Chapter sixty eight

“My Lord,” a young man sprinted through the council, avoiding to miss his step as the fear he felt prevented him from focusing. He came upon a door and knocked violently on it. He kept knocking and screaming until the door finally opened. “We are under attack!” he yelled before Malachi could disclose his anger. Hearing that, Malachi glanced around him, he noticed the unrest but he couldn’t see the instigator of the attack.

“I don’t understand, where is the attackers?” he asked.

“There,” the young man pointed over at the long walls where nightwalkers and rogues were jumping over.

Malachi’s eyes widened, “how did they escape?”

“I don’t know, My Lord.”

“Lord Malachi,” a high chief yelled, sprinting towards them and only came to a stop in front of them, “the Nightengale council has fallen, as well as the Sliver-Bird Council, and the Golden Rose and the Willowsmyth.”

“Pretty much all council has fallen,” Geneveive said, walking over to them in quick strides and behind her, Dennis was following with long strides as well. Her long black dress has been ripped in the sides to aid her walk and blood covered half of her body. “No matter how many I kill, they keep coming back. At this rate, I don’t see us winning this.”

“She is right,” Another High chief showed up, covered in blood from head to toe. “Not all of them are rogues, majority of the night howlers are pack wolves whom have been turned. I had done a quick run to the packs and you wouldn’t be surprised to know that they have fallen. A few High Howlers have been turned as well and Damien is trying his best to subdue the alphas that have been turned and prevent them from using their alpha strength. It’s a pretty good strategy but it's pointless since every wolf save the children has been turned.”

“It’s clear what they want, they don’t want to fight, they just want to turn us all,” the last of the high chiefs showed up, her hair a complete disarray. “And when they succeed, it’s clear who they would be going after next.”

“The prince’s mate,” Malachi answered.

“Exactly,” Genevieve concurred, “and as much as I hate that conniving wolf, we still have to protect her if we want to keep our heads when Edward wakes up.”

Malachi and the rest of chiefs stared at her in shock and she frowned, “what?” she asked but they said nothing and mainly just withdrew their gazes.

“Then it’s settled, abandon the council, we must go to the palace and offer protection to Aliyah and prince Asher,” Malachi ordered and they all agreed.

***

“What?” Sean couldn’t believe his ears when he heard what Steven had to say. “It can’t be, your father is the alpha, he can’t fall like that.”

“It’s true, apparently, he was bitten by our mother. I think that’s how he fell, my father would never hurt my mother, even if it means he would lose his life in the process. And it’s clear that it’s what he just did,” Steven replied.

Sean glanced at the still scared wolf and sighed, “you can transform in that tenth, Gerald, there are clothes there as well.” When Gerald ran in that direction, Sean turned to Steven, “what do we do now? Should we head over there?”

“There is no need, if my father has become deranged then it’s obvious that every wolf there has as well. You don’t think a deranged alpha would have a problem infecting his pack wolves?” Steven raised an eyebrow. He seemed to have calmed, his initial anger dissipating.

“Okay, is it the perfect time for us to ask what is happening?” Vertimon asked and the rest of the demon rulers nodded.

Sean sighed and turned to them, “I don’t think your King Marl-El died naturally, I think the Kaiden guy killed him.”

Maleeka frowned, “what would be his purpose to?”

“Because he is King Edward’s eldest brother,” Irene answered. “I don’t suppose you know how Nightwalkers and Night Howlers came into existence?”

“Not true, King Edward killed the brother that set him up with the maid or something, or am I wrong?” Beruka asked.

“No, you are most certainly right. He did kill him but I think he was reincarnated as a demon beast. An obviously, he wants his revenge on King Edward. He has been after us —well, after Aliyah— for months now and he even created a poison that poisons the mind of the night howlers, making them his pawns which he is able to control them and tasking them to find her. Recently, he had created poisons for the nightwalkers as well. The woman we were talking about, we are suspecting that she is working with him. And now, it all proves it, because she had fought with King Edward and now that he is in slumber, Kaiden is attacking with his deranged Night howlers.”

“Explained like that, it pretty much makes sense. However, the question is, what do we do now?” Idrissa asked.

“We must protect Aliyah, we must never let him or her get a hold of her or Prince Asher. She is the mate of your king and your future Queen, you owe him the right to protect her,” Irene said.

The demon rulers glanced at each other before Vertimon said, “we have never concerned ourselves with the fight between the Nightwalkers and Night Howlers, not when it started over two thousand years ago and neither will we now. So I am sorry, our duty is to stay here and wait for our king to wake up, not get involve with a fight that obviously have nothing to do with us.”

Irene nodded, “you say this now, but do I need to remind you that he almost burned your kingdoms simply because you kidnapped her? What do you think he would do when something happens to her and he realized that you could have saved her but you didn’t.”

Once more, the demon rulers glanced at each other. “That one won’t be our fault,” Beruka said, “he will be killing the nightwalkers and Night Howlers first for turning against her.”

“True, but then after that?” Irene asked, rendering the rulers speechless.

“You don’t need to bother, I don’t need any protection,” Aliyah said, turning to walk back at the spot she was before.

“You can’t say that Aliyah,” Sean and Steven said at the same time as Gerlad walked out of the tent wearing Sean’s clothes. “You and I know its you that he wants,” Sean said, “we need to gather forces here and make sure that they don’t touch you or Asher. The demons are the strongest forces we can mobilize now.”

“Like I said, I don’t need any protection. By the way, shouldn’t you be rushing over to the pack to make sure that Monica and Anita are safe?”

Sean hated the low blow she threw at him and thus replied, “shouldn’t you be rushing over and making sure that your parents are safe too, or you think Edward is all that matters?”

“Sean,” Steven whispered his name and pulled lightly on his arms.

Aliyah held Sean’s gaze as her eyes watered over, right before the tears fell, she withdrew her gaze. Sean sighed, he wanted to go to her but deep inside, he knew she was right, in as much as he wants to protect her and Asher, he has his own family too and he would never forgive himself should anything happen to Monica or his daughter.

“We don’t need to fight, it’s clear that that man is playing his cards well and if we want to outsmart him, we need to calm down and think this through, not fighting each other,” Rasmus said.

“No, she is right, I need to head back to the pack, I need to check on Monica, I have wanted to before and I still do,” Sean said.

“The Blue moon pack is under attack as well,” Gerald said since he joined them, “I made a stop there before coming here and from what I saw, I am sure it has fallen by now.”

“No,” Sean said, “it can’t be, we are the biggest and strongest pack, we can’t fall like that, I think…” he was saying when he felt a pull on his mating mark and he looked up, his eyes turning serious, “Monica,” he whispered and without another word, rushed into the woods.

“Sean wait,” Steven yelled but all he heard were running paws of a wolf. He sighed and glanced at Irene, “I need to go after him, at least to watch his back. Stay here,” he said to Gerald, “you are safe here,” he grabbed him on the neck and pulled him close, placing his forehead on his with his eyes closed, “don’t worry, I will find a way to save mom and dad.”

Gerald nodded, “I know you will.”

With a nod, Steven glanced at the rest of his friends before turning and running after Sean, shifting immediately he entered the woods.