Getting a letter from Alpha Lucius was the last thing Aaron expected the next day, but it came in the morning. No one knew how it came, as Nigo and Lawrence, the betas on watch, had seen no one drop it and only saw the letter much later into the dawn of the day.
Greeting Alpha of the Dominio Pack, I would use this as a formal announcement since you already know and there is no point in hiding and seeking anymore. We are coming for your blood first, and then your head next. You have these last four days to put all your houses together. Because the cleansing is coming. You had luck taking out my favourite sage girl, but I will attack with a legion of sages, and I would love to see you die trying to take them down. I wish you all the best, but cleansing is a natural order of things, so there are no hard feelings.
Your friend, Lucius
Aaron squeezed the letter after reading it and tossed it to the ground.
The arrival of the retribution pack as well as the presence of Alpha Viktor over the past week fueled the confusion and questions circulating in the pack estate. The people were agitated, and though the words came this morning, Aaron had said nothing about it. They are just as afraid as they were two years ago, if not more, but they have nowhere to go because, unlike two years ago, there is no pack to run to. Nowhere was safe, as far as they knew.
With this letter, there was now no way they could leave the people without former information. They had less than four days to prepare themselves. However, having already known the type of man Lucius was, Aaron couldn’t trust his word. He could very well be at their door tomorrow.
“The retribution pack might no longer see you as a threat, but she’s a sage, and they might still consider her an abomination. Do we not risk Zera’s life by telling them this truth, especially since many do not believe other sages exist?”
“We have no choice; everyone needs to know the truth in order to defend themselves when the time comes.”
He gave words to gather the pack members, and Zera supported this decision. In less than an hour, the pack assembled together, and though little children were kept away from the discussion, teenagers among them and young adults had to come. They needed as much help as they could get at this point.
“This might be the last time we will get to do this; it had come to my attention that there is agitation in the pack because of the rumours circulating.” Aaron began, staring at the faces of the people gathered together in the field. “I wish I could tell you it is nothing to be worried about, but alas, I cannot lie about what is ahead. You all already know the battles and annihilation going on with the other packs, and we are no different as the enemy is coming and we cannot escape. We are not facing werewolves but also sages, as the enemy pack led by Alpha Lucius has raised what he calls the Legion of Sages. And they are not one or two, but more than we can face alone. They already sent their notice, and we should expect their attack in four days. However, men like Lucius are not one to keep to the words, and so we will prepare against them.”
“How can we prepare against them when we cannot take on sages? They are stronger than us. Last we checked.” A gemma by the name of Huluo asked from the back, and heads turned to look at him.
Aaron turned to Zera, and she nodded to him and stepped forward. “That is true; sages were created to maintain balance, but like a wise man once said, the moon goddess is too kind to create beings with such immense power without weaknesses.”
“Are you saying that the sages have weaknesses?” Eluisa, a beta, asked, and her brows narrowed.
Zera nodded. “We discovered this truth over a week ago and wanted to wait for the right time to disclose it; now, however, is the best time to do that. Sages, just like any other supernatural creatures, can die. Just like werewolves to silver, we are vulnerable to gold.”
A murmur went through the crowd of people gathering together, but soon everywhere became quiet. Zera knew they had doubts, just like she had when Quincy told her about it, too. Showing them the truth would be the best explanation.
She pulled off the earrings she had on her left ear. “This is gold. I know werewolves and many other supernatural creatures cannot even have silver close to them, but sages are different. We can hold gold and use it, and that is why you see me holding onto my favourite jewellery gifted to me by Alpha Aaron. However, when weaponized, it is as deadly as silver on a werewolf.”
She tells them, and then, taking the earring, she dug it into her flesh and slashed herself open. It didn’t take over a second for the effect to show. Her skin darkened and became green, then a dark color. She hissed out, unable to hide the pain, and it showed in her eyes as it glowed silver.
Everyone gathered, but the Harts, who already knew the truth, gasped at what they saw. Aaron stepped forward, wrapped his arms around her as a shield, and pulled her away.
Damor stepped forward and said, “We have fortified the estate. We are not guaranteeing a no-casualty-battle, but we are saying we have a chance against the enemy, and we would like you all to join us in this fight.”
“You do not have much of a choice in this case; Alpha Lucius and his army of sages will find you wherever you run,” Ivan said it coldly. “With us, you have a shot at survival.”
Damor continued to speak. “We have dedicated the past week to create weapons of gold in order to fight this war. Miguel and Ivana, along with George, will be in charge of telling you where they are.”
Aaron stared at Zera’s hand, and he looked so worried, despite knowing that she would eventually heal.
“I am fine; I will heal,” she assured him, but it didn’t take away his worry.
“Perhaps you shouldn’t have dug too deep?” He asked, and she chuckled and placed her head on his chest.
“I love you.”
“You never told me of the vulnerability of the sage,” Alpha Kol said, and they pulled apart to stare at him.
“I needed to get you to our side before revealing it, or you would have weaponized it against us, and we weren’t the enemy. Yet, I didn’t think your pack would get attacked last night, or I would have carried it on me.”
“One thing I want more than anything now is to look at this alpha’s face as he breathes his last.” Alpha Kol said and his hand balled in to a hard fist as his face turned red.
“Hopefully, you get to see that soon. For now, I need your help,” Aaron said.
“Name anything you need, and if it is within my power, I will see to it.”