OSCAR
“Selene said I’d know when to go to Ava, that time is now, Callum. We need to move.”
“She said the same to me, Oscar. I don’t think it’s time yet.”
I stared at him.
Then it clicked.
“Our times are different,” I whispered. “Maybe I’m meant to go now and I go straight to Ava, but you
come later? What did your prophecy say?”
His mouth fell open like he’d just had an epiphany. “I take the long road. I must have to deal with the
rogues. ‘Her protector walks the weary road, bearing the weight of the heavy load… with every step,
a challenge new, obstacles that block his view.'” He met my eyes, his still wide. “I know what I need
to do. You go straight to Ava. You are her strength, you help her keep going, no matter what he puts
her through.”
“What do you do?”
“I take out his army.”
My mouth fell open.
“‘And when the final hour draws near, when all is lost and ruled by fear, he’ll rise above, through
blood and flame, to save her soul, to speak her name.'”
Fuck, that meant we had to split up.
I sighed, before nodding. “We need to get going.” I turned and ran outside, shifting as soon as I was
out of the building, heading in the direction of the clearing.
“OSCAR!” Callum shouted through my mind. “You need to take warriors, you can’t go alone.”
“Send three after me. I’m not hiding my scent, they’ll find me easily enough. You take the other five.”
He was about to fight me on it. “Seriously, Callum, take the five warriors. You can’t go to war on your
own. Send me Jeremiah and whichever other two you think best.”
I slammed the link shut, ignoring Callum mentally flinging himself against the barrier I’d put up.
I ran for forty five minutes solid until I came across my first problem.
“Jeremiah, rogues ahead, surrounded by sage,” I mindlinked.
“How many, my King?”
“Five.”
“Whenever you’re ready, my King, we are too.”
On the count of three, we jumped straight in, taking them out in no time. I shifted back, moving
through the camp looking for anything that might prove useful. There was nothing at all except for a
load of wolfsbane syringes. This group must have set up before they knew the Rogue King had Ava.
“Alright, let’s move.”
Jeremiah’s Lycan nodded.
I had been running as a wolf because having my nose lower to the ground made sense, but now, speed
was more important.
I gave Dionysus control, letting him sprint as fast as he could towards the clearing. By the time we
could see it… there were only three hours to go until the moon was full.
CALLUM
We hadn’t long left the pack grounds when we started encountering rogues. Jeremiah and Ava had set
up a trap on one side of the pack, so we started on the other.
We’d gone less than two miles and all six of us were covered in blood. There was one major benefit of
fighting in Lycan form… they’re so much stronger it’s unbelievable.
Two miles later, we ran into another camp. This time, it was witches. I swore, skidding to a halt and
shifting back as soon as I saw them. They’d done a very good job of cloaking their camp, so they
knew about us long before we knew about them.
“King Callum,” one of them drawled. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
“I’m sure you have, now why?”
“Well, my dear, we know that you are the greatest risk to the Rogue King, and we can’t be having
that.”
“So what, you’re going to kill me?”
“No,” she shook her head. “But you have lost Ares.”
My heart fell into my stomach as I stepped back. No… “Ares, are you okay?” I called through my
mind. “ARES!” He didn’t answer, instead, it just felt fuzzy, like there was a barrier in my mind. It was
like he was there… but behind a cloud, so I couldn’t talk to him or shift.
Fuck.
I tried to link the warriors behind me, but I couldn’t do that either.
“What the fuck have you done to me,” I growled.
“Just a simple spell, my dear. It has just knocked Ares out until the Rogue King marks his Queen. We
can’t have you stopping him, destiny relies on him making her his Queen.”
“Destiny requires him to forcibly mark her? To bite her over our existing marks?”
“Yes, my dear.”
“If that is the future, I want no part of it. I’d die before I let him hurt Ava.”
I walked backwards out of the camp, my eyes never leaving the witches until I found the warriors
behind me. “Kill them all,” I growled, making sure all the warriors could hear me. One by one they
bowed, and sprinted into the witches’ camp.
I sat on a fallen log just outside the witches’ camp, trying to talk to Ares, but nothing. After ten
minutes of trying, I thought I felt him moving around, like he was pushing from the other side of the
barrier, but neither of us could break through it.
“Ares, keep pushing, please,” I begged. I hated not being able to hear him.
I assumed this is just one of the many trials and obstacles I’d face, but what the fuck am I meant to do
without my wolf?
All the while, time was ticking, and the storm was getting stronger as the sun set. There couldn’t have
been much more than three hours to go, and yet I was stuck.
“Fuck,” I growled out loud. I sat and concentrated, trying to use my powers without Ares. I created a
few sparks, but that was it. No barriers, weapons, or clothes. I was defenceless.
I’m Ava’s destined protector, and I couldn’t even protect myself.