IVORY: The age of Gloarian

Chapter 27

    On the planet of Zaleon, it was unheard of for mate’s to feel each other’s pain before marking or mating, and when the distracted Alpha -who had spent every second away from his mate thinking about her- began feeling a pain that was foreign to him, he knew something was wrong. He had tolerated the pain for about a day, understanding that his mate needed space and that perhaps the pain he felt -a bare minimisation of the pain that Eliana was actually going through- was simply that of heartbreak or loss. Though after an entire day, the Alpha began wondering that maybe the best thing for his mate at that time would be to give her the comfort she so badly desired and return to Hybrid territory to win her back. 

    Though when his paws landed a few feet away from the gates of her territory, and he heard the calls of distress from beyond, he could’t find himself transforming and changing any quicker to investigate what had happened. The first thing that had come to view upon his arrival, had been the look of relief on a guard that had been aware that the Alpha was mate to his leader, and he approached him with a desperation that confused the Alpha. 

    ‘Alpha Solonov, I’m glad you’re here, we need your help’ he stated, beginning to lead the man towards the office building where Armelia had taken over in planning how to get her best friend back. Razaar waited for the man to continue, but when he didn’t urged him to do so. 

    ‘What’s going on?’ he asked as they stepped through the doors of the office building. 

    ‘Miss Genova, she’s missing’ he casually commented, opening the door to reveal Armelia. The woman growled instantly at this statement, though not matching the one Razaar had emanated at the revelation. 

    ‘My mate is missing, and no one informed me?’ he snapped, causing everyone present in the room aside from Armelia to clear out. By now the panic within him had multiplied, and he thought of what the pain he had been feeling exactly belonged to. 

    ‘What are you doing here? Who let you in?’ questioned a stubborn Armelia, determined to find her best friend without the help of the obnoxious Alpha. Her intimidation however, didn’t last as he neared her with threatening steps, only stopping because he knew how much the woman meant to the Hybrid leader. 

    ‘I felt her pain, and made my own way here, only to realise that no one told me of her disappearance! What kind of friend are you-’

    ‘Ironic of you to be saying those words don’t you think? I don’t need your help to find Eliana, I will do it on my own. I have a team dispatching in an hour to go and retrieve her’ she stated proudly, unaware of just how much was wrong with her plan. 

    ‘You are not a leader, you are a guard, you know nothing about scheming plans like these. You can’t collect a dozen men and send them off to their deaths. Your leader has been taken, just think of how easily Balthazar’s men can finish your spies off if they can take your leader, you stupid woman. I don’t care if you have your differences with me, I agree that I am an i***t when it comes to being a mate to Eliana, but I am the great Alpha of Gloarian, and that is my mate, whether you like it or not. So you’re going to have to put your faith in me, and allow me to rescue my mate without being a significant pain in my ass’ he demanded, shaking fear within the woman, even if she chose not to make it transparent. His calm tone towards the end had given the woman just enough hope to stop herself from exploding at him, and allowing him in, and she nodded slightly, returning to her seat where she had already begun scheming a plan.

    ‘My idea was to send in a group of spies together. When Eliana sent one, he ended up dead, and I figured that if there were more of them, they could work together to get her out of there easily. We already know where they’re keeping her, it’s just a matter of sneaking in and getting her back. With your appearance, however,  I think it would be just easier to attack altogether, get this war over with once and for all’ she suggested, not impressing Razaar, who was way ahead of the woman. 

    ‘No, that’s just what he wants us to do, he wants us to attack, and he’ll just use Eliana to get to us. It’s just a lose lose situation. He’ll be expecting you to retaliate, he probably already knows that you’ll send in a group of spies’ he speculated, formulating a plan of his own. 

    ‘So what do you want us to do? How do we get her back?’asked an exasperated top guard who much like Eliana, had gotten little to nothing of sleep over the past few days. 

    ‘He’ll be expecting me to go get her. He wants to finish us both, and make me watch her die. Last time we had a plan and we were lucky enough to get out. This time even if I go it will be too risky to get to her and not get her killed’ his words were having quite the effect on Amelia who had begun losing her patience. 

