Chapter 4 4

Lyra POV

The river was blue and chilly, as I came. Owen had already come, standing on the edge of the water with both his hands in his pockets. He was not in his doctor coat anymore, only jeans and a black sweater. As he heard me coming he turned slowly round as though he were frightened of having me run again should he move too quickly.

Thanks, I am glad to see you, he said under his breath.

You told me you heard anything of the rogues, I said, standing back. My wolf was now quiet, almost serene, and this fact still further aroused my anxiety. "Talk."

Owen rubbed his hand down his hair, and scanned the room in a restless fashion. "The rogues aren't random. They are arranged, and they are markedly aiming at something in this pack." He stopped and looked directly at me. "They're targeting you, Lyra. They are aware of your bloodline.

My stomach twisted. "How do they know about that? I was not aware of it at all, until to-day.

Due to a word spoken by somebody, Owen said. He drew out a scrap of paper in his pocket and gave it to me. It was also old and tattered, and handwritten in a style I was not familiar with. The letter discussed the existence of a very rare bloodline that had just manifested after every few generations, a bloodline that had the ability to connect with various mates and generate power that had the potential to shift the dynamic of the whole werewolf universe.

This is written by one of the high persons in the Council, Owen said. A very long-time acquaintance of one of your family. Somebody had seen you grow up, and seen how long they had waited till you were eighteen so they could know whether you were strong enough.

I re-read the letter, and my hands trembled. "Who wrote this?"

Well, I do not know, I do not know, Owen said. "But I have a suspicion. When the Council dispatched you here, they had an idea of what would take place. They were aware that you would see your mates. They were just trying whether the bond would work or not.

"Why would they want that?" I asked.

Owen hesitated. Since, in case what the ancient lore tells us is the case, a Luna with four mates and a unique bloodline can make the strongest creature of the whole werewolf world. And the Council desires that power in themselves.

The line struck me as a physical shock. My mission turned out to be everything I thought it was not. The Council had not sent me here to find out about rogues. I had been sent here like some sort of an experiment. They had brought me here and were to test me, whether I would form the connection, and, in that event, intended to exploit me.

I said abruptly, "my parents knew. They attempted to warn me and they perished.

"Yes," Owen said. His voice was very sad. Your mother paid me a visit a day before the accident. She instructed me to take care of you when she had gone. On behalf, she informed me that the Council had learnt what you were, and that they would endeavor to put you to use. She told me she had promised me to protect you, when the time would come.

So you turned me in to the Council, did you? said I, cold.

I was not to blame, Owen said in despair. Otherwise they would have known I was on their side and then I cannot defend you internally. I had to stay close. I must have been in the pack where I could see the danger coming.

I wished to be angry at him, but in some way I knew. He was in a situation that he could not get out of and so was I now. "What do they plan to do with me?"

"I don't know exactly," Owen said. But the rogues who are to strike just at present may be connected with it. Some members of the Council may be employing the rogues as a scapegoat. Something bigger."

I had not yet had time to ask another question when I heard a sound in the trees. It was somebody who was running toward us, at a high speed. I reached over to my weapon and stood in front of Owen.

Zane came out of the dark, breathing deeply and with wild eyes. The pack is being moved out, he said without any greeting. Ten minutes ago someone was ordering it. Ethan is driving everybody to the safe zone yet he does not know the reasons. Something is wrong to-night, and no man is telling him so.

"Who gave the order?" I asked.

That is the thing, Zane said clenching his jaw. The Council ordered it. Essentially through Council headquarters. But when Ethan called out to them and wanted to know why they did not hear, no one was there. The entire communication channels failed.

Owen's face went pale. When the communication is down and people are getting evacuated, something is about to happen. Something serious."

Zane said, The rogues are taking the jump. "I can smell them in the forest. Even more than there were before. The thing is more than they should be able to do once they were a small rebellion.

I looked between both of them. "How many?"

"At least a hundred," Zane said. "Maybe more. It is as if they have been waiting weeks and months and are waiting all this time until this moment.

Again my wolf was becoming impatient and was pacing impatiently within me. She desired returning to the pack land. She would want to help to save every one. She desired to be with Ethan and Dane.

I must go back, I said to myself and turned towards the side we had come to.

"No," Zane said, grabbing my arm. They will take you back there and they will get you. That is what all this is about. The evacuation is a distraction. The rogues will attack the safe zone in which they are transporting all. And they intend to steal you all in the commotion.

Owen stepped forward. "We need to go to Marcus. No one knows your bloodline better than he does. He may be able to guard you.

Marcus was to have presented you something, said Zane looking at Owen. Something your mother left to you.

I felt cold all over. "How do you know about that?"

It is that I have been watching, I am telling you that there is no shame in my voice, Zane said. The Council employed me to spy upon the pack and make a report. But now that I knew what they were actually about, when I knew that they were going to make use of you, I ceased reporting. I had decided to serve you on the contrary.

You are also a spy, I said bitterly.

"I was," Zane said. But that was the last I had when I caught sight of you in that clearing. My wolf knew what you could be to me and suddenly all the money and power of the Council did not count anymore. It does not matter, it is just to keep you alive.

I was to answer before I could reply, when I heard an almighty alarm in the distance. It was an announcement coming out of the pack territory, which was a danger signal. There were several alarms ringing, and this was succeeded by something even worse.

I heard screaming.

Now they are attacking, Zane said. He took out a phone and began to type furiously. They are fighting them to the north, Dane. Ethan attempts to bring everybody to safety. But they are not going to make it. There are too many."

I have to assist them, I said, and went running towards the noise.

Zane grabbed me again. "You can't. You will be stepping right into their trap, in case you appear.

"I don't care about traps," I said. "Ethan is my mate. Dane is my mate. Owen is my mate. You're my mate. And I will not keep it a secret as they struggle to survive.

I tugged my arm like a rope out of Zane and moved. My human body changed to the form of my wolf, bigger and stronger than an ordinary wolf. I was silver and midnight blue, and this seemed to be glittering fur even in the dark. My wolf and my human mind were in perfect accord, such as I had never felt before since I had heard the story of the four mates.

I was going back.

I had never run so hard in my life, and my feet beat the earth, my wolfdom ruling my actions. I heard Zane behind me transforming into his wolf self and chasing me. Owen came later, still with his running legs, and with each passing second losing a ground.

When I broke out of the forest and into pack quarters, I beheld the fight.

The rogues were on every side, assailants on every side. They had black spots on their arms, and I did not know what they represented. They waged battle using weapons and magic which were undermining the ability of pack wolves to transform in the desired manner. I found Dane engaged in combat with three of them at the same time his silver eyes blazing with anger. I was able to visualize Ethan leading the people to safety and at the same time, he was warding off attackers.

But I also saw something else.

The figure stood motionless in the middle of the mess, spectator of the fight. This man was dressed in a Council uniform, the same as mine. And as the figure turned to me I knew the face.

It was Marcus.

Ethan, the uncle of the old war strategist, the man who was to have some word on my bloodline, was standing in the midst of the attack in the uniform of a Council officer. And he was smiling as though he had been waiting to have this very moment.