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CHAPTER 55
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Return of the rejected white she luna CHAPTER 56
MATTEO'S POVAs the shroud around the lab writhed with unnatural power, we fled into the darkness of the forest. My lungs burned from the violet wind whipping between the trees in pursuit. I risked a glance back, heart seizing at the monstrous silhouette emerging. Its bulky form was blotting out the sky, engulfing the quarantine dome in an eclipse of shadow. We had to outrun this nightmare."There - the caves!" Athena gasped, pointing to a hillside crevice ahead. A meager hope, but our only chance of losing the abomination on our trail. We poured on speed, scrambling over rocks and leaping treacherous crevices until the cramped tunnels swallowed us up. Seconds later, its roar shook loose a landslide, sealing the entrance. For a moment, utter blackness. Then, Sebastian ignited a torch. Its flicker illuminated drawn haunted faces. I took a steady breath. "We're safe, for now. But what new evil have they brought upon the world?"Our rescued captive met my eyes with a hollow expres
Return of the rejected white she luna CHAPTER 57
SEBASTIAN'S POVThe falls rushed up to engulf us, and for a split second, we were airborne, suspended between rock and foam. Then the icy plunge shattered my senses. Water hammered in a torrent, buffeting me deeper into its throbbing heart. Darkness overwhelmed me as the current tumbled me endlessly amongst roaring white water. Lungs burning, I kicked frantically for the surface. My leg struck something solid - a shelf beneath the raging waters, just within reach. Clawing with the last of my strength, I broke free into a pocket of blessed air. Gasping, I hauled my trembling body from the pool. Matteo emerged beside me moments later, spitting foam. He caught my worried gaze. "Athena...we have to go back for her!"I grasped his arm firmly. "Listen - hear the falls? There's no going against this current. We survive to fight another day." Though it pained me to abandon our alpha, logic held firm. Her last command rang clear - escape, and live to fight.Matteo calmed his rapid breaths, d
Return of the rejected white she luna CHAPTER 58
MATTEO'S POVThe goat beast's ear-splitting cry sent frigid adrenaline coursing through my veins. This challenge would be a battle to the death. I bared fangs, hackles standing on end as they lurched towards us on legs bent at unnatural angles. Its deformed eyes blazed with uncanny intelligence - a dark mind had taken over this unfortunate vessel. It lashed out with a mangled hand, talons gleaming like rusted steel. I rolled aside, springing up beside Sebastian who had shifted into his sleek lupine form. Together we circled warily, seeking an opening. My bow would be useless at such close quarters. I released a ferocious snarl, the only weapon left to fend off its lunging jaws. A violet aura pulsed from its form, infecting my thoughts with whispers of shadow and madness. I shook off the intrusion forcefully. Its corrupted magic would not breach my flesh and spirit.The Nightcallers watched intently from all sides, Luna pacing the rim with keen eyes darting across our struggle. Thi
Return of the rejected white she luna CHAPTER 59
SEBASTIAN'S POVAs the mists receded, revealing Matteo once more unharmed, relief left my limbs weak. But little time remained to recover - already the stag lord was stamping a dismissal to signal our audience's end. I swayed upright, shaking away visions' lingering grasp, and met Luna's intense regard. "Can you guide us from these Glades? Our mission is clearer, yet the path ahead is fraught with peril."She dipped her spectral head. "The Twilight Realms are not meant for mortal feet. Follow, and I will show the way."Her graceful form streaked away, Matteo and I loping in tired pursuit. Our escorts fell away as Luna led towards jagged peaks shrouded in oncoming dawn. The barrier between worlds was thinning once more. I steeled myself for the transitions' jarring effects, summoning strength from visions imparted. Though we glimpsed fragments, a dire understanding had begun to take shape. As shadows retreated before amber light, details sharpened of rock faces I had never before sc
Return of the rejected white she luna CHAPTER 60
MATTEO'S POVThe tainted wolf's howls whipped the glade into pandemonium as others fell under its song's malicious sway. I leaped into the chaos alongside woodland sentries engaged in a savage battle against former comrades. Muscle and fang moved swiftly as thought, dispatching maddened creatures beyond hope of cure with ruthless efficiency. My blade flashed silver under the moonlight, spattering forest loam ruby-black as I cut a murderous path.Sebastian fought at my back, teeth and claws rending any beast daring enough to get past steel and skill. Alais and her people battled with flickering sorcery, staying the contagion's creep wherever magic grasped hold. But for each enemy felled, two more seemed to take its place. The shadows teemed with corruption seeping through root and stalk, spurring creatures to turn against their own. I risked a glance to the grove's edge - more monstrosities lurked there, salivating jaws agape as they dragged down fleeing kin into frothing masses.A
Return of the rejected white she luna CHAPTER 61
SEBASTIAN'S POVConsciousness returned bearing sorrows untold. I dragged battered limbs from rubble's choking grip, wincing as broken places ground shards within. Where once the glade stood tall now lay blasted bones, smoke's acrid bite staining the air.A faint cry stirred my fading spirit - one yet lived amid the ruins. I scrambled over splintered trunks towards a guttering light, unearthing Matteo pinned underneath crushing timber. His emerald gaze found mine as I strained against imprisonment's dead weight. "..Sebastian. You live..." he croaked, flecking my muzzle with scorching lifeblood as I tore him free at last. I answered only with a ragged nuzzle, too spent for further succor. Together we limped the scorched remains, praying another ally stirred beneath the crumbled bough and toppled tower. Alas, none rose to save the enemy; behind us, their chants swelled in debased worship of the fell colossus enthroned among the slain. Its shadows stretched long, concealing some new ho