    ‘Great, so what is the plan exactly?’ she asked a bit out of tone. Razaar gave her a look to make her regret her actions, though said nothing as he continued mentally debating for a brief extra moment. 

    ‘We send a double’ he stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. The confounded Armelia frowned to try and understand the plan. ‘We send in someone that looks like me, but isn't. While my double is gaining the distraction, I will sneak in and get her out, by the time they realise it’s a double, it will be too late’ he directed, somewhat making sense to the top guard now. 

    ‘Won’t that just get your double killed? You’re willing to sacrifice someone innocent for it?’ she accused, putting her morals first and secretly trying to put the Alpha down. 

    ‘Not if I send one of my best warriors in, I trust that my warriors have trained well enough to get themselves out of a situation like this. Besides, the minute I am out of there with her, we can all launch the attack and carry out the war’ The man pondered upon his own plan, doing his best to convince himself that it was, in fact, a decent plan. The truth was, however, that Razaar was desperate to get his mate back, and he would do absolutely anything to do so. His recent understanding of wanting his mate back had the man going crazy for even just the day that he spent away from her, and he knew very well that the flame had been further igniting these feelings deliberately to teach the Alpha a valuable lesson he would never forget. 

    Armelia had taken barely a minute to agree to the plan before everyone started getting into action, preparing for the battle that was to come. The Hybrids had begun gearing up, with fear in their eyes and courage in their hearts, as did the Werewolves, not knowing that they had a Luna to rescue. 

    Razaar had been the most excited out of them all, wishing desperately to be in the presence of his mate yet again, and put in action his plans to win her back. He had planned out every detail to the T, how he would deliver a massive speech upon laying his eyes on her, kiss her at the end of the war, upon their victory, and ride home with her on his arm, a full pledged success overall. Of course, his plans had not onced considered her thoughts on the matter, or her current position for that matter, for that was a complete game changer to the Alpha’s plans.

    While a portion of the brave members of Ivory prepared for the upcoming battle, Eliana had been experiencing a trauma way beyond her expectations. 

    The woman had been thrown into a sequence of haunting nightmares that left not just mental scars, but physical ones too. Beneta had been thorough in conducting her experiments as she played out the worst of scenarios, those that were disguised as good, to do more damage to the woman. Balthazar had been enjoying the show, and had been quivering at the excitement of slaying the Werewolf and Hybrid leader when the time would come. Though the time had not yet arrived. The man had a plan much larger than anyone had expected, and a crew that no one had ever been up against. Nevertheless, the brave soldiers prepared for a war they would surely lose. 

    Eliana had been grateful when Balthazar had granted her a break from the mental torture and had decided to come check on his guest himself. Barging into the cell, he shook the poor girl that was now terrified of everything. 

    ‘Eliana, darling, how are you doing?’ he had questioned, his mere tone causing the girl to flinch. 

    ‘Why are you doing this to me? You could be torturing me in any other way you pleased, cut me whip me punch me, why this?’ she asked, a single tear strolling down her face. His response had certainly not satisfied the woman as he roared of laughter right at her face. 

    ‘Darling, where’s the fun in that? Don’t think I haven’t noticed you’re a feisty one. What’s physical torture going to do to you?’ he asked rhetorically, silencing the Hybrid leader. ‘Oh come on, don’t give me the cold shoulder, you know what? For your good behaviour I’ll give you a treat. I’ll let you have any meal you want, you name it. Besides, it will probably be your last meal in here anyways’ he offered, causing Eliana’s ears to perk up at his last statement. 

    ‘What do you mean it will be my last meal here? Are you letting me go?’ her heart had commenced speeding up at the possibility of being released, though she wondered why he would do that to begin with. His games had stretched way beyond the limit of the leader, and had she not been chained to the wall she was certain she would’ve been a raging wreck, tearing out every inch of flesh on the man. 

