Bloodstar pack.
****
Everyone was apprehensive. They'd discovered that Beatrix and Lavana were missing with no clue to locate them. Mel was at the spot where Lavana last stood, wearing a nonplussed face. Even if she was kidnapped, at least, the smell should linger on outside of the pack but her scent abruptly ended here. He had never encountered a thing like this.
Her mate in particular was nowhere to be found either. What sort of temptation was this? By now Lavana should have sworn publicly and acknowledged being a member of this pack. Tomorrow, they were supposed to leave for the competition. Now all plans had to be put on hold!
He returned to meet the others who were still clueless. Rolandro took out his phone to make a call.
"Who are you calling?" his curious wife asked.
"Rixon."
"That organization's gonna milk us dry. I don't think it's gotten to that. Maybe they went out and will return." a pack member chipped in.
"Stop dreaming. They are missing. Plus without her and her mate, our odds of even winning is super low. If we are destined to disband, so be it. But I'm not gonna let it happen with one person missing. If you were in danger, wouldn't you hope to be saved?" Rolandro asked.
"Yes of course. But her mate in question, we've never seen him. What if he took them out?"
"Lavana wouldn't leave without even a note." Regina chipped in.
"Hey look. I just got this text from an unknown number. It says 'Don't you be worried. Lavana and Beatrix are with me at my place. We'll meet you guys over there. There'll still be enough time to acknowledge her into the pack. So relax.'"
Hearing this message all were relieved and also pissed at the same time. This mate of Lavana's deserves a thrashing. How can he do this without even letting Mel or Rolandro know? How was he even able to leave the pack without any of them detecting it? And why did he text only now? Made them all worry for nothing!
"Alright. You can all retire to your homes to rest. Thank you for helping out." Mel said with a smile.
When it was just Rolandro, Mel and their partners left, they all sighed.
"Regina, please pass me the phone."
"Here, Darling." she handed it to Mel who critically looked at the message with a sceptical face.
"It's weird. We all just saw that guy for the 1st time when she introduced him to us. So how then did he get your number?" he asked, not understanding how it was possible.
"I don't know. It's baffling too." Regina shrugged.
"That guy is not simple," said Rolandro and the others nodded in agreement.
"So since Beatrix and Lavana are with him and he's made a promise that he'll join us there..." Carmelia got interrupted.
"Although I can't fully trust him and don't like him, he is her mate. Since he accepted her I want to believe that he won't harm her and her sister. If it is otherwise, I'll make sure to deal with him." Rolandro said with a murderous aura.
"Hey baby, calm down. Let's go arrange things. Hopefully, he'll be there with her. But it's not too safe to bring Beatrix there." said Carmelia in anxiety.
"Maybe he has made arrangements? Sigh. We'll meet tomorrow and then we'll know." said Mel.
"That guy needs to be punished for putting us all through this." Regina chipped in.
"Well, we'll know what to do tomorrow. Let's split for now. We don't want to forget anything we need for the trip." said Rolandro.
"And how to pacify Pedro? After all his playmate just disappeared without saying a word of goodbye." Regina questioned.
"Well, let's get home first. We know what to say." Carmelia responded with a smile.
...
Phoenix could not believe his eyes. Right before him was a vortex. This wasn't some ordinary vortex for teleportation. This is the legendary type of vortex that led to another domain.
He'd read about it in books but never really encountered one. But here it was in front of him and the butterfly had vanished after reaching the spot he currently stood. That meant one thing.
To find his mate, he had to get into that vortex. The pain he was feeling, doubled and he almost knelt. He changed back into human and examined the vortex before him. Unlike normal teleportation vortexes that required a pass, this one here required a lot of energy to open and there could even be a possibility that this was a supreme vortex. This sort of vortex would not let outsiders in. The way to the kingdom of the wizards/witches was hidden behind an invisible array. Only one with power can get in. This vortex here was different from an array.
He sighed as he levitated from the cliff and flew slowly towards the vortex.
When he was 3 feet close, the vortex launched huge ice chains at him. He managed to dodge them by a hairbreadth retreating back to the cliff. The ice chains then turned to nothingness. Seeing this, Phoenix fell into despair. This was indeed a supreme vortex. Since he was an outsider, he couldn't get into the domain behind it. He felt useless.
