IVORY: The age of Gloarian

Chapter 17

    It was times like these that the brave leader remembered the moments she had with her parents, learning lessons she had certainly not wished to intake at the time, but learnings that now meant the world to her, even if they only made brief appearances in their mind from time to time. A particular flashback ran through the woman’s mind as she sat uncomfortable, chained to the wall of a cold cell. The image of her father popped into her head as she vividly recalled walking out of a Galon temple at the young age of 6 with her father who had agreed to giveg her a piggyback ride home. She had asked him why mates exist, and how to fall in love. Her father had laughed at the naive kid, the man seemed like he had the entire concept figured out as he explained how every breath of his was connected to the ones her mother took, and that in itself was how to love someone. Torek Genova had always dreaded the day his only daughter would meet her mate, for he knew she would then no longer be just daddy’s little girl. It was certainly ironic as Eliana thought of how her father would react had he been alive to witness current events unfolding. Eliana’s mother, however, was a woman of poise who, similarly to the Hybrid leader, had learned to maintain her stance once she had made a choice. It was partly because of her that Eliana was a leader so fierce, and brave, and she admired her mother for that. Though she knew that had her mother been alive in that instance Razaar would have not been allowed nowhere near Hybrid territory, he would have stayed far well out of his daughter’s life. The mere thought made the leader smile as she embraced their memories. 

    The cell had constantly driven her to think of her parents, though as much as she tried, she knew that Razaar was not far on that list. She knew he would come, for sure. Though she wondered what his plan would be, and how the entire thing would fall through. Would they kill Balthazar? Or escape and return to the pack to continue normal life? Then again the leader had lost perspective on what normal life meant, and had found herself reliving the entire movie in her head as her brain ran out of things to think of to keep her distracted from boredom. The woman had lost track of how long she had been in the cell, though she already knew she was losing her mind. Her hands began aching after a certain time, and she began tugging and pulling manically despite understanding the futility of her actions. She had attempted to shift, though Balthazar had been smart enough to think of those possibilities, and coated the chains in an unfamiliar product that had not allowed her to do so. She huffed in exasperation and impatience as she attempted kicking her chains foolishly knowing full well that wouldn’t work too. 

    To her luck, the door to the cell opened, and just as she had begun to think that Razaar had found her, she embraced disappointment as Balthazar staggered in through the door. 

    ‘Ah! My dear Eliana, how are we doing here? I hope you’re comfortable, these chains have been a humble gift to all my house guests lately’ he commented, sarcasm dripping from his tone. Eliana however, found herself enjoying the first bit of interaction after four hours and decided that she would play along, knowing she had nothing better to do anyways. 

    ‘Oh yeah, they’re lovely! Where did you buy them? I think I’m gonna buy some for myself when I get back. It’ll be especially useful for you when you come to visit my lands again, don’t you think?’ she retorted, proud of her answer. The Alpha of Lycans had roared with laughter at her response and sat himself on the ground right in front of the woman cross legged, facing her with amusement in his eyes.

    ‘Tell me Eliana, how is it that no one else knows that you and Razaar are mates? And how is it that he already has another mate?’ his curiosity had ruined the mood for the Hybrid leader, who yet again had been faced with revealing the same old, boring story of her rejection to yet another individual. Knowing that when she got back she would have to do a lot of explaining to her community, hence revisiting the story anyways, she decided to tell the man what he wanted to hear as a form of practice.

    ‘Razaar rejected me seven years ago, and chose Eiva Matouk as his proclaimed mate. So your efforts to get the man here are more than pointless right now. As you can very well tell, he is not going to come’ she completed, lying to the best of her abilities. She figured if she could buy Razaar the element of surprise then she would, though she doubted the Lycan Alpha would take her word. Despite her assumption, the man faked a gasp, placing his hand on his heart as he pretended to be hurt. 

