question.

Willow is a very skilled sorceress and one of the oldest. Any ordinary person would just see stars, but Willow sees more than that. The stars tell a story if you know how to read them. They constantly change as the wind does. You can always tell one's fate by reading the stars.

In the stars tonight, a tale written in gold. How poetic that the wind would shift on this night…

Tonight is the anniversary of the last battle against the Dark Lord. Months ago, Willow found his true name. In all her research and study through these past eighteen years, it was found that the Dark Lord’s true name would be needed. His true name is Malachi. It took quite some digging to find this information. It was written in long-lost Triad scrolls.

Here in the Shadow Knight Pack, they honor that one fateful night. The whole pack gathers to honor those lost. Willow watches as the empty field fills with wolves. The Alpha Triplets stand before their pack, each holding a lantern.

The grief and sorrow can be felt in the air around the pack. The loss of loved ones is still remembered. “Eighteen years ago, we lost our parents, and you lost your alphas and Luna. Tonight we honor them, and the zetas lost that night.” Alec, the youngest alpha, says in sorrow.

“Light your lanterns and release them so that they may hear us and know that their deaths were not in vain. The Shadow Knight pack thrives because of their sacrifice.” Wren announces to the pack.

One by one, lanterns are released into the night sky. Some pack members like to send letters in their lanterns while others whisper a wish inside.

Laterns float away in the night sky, looking like stars the further they get. The alpha’s watch as they fade into nothing but a glimmering speck of light.

Mason Kingsly-Lennox, the alpha of the Wolf Blood Pack, approaches his cousins out of tradition to ask them if they want to get a drink. Decan raised his son, Mason, and nephews, Wren, Raphael, and Alec, as brothers. Decan kept his word and protected his sister’s children.

Wren and Alec always agree to join Mason for a drink. Mason knows how his cousin feels about their parents’ death, so he does what he can to cheer them up. Raphael always seems to like to deal with his grief his own way.

From the time the alphas were sixteen and claimed their title as alpha of the Shadow Knight Pack, Raphael would venture off to a place no one dares to go. The place where the last battle took place.

Just before Alec and Wren leave with Mason, a soft, chilling wind blows through. Alec hears the whispering of the wind, “The time has come. Heed the warning…” Each of the Alphas has a special power. Alec has the ability to hear the trees and understand their wind songs.

Raphael arrives at what is now known as the frozen forest. These woods were where the battle took place, where it all seemed to have ended.

These woods have been frozen in time for 18 years. Some say the only sound that can be heard from inside the woods is an infant's cry. Some say this cry is the call of peace; others say it’s a call to the gods.

Inside, there’s an eerie stillness. The trees are quiet, the air is still, not even the water dares to make a sound. It is as if the whole forest is in a deep slumber. The air inside is cold like a silent winter night.

Time is frozen in these parts. Everything in the woods is preserved as if it were 18 years ago. Nothing has aged a single day.

Terra Knight, the Guardian wolf to the Broken Wolf encased in amber by the goddess, begins to wake. The amber crumbles around her. Time moves once more.

The sound of the gentle bubbling of a nearby creek can be heard. The winds in the trees whistle a song in the night air.

Terra moves around in confusion. All she can see is darkness. When her hands land on the ice in front of her, it begins to crumble beneath her hands, and she tries to shield the ice to keep the darkness inside, but fails. She seems to be far too weak to use any of her power. She can barely reach her wolf to see and is forced to run away blindly as a lightning bolt shoots towards her from the ice.

Back at the edge of the forest, where Raphael now stands. He wears clothes that he keeps stashed nearby. He’s become obsessed with this place. His parents are inside, and yet he cannot enter. No one has been able to enter the woods since that day.

Time has frozen here. Raphael always thought that if he could unfreeze time here, then he could retrieve his parents, but he was never able to. His power mocks him. Raphael’s gift is the ability to freeze time. He can freeze and unfreeze time anywhere but here. He feels haunted by his power, a power he never understood the purpose of.

Tonight, he looks at the tree line in these woods differently than he has before. He could feel the change; time is moving, but how? What could have changed?

Raphael hesitates before taking the first step into the woods. He’s hopeful for closure. He may have only been five years old when he lost this fathers and mother, but he still remembers them; they should be laid to rest in peace.

He slowly walks through the woods in the midst of his thoughts. He wonders if they will be there. Is there anything left of them? Would he recognise them? His thoughts are halted when a girl comes running towards him.

Terra runs through the forest until she is gripped by a man walking in the woods. She screams in fear, thinking Malachi has finally got her, only to realize the person is a man and not a female. Terra slightly calms.

Terra screams at the man, “Run!” Raphael has yet to see the woman behind Terra. He is mostly confused why she is here because no one has been in this forest for a long time. He wonders who she is and why she is somehow familiar to him. He feels as if he knows her but can’t quite put a finger on it.

Raphael grabs her arms, pulling Terra to him. He looks at her questioningly. “No, run, He’s going to kill us,” Terra says as she struggles to get free from the alpha’s grip. He could instantly see she was blind and unable to see.