Return of the rejected white she luna CHAPTER 62
SEBASTIAN'S POVThat velvet voice paralyzed my limbs with dread authority, though I railed against its hold. The colossus turned burning pits where eyes should be, fixing their magnetism upon my fighting comrades. We were doomed - yet the pup nestled safe in my jaws, its fate bound with my survival. With a final howl of anguish, I turned from the fray, plunging into the raging waters.Currents seized us in iron claws, pummeling our joined shapes through rapids grown wilful and wrathful. Over fog-shrouded falls we tumbled, the world a blur of roiling white. All seemed lost to the flooding deeps until our battered forms washed ashore miles hence, dusk closing in upon an unknown strand. Gently I crawled from the surf, collapsing amid reeds that hid our landing from any watching eyes. The pup stirred feebly, shivering in my embrace though its flame yet kindled bright. "Have courage, little one," I soothed in a rasp. "Your charge is safe, for now." How long we lay as night fell complet
Return of the rejected white she luna CHAPTER 63
SEBASTIAN'S POVThe crimson eyes closed in, frenzied breaths steaming the frigid air. Two twisted shapes detached themselves from the forest's consuming shadow, loping towards our small company on all fours like decaying mockeries of the wolf. Our golden guide snarled fiercely, hackles rising in defense. But two against many could only end in defeat - that is if more horrors did not pour forth from the wood's suffocating gloom. The beasts' hunger burned rabid, twisting flesh with a fell intelligence that spoke of a far greater puppetmaster. Our enemy had found us at last in these blighted depths. Despair clawed my resolve, sapping the will to resist further torment. My gaze fell upon the whimpering young taking refuge behind my legs. No, I refused to let them meet such a fate without a battle to the end!A roar tore my throat, drawing chilled air deep into my scarred lungs. My challenge echoed back doubled by our female guardian, calling upon whatever spirits yet walked these corru
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Return of the rejected white she luna CHAPTER 165
Hendrix POVI stood gravely before the large ceremonial fire, the flickering flames creating dance shadows on the old stones around me. For my family history, this hallowed place carried decades of power and memories. Tonight, I could sense the weight of that legacy heavy with respect and feeling.Raising my arms, I started the hallowed rights passed down over innumerable years. "We come here on this holy equinox to pay tribute to Athena and Sebastian, the fabled founders of our family. Along with building this wonderful family, the mates whose unwavering love and unbreakable friendship shaped the entire path of our lives.As the gathered members of my pack listened with great concentration, my words rang across the quiet forest grove. We gathered together as one on this night, mothers and fathers with babies in arms, wizened elderly with lined faces, raucous younglings hardly able to contain their excitement."Their story is one of huge hardships faced with far more fortitude, of dar
Return of the rejected white she luna CHAPTER 164
Athena & Sebastian's POV Athena's povI sighed contentedly as I savored the brilliant glow of the fall sunset streaming over the large den windows. I curled in my beloved overstuffed chair while ribbons of blazing orange and crimsons bathed the old timber beams in warm, nostalgic colors.Though my face showed the wrinkles and lines from a very busy life, I felt an ageless tranquility cover me like a gentle, reassuring blanket. Once so brilliant and strong, my piercing blue eyes now reflected a calm ocean of earned knowledge and fulfillment.A faintly familiar smell of cedarwood and spice floated around as two strong, worn-out hands gently rested on my thin shoulders with learned sensitivity. Sebastian bent down to tenderly kiss my forehead, and I reached up to grab his palm. "You look so wonderfully calm, my eternal goddess," he said softly, his voice rasping but preserving that virile tone that still made my heart flutter after all these years. Looking up at him with a gentle smil
Return of the rejected white she luna CHAPTER 163
Hendrix POVAs I looked at the young people fresh-faced before me, the crackling fires covered the ancient lair in a warm, flickering brilliance. Though soft in years, I could already see the marks of great leaders in their controlled poses and focused eyes.These dogs stood for the birth of a new age to be developed on the hard-earned ideas and visions left to us by my heroic parents, therefore reflecting the future of our combined packs. It was now my great responsibility as Athena and Sebastian's son and Jax my younger brother to educate this new generation those revered values and ancestral knowledge."You all know the significance of why we've convened here this night," I began, letting my rich baritone carry the whole weight of the occasion. "The holy ceremonies to raise you from students to sovereigns over the continuation of our civilization's enlightened precepts."A handful of the younger ones seemed uncomfortable at the gravity of my words. I wore a forced smile on my worn
Return of the rejected white she luna CHAPTER 162