    ‘Darling, I can’t just reveal my entire game plan to you now can I? That would be absurd! Preposterous! It’s just something that you’re going to have to figure out in time. Now tell me, what is it you want to eat?’ His question had absolutely no effect on the leader who remained silent, unable to amuse the man who scavenged for entertainment with the leader. Soon enough, her lack of answers had caused him to bring his greatest weapon into the room to do some digging. ‘Alright then, Beneta, won’t you come help me please?’ within the instant, the Witch appeared out of thin air, and surprised the leader who had not been expecting one of her questions to be answered upon her arrival.

    ‘You, it’s been you that’s been playing with my mind all this time’ she accused, another wave of laughter following the accusation. 

    ‘Of course! I told you, I’m the torture master’ her words had no effect on Eliana whatsoever who continued to glare at the Witch. 

    ‘You’re a Witch. You’re not an Ivory Witch though, you’re an Amethyst Witch’ stated Eliana, much like Leron, placing the pieces of the puzzle together. Beneta hummed her approval, advancing towards the trembling woman. 

    ‘Now let’s find out what’s already in your head shall we?’ Eliana barely had a moment to process the words of the woman before her head had been tilted back and a strong force took over her mind, causing the leader to scream out in pain at the invasion. Her memories started playing before her, from the rejection, to her parents death to all the intimate moments with her nightly companions, and she wanted nothing more than to be set free of the excruciating experience. ‘Oh, harsh. I wasn’t expecting that much gossip, were you Balthazar?’ she asked, once done with the process. 

    ‘Absolutely not, but this is interesting. So the lovebirds have parted ways? How could that be?’ he asked with a fake concern. The Hybrid leader, now fully sobbing, had remained silent, her sobs quieting down until tears strolled down her face in silence. Beneta, however, was not quite done with her torture as she decided to mock the leader further. 

    ‘Oh darling, don’t cry. Let’s find out if you hate Razaar as much as you say you do shall we?’ she announced before the woman was once again sucked in by the power of her mind, this time waking up at the sight of fire all around her. She had been in the forest that belonged to her own territory, though was slowly being torn apart by the vivid flames of fire that slowly penetrated its way around the entire setting. Although that had been the least of her problems as she looked down and realised the blood that stained her hands, and began worrying who the blood belonged to. Deciding to move from her spot, she wandered around in a hurry, straying away from the fire towards the clearing that had yet to be consumed by the flame. A body lay flat upon the ground, a trail of blood leading from where she had woken up. She knew instantly that this was where her journey in the dimension had begun, and flipped the body around to identify whose blood was on her hands. The sight of Razaar’s corpse had taken immediate effect as she felt her heart leave her body, and collapsed right next to him, struggling to stay alive. It was a feeling like no other, she was alive, yet she wasn’t, and at the sight of her mate laying lifeless before her, the leader couldn’t help but empty out the contents inside of her right on to the body. It was a scene that had been worse than any of her previous mental visits, and  by far the most traumatising and gruesome of them all. Till then Beneta had kept the scenarios squeaky clean of Razaar, though the mere element stirred something within the leader that she couldn’t fathom. One thing was for sure: she wanted Razaar alive and well, and had more feelings for him than she imagined, only now they weren’t as hidden as she’d hoped for them to be, even for her. 

    Her eyes flew back as she returned to the dark cell, finding herself looking into the eyes of a curious Beneta. 

    ‘See, I told you she still wanted him’ commented the Witch to the Lycan leader. 

    ‘Please, stop’ the leader spoke, barely getting the words out in her state of extreme exhaustion. She had not received a minute of sleep as she kept diving in and out of scenarios being drilled into her head. Though her words had no effect whatsoever on the cruel pair of the Lycan and the Witch. 

    ‘Oh but we’ve only just gotten started darling’ remarked Balthazar, laughing as he took his leave from the site along with the Witch. As the door of the cell closed, Eliana found herself losing consciousness once again as she was dragged back into yet another fake scenario bound to trigger her. 