Raphael can see the fear clearly etched on Terra’s face and looks around for danger that may be near. For a split second, he sees a face he never thought he would see again before a bolt of lightning strikes him.

Stella almost doesn’t look like herself; her skin is pale, dark black, and gray veins cover her skin; her eyes are black as the void in space. This isn’t the Stella anyone will remember.

Terra felt the moment Raphael was struck by Malachi, she did the unthinkable, the impossible. “NO!” Terra screams and extends her arms out as if to block Raphael. In Terra’s weakened state, she uses the remaining amount of energy left within her and creates a shield around Raphael, protecting him from the Dark Lord.

She should not be able to do this. Terra is Stella’s guardian and can only shield Stella. Terra holds the shield, unable to focus on anything else until only silence is heard. Only then, when she is sure Malachi has gone that she run blindly through the woods yelling for help.

Issac Knight has spent the past 18 years away from his mate. Issac drowned his sorrows in work. He took over as alpha until his nephews were old enough. He never felt Terra’s death, and yet she never returned. He felt as if their mate bond was frozen in place.

Tonight, after the lantern ceremony, Issac felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time. He felt as if his heart had begun to beat again. Terra’s presence could be felt in the mate bond again.

For what felt like forever, Issac stood in place, shocked at the waves of emotions winding through him. When he finally snapped out of his shocked state, without hesitation, he ran to the frozen forest where he could feel his mate’s presence.

Meanwhile, Wren and Alec are having a drink with Mason when suddenly they feel something is wrong with Raphael. The moment Raphael was struck his brothers could feel the attack. Without a single word, Alec and Wren take off towards the place they can sense Raphael is.

As they run through the woods, Wren orders a squad of zetas to be sent to their location. When they get to the edge of the tree line, they find their uncle Issac standing there looking inside the frozen forest.

Why would he be here, Alec and Raphael wonder. Issac notices his nephews and wonders the same as they do, why are they here?

Before anyone can say a word, a woman screaming for help is heard. Issac takes off running in the woods without a second thought. The alphas have so many questions, but there isn’t time for questions right now.

Alec and Wren take off running behind Issac in hopes that the girl will lead them to Raphael. Issac comes to a sudden stop when he comes face to face with Terra, who seems to have calmed down, having smelled her mate’s scent.

“Issac, is it really you?” Terra says in a hopeful voice. Issac smiles for the first time in a long time, “It’s me, my love, I’m here.” Issac instantly pulls Terra to him, holding her close to him.

Terra sniffles and snuggles her face into her mate’s chest, only to soon realize and remember what’s happening. “There’s a man, he’s hurt. I think he might be an alpha.” Terra says.

“Where is he?” Wren demands. Issac glares at his nephew for his tone of voice towards his mate, even though he understands why he did. Now Issac understands why Wren and Issac are here. Raphael was attacked.

“Issac, he’s taken Stella as his vessel, she’s… She’s gone.” Terra says. Wren and Alec stop dead in their tracks at Terra’s words. “Our mom is alive?”

“You’re mother? No, my…” Terra says only for Issac to cut her off. “Terra, love, it’s been 18 years. They are Wren and Alec, Stella’s sons. The one you found is Raphael. I need you to help us find him now. All will be lost if we don’t.” Issac understands the gravity of finding Raphael; the triplet were meant for so much more, and their destinies have come to a head.

“I don’t know, I used the last of my power. I can’t see anything.” Terra sniffles. “But I did hear a creek nearby. He shouldn’t be much further from it.” Terra says.

“He is here…” The whisper of the wind sings into Alec’s ear. Alec looks at his brother, “This way, the trees know.” Soon, Alec is running in the woods following the breeze created by the trees. Wren isn’t far behind him.

Issac quickly leaves the alphas to get his fading mate to the hospital. He’d normally help his nephews, but his long-lost mate is back, and he can’t bear to be separated from her any longer.

Wren and Alec find Raphael lying on the forest ground unconscious. Wren throws his brother over his shoulder and runs to the hospital.

Alec stays behind because he wants to see it. He walks cautiously through the woods until he comes across a meadow covered in preserved bodies. The scene looks as though it just happened, but it was 18 years ago to the day.

He walks further into the meadow until a clinking sound is heard under his foot. He looks down to find a sword. The sword seems familiar to him. “Grab the sword. It is meant to be wielded by the one. You are the one,” The wind and trees repeat this over and over until Alec picks the sword up. The sword shines bright, shooting out a beam of light, almost like liquid gold.

“Whoa,” Alec gasps, shocked by the power inside the sword. He wonders how one little sword could have such power. Looking down at the sword, his eyes travel further to the ground, where he sees something he was never ready to see. This would bring the one thing the pack so desperately needed: closure.

Staring at the ground, standing in the very spot his mother did so long ago, Alec sees the bodies of his well-preserved fathers. He was five years old when they died. Alec barely remembers what they look like, but he remembers enough to recognise them.

Alec mind-links the pack, letting them know the woods were no longer frozen in time and he had found the bodies of those lost that day… Grief is broadcast throughout the pack-link. Their alphas may finally be laid to rest in peace.