    ‘That is terrible, Razaar going against the order of the flame? That is insane. I would never have thought, you know? I reckon the flame isn’t too happy with him. How are you, love? Are you ok? Do you need any moral support?’ he faked a series of questions, touching her legs that had also been crossed on the ground. The woman laughed as she heard his words, catching on to his irony. 

    ‘The flame most certainly won’t be happy with him. But then again at least he’s not the one viciously murdering people for fun now is he?’ she spat, her mood for entertainment slowly faltering. 

    ‘Oh no darling, that is my job. You see, I get this feeling of immense pleasure when I take someone’s life, it gives me this thrill I can’t seem to explain. Although I have to admit, I think you and Razaar are going to be my favourite people to kill’ he responded, insanity scribbled all over his face. 

    ‘Why are you like this Balthazar? What happened in your childhood that broke you and made you this way? She asked, the words simply flooding out of her mouth without a thought. It was a question that many had asked the evil man, and he was used to it. He began with a chuckle, one that soon transformed into loud and manic laughing that only seemed to confuse the woman even more. 

    ‘Oh darling but that’s where you’re wrong. Nothing happened in my childhood, in fact, everyone in my youth despised because this was simply the way I was born’ he began ‘my parents were amazing people, they cared for all sorts of things that I simply don’t. The thing is though, where is the fun in that? What do I get out of following the path this so-called flame has given us? Why should I follow the flame and keep it at a level superior to me?’ The disrespect towards the flame ignited a fire within Eliana that she couldn’t quite explain. No one dared to insult the flame, and despite all that she had been through in her life she dared even think these things, she had too much respect for the greater power.

    ‘You should watch your words Balthazar, a lot of people have passed away at the taking of the flame, you wouldn’t want to be one of those people now would you?’ she hinted, glaring holes at the man that had been keeping her hostage. Carelessly, however, he stood up from his place, her words having no effect on him whatsoever

    ‘That fear may scare you, it does not me. If the flame had to take me by now, wouldn’t it have claimed me already? Why I am still here after 37 years of existence, doing inhumane things and still breathing. Perhaps there is no flame, or if there is it’s just a coward for not looking out for its people?’ A gasp escaped Eliana at his words, her mind seeping into curiosity. Why hadn’t the flame taken Balthazar? The flame had taken so many others over time, for no reason, why not this monster? Was the evil man actually making sense or was this just an effect of being stuck in a cell for too long? The woman shook her head off the thoughts, and decided to place her focus on the occurrences of her present. 

    Balthazar chuckled before his interaction was interrupted by the entrance of one of the guards, who merely whispered something in his ears before turning away and darting off into the distance. The monster smirked, his eyes finally meeting Eliana’s as he did so. 

    ‘Well darling, looks like you were wrong. Seems the Alpha does actually care about you.’ He stated, alerting Eliana of her mate’s appearance. Her heart sped up at the mere revelation, though she wondered what would happen next. Would her mate get to her safely, or would this truly be the end of both of them, or even worse, one of them?

    After several hours of planning and preparation, however, the great Alpha of Gloarian finally found himself stepping foot onto Hybrid territory, trying in no way to not get caught. As soon as his foot landed past the gates of the entrance, he was surrounded. Men with heavy armour and expensive ammunition had encircled the man, making him get on his knees before one of them had knocked him on the back of his head. This, however, had been the Alpha's intention all along, wanting desperately to be thrown into a cell with his mate to be reunited once more. He pondered how he would face her after the night they had had, but despite that found himself more excited than ever. 

    Eliana was certainly an independent with a mind of her own and skills that sometimes surpassed the Alpha himself, so when the strong mate found himself in an opportunity to rescue his mate for once, the thrill had shaken him to the core. 

    The guards had started leading the man towards the cell, a good start for the Alpha who once again played his plan out in his head, though was disappointed when his journey was blocked by the appearance of the enemy himself. Balthazar stood by the door of the cells, ready to welcome his nemesis into his very own, personal hell.

    A wicked smile spread across his face as he faced the leader of Werewolves, despite having waited months for this moment. 

