Chapter Three - I need to stop her

Samael Wulf

I watched while my brothers formulated a plan to rescue Kali. They stood in front of the Overlook hotel. Ash was resting his arm around Andy's shoulder while he pointed towards an open window. Clutching onto the stake that I'd brought with me, my hand shook uncontrollably, as I silently edged towards my brothers. My heart was screaming at me to drop my stake and find another way, but my head knew, there was no other choice. If they rescued Kali, my secrets would be out. She'd stop at nothing to exact her revenge. I couldn't risk it, I'd finally got rid of the evil bitch from mine and my brood’s lives, there was no way I could let her poison seep back in. 

With a deep breath and a tear rolling down my cheek, I clasped ahold of Andra's shoulder, and before he even had a chance to turn his head, I thrust my stake through his back. I yanked on his shoulder and plunged my stake deeper into his heart. His body instantly began turning to dust beneath my fingers, and as he hit the ground, he burst into a cloud of ash. As if in slow motion I turned and focused on Ashteroth’s snarling face, trying my best to ignore the tiny pieces of our brother that were floating all around us. With his brilliant white fangs glistening in the moonlight, Ash hurried towards me.

 I reacted without a second thought, bringing my stake close to my chest, and aimed it right at his heart. As soon as my stake pierced through his skin, he came to a standstill. We stared into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity. I watched as his snarling expression morphed into one of confusion and betrayal. For a split second, his face softened, and I could have sworn I saw acceptance in his eyes. His body then burst into fragments of dust, that were swept away with the cold night's breeze.

I jolted up in bed, gasping for air. Sweat dripped down my back as I tried to catch my breath by inhaling deeply, before closing my eyes and exhaling. I should be used to waking up like this by now, it’s been over two years since that night, I thought as I ran my hand down my clammy face. Throwing the covers off of me, I got out of bed and headed towards the bathroom for a much-needed shower. Once washed and dressed I made my way out of my room, down the corridor, and towards my office.

Every day felt like I was just going through the motions. The extreme pain, and overwhelming emptiness hit me all at once, then stayed with me all day. I had no idea if I’d ever get back to normal. Turning the handle, I pushed on the door and entered my office.

"Morning, Sam."

I froze on the spot, her words ringing in my ears. I didn't expect to see her, not here, not now. 

"Selene, what the hell are you doing here? Is Freya okay?"

***

Freya Rose

My paws dug deep into the dirt while I sprinted as fast as I could towards the teenagers.

"Welcome back Mina," I greeted in my mind when I felt her trying to take over my wolf form.

"We haven't got time for pleasantries, Freya, I've got this. You gather the pack,” she yelled out in my mind, more dominant than I'd heard before.

There was no sense of sarcasm, and I could hear how panicked she was. Without even answering, I gave her control and began to mind link the pack.

"Listen up. This is an emergency. You need to meet me at the south side of the lake."

"Why? What's happened? I'm kinda busy, and..." Odin started to reply.

"Now!" I bellowed through my mind, and I'm sure I could feel his nerves all around me.

I didn't know if I'd imagined it, or if it was a new ability from the vampire senses. To be honest, at this point I was losing track of all the new abilities.

"It's an order Odin, do not disobey me. I don't care what you're doing. Right now, your Luna is telling you to get your ass to the south side of the lake, so you do it,” I demanded, pretty much screaming into my head.

"Yes, Luna, of course."

"Okay, now, I need all of you to shut Selene out, right now!"

I could hear muttering and whispers inside my mind, but after yelling at Odin, I knew that all of the others wouldn't dare question me. Well, almost all.

"Freya, what is this about?" A deep voice full of dominance boomed inside my mind.

"Traian, please trust me. I can explain everything, but not now."

Mina, sped up, darting in and out of the trees with ease. I knew we weren't far from the kids.

"Open your mind to me, I will see everything, you won't need to explain," Traian replied softly.

"How?"

"Just calm down, breathe, and think of me."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Mina couldn't help but snigger at the thoughts that were running through my mind. Traian sat on the floor, blood dripping from his nose after I'd head-butted him. 

"Yeah, thank you for sharing that Freya, " Traian said sarcastically.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry, one sec.”

 I concentrated as hard as I could, and as I did, I felt my mind go a little hazy. I didn't know if it affected Mina too, but by the way she was running through the trees, I guessed it didn't. To me, it sounded and felt like I had my head in a goldfish bowl. I could feel Traian's presence, and quickly images of Selene's Lycan and the teenagers flashed before me.

"Crap, not again. Damn it, mother. I thought she'd stopped doing this. Freya this is very serious, when you reach my mother, I need you to stay back. Don't get close to her."

