IVORY: The age of Gloarian

Chapter 18

    ‘So that’s your plan? Improvise? Really Razaar?’ questioned a shocked Eliana as she looked at her mate in disbelief. 

    ‘Look, we had a thorough plan involving me getting into Lycan territory, but you can’t really make an escape plan when you don’t know what you’ll be up against now can you?’ he defended, causing the Hybrid leader to get more frustrated by the minute. 

    ‘So you just told your pack and my community to be ready in case of an attack? No plan on how to get out of here?’ she asked one more, hoping she would get anything out of the man. 

    ‘Well I’m sorry I didn’t spend an immense amount of time planning, I was too busy dashing over here to come rescue you’ he commented sarcastically. 

    The man had realised after their previous conversation that they were slowly but surely entering a pit of vulnerabilities that sooner or later would drive them to the road of actually reconciling. And while that idea sounded tempting, it wasn’t necessarily the best for the Alpha as he had yet to figure out what he wanted to do regarding the situation he had hanging with Eiva. Not to mention the inner battle with himself of whether having a mate was a good idea or not. Over the past few weeks the man had come to realise that his reason for rejection was actually not more than a rubbish excuse, though he seemed to put himself in turmoil as he pointlessly attempted to convince himself that he had a valid reason for rejecting the woman of his dreams and keeping her at bay. It was due to this, that the man had begun formulating a plan, with his now pissed off mate, on how to escape. 

    ‘Rescue me without a plan? Yeah seems like a brilliant way to rescue someone. You truly are a great Alpha’ she responded with a sarcastic comment of her own.

    Her own take on the matter had been somewhat diverse to that of her mate’s. Her conclusion was that Razaar was simply a broken man with issues to fix. He most certainly was an i***t in her vision, though she dare reveal that part to him publicly. Eliana had come to enjoy the life she had been living after her rejection, and after receiving her closure, had come to accept that she would be happy to follow through with that life for as long as she lived. Clearly Razaar had a mental maturing that needed to occur, but the woman wouldn’t be dedicating her time to that cause, for he had already caused enough damage, and was most certainly not the problem of the grand leader of an entire species. So she allowed the conversation to drift, her mood lifting up at the thought of escaping her current situation. Of course, the sheer lack of planning on Razaa’rs behalf had amazed her, though the woman knew she had it in her to produce a plan that was bound to succeed having the great Alpha of Gloarian to help her execute it.

    ‘Listen, you should be grateful that I’m here to rescue you to begin with!’ he exclaimed, having enough of the disrespect that his mate was giving him. The woman sure had a way of getting on his nerves, and Razaar wondered if their relationship would have been the same had they been together. It was no shock that Eliana had been exploiting the power she held over the Alpha, for she knew if she hadn’t been his mate there was no way she would have talked to him in such a way. 

    ‘I am grateful! I just thought you’d be smarter than to barge onto your enemies territory without a bloody plan!’ she retorted, shrugging her shoulder while still chained to the wall. Her body had been aching for hours, and she wanted nothing more than to make her grand escape, and feel the freedom on her limbs as well her mental state. 

    ‘Ok I get it! Sorry I don’t have a plan. Now do you want to just stay there and yell at me for being incompetent or do you want to help me come up with a plan to get us the hell out of here?’ he asked, regaining control of his senses for once. He watched the woman take her own deep breath to drag herself to calamity before she continued. 

    ‘Alright, since I’m the genius who has to think of everything, here’s the plan: when the guard comes in next, you ask him to give you water. He will begin feeding it to you and I will grab on to his neck with my legs and hopefully knock him out, meanwhile you use your legs to grab his keys that will be dangling from his hips. Then you get yourself out, get me out, and we run.’ She concluded, pride swelling at her plan. Razaar, however, had thought her plan was trash, and was just about to protest when they found the door to their cell opening slowly. 

    Excited to escape, the pair remained silent as they watched the guard walk in to deliver a meal that looked inedible, to say the least. Eliana’s eyes gleamed with determination as she gave Razaar a knowing look, and prepared for the action that was about to come. Not having a chance to deny the plan, the Alpha decided to give it a go. 