His mate was in there, suffering so much pain, but here he was stranded just outside of it, unable to do a thing. Unable to even see his mate! He fell to his knees and started weeping while clutching his chest.
"Mate, it's all my fault. If I hadn't left, I could have joined you and protected you from all this suffering. But look at me now. I can't even dream of getting past this vortex. Lavana, if anything happens to you, I can never forgive myself and I can never face Beatrix. Moon goddess, you've shown me where my mate is. Just this last favor. How do I get in? Even if I'm gonna lose my powers, I don't mind. Please, show me a way." he cried while looking at the sky.
At that moment, he felt his face become really hot. He touched it and hissed at the pain. What was happening to him?
He took out a mirror from his spatial ring and was shocked to see that the new face gifted to him by Thora had shown and the marks on his face were... glowing?
His eyes widened in disbelief.
Could it be that this was a way to be recognized by that vortex? After all, there were marks of a dragon on his face. He quickly rose and thanked the moon goddess.
Then he flew towards the vortex again. This time, he did not try to dodge the ice chains that were lunged at him. They wrapped around his hands, waist, legs and neck. Just when he thought that was all, one naughty one decided to come to wrap around his member. At that moment, Phoenix wanted to cry. If this damn chain pulled a little harder then he'd become a eunuch.
Maybe it wasn't a good decision to come here with a white flag. He started praying that he'd be let go. Suddenly a bolt of thunder from the vortex struck his shoulder. Before he could register why it was this way, more bolts were launched at him and he couldn't escape. His body trembled greatly as he gritted his teeth not daring to let out a sound. He felt the ice chains tighten around his body, his member wasn't even spared. Now he was more afraid for his shaft than his entire body. What sort of trial was this?
While he'd begun devising ways to be free of the chains, he felt them all disappear and even the lightning bolts stopped coming. He was free but he could barely maintain his balance in mid-air. Suddenly, an opening appeared in the vortex and he mustered all the strength he could to fly into it before it closed.
Now that he was finally in, he fell into the boiling water that was bringing out great steam. He tried to cast a magic bubble over him but it failed. He managed to swim to the surface and made out the faint image of an island.
He flew out of the water and sighed in relief. At least, flight wasn't prohibited here for outsiders.
He headed in the direction of the island and upon reaching there encountered a sovereign-level array.
For a wizard, it might have posed a problem but he was a sorcerer who was naturally proficient at arrays. Some minutes later, he found the eye of the array and launched a ball of magic energy towards the small array eye. After he spewed out blood from a backlash, the array crashed and he quickly flew in but he felt a pressure that sent him crashing to the ground. Gritting his teeth, he rose and tried to run but the pressure on him was even greater, causing him to spit out blood.
He started crawling instead since he found the pressure lessened this way. But he couldn't crawl too fast either. As frustrating as it was to him, he couldn't complain.
30 minutes later, he reached the spot where the platform was and his heart nearly jumped out of his chest.
Several pillars were joined together above his mate who was enveloped in a huge ball of lightning. To worsen things, water occasionally launched from the small holes that had opened around the platform. His beloved mate was screaming while hugging herself, not daring to open her eyes.
He could not get close to her for he found another sovereign tier array around the platform and if he was correct, this one had 3 eyes. Finding the first 2 eyes would be easy but finding the third eye would be like finding a needle in a haystack. He instantly set to work on finding the first two array eyes. He located them 5 minutes later and proceeded to search for the 3rd eye around the platform.
It took him half an hour to find the 3rd array eye and it was so problematic to undo. Any mistake and he'll even be sent out of this domain.
"Well, here goes nothing." he rose and steadied his feet. His peacock fan appeared in his hand and light covered him. When it dimmed, he was now clothed in wizard robes. He threw the fan upwards and it scattered into bits and rearranged itself into a thin dagger which landed in his hand.
He began to study the connection between all three eyes and found some minutes later that the point they all met was actually the fourth eye.
