Filed to story: Wolf Crying Mate of the Alpha by Jazz Ford
‘Not exactly,’ Cerridwen says to her with a nervous laugh, she looks at Valkrim, who then gives Ogrum an odd look, and then he bites over his tusk and looks at me.
I sigh heavily and make eye contact with Nina, ‘The sceptre will turn you into a deity like us. You will become much more powerful and stop aging,’ I say to her.
We watch Nina slowly stand, ‘So, you want me to retrieve the sceptre to become a Goddess, and then I’ll become powerful enough to defeat Thypon,’ she asks.
‘Well, you won’t be able to defeat as in kill Thypon per se, but you will stand a chance to be able to protect everyone against him. You will use your magic to keep him back. The only way to stop him for good is to seal him away as we once did, but it usually requires more than one deity to accomplish that spell. Atlanta is the only known Goddess that has successfully cast the spell on her own.’
‘Where was Thypon sealed before he was released?’ Nina asks.
‘We had him sealed under a volcano for many centuries. It can only be removed by whoever cast the spell in the first place,’ I reply.
‘We don’t have any volcanoes in Mysteria,’ Nina says.
I look up through the transparent ceiling at the sky, ‘You will have to improvise. When you return to Mysteria, you will have to figure out the perfect place to seal him.’
Nina steps around her chair and begins to pace the hall, ‘The sealing spell. I saw it in my spell book at Emerald Island in my castle. I was going to go through the star portal to retrieve the book and learn the incantation. Since I already wield magic, and perhaps with the coven’s help, it might be enough to seal Thypon without me having to transform into a Goddess forever. There’s also the chance that even with the coven’s help, it may not be enough to seal Thypon away. Magnus is my mate, and Alec is my Blood-Flame. I don’t want them to grow old and die while I stay young and live. I want to be with them both forever, even if that means crossing over with them when the time comes,’ Nina confesses.
Valkrim clears his throat and gazes at Nina, ‘Alec is already immortal. He is a vampire. Alec will never age nor die of old age. He can still be killed by an enemy if pursued, but that would not be an easy task for anyone, and with you as a powerful Goddess by his side, he would be untouchable, therefore unkillable,’ he assures me.
‘But Magnus? He’s a werewolf and will die of old age,’ Nina sobs, realising she can live for eternity with one or die naturally with the other but can never be with both forever.
We remain silent as Nina returns to her seat, leans over the table, and cries into her arms. It’s a difficult choice she has to make.
She wipes the tears from her face, ‘I can become a deity and protect Mysteria and all those in it. Magnus and his family would grow old and eventually pass away. Or do I refuse to become a deity, and everyone dies at the hands of Thypon? My sister May, Astrid, Ryker, my coven, Maia and her baby that hasn’t even entered the world yet,’ she sobs.
I walk around and place my hand on her shoulder to console her, ‘The people of Mysteria must be saved. They deserve a better fate than the cruel ones at the hands of Thypon.’
Ogrun stands and places his hand on Nina’s other shoulder. ‘The people of Mysteria deserve to live their life and die peacefully of old age, not have short lives and die horrid deaths,’ he says to her sympathetically.
‘There has to be another way?’ Nina says, and then she straightens in her chair. ‘The book! The history of supernaturals! It opened a portal to Mysteria from the human world to allow us in. We can cast it again, and you can all enter and stop Thypon,’ she says.
We give each other a sad gaze before returning our gaze to her.
‘I’m sorry, Nina, but it won’t allow any God or Goddess through. The only way we can get in and out of Mysteria is through the veil, during the solstice each year,’ I inform her.
Nina stares down at the table. A tear drop falls from her cheek and lands on the table, ‘Then,’ she pauses before looking up at the aurora in the night sky, ‘I have no choice but to accept my fate and become a Goddess to save Mysteria,’ she whispers.
Nina stands and stares at me sharply, ‘How do I activate the sceptre?’ she asks.
Nina
I suddenly jolt awake and take in my surroundings, remembering I’m in Vera’s little house.
‘Nina?’ Alec says, stepping out from the shadowy corner. ‘Are you all right?’ he asks, sitting on the bed and placing his hands on my shoulders.