Anna POVAcross the sandstone walls of the den, soft candlelight danced shadows that appeared to bring the old etchings to life. Scenes of great wars, somber ceremonies, and the otherworldly visues of the ancient ones danced in the dazzling light. I inhaled steadying, letting the holy aura envelop me as I dropped myself onto the soft fur before the ceremonial fire pit. My fingertips gently stroked the strong wood lovingly white oak blessed by Luna Amara herself, drenched in berries. Its airy, cleansing tendrils brushed my flesh like a phantom mist.Since I had formally adopted Alpha's mantle, today was the first full moon. A fresh moon cycle was breaking through a fresh era. One whereby I would guide our unified alliance into an unparalleled period of peace and illumination. No little chore for a young person two decades old. But my spiritual background and the iron will have passed on from my ancestors inundated my very cells with blessed power and conviction. Little footsteps' gen
Return of the rejected white she luna CHAPTER 161
Athena POVTen Years A flickering in the lifetime of an eternal, but eons appeared to have changed all around me. From the roots of conflict and hardship Sebastian and I had lived, so much had blossomed.The den bathroom mirror flashed back a mature beauty, residual youthful brightness now enhanced by a royal, almost imperial posture. Laugh lines framed whole lips, showing a ten-year history of great happiness. My small, toned body nevertheless turned alpha heads. Sebastian most definitely never gets bored with destroying me every night as lovesick newlyweds do.As I turned the diamond encrusted wedding band around my finger, I felt a gentle satisfaction. Now the perfect unity symbol I had created for that terrible Sienna embodied the purest spousal loyalty. The great light of our love had sterilized her deadly daggers of betrayal and evil. A high pitched shriek pulled me from dream. I grinned, adjusting my summer tunic as tiny feet pounded closer. The door opened and a tiny tornado
Return of the rejected white she luna CHAPTER 160
Sienna Mother POVMy tending tools' regular clunk against the hard-packed mud floor offered a calm cadence. Every careful cut of root vegetables and herb mixing functioned as a little ritualistic offering to drive out the demons of past misdeeds.I still felt the weight of that darkness weighing down on me, an inky, stifling miasma of sadness, wrath, and misplaced vengeance almost corrupting me beyond redemption even now. The road I had begun down in the name of exacting revenge for my daughter Sienna was one tinged with terrible crimes and sins. But I had been spared completely giving my soul to those horrible depths by the kindness and intelligence of the Nightwalkers and allied packs. My life had been given an improbable continuity, a chance atonement I knew I could never merit.Sometimes even the basic tasks of attending to the spiritual and medical needs of our new haven felt like an unjustified privilege. The mother of a deranged, homicidal monstrosity, how could I be given r
Return of the rejected white she luna CHAPTER 159
Athena POVOur caravan reached the last mountain pass as the first rays of light were barely peeping over the horizon. A collective silence descended over the worn-out procession of wolves as the jagged forms gave way to the expansive views beyond.This was it the rich valley Hendrix had sought with every deliberate step of our exhausting journey. Virgin and pure like the earth before the embrace of civilization's development, a real paradise unspoiled by human efforts. As we first viewed the panoramic sight, Sebastian's calming presence at my side helped me. From this distance, the promise of refuge emanated from the very ground itself - a rich, earthy scent that piqued my increased lupine senses. Hendrix signaled for the packs to make camp just inside the pass, clearly understanding the need to gather before setting off into our fresh starts. Though tired to the bone, the assembled thrumming masses carried a tangible pulse of relief and expectation."Well!" The austere rumbling of
Return of the rejected white she luna CHAPTER 158
Sebastian POVOur large pack was leaving the gathering grounds as the first rays of dawn just peaked on the horizon. Though my body had long since given up the vitality of youth, in those first moments an almost electric stream of energy surged through me. This was it, the start of our magnificent journey into hitherto undiscovered territory.My eyes strayed over the line of wolves walking solemnly beside me. So many well-known people, generations of bloodlines and kinships entwined under those lupine pelts. It was a humble sight that sent off a reflexive protectiveness right down in my core.Whatever paths forward, whatever dangers we were destined to face, I would make sure our people came out on the other side intact. Too much had already been given up to let this desperate endeavor fall apart before it could start."You're quite reflective this morning." As Athena dropped into step next to me, her little voice caught my attention. " EVEN for you."I sensed the rueful half-smile of
Return of the rejected white she luna CHAPTER 157
Hendrix POVI waited in the hole for the packs to react to my suggestion in great silence. The choice of whether to leave our ancestral house felt like a millstone around every lupine throat. It was against every strand of our beings to uproot our whole lives and to turn our backs on the places that had protected us for ages. Still, the hard fact of cold could not be overlooked the human world was invading far too much of our land. If we stayed, exposure and the carnage that would surely follow seemed like an increasingly certain fate. The alphas started nodding their terrible assent one by one. First was Drystan, with his sharp but firm rugged features. The grizzled warrior understood the great need of this circumstance after seeing enough cycles of violence and death. "You make a good point, Hendrix," he rumbled, his rich baritone booming across the hollow. "Much as it hurts, we have to give our packs top priority. If moving is the only way we can guarantee our ongoing safety and