"Now that's way better." he threw the dagger that was enveloped with his magic in the direction of the 4th eye. Upon coming into contact with it, the dagger evaporated but the array crashed. He quickly jumped in and saw that the array had mended itself again like nothing happened to it earlier. As expected of a peak sovereign tier array. Whoever set this up was a genius!
Now that he was officially on the platform, he could see how terrifying the lightning ball was.
At this moment, Lavana's eyes opened and she let out a terrifying roar that caused him to cover his eyes while being rendered to his knees.
He witnessed in incredulity as her body absorbed that huge ball of lightning. Then the pillars above her separated from the meeting point and went back into the platform's surface.
The holes that constantly launched water at his mate had also shut. Phoenix felt the pressure fade too. He quickly ran over to catch her before she collapsed.
"Lavie, Lavie!" he called out in anxiety but received no response.
He quickly took out a bottle containing a huge brown pill. He opened the lid and took out the pill. Then he put it into her mouth and let her swallow it. He took out a golden bathtub and placed it on the ground close to the platform. Then he took out huge kegs containing refined water which he emptied into the bathtub. When it was filled, he carried her from the ground and placed her in it. The water soon began to boil and steam rose as her body turned red.
"Mate, please calm down. Phoenix is here. I won't leave you. I'm here now." he whispered while caressing her hair gently blowing some air on her face.
"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have left coz you asked me to. If I had waited even a minute longer, you wouldn't have had to suffer all this alone. Lavie..." he stopped talking as he saw the water had become chilly. He wanted to get her out of it only for it to start boiling again. He figured he might as well leave her there. He took out more kegs containing the refined water and poured them into the bathtub.
"Lavana, please be alright." he kept reiterating as he poured water on her head.
Some minutes later, he found that the water had become of normal temperature. He felt her forehead and saw that she was okay now. What was left was for her to wake up.
He took her out of the bathtub and placed her on the bed that he'd taken out of his spatial ring 2 minutes ago. He covered her with a blanket and rubbed a strange foul-smelling, sticky black liquid on her face and neck. Then he fed her a yellow pill and some refined water.
He changed his clothes to a white t-shirt and loose black pants that possessed several pockets. He placed a chair beside the bed and sat, watching his mate.
...
3 hours later.
Lavana opened her eyes slowly. She felt dull pain all over her body but compared to the torture she received on the platform, this was nothing. She found that she was lying on a comfortable bed. How strange! There was no one else on this island when she arrived and no one showed up when she was eating the torture underneath the joined pillars.
She quickly sat up and saw an empty chair beside the bed. She soon started sniffing and got off the bed.
"Hey, easy there, babe." she heard a familiar voice and turned to look in the direction of the voice.
"Phoenix?" she called out in shock upon seeing him, her eyes widened in disbelief. How... How come her mate was here? How did he get access to the ancestral island?
"Are you alright?" Phoenix asked with concern, feeling her neck and forehead with the back of his right hand.
"Ph... Phoenix..."
"Ssh! I know you have a lot of questions. I can answer them slowly. But the priority now is to get you in good shape although I can see you don't need to add more meat."
"Eh?" this made Lavana check her body only to exclaim. She was no longer skinny. She now even had little flabs!
"Gimme a mirror, please." she requested.
"Why? I'm the best mirror you can find out there. Lavie, you look tasty."
"*scoff* That's not gonna work on me. If you aren't giving me one, I might as well use the water then."
"Wait." Phoenix took out a mirror from his loose pants pocket and handed it to her.
"Take a look at yourself."
"Thank you," she said while looking at her new self. The old Lavana, although skinny was beautiful and gentle. The face looking back at her in the mirror was one that would cause Alphas to fight! Her round face made one want to touch it. She looked wild instead of gentle. If she were to try hard she could intimidate someone without even using her fists.
She looked back at Phoenix who simply smiled.
"I become like this after all that suffering," she muttered to herself. She saw that her three spirits were still asleep but they seemed weaker than before. While she was enveloped in that huge ball of lightning, the three of them held hands and then started muttering words in a language she did not understand.
