34| Tides

CEDAR BLAKE

“The king is too kind,” Deklan said as Ursa led us toward an ancient gigantic gate.

I had just learned the Guardians’ names after we explained we would be leaving with Sammy. They reluctantly agreed, though they made it clear they’d escort us out and back. The King had commanded them to protect us, especially me.

I didn’t refuse the King’s kindness, though a lot of questions ran through my mind about the Guardians’ castle and wondering why the king that I've never met was being nice to me. But saving Crystal Moon came first. Maybe later, when everything was settled, I would have a real conversation with Deklan, if I still had the chance to be with him.

“We have to leave now!” Sammy cried, almost breaking into a sob as we paused at the gate. “Dominus just gave Oakwood the order to attack Crystal Moon!”

Baptista stepped forward, drew a circle before the massive rusty gate, and a glowing path opened. Before us stood the boundary of Crystal Moon and its neighboring packs.

I had never once imagined I would become the saving grace of the same pack that had ruined me with their bullying and discrimination. Fate or destiny, I don't like how I am entangled in every pack's mess since Oakwood already believes I am a curse and an abomination.

Sammy walked through first. Deklan waited for me to step forward, then followed closely behind, as if determined to shield me from any danger that might come from behind us.

“Stay safe and don't do anything apart from talking until we come back.” He said once we stepped into the land. 

I nodded firmly before he jammed his palm to Sammy's, and they vanished at once. His teleportation abilities must be one power that has kept him alive more than his other strengths.

I never thought he’d be so protective after telling me to stay away from him the day he kissed me. One day, I’d remind him of those words, words that now felt hollow, though they had once made me doubt that he'd ever care about someone like me. Somehow, it seemed I was the one who had that effect on him.

Pushing thoughts of Deklan to the back of my mind, I focused on the task at hand as I looked at the two packs about to tear each other apart because of a man who only has cruel intentions towards them.

Vendetta, the Luna, mother of the twin Alphas, was on her knees, clutching Dominus’s leg and begging desperately for her children’s lives. Probably hoping her tears would save the day.

Helena, her maidservant and the woman everyone called the Queen’s closest friend, stood beside Oakwood. By her side were the council elders, their betrayal written on their faces. They had chosen politics and old traditions over their people, hoping Dominus would reward them and give them whatever they're hoping for.

Adonai was chained to one of Dominus’s jeeps, his body covered in blood. Adonis sat on a warhorse, raising his arm to stop Oakwood’s advance. His face was torn with conflict. Would he truly surrender his people to save his family? Or had he already realized he couldn’t win this battle alone? It's the first time I'm seeing him look so wimpy without his mouth running.

Then I entered the field. Every head turned toward me and the three Guardians at my back. Growls rose through the air, but Oakwood’s wolves hesitated, slowly retreating.

Dominus’s laughter tore through the night. His Adam’s apple bobbed as his head tipped back triumphantly.

“I told you!” Dominus said wryly. “You can’t outrun your shadow, Cedar. Welcome back to where you belong!” He gestured, ordering his men to seize me.

“Wait!” I shouted, stepping backward out of their reach. “Dominus, I’ll come with you. You don’t have to do this. Nobody has to die! You want me and I’m here.”

“Oh, so she finally realizes she can’t escape me.” He raised his hand to stop his men and walked toward me, ignoring everyone else. “But it’s too late, Princess. I want everything now.”

“No… you can’t mean that.” I shook my head, recoiling from his imposing presence.

“Don’t slip, Cedar!” Sammy’s voice rang in my mind.

She had connected our thoughts through the Guardians. Ursa was our bridge. Dominus and his men had no idea the three panthers were Guardians, that secret was my anchor and advantage in case things went south. I was sure of my safety with them standing beside me.

My role was to keep Dominus distracted. Stall him long enough for Deklan and Sammy to return with the plan Sammy swore would bring Dominus to his knees. Whatever she meant.

“Listen to yourself,” Dominus breathed against my face. His hand clamped around my jaw, forcing me to meet his burning eyes. “You think you can stop me?”

“Move away from her!” Vanus stepped forward, putting a hand to his arm.

Dominus turned his head slowly toward him, tightening his grip on my jaw before finally shoving me aside. “And who are you to tell me that? I expected a sulking Deklan chaperoning you, not scentless panthers.” He squared himself to Vanus, contempt dripping from his voice.

The Guardians never fought without orders. They only moved on the King’s command and the King had been clear, they were to protect me at all costs. That meant defending me, even now. And not to get mixed up in any inter-pack clash.

And still, I knew nothing about this King who had given the order or why he gave it.

“You want to see who’s in command here?” Dominus sneered. He flicked his hand, signaling his men.

The jeep holding Adonai lurched forward, dragging him slowly toward the cliff that marked the edge of the seven packs. A cry of horror erupted from Crystal Moon’s soldiers. Rage burned in their eyes, but Adonis held them back, refusing to give the order. He knew what was at risk and the battle was not about defeating Dominus and Oakwood.

“No!” Vendetta’s scream pierced the battlefield. Every head turned toward her. She rose, lifting her hands to the sky as sand and dust started swirling around her.

What is she doing? Who is she? I never heard that the Luna had special abilities apart from brewing healing portions.

Her eyes lit up with sparks, bursts of light spilling outward as darkness spread across the heavens. It was the same terrifying surge I had felt when my own powers had erupted without control. The exact way the heavens had darkened.

“Stop!” Elder Jeremy ran to her side, trying to force her down. “Are you willing to throw everything away now? After how far we’ve come?” He grabbed at her arm—

But an unseen force blasted him backward, hurling him into the crowd of armed soldiers. He collapsed, the air knocked from his lungs.

“I’m sorry, Moon Goddess!” Vendetta cried, her voice breaking as the ground trembled. “I can’t let this continue. I won’t!”

She turned toward me.

At once, my vision burned red. My wolf rose inside me like never before, its power clawing through my veins. My skin prickled as my hands lifted to the sky, almost by instinct. Thunder cracked, lightning split the darkened heavens.

I heard both packs gasping, as if terrified by what they were witnessing. Even Dominus faltered, I felt his breath hitching as his eyes darted between me and Vendetta. Adonis’s horse reared, nearly throwing him. Soldiers from both sides froze in awe and terror. Then my eyes lifted skywards, and in descent, locked with the Luna's.

“I am half of a whole,” my wolf’s voice howled through me, vibrating in my chest. “To save or to ruin, I am bound to choose a single key!”

Memories tore through my mind. Visions of a history I had never known. A past erased. A prophecy that had always followed me like a shadow.

Who I was. Who I had been made to believe I was. The storm that was coming and the one truth that could end it. 

It was all my fault. And I was born…reborn to repair a foundation I once destroyed.