"What? No, I need to stop her..."

"No Freya! You don't understand. I'm on my way, please do not approach her. Please Freya, I'm begging you..." He pleaded with me, but he was too late as Mina skidded to a stop right behind Selene's beautiful white Lycan.

I could feel the teenagers fear all around me. I could hear their hearts beating faster than humanly possible, making their blood rush through their veins. As my new senses kicked in, everything moved in slow motion and I could pick out every little detail of my surroundings. 

The faint sound of pounding of paws against the dirt-covered ground as my pack approached. The thud of another set of paws, quicker and louder than the others. I knew it was Marik. The smell of the moss on the bark of the trees, and the adrenalin-filled perspiration that was dripping down the teenager's foreheads. My senses gradually tuned out all other sounds, birds chirping, the water gently lapping against the rocks, my approaching pack. Then it tuned out the smells, the crisp fresh air, the faint scent of car fumes, and the perspiring teens. The feelings were next to vanish, the girl and boys fear. The excitement, nervousness, and worry from my pack. The complete panic from Marik and Traian. Eventually, all that was left was Selene, and she now had my full and undivided attention.

For the first time since becoming a werewolf, Mina and I became one. I didn’t exactly know how it happened, or why, but every thought and every movement was merged. We planted our front paws firmly on the ground, digging our claws into the mud as we lifted our head and howled into the air. The howl was mixed with my screech of ascension. We began to levitate into the air, and to both of our surprise, a set of giant wings burst through our wolf forms back. It had never happened before, and for a split second it confused the pair of us. As we levitated higher into the air, Selene's Lycan shot around and snarled up at us, drool dripping out of her ferocious mouth. The teens were sat there with a mix of fear and awe in their eyes.

We focused back on the white Lycan below us, she was reaching up and swatting at us like a cat trying to catch a bird. A chuckle echoed through our mind. Mina was amused at Selene's failed attempts to get us. That chuckle ceased when the Lycan's eyes began to glow a brilliant ice blue color. It placed its feet apart and squatted slightly, before letting out a deafening howl. The shock waves from the beast’s roar hit us, making us fly backwards. We beat our wings a few times to steady ourselves, but before we had a chance to right our posture, Selene's Lycan leapt into the air, plucking us out of the sky, and slammed us into the ground.

"Freya!" We heard Traian scream out as he rushed past us and tackled his mother to the floor. She snarled at him, trying to snap at his face, but luckily, he was too fast for her and in a split second, he was beside us.

"I told you to stay back. You haven't been trained to fight her. She is stronger, faster, and smarter than you,” he spoke into our mind.

Mina didn't like his analysis of us and immediately growled at him. She didn't believe a word he was saying, and to honest, neither did I. We dragged ourselves up off of the floor and howled into the air. Brilliant white flames surrounded our body, feeding us power and strength. I could see blue electric sparks coming from the flames that had engulfed us, and it made Traian back up in shock.

"You have no idea what power we hold," Mina and I thought in synchronicity.

Which was right, because neither did we. Traian's face softened into a side smirk. The twinkle in his eyes showed us that he was indeed impressed by us. He tipped his head to us as he bowed and aimed his arms toward his mother, letting us know he was backing down and leaving us to it. Selene's Lycan had stood up and was now preparing to attack. I could hear Marik coming up fast behind us.

"Marik."

"I'll stop him, go!" Traian shouted into our mind then took off in a blur.

We shot our head back around to Selene, who was a little closer than I'd have liked. Selene reached out and tried to grab us, but as soon as her gigantic paw met our white electrical flames, she snatched it back and screeched out in pain. Our eyes grew wide as we watched her sprint towards the lake, waving her flame engulfed arm in the air. Power and superiority washed over Mina and I. We knew now, what Selene was so worried about earlier. We were virtually untouchable. Traian ran up beside us, closely followed by an extremely naked Marik. Mina purred with lust as soon as we spotted him. I rolled our eyes as he shot a wink towards us.

All of our attention was diverted as we heard Selene splash into the water.

"Holy shit. Would you look at that," Marik said while pointing towards Selene. 

We turned our head and watched as the Lycan thrust its flaming arm into the lake. It screamed out when the water extinguished the flames. Our eyes followed the steam that floated up into the air, and then gradually brought our gaze back down to see a shifting Selene. Her frame shrank, and every part of the extraordinary white Lycan disappeared, being replaced with the familiar sight of Selene's human form. Once she had shifted fully, she held her arm out in front of her as she approached the bank. The twins cleared their throats, instantly turning away from their naked mother. 