After that, their bodies glowed so bright that she couldn't see their figures. After some time, their bodies became weak and they directly went into slumber after wishing her good luck. Then she absorbed the huge lightning ball into her body and the last thing she recalled was that she was about to collapse.
"Phoenix, how did you get in?" she asked after placing the mirror on the bed as she sat.
"Um... Let's say, it's fate. And those marks Thora put on my face turned out to be so useful. Without them, I wouldn't be able to get in here. I must thank Thora."
"She's resting with the other two."
"I guess they expended themselves for you?"
"Yeah," Lavana nodded and sat back on the bed.
Phoenix took the chair and sat opposite her. "Mate, I... I want to apologize to you. I thought it over in the time you were unconscious. I really didn't do well back there. I shouldn't have insulted Rolandro nor made the others feel like chickens."
"*scoff* You're just saying what you've practised a thousand times in your head. Who would believe you?”
“Even if others don’t, I trust you will. I hurt you and others. Yes, I carry that air of nobility around me...”
“Phoenix, let’s not talk about that.”
“Lavie,”
“Enough,”
“Geez! You having temper issues now.” Phoenix stated in surprise.
“I need to go for a swim. After that, we can leave.”
“Dear the water is nothing to write home about. I nearly became boiled meat when I fell into it. You want to go in there? You are an ice-natured mermaid; can you stand the heat?” he asked in concern.
“Absolutely.” she got off the bed and started walking away. Phoenix sighed and took out a fan made of white ostrich feathers.
“Lavana,” he called out to his mate who immediately stopped in her tracks. “What is it?” she asked as she turned her head to look at him.
“I wanted to give you this fan. It’s a weapon and works well in water. Aside from that, it gives you refined air full of magic energy.”
“I don’t want it.” Lavana continued heading to the shore of the ancestral island. Reaching there, she found Phoenix was already there waiting for her. His clothes had changed. He was now dressed in swimwear and looked extra hot. She forced herself not to blush but her ears weren’t obedient.
“Aww! Just see the way your ears turned red. So adorable.” he teased.
“Hey!”
“Lavie, making this face, you look just like a rabbit.”
“Phoenix, I’m gonna beat you if you speak crap again.”
He simply chortled before diving into the water after covering himself with a magic bubble. Now that the trial had passed, he no longer felt so much restriction on his powers. Lavana jumped into the water and Phoenix watched her change to her mermaid form in awe. The process was so amazing!.
“I’m the luckiest man on earth. Just look at this sexy mermaid right in front of me. Ah, I’m getting inebriated.”
“Enough of your boring words. I’ve got things to do. Since you chose to jump in, be prepared to catch up with me. If you win, I’ll forgive you and give you 7 kisses.”
“Only 7?”
“*scoff* Don’t be so greedy, Sullivan.”
“What did you say?”
“I said Sullivan!”
“Lavie, hearing my middle name from your lips makes me so glad.”
“And you continually delaying me here is not appreciated. Catch up. If you can’t, just wait for me at the shore.” she turned east and then started swimming downwards.
“Lavie, I’m gonna accompany you. I don’t want you to be harmed.” he started swimming east but was far behind her who had a long tail.
“Stay back. I’ll come back soon.” he heard Lavana telepath to him and he replied by mind link.
“Nah. I want to explore here with you. Just look at the beauty underneath the water. Imagine, the surface is so hot but down here is cool. So hard to believe.”
“Suit yourself. Just keep in mind that you’re never getting those kisses.” she reminded.
“At least I accompany you to brave the unknown. Can’t you just spare one kiss for me? Please, honey…”
“No.”
“Then… how about a warm, cosy big hug?” he still didn’t want to give up just like that.
“I can hug my pillow,” she replied with a scoff.
“Lavie…”
“Don’t talk anymore. I’m waiting for you at the bend. I might give you a reward if you make it there in a minute without teleporting.”
“Eh? You’re serious?” he asked in disbelief.
“Seconds are counting.”
“Hehe, trust your man.” he laughed and then increased his swimming speed. He got there in a minute and looked at her smugly.
“So, I made it. Where is my reward?” he asked.
“Come closer.” she beckoned with her right hand.