    ‘Can you give me some water?’ he asked the guard, who simply walked back with a rigid expression, collecting the glass of water on the floor before raising it to the Alpha’s mouth. 

    Eliana took the opportunity and swung her legs around the man who instantly found himself in a state of struggle. The woman surely couldn’t transform though that didn’t stop her from exerting the power of her beast upon the Lycan. The man bit into the leg of the leader, though she remained stiff, letting out a mere squeal of pain to avoid drawing any attention. 

    Razaar had attempted to help and pressed on Eliana’s legs to put more pressure on the man’s neck, an act that soon had successfully knocked out the man. 

    ‘Grab his keys, they’re on his side’ she whispered to him as he thumped to the ground. The man stretched his long limbs, attempting to grab the keys, but found himself failing to do so since he was so large compared to the frame of his mate. His legs ached as he tried again, and he groaned as attempted it several times. ‘Keep it down, do you want someone to hear us?’ whisper-yelled Eliana, glaring straight at him. The man had returned her glare as he began falling over the edge that his mate had been pushing him to over the past couple hours of their bickering. 

    ‘If you’re such a professional then you do it’ he said, resting his legs for a minute. The leader of Hybrids looked at her mate in disbelief, refusing to utter a word as she proceeded with the task. She certainly wasn’t a loser, and neither was she a quitter. 

    Her much thinner legs reached out towards the hip of the unconscious man, and she strategically placed her legs to turn the man around slightly, while using the other leg to secure the keys to the floor. She then used her previous foot to continue pushing the man while holding down the keys to the floor, and eventually watched as the keys unlatched from the waistband of the guard and remained on the ground. The leader of Hybrids smirked as she picked up the keys from the ground with her shaking legs, and delivered them slowly in the hand of her mate, who had yet to close his mouth from the amusement he felt. 

    Grabbing the keys into his hand, he twisted it at an angle that most certainly hurt the big headed Alpha, who refused to show his pain around his mate. He made no sound as he found the entrance on the chains, and penetrated the key through the lock, twisting it till he no longer could contain it and he squirmed in pain. The sound of the lock opening brought joy to their ears as he undid the chain, and used his free hand to undo his other one. 

    Soon he had set his mate free, who simply smiled at the great Alpha of Gloarian.

    ‘You’re welcome for such a genius plan’ she commented, replacing her body with the guards, chaining him to the wall as he had her. Razaar had ignored her comment, having no desire whatsoever to dive into another quarrel with the woman. 

    ‘This way’ he simply stated, guiding his mate down the dark path of cells. He knew that there were guards stationed at the entrance of the cave where the cells had been, so he warned Eliana and they planned, mostly with eye signals how they would get past the issue. Nearing the corner, they stopped, and Razaar peeked his head to count how many guards had been present on the scene. He lifted up two fingers, ready to pounce into action when his mate stopped him, signaling for him to hold. She bent down and transformed into her pitch black snake -that blended into the darknesses of the cells- and slithered her way to the guards who hadn’t a clue what was coming their way. Within the minute, both bodies thumped to the ground and the Hybrid leader returned to her human form, dusting hands off in pride. 

    Razaar emerged from the darkness, impressed by her skills as they continued their journey out of Lycan territory. The task, however, wasn’t as easy as they believed it to be as in the next minute, they were faced with none other than Balthazar himself. 

    ‘Going somewhere?’ he questioned the pair as they looked between each other. 

    ‘Just wanted to get a little bit of fresh air. Your guest house isn’t as comfortable as you think it is. Though I think your mate is loving it down there’ commented Eliana, bluffing in an attempt to make a quicker escape. Her mission had been successful as their enemies smirk had transformed into a frown before a growl was released from his own mouth. 

    ‘That’s impossible, my mate is in her chambers, sore from our nightly sessions’ he stated. 

    Razaar who had remained silent and confused, continued to play along, trusting that his made was smart enough to get them out of the scenario. 

    ‘Oh yeah, that’s true. You caught us’ she replied, making it harder for the Lycan Alpha not to believe the falsehoods of the Hybrid. 