I wipe the sweat from my forehead and slow my breathing. My eyes meet Alec’s serious look, ‘We have to go to Oak paw mountain. There is an item there I need to collect. It will make me strong enough to protect everyone else from being killed by Thypon and his monsters,’ I tell him.
‘How do you know this? Why did you jolt awake like that? Did you have a bad dream?’
‘I met our deities, even yours, Valkrim,’ I say, kneeling with my hands against his chest.
Alec tilts his head and narrows his eyes, ‘Whatever do you mean, Nina?’
‘When I fell asleep, I entered the celestial world where all the deities reside. The Moon Goddess and other deities had been waiting for me. They told me they knew Thypon had been released and could not enter Mysteria in time. Selene said they had summoned the sceptre of divine power and managed to get it through the veil. It’s somewhere in Oak paw mountain. I must retrieve it and get to Emerald Island to learn the spell to seal Thypon,’ I say in one breath.
‘What if it’s not enough power to defeat him and seal him away?’ Alec asks.
I think for a moment, ‘With the guardians of Mysteria by my side. We can do this. We can seal him away.’ I place my hand on Alec’s heart. ‘We just need to believe in ourselves, believe that we can do this. It’s our only hope and our only chance of restoring peace to Mysteria.’
Alec pauses in thought, then tilts my chin up with his forefinger, ‘Then we better get to Oak paw mountain then,’ he smiles and then crashes his lips against mine.
I thank Vera for the hospitality and exit her little house to find Vermillion laying on his back, receiving a belly rub from a dozen villagers. He’s like a gigantic playful puppy.
As soon as Vermillion sees me rolls back onto his feet and prances towards me. I hug him and pat him before climbing onto his back. Alec hops on behind me.
‘We will go to Mystic Paw first. I need to see Reaper and also inform Queen Maia of our plan. From there, we will go to Oak paw mountain,’ I say to Alec.
‘You know we could just step through your portal over there and be at Mystic Pride within a second?’ he says.
‘I know, but flying on a dragon’s back is more fun,’ I laugh over my shoulder.
‘That’s very true,’ he smirks.
With that, Vermillion lets out a playful screech, stretches his large red wings out, and begins flapping them. Alec wraps his arms around my waist as we rise from the ground into the air. Vermillion’s wings create a wave of dust over the villagers. They use an arm to cover their eyes and wave farewell to me with the other.
I take in the beautiful views. Fish fly up and back into the water as we fly over Moonstone River. Deer and elk graze, and the sky is clear. But when I look to my right, I can see the sky in the far distance is dark, and the lands are ruined and deserted. We’ve only been flying for half an hour when I see Mystic Pride ahead.
Everyone gathers and gasps with worry when they see Vermillion hovering above Mystic Pride. I lean over and wave so everyone can see me. They point me out and cover their mouths, not believing what they are all seeing. Vermillion lowers down and lands with a loud thud on the ground. Alec slides down and then turns to catch me as I slide off.
Everyone crowds closer-Maia, Yiselda and Kadva approach.
‘Nina, you’re back!’ Maia says and throws her arms around me.
I embrace her back.
She steps back and stares at the dragon, ‘What, When, How?’ she says, shaking her head in disbelief.
I take Maia’s hand and playfully pull her along to stand in front of Vermillion.
‘Queen Maia, I would like you to meet Vermillion. My new dragon,’ I grin.
Vermillion blows smoke from his nostrils and sits before bringing his face closer to Maia’s.
‘H-how do you do?’ she says nervously but also politely.
She raises her hand and places it on his snout. ‘He’s so friendly!’ she squeals.
‘I know, right!’ I smile.
Maia notices his front leg raised and bandaged with part of my dress.
‘What happened? Is he hurt?’ she asks, stepping closer.
‘He was trapped between trees with a large wound on his legs. Alec and I couldn’t leave him like that, so we helped set him free and cauterised the wound, and he has stayed with us since,’ I tell her.
‘I see, well now that I’ve regained all my strength and power, I can stop the pain he feels from the burn,’ she says.