Battle of the Bloody Roses

EKON

I shot up in the bed, my back smashing into the headboard.

“Holy fuck!”

It couldn’t be real. There was no way in ~hell~ this was happening.

I could feel Tyler’s presence at the foot of the bed.

The look on my face must have been sheer confusion, and I wondered what the look on hers might be…

“Ekon. My baby.”

The body belonged to Tyler. But the voice was my ~mother~!

I threw my arms around Tyler’s body.

My mother was actually here! And I couldn’t worry myself with all the small details. Even though I was completely naked, I didn’t care.

Bambi hurried over and threw a blanket around my naked body.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Rose said, her voice coming from Tyler’s body. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

Rose touched my face and suddenly gasped. I knew immediately what she had noticed…

“You’re…blind?”

I could hear the sadness in her voice, and it made me want to break down in tears.

“It’s okay,” I said. “I don’t need to see you to know that you’re here.”

Rose held Ekon to her chest as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Bambi cleared her throat, drawing our attention.

“Why don’t we go somewhere less…”

Bambi’s voice trailed off, but the message was clear. I grabbed Tyler’s hand and led her through a side door, entering a small office that I rarely used.

Bambi closed the door behind us and made sure it was locked. Soon enough, everyone would know the outcome of the resurrection ceremony.

I just wanted a few minutes longer without anyone else interrupting…

I took Tyler’s hands in my own. They felt cold and clammy, but for some odd reason, that only made me want to hold them more.

“Please don’t tell me this is some sick joke,” I said.

Tyler’s hands squeezed mine tighter. For a brief moment, I allowed myself to imagine the touch was my mother’s.

“It’s true,” Rose’s voice said. “After all this time, I finally get to see my son.”

I wrapped her in a hug and lifted her off the ground.

Bambi cleared her throat.

“Don’t you think it’s probably time to explain what’s going on,” she said.

I set Tyler’s body back on the ground and tried to shake off my nerves. My hands were trembling, and I could feel the beating of my heart in my head.

I wanted to tell my mother everything. There was so much that she’d missed over the years.

“Mom,” I said, turning to Bambi. “This is my…mate.”

“It’s an honor and a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Cabot,” Bambi said.

“Please, call me Rose.”

~This is REALLY happening!~

“I know I speak for Ekon when I say, welcome back to the land of the living,” Bambi continued. “And we’re sorry if it was too much trouble bringing you back from the dead.”

My mother’s laughter filled the room. The joy in her voice nearly had me floating on air…

“Honey, it was no trouble at all,” Rose replied. “It’s not every day you get called back to the land of the living.”

I hugged my mother again, still reeling from her spirit’s presence. But as I pulled away, the seriousness of the situation hit me like a bullet.

The ~reason~ we’d brought my mother back was nothing to laugh about.

“Mother, we brought you back for your help,” I said sadly. “The realm is in trouble. And we believe you’re the only…~person~…who can help.”

I sensed the happiness slowly fade from the room.

“It’s Devina and Matthias, isn’t it?” she said.

“We’re afraid so,” Bambi replied. “Devina has resurrected your ancestor, Joan Cabot. She’s more powerful than ever.”

My mother sighed, and I heard the weariness in her breath.

“I knew this would come about sooner or later,” she said. “Prophecies have a way of doing that.”

Tyler’s hand touched my shoulder, but it was my mother’s kindness that I felt.

“I’m sorry, Ekon,” she lamented. “Devina and Matthias lived their lives in so much pain and anger. Maybe they were destined to become who they are. But I can’t help but think it’s my fault.”

I shook my head of the idea, but her words refused to leave. She’d abandoned them so that she could raise me ~alone~.

Matthias and Devina had never had a chance to protest…

“Devina can only be stopped by a blood relative,” Bambi said. “Technically, your blood isn’t related. But your spirits are! That’s the same…right?”

Silence settled over the room as the weight of our situation became clear.

“I’ll help you,” Rose’s voice said. “I must atone for my sins.”

With the excitement and adrenaline wearing off, my knees began to grow weary. I stumbled to a nearby table and collapsed into a chair.

“I knew there was a reason I didn’t pass on,” Rose’s voice said.

At first, I barely heard her words. But Bambi was still standing beside Tyler and heard everything clearly.

“What do you mean ~pass on~?” she asked. “From the afterlife?”

Rose stood silently for a moment, contemplating.

“I guess you could call it that. I honestly don’t remember much. But where I was…there’s a feeling of being tormented.”

“Like torture?” I asked.

“No,” Rose’s voice said wearily. “Like unfinished business.”

BAMBI

When I awoke in the morning, I found Ekon and Rose talking in the breakfast nook. They were so consumed with one another that they barely noticed my presence.

For the first time in ~forever~, I felt like I could go off on my own. After a quick meal of scrambled eggs, toast, and orange juice, I was off to the library.

I cracked open an old copy of the ~Werewolf Chronicles, Vol. 2~.

“I finished that one yesterday,” Victoria said as she passed by. “Nothing that we need.”

She sat across from me and plunked three heavy books on the table.

I slammed the book closed.

“This is exhausting,” I sighed. “We’re going to be old women before we find anything.”

“Speak for yourself,” Ela called out from across the room. “But I think I might’ve found something.”

I jumped to my feet and hurried down the aisle of books, finally spotting Ela in the corner of the library.

She was reading one of the passages intently and only looked up after I sat down beside her.

“What are you reading?” I asked.

“~Werewolf Chronicles, Vol. 3~. There’s a section near the end about the various generals and the battalions they led…it mentions your parents.”