    ‘Guards!’ yelled the nemesis, waiting for the guards the pair had just knocked out, to reappear. When no response was returned, the vivid Lycan found himself shifting, advancing towards the figure that by now had pissed off most if not all the males she had interacted with in that evening. Before he could get to her, however, the great Alpha intercepted, tearing his clothes as he transformed, placing a large, unexpected bite on the neck of the Lycan. 

    As the Lycan Alpha jerked in pain, the pair took the opportunity to flee, using Eliana as a weapon to destroy any interferences along the way. 

    Once outside enemy lands, the woman switched forms to her wolf, and alongside him ran to a ground unfamiliar to her. She assumed it was her mate’s pack lands, and wondered how that experience would go down. She wanted badly to return to her community grounds, though knowing Balthazar would probably still be after them, she decided to follow the Alpha and make good use of the alliance that she could take to her benefit to eradicate the Lycanthropes. 

    As they neared the gates of his pack, something didn’t feel right. Noises emerged from beyond the gates and it hadn’t taken long for the pair to spot large Lycan beasts already present on the territory, engaging in battle with Razaar’s pack warriors.

    Words didn’t have to be exchange between the two as they lunged into battle, taking down any and every enemy on the grounds. The wolves had certainly been stronger than Eliana had believed, and she was shocked to see the amount of Werewolves still standing, slaying every beast in their way effortlessly. As her gaze fell upon her own mate’s in the midst of the fight, she had noticed how for once he had peeled his eyes off her, and was really paying attention to destroying the opponent. The man had taken 3 Lycans in the span of a minute, and his skills had unquestionably been a distraction for the Hybrid that this time took on the role of looking out for her mate. 

    Noticing he hadn’t needed any aid, she refocused herself, and ferociously slithered past the crowd, poisoning Lycanthropes ruthlessly. It took no less than 5 minutes before the commotion ended, and wolves started morphing into their human forms, completely and utterly stark naked. For the most part the sights had been attractive to see, though after a loud growl pulled back Eliana’s vision to her mates gaze, the woman decided to keep her eyes to herself. 

    Silently, the two made their way to what seemed was the pack house, a concept that was foreign to the Hybrids. Despite being part wolves, Hybrids found a special need to maintain their distance as most if not all had a more potent snake side, and therefore found themselves getting agitated much sooner. Throwing together a pack of wolves to live together was a trouble for none in Razaar’s pack. Throwing together a bundle of snakes to live together would most probably result in the death of quite a few of them out of pure aggravation. The sight of that many people under one roof had definitely overwhelmed the Hybrid, and though she pushed the feeling aside, she couldn’t help but notice the stares of distaste she had begun receiving from members of her mate’s pack. If only they knew who I was, thought Eliana as she silently followed Razaar. 

    Upon arriving at the much larger office of the Alpha of Gloarian, a familiar figure, who the Hybrid leader had identified as the great Beta of Gloarian, appeared into her line of vision, not a scratch anywhere on him.

    ‘Alpha Razaar, Miss Genova’ he greeted taking a seat in front of his superior and next to a foreign leader. 

    ‘How many Lycans died?’ he questioned, getting down to business. The woman had never seen her mate in work mode and so, found herself amused at the sight. She wondered how harsh he was with his pack members, and if his pack members liked him at all. Her mind thought of Eiva for a brief minute, before brushing the thought momentarily for focus on the issue at hand. 

    ‘Roughly 100, all of them dead. Their bodies are being disposed of as we speak’ responded Enzo, his tone as formal and collected as ever. Razaar nodded, thinking of his next demands.

    ‘Any casualties?’ he questioned as his mate observed the intimidating interaction from a distance. She wondered if had looked the same in her own work mode, though liked to believe she was a lot nicer than Razaar who had simply been spitting out words to his second in command. 

    ‘No Alpha’ he responded, creating yet another second of silence. 

    ‘Go make sure everyone is ok. As soon as everyone has cleaned up, get the warriors training again, this is not the end, I suspect Balthazar will have a wide range of attacks coming soon.’ He completed, sending his Beta out of the grandeur office. The silent Beta complied leaving the pair alone in the room. 