“Ooh! I smell something. Is it the reward?”
“Don’t dally, Phoenix.”
“You don’t wanna call me by my middle name anymore?” he asked wearing the expression of a wronged pampered wife. But he still swam closer to her.
She pointed at her face.
“Is looking at your pretty face the reward?” he asked in doubt.
“Phoenix, gimme a kiss.”
“Oh,” his eyes started twinkling.
“On my cheek. Don’t divert.”
“Aww!” he pouted.
“If you don’t like the reward…”
“I like it very much.” he quickly let the bubble cover Lavana too and then planted a kiss on her face. He saw her smile.
“Lavana, you’re happy?”
“Well, you risked your life to get in here. I already forgave you. I just wanted to…”
“It’s okay. I understand. I accept the little torture you gave me and I love this reward.” he placed his right index finger on her lips.
She then telepathed to him. “Phoenix… I want to tell you something.”
“Alright. Shoot,” he said after removing the bubble from her. It wasn’t good for a mermaid to be out of water for too long.
“Let’s sit on that rock and discuss.”
“Alright, Lavie.”
….
30 minutes later.
“So you mean that you are an Olmpha, a true royal dragon and a siren,” he stated to which she nodded.
“An Olmpha is even stronger than a lycan. Wow! I’ve read of it in books as a teen. How many tails do you have?”
“In the books, what’s the maximum number of tails they’ve seen an Olmpha have?”
”Um… four. Yeah, four tails.” he answered while nodding.
“Alright. I wasn’t gonna show you my new form but you’ve earned the right to see but um… please close your eyes first.”
“Oh? You wanna surprise me?” he chuckled and turned around instead.
“Cover your eyes too, Sullivan.” she chastised.
“Hehe. You call me by my other name again. How lovely.” he had turned his head to look at her.
“Phoenix Sullivan Atlantes…”
“Geez! Don’t be so pissed. I’m doing it now. See, I’ve covered my eyes.”
She harrumphed and warned that if he dared to peek, he would lose the chance. Seeing how compliant he was, she sighed and closed her eyes. Light covered her and in less than a minute, her majestic form was seen. She no longer needed to crack bones to shift to any of her three forms.
She sat on the rock and used her hand to touch his back.
Phoenix then put down his hands and turned to look at his mate. He gasped upon seeing what was looking back at him. A giant white-furred wolf with red ears and paws was looking back at him. Her pearl river grey eyes looked so mesmerising.
He rose from the rock and touched her fur. So comfy. “Honey, this is you,” he asked in disbelief.
She nodded and rested on the rock so he could pet her head while standing on the rock.
“You’re so beautiful, my beloved mate,” he whispered, placing a kiss on her forehead.
“Want to see something fun?” she mind linked.
“Yup. I haven’t seen your tails.”
“I’ll show you after you guess the number I have.”
“Oh, a guessing game. How many chances?”
“2, Phoenix,”
“Okay. You have 4 tails.”
Lavana shook her head.
“I’m wrong? Okay. I have just one chance left. If I get it, will you reward me?”
“Stop being too eager for rewards. If you want a reward so much, I might as well swallow you.”
“Ah, don’t do that. I think you have 7 tails.”
“No. You’re still incorrect,” she revealed a one-meter-long tail. Its lower end was red while the rest part was white.
“Geez! You have just one tail?”
“Are you disappointed?”
“Um… I’m more of shocked. According to the books, the minimum tails are 2. But you have one. Well, it is two times longer than a regular Olmpha. But it doesn’t reduce your majestic self. Even if you had no tail, I’m still okay with it.”
“A wolf without a tail? That’s a disgrace.”
“Well…”
“Close your eyes again.”
“Alright.” he obeyed.
“Now you can open them.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
He opened his eyes and nearly fell. Wh… What was he seeing? 9 tails!
“Lavana, you…”
“Yes. I possess 9 tails.’
“Wow! You broke the record,” he exclaimed in stupefaction.
“Yup.” she nodded.
“You can use your tails as weapons too,” he stated.
“Yeah. They can defend and attack."
“Lavana, you are so amazing. No wonder you added more meat after the trial. Your wolf form is this big. I feel so tiny.”