    When Eliana’s eyes opened she had been surprised to see herself in her cottage, and headed curiously to her chambers, attempting to take full advantage of the scenario and get some sleep. Though the intentions became clear once she entered the room and found Razaar coming out of her bathroom, exposing his bare torso after a fresh shower. As his eyes fell on those of his mate’s he trekked closer, engulfing her in his arms almost immediately. 

    ‘I missed you’ he said, surprising the leader, who was unaware of what was happening. Why was Razaar in her shower? And why was he pretending like they were together? Nevertheless, the woman played along to get the long awaited answers of the dream. 

    ‘Can we go to bed? I’m sleepy’ she responded, escaping the cage of his arms, darting straight for the bed. Razaar had laughed behind her, following her straight in after a minute. He snaked his arms around her, and pulled her to his chest, stealing her breath right out of her. 

    ‘I love you Eliana’ he revealed casually, as if it weren’t the first time it was happening. The woman turned around in shock, not knowing what to say next. She most certainly couldn’t say the words back, for she barely knew the man, though she didn’t want to give the truth away. 

    For a moment silence conquered the room, as they both waited for words to take up the air. When nothing came out of the woman’s mouth, her mate surprised her by squeezing her sides to an extreme that caused more pain than laughter. However as she winced and glanced at his face, the Witch’s intentions clarified, and she observed as the ruthless fake Alpha’s face morphed into that of his wolf’s and he headed straight for Eliana’s neck. 

    ‘Say it back’ he demanded with a voice as demonic as it could be. She flailed in his arms, attempting to achieve an escape, but failed due to lack of strength. The previous experiments had drained the Hybrid leader to the max and she now found herself completely helpless and her mate took complete advantage of it. ‘You b***h, say it back’ he repeated, now holding her straight by the neck into the air. The woman had begun gasping for air, banging her mate’s hand so he would put her down, but he didn’t.

    ‘Can’t breathe’ she managed to whisper as she slowly but surely found herself facing her own death, but a minute later was dropped back on the bed, Razaar climbing in next to her. As she caught her breath, Razaar passed her a glass of water, one she graciously took and finished within the minute. 

    ‘I’m so sorry Eliana, I shouldn’t have done that. Come here’ he found himself saying, embracing the woman into his arms. Despite the fear Eliana had remained completely stationary and as stiff as a twig in his arms, completely unable to move. She feared his reaction had she protested against it, and decided to go along with it for the best. Wearily, she put her arms on his back and pulled away as soon as he allowed it. 

    ‘I’m really tired, can we please go to sleep?’ she pleaded, watching his face soften with such intensity it almost seemed too real. 

    ‘Of course, let’s go to sleep’ he replied, guiding the woman back to bed in his arms. Cautiously, the Hybrid leader allowed herself to fall asleep in his arms, though was awoken when the man began moving his hand around to places they shouldn’t be. She flinched, jumping straight out of bed as she did so, and once again watched as his eyes stiffened. ‘What happened, mate? You're going to take away from me what’s rightfully mine?’ he asked with the same manic tone he had previously. The cycle of events had surely begun driving the woman insane, and it wasn’t long before she was running out of her own cottage as fast as she could, attempting to look for help. 

    Her lack of strength had not allowed her to get far before she was tripped over by her mate and dragged by the foot across the floor of the forest back towards her cottage. 

    That had been her last image before yet again she awoke in the cell she always had been. By now her body had been covered in cuts and bruises that had been caused by the mysterious events in her head. She knew that her life span would probably not be as long, and she wished for a moment that she would not have to live long enough to experience another episode of mental trauma. 

    Luckily Balthazar had allowed the woman to get a few hours of sleep before indulging in another round of torture of the enemy, giving the poor leader enough time to cry herself to slumber, regretting ever trying to get involved in this war to begin with. 

    Her final thoughts had been of Razaar, the man she knew would come and rescue her, but a man that she had slowly started to fear thanks to the crazy illusions the Witch had put into her mind. 

    What would happen when her mate rescued her? Would she accept him, or push him away?