Max's POV-
The Next Morning;
We began the march.
Lucas and I made some minor preparations that morning, as early as 5am. The ones who weren't accompanying us in the battle, were staying at the pack house. It was now around 5:30 am, and I looked at the one hundred Werewolves in front of me and Lucas.
"Wolves, we are doing this in the name of the Moon Goddess and to secure the peace. We march", Lucas said, the warriors cheering in unison. Then, all at once, we all shifted, and thus the march began. We made our way through the forest, walking and walking, bags of supplies strapped to our wolf bodies. We were expecting Fiona and her Mages to meet us halfway through the march, and that was still not for another hour.
The emotion and overall tone of the march was intense. Most of us were focused on the task at hand, while there were some not even wanting to acknowledge what was bound to happen. I know this because I was one of them. I was always thinking of ways to distract myself from what was going to happen. I was going to confront my father, who was my old First Enchanter. And I was also about to face an army of demons, brought from the Fade by my former wife-to-be, Clara Westwood, daughter of First Enchanter Patrick Westwood of the Westwood Mage Clan. Yes, that is a mouth full, but I'm the one narrating here.
"Lucas... knowing what is going to happen... how do you feel?" I asked him randomly in the mind link, running out of ideas for distractions. I heard him sigh in his head.
"Honestly Max, all I know is that this needs to be dealt with for our safety, Mason's safety, and the pack. I am terrified. But with you by my side, I know I can accomplish anything", he responded, leaving my mind to wander in perpetual thought. We continued the march for another twenty minutes, when we all heard the crunch of leaves off in the distance. Lucas ordered everyone to stop, and we all came to a halt. A moment later, Mages, led by Fiona came out of the woods to our right. We all relaxed when we saw it was her, and we greeted each other. The Mages now joining us, we continued the march.
"How long do you think we have until we reach Clara?" I asked Fiona through a magical link. She thought for a moment.
"I would say about a half hour. They are moving to us while we move to them, so time will seem short", she replied. Despite being the Grand Enchanter, she tried to seem like a normal Mage, and I could tell that. She didn't hold the aura that she was better than everyone else because of her rank. Fiona even seemed a bit nervous, which in turn made me more nervous. If even the Grand Enchanter was nervous of this, then things would probably be pretty horrid. But, I decided to tell everyone in the mind link to shift back. I had thought of a lullaby my mother used to sing to me when I was little, and now I understood why she sang it to me. Once everyone shifted back, they looked at me curiously, and I opened my mouth and began to sing-.
"Shadows fall
And hope has fled
Steel your heart
The dawn will come
The night is long
And the path is dark
Look to the sky
For one day soon
The dawn will come
Now Cassandra surprisingly joined into ghostly song, making me wonder how she knew it.
The Shepherd's lost
And his home is far
More pack members slowly started to join into the song, making my heart swell with hope.
Keep to the stars
The dawn will come
The night is long
Lucas by now had joined into the song. I looked over at him, still singing, and I wanted to kiss him right then and there.
And the path is dark
Look to the sky
For one day soon
The dawn will come
Now, the entire pack joined into the song, filling all of our souls with hope we desperately needed.
Bare your blade
And raise it high
Stand your ground
The dawn will come
The night is long
And the path is dark
Look to the sky
For one day soon
The dawn will come
The song by then had ended and all of our hearts were filled with hope, and not fear. Everyone present knew the risks and were now ready to face Clara. We didn't have much longer. As, about twenty minutes later, we got to a massive clearing in the forest. All of us stopped to rest as we had been on the march for about 2 hours without any stopping. Some of the mages felt the ground and used magic to see where Clara and her army was. They informed us that she was only about ten minutes away, so we all got into formations. The warriors drank some water from their water bottles and the mages rested to gain as much strength as they could.
Then we all heard the snarling. Besides Lucas and I, the warrior wolves all shifted.
Right before our eyes, a Pride Demon walked out of the trees, snarling and electric magic crackled from its scales. Its footsteps were like little claps of thunder as it walked. Before too long, Mages and Demons of all kinds came out of the trees. Despair, Fear, Rage, and Terror Demons were amongst the hateful Enchanters as they formed a tight line, blocking the way into the forest behind them. Each of the demons were all connected to at least one mage by a magical red cord. This was definitely Blood Magic. The last ones to walk into the clearing was Clara and my father themselves. Clara walked to the Pride Demon that was in front of the line, and it bowed before her. My father also had a Pride Demon attached to him, and both looked at me smugly. I looked at Lucas and we shared a kiss, before stepping forward. I kept my staff strapped to my back for the moment.
"Well, well, well", Clara said, her voice eerily sweet. "If it isn't the love sick puppy who stole Maxwell from me. How lovely." I ignored her attempts to make us angry.
"Father. Clara", I said, my voice flat of emotion despite the terror in my heart. "Why do this?" Both looked at me like I was the fool and not them.
"Because I need an heir to my clan who will listen and obey. And you are unfortunately the only one I have to take that seat", Jefferson said, mocking being exasperated. "And Ms. Clara here needs someone to marry, and she chose you. Besides, she is powerful, and you are powerful. Meaning more powerful heirs to the Clan." He grinned wickedly while I glared at him.
"I will not allow you to use my future children for your own selfish gains. You would use them and me to conquer other Clans. That is what mother wanted to keep me from, was becoming like you", I said, my voice filled with pride. Jefferson gritted his teeth but calmed down. That is when Fiona stepped forward. Lucas squeezed my hand, comforting me. Neither Clara nor my father were happy to see Fiona. In fact, they were outraged. Fiona remained calm, however.
"Enough. Jefferson Lavellen, Clara Westwood, I order you both to lay down your weapons and slay those demons. You risk a war between species to spark, and I will not let that happen", she said, her voice full of authority, making her French accent come out. Clara and Jefferson laughed wickedly at her.
"Forgive us Grand Enchanter, but your commands have lost their touch, haven't they?" Clara said, sneering at her. Fiona gained a fierce look on her face and raised her hand. Upon her silent command, her Mages got into position. They were ready to strike at her command. Jefferson sneered again and looked at the Mages behind them. I recognized some of them from my old clan, and it pained me to see them get into position with Clara's Mages, the demons moving with the Mages they were attached to.
"Oh, and I have something to share with you Maxwell before we end you", Jefferson said, his grin dark and malicious. "You talking about your mother shielding you from me was true. Did you ever wonder where those rouge Werewolves came from?" Jefferson laughed harshly at my confusion, and Clara looked knowingly at me with a face that was very sadistic-like. "Idiot. I was the one who sent those werewolves to kill Regina! She was just an obstacle for your full power to come out, and of course she prevented me from gaining a worthy heir earlier. She was always in my way. Incompetent bitch." He spat.
I snapped, becoming consumed by blind, white hot rage.
"ATTACK!" I screamed, whipping my staff from my back and leaping into action, Lucas and our army following suite. Clara and Jefferson didn't take long to take action.
The battle had begun.
To be continued...
AN: Bom Bom BOM! The battle has begun! Who will win? Idk! We shall see in the next chapter lol. Anyways, 3 chapters in a month? Holy hell lmao! Please comment any spelling and grammar errors I missed! I love you besties! Please comment, vote, and follow!
Bye Besties! ð