“You think you won’t be able to mate with me in wolf form?”
“Erm… Why is your mind going in that direction? We agreed that it’s when we’re done with the revenge then you can accept me as mate and then…”
“I’m an Olmpha, I can become smaller just for that. Watch me.”
He saw as light covered her entire being and she reduced in size. When the light dimmed, he saw she now looked like a regular Omega wolf.
“Wow!” he exclaimed in amazement. She could use this form in the competition too. In the competition, there’ll be a point where the werewolves must fight in their wolf form and he was worried deep down coz if she shows her majestic form, it’ll bring more trouble which he didn’t want for either of them.
“So your fears are gone now, right?” she asked in mind link.
“Stop asking about that. It’s still far away. Besides, we have to get married first.”
“I know. I just don’t want you to worry unnecessarily, mate.”
Light covered her again and when it dimmed, he saw that she was now in her human form. He could only see a blur in the special parts, after all, she hadn’t accepted him yet. But in his case, since he’d accepted her and he happened to be without clothes, she could see everything. That’s how it works!
“Here, take this.” he took out a long oversized shirt from his ring.
“Nah. I don’t need it yet.”
“…” Did she plan on remaining in this state. Although there was a blur, he could see that she had a great shape in the right places!
“Phoenix. Do you want to ride on my back in my 3rd form?”
“No. Not today.” he shook his head.
“Why?” she asked in disappointment.
“I’ve seen your tail and your new wolf look. I’ll see your dragon form on another day. Don’t you forget, you need to catch up with the others and acknowledge being a member of Bloodstar.”
“Oh right. The competition.” she nodded.
“Although here remains bright, it’s night already outside this domain.”
“But I don’t feel sleepy yet,” she whined.
“I didn’t say you have to sleep. We can train.”
“That sounds great.” she inched closer to him, intending to plant a kiss on his cheek only for him to retreat.
“Why are you acting that way?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Don’t try to tempt me. Our goal hasn’t been accomplished at all.”
“Oh, I see.” she transformed into her merform and sat on the rock.
“Show me some moves. I’ll memorize them.” she requested.
“I’ll do that when we’re out of this domain.”
“Easy then. Sit down please.” she patted the rock and he sat beside her, confusion written on his face. He saw the gemstone on her forehead glow.
“Lavie, why is it glowing?” he couldn’t help but ask.
“You’ll know in a minute.” she closed her eyes and thought of where she wanted to go. Then she opened them and yelled. “Bloodstar pack. Teleport.”
The next moment, he saw that they were no longer underwater. They were outside the training hall. Lavana, however, was levitating as she let dragon wings sprout from her back.
She couldn’t stand on her tail and didn’t want to fall so the wings were essential.
“Dear, your wings are bigger and look more refined. There are some glowing lines too.” Phoenix pointed out.
“Oh, I haven’t shifted into my dragon look since you didn’t want to see.”
“I still maintain that stand. There’s not much time left. Although we will train, it won't be more than an hour. Look, it’s already full moon. I heard that back in ancient times, werewolves would transform in the ancestral halls and then howl at the moon. They also partied. But for our generation, we no longer need to do that. There are some packs who choose to hold a party every full moon though.”
“This pack is not yet recognised since there is no Alpha yet among them.”
“Yeah. And I wanted your wolf to be upgraded from Omega to Alpha but you’re an Olmpha now. You don’t need it.”
“So what are your plans?” she asked.
“Let’s get to the room first.”
…
They found the door wasn't locked and easily entered only to find certain someone seated on the couch and watching Tv.
A/N: Sorry for the lateness. I got a UTI on the first and wished to die on the 2nd. :)
Now I'm much better than before. Been writing this chapter for days as I always thought it wasn't good enough. Now it's finally here. I'm excited to host the competition. Haven't done that in ages. I hope I'll not fail your expectations. Thank you for sticking with this imperfect book till now. Just to let you know ahead of time. The competition will not be held in this part. There'll be a part 2. Have fun reading other books till the next update. Accept my kisses.
P.s: Don't forget to leave a comment. I love reading them guys :)