When Selene reached the bank, she collapsed onto her knees and began to sob. My pack finally arrived, they must have been further away than I'd thought, or us three were a lot faster than I'd imagined. Either way, my pack stood there in confusion, wondering what they had missed. Some stared at Selene, while others couldn't take their eyes off of me and my new flames. 

"Traian, can you take the teens back to the cabin please?" I asked him through our link as I edged towards his mother. 

"But what about you?"

"We'll be fine, trust me."

He didn't protest and did as I asked. He approached the teens and I could sense their fear immediately, but as he began to speak to them, I could feel them relax. He was using his power of persuasion and it was working perfectly. The teens got up and began to follow along with him.

"I need you all to head back to the cabin. We will be along soon," I ordered the pack. Gradually and without protest, they began to leave.

“Marik, can you head back with the pack please?”

“Of course, little wolf.”

I waited for them all to be out of sight before I shifted into my human form. Extinguishing my new electrical flames along with my shift. I approached the broken mess of a woman that was Selene. She was knelt on the ground, her wounded arm held out in front of her while she sobbed. I stood in front of her and inspected her arm. I was surprised to see that it wasn't healing. The skin was red raw and melted, some parts were black and singed. The smell was glorious and horrendous at the same time. I guess the hunter side of me found the smell appealing, but the vampire and werewolf sides of me found it repulsive.

I knelt down on the floor in front of Selene, holding my hand out towards her arm. She snatched it away from me, while gradually lifting her head to look at me. I expected a scowl or a snarl, but what I got shocked me. With mascara filled tears streaming down her face, she gazed at me with pure panic and sorrow. With a soft and sympathetic sigh, I asked, 

"Why isn't it healing?"

She peeked at her wrecked arm while pulling her legs around to sit on the ground. Before she had a chance to answer, she snarled, making me shoot my head around to see who was approaching. His scent hit me immediately.

"Traian."

Seconds after the name left my lips, his speeding blur entered the clearing. He halted in front of us holding some clothes for us both. Without saying a word, he handed me the clothes then sprinted away, vanishing in a flash.

"Thank you," I said through our link.

"You're welcome my little Rose."

I stood up and put on the clothes that he'd brought me. Once dressed I edged closer to Selene, holding out a pair of black leggings and a strappy top. She stood, and took the leggings with her good hand. She lifted her leg to put them on, but instantly fell to the ground and began to sob again. I took the leggings, pushed my thumbs down the leg so that they were ruffled. I placed it at her foot and pushed the leggings up one leg, then the other. I held my hand out for her to take, and we both stood. I pulled her leggings up and then carefully put her top on, making sure to avoid touching her arm.

The vulnerable and broken woman that stood in front of me, broke my heart. I'd never had thought she could be this weak. She'd always projected so much power and dominance. Looking at her now, she was a shell of a woman, nowhere near the Goddess that she should be. As the thoughts clouded my mind, Mina managed to break through and said, 

"Maybe your blood will help her heal?"

"That's a fantastic idea, Mina, thank you."

Without hesitation, I brought my wrist up to my lips and tried to extend my vampire fangs for the first time. I closed my eyes and concentrated. Within seconds I could feel them growing inside my mouth. It was surprisingly easier than I'd expected. Once extended, I placed them onto my wrist and tore open my vein. Blood gushed out of the wound, and quickly began trickling down my arm.

Selene sniffed the air and hissed at me. Her eyes wide with hunger and temptation, but she was holding back. She shook her head and backed away slightly. I didn't give her the opportunity to object, quickly sprinting towards her, I shoved my wrist into her mouth and held the back of her head, so she couldn't pull away. As soon as my rich crimson blood hit her lips, her fangs extended before being plunged into my vein. She drank as hard as she could, and it wasn't long before I knew she'd drink me dry if she was allowed to. I tried to pull my wrist out of her mouth, but she grabbed a hold of my arm and sank her talons into it, making sure I couldn't yank it away.

"Selene, stop." I tried to yank my arm away, but she had a death grip on it.

"Enough!" I bellowed into the air as I held my hand to the side and ignited it.

Bright white flames and blue electrical flashes engulfed my hand, and as soon as she spotted it, she retracted her talons and fangs, before hissing at me, and backing away. She shuffled back so quickly that she stumbled and fell to the ground. I watched as her arm quickly began to heal, skin knotting back together, raw flesh being covered back up, it was an amazing sight. Staring up at me with black eyes and a furious expression, she prepared herself to tackle me. While glancing at my blood dripping down her chin, I positioned myself ready for her attack.

"Seriously? You wanna go again?" She hissed at my questions, clearly wanting to fight me. I shook my head with an over-exaggerated eye roll. "Fine if you need me to kick your ass again, then let's do this. But be warned, I won't be feeding you my blood again. I will leave you here broken and dying on this forest floor."