    ‘I need to get a letter out to my community to make sure everyone is ok’ she stated, causing the Alpha to wordlessly hand the woman a piece of parchment, where she scribbled a quiet note of concern and handed it to the messenger that stood outside the office. 

    Though Hybrids hadn’t adapted the ranking system of Alpha’s and Beta’s, they most certainly had planned what would happen in case the leader was not present on the grounds. It just so happens, that the top guard of the territory would take on in their absence, and it just so happened that the top guard was none other than the lovely Armelia, who had desperately been awaiting word from her best friend. 

    ‘Your pack found out by the way. Or at least the guards did’ he alerted, remembering his own interaction with Armelia before his departure. 

    ‘And you’re only telling me this now?’ she spat in disbelief. She had reached her quota of surprises with her mate, yet each incident triggered her beyond belief. 

    ‘I forgot to mention it before, I was caught up in trying to get you out, remember?’ he replied, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. The leader took a deep breath, this time deciding to ignore his words and recentering her focus on the mission. 

    ‘What’s the plan? How do we take on Balthazar?’ she questioned, hoping the man would have some sort of decent plan in mind. 

    ‘We barge into war-’

    ‘Ok maybe we should leave the planning to me since I’m so much better at it’ interrupted the Hybrid leader, creating once again, a plan of her own. ‘I think so far we’ve been winning every attack he sends to our grounds, and that’s mostly because we outnumber the amount of men he sends to attack. Essentially if we allow him to keep attacking, eventually he’s going to run out of people, and then it will be easier for you to charge and destroy him’ she replied, getting her mate’s attention. 

    ‘At that rate it would take us forever to destroy him. The Lycan population is almost as big as the Werewolf population. Besides, who's to say the next time they won’t get us? I don’t think my pack members want to keep living in fear that at any given moment Balthazar will send another attack’ he defended, not disappointing his mate with his response. The woman nodded in response, pondering of diverse ways to terminate the enemy 

    ‘What are you going to do about Eiva?’ she then questioned, shifting things up. It was a concern that made Razaar uncomfortable, and put him in a position of unease way beyond that of Balthazar’s. With two women in his life that he deeply cared for, what was he to do? Finally listen to his wolf and join the woman of his dreams at the expense of destroying the fragile Eiva who could perhaps take her life at the revelation? Or abandon his one true mate to pretend to be happy with a woman that made him feel nothing but guilt and regret for the rest of his life? 

    The room turned silent at the question, and Razaar sighed, unable to open his mouth. At this response, Eliana received her answer and decided to eliminate herself from his line of thought and get some air of her own. 

    ‘I’m exhausted, would it be ok with you if I stayed here for a while?’ she posed, changing the subject. The man took no time to nod, elevating himself from his seat. 

    ‘Let me take you to a guest room so you can clean up and get some rest’ he replied, leading the woman down the large passageways of the pack house. A brief exchange of gratitude later, the woman found herself alone in a grand room in the middle of Werewolf territory. 

    She took a long shower, intending to put the thoughts of her mate behind her, though somehow ended up diving deeper into thoughts about the man. 

    The man, on the other hand, had travelled to his own room to get some rest, where the gentle Eiva had already been present, in deep sleep on his bed. It was as if he had no escape from a choice that he would no doubt have to take sooner or later, though for the time being, he too, found himself taking a long shower, thinking of the only thing that had conquered his mind since the day he had met her: Eliana. 

    Their journey had certainly come a long way, and despite their rough bumps, the pair that had despised each other, had slowly but surely commenced lowering the walls that the beginning of their interaction was the only thing keeping them away. Now with little to no wall left to protect them, what would the pair do? More and more everyday it seemed the flame’s plans had been working, and the pair that tried so hard to stay away from each other only found themselves being thrown into situations where they had no choice but to work together to find a solution. 

    For the last night the two slept a night of peace before a grand decision would be upon them again. Would they give each other another chance or continue to drive the flame insane with rebellious surprises?