    ‘Brother, welcome to my territory, how lovely it is to have the complete set now. By the way your mate told me of your rejection, and I must say, I am not impressed. The Razaar Solonov rejecting his mate? Sounds ludicrous!’ he exclaimed, intending to send the Alpha over the edge. For the first time, however, the Alpha had remained calm as he responded, wanting desperately to continue his adventure to his mate, that he had rejected. 

    ‘None of your business now is it, brother?’ he mocked, somehow increasing the grin on Balthazar’s face. 

    ‘I mean, it wasn’t, but I suppose now it is since you’re both prisoners on my pack. It’s going to be tragic having to relive the same fates as Romeo and Juliet don’t you think? Although obviously this will be a story with more regret with your rejection and everything, quite a dramatic show’ he expressed, getting no reaction out of his opponent whatsoever. Taking that as his queue, he waved off his hand to allow the Alpha to finally be delivered to his cell.

    As expected, he was being placed in the same cell as his mate, for the mere purpose of making their deaths far more tragic and cruel than it already would be. Balthazar was clearly a man with a wicked sense of humour, and a love for theatrics.

    The looks on their faces had been the same as the very minute the pair had realised they were mates, and seven years later, the amusement of how this couple could possibly work was a mystery yet to be solved. The guard dragged Razaar to the identical set of chains that were placed right next to where the leader had already been present, and after ensuring they were tight on the Alpha, the guard left, commencing the awkward times that lay ahead for the pair.

    For the first few minutes, no one spoke, and when words filled the air of the dark cell, it was a word too many as they both had spoken at the same time. 

    ‘Are you ok?’

    ‘Thanks for coming.’ As the pair looked at each other, they found themselves behaving like school kids as shyness caused them to look away. 

    ‘Are you ok?’ Razaar repeated once awkwardness had cleared the air. Eliana nodded, though realised that perhaps her mate had not visualised the action, and so decided to speak. 

    ‘I am, thank you. Not just for asking, but for coming’ she completed, a grin spreading across Razaar’s face. 

    ‘You sound surprised. Did you not think I was going to come?’ he asked, facing her as painful as it seemed due to the position he was in.

    ‘I knew you would come, but I still had my doubts’ she confirmed, not wanting to give away too much. Her brief response caused the Alpha to release a second long chuckle, leading him to think of how to break into conversations about the more serious stuff that sooner or later the paid would have to discuss.

    ‘What happened?’ Eliana had questioned, interrupting the Alpha from whatever he was about to say. He paused for a second before he recapped everything that had happened in the past hours before his arrival.

    ‘I went looking for you, couldn’t find you. Though I did find this note in your office written by our dear Balthazar that stated he had you and wanted me to surrender to release you. Obviously I knew no matter what I did I would eventually end up dead as would you. So I spent the past couple hours formulating a plan with your guards and my pack warriors. Oh and there also was this thing about Eiva finding out the truth about us and freaking out but yeah aside from that all cool’ he attempted to comment casually to ignore the topic. Unluckily for him, his mate’s eyes bulged out at the news. She had known that sooner or later the girl would have found out, though pondered curiously what exactly her reaction had been?

    ‘Is she alright? How did she take it?’ she delved into discussion, wanting to ensure the fragile girl had taken the news as well as she could, but most of all, didn’t hate Eliana for all that had happened. Razaar took a deep breath before he proceeded to announce the events of the day for the impatient Hybrid leader. 

    ‘Well she took it just about as you’d expect her to. Completely lost it as she started off by accusing me of cheating on her, which I clearly did not do, so I had to clarify to her that I had rejected you seven years ago, and then she began cursing at me for having rejected you in the first place. Then she talked about how dare I keep her there and rub it in your face that I have a mate and that I proposed to her. Oh and then there was that moment where she said I can’t do this and then I told her to just to keep it in till I got you back. Pretty much it’ he summarised, returning his face to observe Eliana’s expression. The girls eyes were wide, though she took advantage of the opportunity to dive into a conversation that was well overdue. 