I held my breath for what felt like forever before nodding my head. Ela searched the passage until she found the place where she wanted to start.

“The Crimson Moon squadron was one of the fiercest battalions in all of the Great War.”

I searched my memories for any sign of the Crimson Moon squadron but came up with nothing. Then why did the name sound so familiar?

Ela continued. “The squadron was made up of battle-hardened soldiers from the Royal Pack, the most elite pack in the world. This included several of the Alphas and Lunas of various packs, including the Woodard pack.”

I leaned forward on my elbows, hoping to see some of the passage myself. After a few sentences, I turned away, my stomach in knots.

“The conflict was named “The Battle of the Bloody Roses.”

~Bloody Roses…~

Years ago, Max had mentioned something about visiting a ~Valley of Roses~. But he had never mentioned anything about mom and dad.

Victoria and Ela shared a look before turning their attention to me.

“Well…go on!” I exclaimed.

Ela cleared her throat and found her place again. But she seemed to hesitate, unsure whether she should continue.

“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m ready for anything.”

Ela nodded and refocused her attention on the passage.

“Matthias and his men were just over a large hill, resting in a valley of roses. The general grew restless and ordered the Crimson Moon squadron to attack the Rogues before dawn.”

“What was the general’s name?” I interrupted, feeling sick.

Ela scanned the passages quickly before shaking her head.

“It doesn’t say,” she replied.

“Like it’s been erased from history,” Victoria murmured.

I locked eyes with Ela and nodded. I needed to hear the rest…

“But as they stormed the fields,” Ela continued, “Matthias and the Rogues encircled the battalion, effectively trapping them in the deep valley.”

Ela paused, and her breath faltered.

I reached out and touched her arm, hoping to steady her nerves.

“By the time the sun came up, nearly all of the Crimson Moon squadron had died. The field was a sea of red…even the roses were bathed in their blood.

“A soldier was found several days later by another battalion, bloodied and weary. He was the only survivor.”

Ela closed the book and sighed. She looked as if she’d just been dragged over rocks.

“So, they were part of that squadron,” I said. “But who was the general?”

I looked at my two best friends, but they could provide me no answers.

Their silence was deafening. My stomach felt nauseous and I wasn’t sure if I could hold down my breakfast.

After a few moments and several deep breaths, I was able to calm my nerves.

“I’m sorry,” Victoria said, tears in her eyes. “~No one~ should have to die that way.”

Ela reached out and touched my hand, drawing my attention.

“Hopefully no one else will have to,” Ela said optimistically.

Victoria and I shared a look.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Ela took a deep breath before locking eyes with me.

“I’m going with your brother to the Royal Werewolf Council,” Ela said.

I sat up in my chair. This was news to me.

“When was that decided?”

“Just the other day,” she replied. “Our goal is to improve peace between humans and werewolves. And I promise you—I’ll do everything in my power to make sure another battle like that never happens again.”

HOLLY

The buzz around the compound was inescapable.

No matter where I went, everyone was talking about the same thing.

~Rose is back from the dead.~

Which meant my spell had actually ~worked~!

I’d first heard about it during breakfast. But I didn’t actually believe it was real until I saw Ekon and Tyler sitting side-by-side, lost in a story from his childhood.

I watched as they spoke animatedly with one another in the breakfast nook. But I had refused to enter and be seen.

Nausea bubbled up in my stomach when I saw them together.

It should have been a happy reunion—but dark magic was required for such an unbelievable feat. Dark magic that I had learned from Devina and her acolytes…

For now, everything seemed great.

~Better than great.~

And that’s what scared me the most.

Dark magic and blood magic were not things to be taken lightly. Their power was greater than any other magic in this world or the next.

But every dark spell required a toll…even this one…

It might take years to come back around, but when it did…

I’d be the one who would have to pay the price.

ROSE

~That’s not me.~

I spun around in the mirror one last time and stared at the young body mimicking my movements.

She was youthful and pretty and in fantastic shape.

But it just wasn’t ~me~.

At least, not what I remembered of me. But to be able to come back to the realm of the living and see my son once more—I only needed my spirit for that.

And my soul was just as sprightly and adventurous as ever.

The afterlife was still a blur to me. I knew that’s where I had come from. Part of me understood that when all this was over, the afterlife was where I’d return.

But the things that had happened there seemed like memories belonging to someone else.

I focused on the piercing eyes staring back at me in the mirror.

~My new eyes.~

During my younger days, I had been a mischievous witch. Maybe some of the things that had occurred during my youth had managed to find their way to me now.

After all, dark magic had a way of collecting payment even from those beyond the grave…

But there’s too much unfinished business left for me to go anytime soon. My son and daughter had turned into the monsters I’d always feared they’d become.

Devina had murdered me. It had been cold and calculated, and the worst part was that she had been ~happy~ to take my life.

I had completely failed them in every way.

And because of my neglect, Devina had received power and magic beyond my wildest dreams.

But I’d been brought back for a reason.

Devina needed to be stopped, and I was the only one who could do it.

I held up my tender, soft hands and looked at them in the mirror. These were the hands of someone who hadn’t practiced in a while.

By the end of my time in this body, these fingers and knuckles would experience the kind of wear and tear that would be necessary to take down Devina.

~But the prophecy says she cannot be defeated. And if the prophecy had willed fate into existence, then how the hell am I going to change it?~

Not alone.

My child—the only one I hadn’t failed—would be by my side.

Even then…was that really enough to change the course of history?

Or would my children destroy the realm and each other in the process…