Chapter 325
[ 1,109 words ]
~Samantha~
The emergency meeting started at midnight.
Silver Crescent Pack’s war room was packed. Dominic at the head of the table. Reynold on his right. Gamma on his left. Twenty other high-ranking wolves filling the remaining seats.
And Lila. Standing in the corner like she didn’t belong.
I sat next to Dominic. Killian stood by the door. The twins were asleep upstairs with guards.
“Everyone’s here.” Dominic looked around the table. “Lila has information. About the blood moon ritual.”
All eyes turned to Lila.
She stepped forward. “The shadow array activates during the next full blood moon. Black Moon needs three things to complete the ritual.”
“We know this already.” One of the pack representatives cut in.
“So what does he need the twins for?” Reynold asked.
“Sacrifices.” Lila said it like it was not too much of a deal. “Their purification power is too dangerous to him. He can’t risk them interfering. So he’ll kill them during the ritual. Drain their blood. Use it to seal the array permanently.”
Silence.
Then everyone started talking at once.
“How do we stop it?”
“Where’s the ritual happening?”
“We need to evacuate..”
“QUIET!” Dominic’s Alpha command shut everyone up. “Lila. Where is the array located?”
“The Wolf Altar. Deep in Black Forest. About thirty miles northeast of here.” Lila pulled out a map. Marked an X. “It’s protected by wards. Shadow magic barriers. And at least fifty of Black Moon’s soldiers.”
“Fifty.” Gamma whistled low. “That’s a small army.”
“That’s the point. He’s not taking chances.” Lila looked at Dominic. “You’ll need every warrior you have. Both packs. Working together. Even then, you might not be enough.”
“We’ll be enough.” Dominic’s jaw was tight. “We have to be.”
“What’s the plan?” One of the younger warriors asked. “We can’t just charge in blind.”
“We won’t.” Dominic pointed at the map. “Three teams. Team one creates a distraction. Pulls soldiers away from the altar. Team two breaks through the wards. Team three goes for Black Moon directly.”
“Who’s on team three?” Reynold asked.
“Me. Killian. Lila.” Dominic looked around the table. “Anyone else?”
“I’ll go.” Gamma raised his hand.
“Me too.” Another warrior.
“And me.”
Within minutes, team three had fifteen volunteers. More than Dominic wanted but he didn’t turn anyone away.
“Team one needs a leader.” Dominic looked at Reynold. “You up for it?”
“Yes, Alpha.”
“Team two?” Dominic scanned the room.
A Moonstone Pack warrior stood. “I’ll lead it. I’ve dealt with shadow wards before.”
“Good. We leave at dawn. Everyone gear up. Bring every weapon you have. This is it. We end Black Moon soon or we die trying.”
The warriors started filing out. Discussing strategy. Checking equipment. Preparing for war.
I stayed seated. Watching Dominic. He looked exhausted.
“You’re not going.” He said it without looking at me.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. You’re staying here in the castle with the twins.”
“You didn’t discuss this with me before now so no.” I stood up. “This whole thing started with my bloodline and I’ll have to end it. There’s no war without me.”
“How about you see this as a Luna Queen sending her warriors to battle? You won’t have to do the dirty work.” Dominic finally looked at me.
“I never asked you to.”
“But it is something I can easily handle. I have done stuff like this before.”
“And there is always a first time for everyone. I won’t let you save me this time, I’ll do it myself.” It was high time I showed him how stubborn I could get.
“She’s right.” Killian’s voice chipped in his two cents. “You need her there. Her royal blood is the only thing that can break through the final ward around the altar. Without her, you can’t reach Black Moon.”
“I thought I told you last time to stay out of our affairs.” Dominic didn’t look at him. “You know you won’t die if you just mind your business.”
“Oh, I will because her life would be in danger if we listen to you.”
“Do you really think Black Moon won’t appear in the castle the same way he disappeared? He would trick us out of it. I know you would be expecting him to fight him in his territory but he’s after Sam and the kids. Not you or anybody else.” Killian voiced out reason.
“All of a sudden, you are so smart to dish out advice. Now listen to me, my men are not as weak as yours. They would protect my family. Black Moon is not a match for them.”
“If he could so penetrate the walls of my castle, he would have done so a long time ago but he can’t and that’s enough to pass the message.” Dominic countered.
“You saw what he did to Maya. Who knows what other dangerous things he has up his sleeves?!”
“For what is worth, you really need to reprogram your mindset because it is really poor how you picture everything. No trust, no security, no faith in winning. You are not living life, man.” Killian shook his head, clearly disappointed.
And I was too. Dominic’s mind was only filled with terrible things and never the good stuff.
“You can save your lecture for someone who actually cares to listen. I have a battle to fight and my wife stays home, that is final.” Dominic maintained.
Just as he was about to walk away, Killian snorted. “Your wife? I’m glad you called her that and not by her name because she could go if she just leaves you. That way, you won’t have so much control over her.”
Oh, not again with this.
“Killian, you shouldn’t have said that.” I immediately cautioned him.
“This is exactly why I need this battle to over so you can crawl back to that hell you call a pack. I know you are miserable and you want to use Sam to help your life but it won’t work because we are going to be together forever.” Dominic spat out.
“You are clearly speaking about yourself, not me because my life is perfect.”
“Yet you are here.”
“Because she needs me.”
“You guys, can we save this fight for some other day?”
“You should be grateful that I care and listen to what Samantha says or I would killed you before Black Moom.” Dominic threatened. “And for you, since you don’t want to stay. You can come with team three. I’ll make arrangements but you’ll have to listen to me every step of the way.”
That controlling side was back again but I didn’t care because I finally got what I wanted.
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