    ‘Razaar, do you actually know what you want? As in, do you know if you want me or Eiva?’ she questioned, ignoring everything in his previous statement as it was an obvious given that she had been expecting. The man found his mouth sealed at the question, a moment of silence conquering the air as he pondered deeply of the answer. 

    ‘I guess not’ was all he could say as he looked away in shame. 

    ‘Then can you at least tell me why you rejected me? I think I deserve at least that much don’t you?’ she posed, her heartbeat speeding at the thought of finally receiving some closure. Only seven years too late. The reluctant Alpha  fell into her trap as he took another deep breath before initiating his story. 

    ‘My mother found her mate at a young age. She was around 13 when she met my father, and no doubt very much in love with him from the very first minute. The both of them loved each other like crazy, as all mates do, though she had been saving herself for when they both turned 18, she didn’t want to go too far with him before she was ready. He had agreed, but the pressure of having to become the partner of someone who was meant to be Alpha was silently driving my father insane. He had wanted to be the Alpha, not her Luna, so to speak. Soon, he began hanging out with the wrong kind of people, started drinking immensely and one day took my mother against her will in a drunken state. She had despised him since then, though couldn’t leave him because she got pregnant with me. My father had apologised to her, though his behaviour began changing and eventually he was just abusing her. She took it and hid it, and despite trying her best to protect herself, in her pregnant state there wasn’t much she could do. One night he took it too far and my mother had been knocked unconscious, he had left her alone in their house and if it hadn’t been for my grandfather’s appearance no one would have found out. My grandfather, Alpha of Gloarian at the time executed my father before my mother awoke, and I guess it was for the best because my mother didn’t shed a tear.’ He revealed. The story had certainly stunned the woman who hadn’t been expecting an actual story back his answer, though he had yet to answer her question. ‘When I found you, I resented the idea of mates. I didn’t want one because I didn’t want to end up in a relationship like that, abusive or dead. The thought of hurting my mate scared me so I rejected you’ he completed, raising new questions in the mind of his mate. 

    ‘I’m sorry that you had to go through that’ she initiated ‘but you accepted Eiva as your mate?’ she stated as more of a question, still confused as to what was going through his mind. 

    ‘It may not seem like it but I care about Eiva just the way you do. After her mate passed I couldn’t see her in pain, and I knew that I wouldn’t ever feel with her what I feel with you, so I accepted her to be there for her, but it’s come to a point now where she relies on me completely. Eiva is a tender person, I know you don’t want me to treat her like a porcelain doll, for good reason, but that is what she is. So I accepted her thinking that I would never have to see you again. I guess the flame just wouldn’t allow my plans to play through’ he responded, giving Eliana a response that she had expected, yet one that didn’t satisfy her the most. She found herself nodding at his statement, unable to say much after, and hence returning the silence to the room until he decided to speak up again. ‘I am sorry’ he simply stated, catching her attention. 

    ‘For what?’ she wondered, hoping his apology had been directed to more than just the rejection, including all prior events that had occurred between them.

    ‘Everything. I know it’s not my right to control what you do or who you decide to be with. I just can’t help it. My wolf goes insane when I’m around you’ he said, a satisfactory response for Eliana, enough to shut her up. ‘Why didn’t you beg for me back though? You weren’t even the slightest bit jealous of Eiva, that always surprised me. Wasn’t your wolf just clawing out at you?’ he asked, allowing the curiosity to be fulfilled. The woman chuckled as she responded.

    ‘You forget that I am also part snake. My wolf could want to jump your bones and hump you, but it won’t be able to because my snake side is more dominant, and my snake hates you. If it could poison you, it would, though the worst I can do to you is knock you out since my poison has absolutely no effect on you. Besides you rejected me, even if I was just a wolf I would despise you, no matter the reason. I don’t get jealous because it’s not my loss darling, it’s yours.’