THE BLOOD OATH

THE BIRTHMARK

ASTERA

-          „ LIAR!” I could feel he was telling the truth, but it hurts so much. Who could’ve betray me like that?

-          „ I solemnly swear to you and the Moon Goddess by my life and my wolf that I am telling the truth!” And with that, he assured me he was telling the truth. No matter if you were a supporter of the Goddess or not, an oath in her name was unbreakable. If you disrespected the oath made in her name, the Moon Goddess would punish you in the cruelest way possible.

-          „ Who is it?” I asked almost like I was in some sort of trance.

-          „ I don’t know. I never did. But is someone you trust. That I know. I am sorry!” he replied to me, looking honest.

-          „Never mind! I will deal with it later! Let’s prepare and summon Ginger!” I said, with my heart shredded into a million pieces.

Soon enough after our heartbreaking chit chat we finished our ‚stage’ and he summoned the fairy.

-          „Oh my! David! You are alive! OH! You caught Astera!!!! Unbelievable!” Ginger said

-          „I didn’t quite catch her. I found her almost lifeless near the Death River. She probably fell from Khanos’s boat and end up in the River and then somehow the b*tch ended on the shore. By the moment I came back to live, she was almost giving away hers. So I found a rope, I dipped it in black wolfsbane and I wrapped it around her. If she will wake up, she will be powerless.”

-          „What’s your plan with her?”

-          „Well, that’s actually why I’ve summoned you. You are much smarter than I am and I need your help. I plan on finding the Moon Goddess’s crystal, return back to my realm and trade her worthless life for her pack. Will you help me? I will give you the crystal once I brake the protection seal that Ivan put over me. What do you say? Do we have a deal?”

-          „Deal! It’s easy peasy to find the crystal. I know exactly where it is. And by the way, it’s a pearl, not a crystal. And it’s on the bottom of the pond formed at Death River’s spring, behind the Dark Lord’s castell. Getting the pearl would be impossible because only a God could get into that water without being eaten alive by his own shadow.” And with that, I could feel the hope I hold on to, leaving my body.

-          „So how do we take the pearl?” David asked

-          „We must find someone who can get into those waters and retrieve the Pearl.”

-          „Who might that be?”

-          „If Astera wakes up, maybe she can do it. She is almost a goddess herself. More like half-goddess, but still, it must count.” WHAT???

-          „WHAT?” I heard David scream

-          „Yeah, didn’t Ivan told you? He couldn’t have pups, but his Luna, Astera’s mother, could. So she asked the Moon Goddess to bless her with one of her children. The Moon Goddess loved her pure heart so much that she blessed Ella with Astera with the condition to name her Astera and to make Blacklilly her Godmother. Ella comes from a long line of Alphas, her Grandmother being one of the 12 first warewolves the Moon Goddess created. So her lineage is quite special. Also, this b*tch is quite special. For God’s sake! She has a starshaped birthmark in the middle of her forehead! Like, literally! If that’s not special, I don’t know what is!

-          „Ivan didn’t tell me a lot! So you think she can do it?”

-          „It depends on the purity she holds in her heart.” OK, I’m officially screwed! I have like... 0.3% purity left in me.

-          „What do you mean?” David asked. I whish I could mindlink him!

-          „If she’s pure enough, she can do it, if not, she will most probably become a dark wolf. Just like her father. Their last name is practically like a spoiler alert. ” Well, f**k you, Ginger!

-          „ Do we have other options?”

-          „I’m afraid not! The Pearl is the only thing that can brake anything, from mate bonds, to oaths, curses, blesses, seals, protections, everything that was ever done, it can undo it. That’s why the Dark Lord is keeping it on the bottom of his pond. Because nobody is fool enough to go dive in. It’s a sure sentence to an eternity of darkness and madness.” Of course it is. Of course! From where I’m standing it looks like either I go dark and insane, just insane, dead, or I just bring apocalypse for everyone. Good job, Astera! Good job! I think we have enough! I wish David to wrap up this charade so I can just go and condemn myself to an eternity of darkness and madness.  

-          „I will summon you as soon as we reach the pond?” THANK YOU, Goddess! David must really love Dina. He doesn’t seem such a villain, after all. A huge asshole, huge asshole, YES! But a bad boy... hmm. Not so much.

-          „Yes! I have some errands to do before we leave this place! I need to pack some things before we go! You might give her this to wake up. You need her alive, but not fully recovered.” I wonder what ‚this’ is...

-          „Thank you, my darling!” wow, „my darling! Gross! I hear her annoying giggle and she poofs away. „Alpha? She’s gone! You can open your eyes now.”

-          „’My darling?’ No wonder Dina snapped your neck. You couldn’t possibly get alive pulling some s**t like that with her.” I said to him, laughing.

-          „I have a feeling. Do you think once she finds out my part of the story she will forgive me?” his eyes filled with worry and guilt almost make me feel sorry for him.

-          „We shall see!” I answered as kind as I can, giving the mess I’m in! „Let’s go get that damned pearl!” As soon as I finished my sentence, a portal appeared and Maximus passed right through it! „MAXIMUS?” my eyes filled with joy and hope!

-          „Astera! DAVID!!!!” He roars as he shifts into Xander and launches himself at David.

-           „XANDER! WAIT!” I screamed at poor Xander. He nods his head and gives me a funny look. He circles us a few times and then gives control to Maximus.

-          „What do you mean ‚wait’? wait for what? To betray us again? Have you lost your mind?” he askes me, irritation evident in his voice.

-          „He is... I don’t know, somehow cursed by Ivan with some crazy seal that makes him die hard. Or better said, who resurrects him. Also, Ivan controls him through this seal and he also needs the pearl to break it. The good part is that he helped me to find the pearl.”

-          „Goddess! Astera! You found it! Where is it?”

-          „Here comes in the bad part. It’s in Dark Lord’s back yard. In his pond. In the Death River pond, to be precise.”

-          „f*CK! Let’s go get it!”

-          „Wait! You don’t know the catch!” David warns Maximus as I remain still, nodding at David to stop himself from telling Maximus the truth.

-          „What catch? What else can be?” Anger rising through his voice, his body and his actions.

-          „Well” looking at me with understanding eyes „It’s in the Dark Lord back yard, as Alpha said already. It will be tricky to get in there. Not impossible, but tricky.” I sighed, relieve taking over my body. I thank him silently, and he slowly bows his head. He might be a nice guy, after all. I will consider having him in my pack if he proves himself worthy.

-          „Well, I already imagine that it won’t be easy. Let’s just get it over with! How do we get there?” Maximus asks, impatiently.

-          „We walk down this path and at the end of it we will be in the Dark Lord’s back yard. We should shift and we should hurry! David says as he shifts to his wolf. We follow him and we find ourselves sprinting in our wolf form towards the castle. In no time we arrive at our destination. I must admit, it rather looks nice than scary. It looks carved from an old Greek gods movie, very stylish. Soon we spot the pond and we stop right next to it. I shift into my human form, the boys following my lead.

I look at Maximus with guilty eyes. Now that we’ve got our magic back, the mate bond feels stronger than ever. Both being alphas, our urge to mate and mark each other is bigger than one could expect. I basically want to rip his blue jeans and his white t-shirt and feel his chiseled body pressed to mine, I want to feel his generous member filling me, I want him to possess me and to claim me as his in every way. I want to feel his strong arms caressing me and pleasing me and I want to be with him forever. Unfortunately, this may be the last time I see him and I know that this is unfair and he should know about my plan, but I know he wouldn’t agree and I also know that we do not have other option. If this doesn’t work, the worst thing that could happen is that I go dark and nuts, but for this scenario I have a plan B in which David ends my existence. Of course he did not agreed to my plan and he thinks I should tell Maximus what I’m about to do, but I can’t do that. Saradi is on board, she also thinks that this is, in fact, our only hope.

I walk in front of Maximus, inches apart, I lean into his rock hard perfect body, I cup his perfect face in my hands and I kiss him like never before, I crush my lips into his, he lets me in and I start greedily tasting every inch of his mouth. My left hand fists his thick hair as my right hand descends on his back, sliding towards his hips, pulling him impossibly closer to me. His strong arms are holding me tight, and as our kiss deepens, he moves his hands on my a** and in a quick move he pulls me up, and my feet almost instantly curl around his hips. I can smell, feel and even taste his arousal as I am sure he can feel mine. I wish our moment could last forever, but I know I must pull back and end our breathless kiss. Even if our lips parted, I can still feel the sparks riding up and down my body, and where our skin still touches, you can see the sparks erupting like small vulcanoes. Before I put my feet down, I stare deep into his emerald eyes, now filled with lust and I comfort myself in this moment, knowing it can be our last. I place one last small kiss on his lips and I jump from his lap. I take a quick look at David, disapproval in his - what seems sincere - eyes and without a second thought, I plunge into the pond.