Chapter 35

Laura’s POV

In an already clean house, one can only do so much cleaning. My world was all over the place. My mother might have been pleased with me for once, but I couldn’t find my husband. I hadn’t seen him since that morning. I had only just been able to wangle him back under my control this time; there was no guarantee I’ll be able to do it again. He is so strong-willed; it was kind of scary. If he found out I lied, that I had spelled him into loving me, being with me and protecting me, I don’t even want to think what he would consider doing.

No one had approached me all day, not since Mason earlier this morning. He had left in such a mood, but that was nothing new. I had to focus on gaining control of Michael and Mason. When he struck me, it only proved I was slipping majorly. If I didn’t gather my family back in and get back to the level of control I had before, I would surely lose it all.

Frantically pacing the kitchen, trying to keep my mind busy, was when my phone rang, and it was a withheld number. I hardly ever had phone calls from people I did not know, as I refused to give my number out, meaning this was my mother or one of her people; I would bet my life on it.

“Hello,” I tentatively answer, waiting to hear the voice that replied.

“Laura”, my mother spoke my name, and my heart slammed into my chest. I never knew If she would be fuming at me or not.

“Mother, what do I owe the pleasure,” I asked, with a pain suddenly pounding in my head.

“You will be pleased to know we are going to move forward with your idea of the fallen exalted, Beth is held up right now, but she will be on her way back to us shortly” she paused; I heard her taking a drag on her cigarette and puffing out the smoke “She informs me that with her power and the blood of the willing, she will be able to open the portal to the spirit plane.”

“That sounds great, mother; I’m so glad I was able to provide the information for you”, I answered honestly.

“Good, good, well, we were thinking, seeing as it was your idea, that maybe you would want to be the willing blood giver”, she replied, and I could hear the smile in her voice. I knew that if I refused, my life would not be worth living. I had no real choice, but I didn’t want to do this.

“Oh, you don’t need to bestow this honour on me, mother, I’m sure there is a much worthier person, plus I’m having to re-establish my control over the Alpha here” I hoped this would be enough to dissuade my mother from using me as her blood bag.

“Oh, pish posh Laura. Once we have the Fallen on our side, you will not need to fake a life there anymore. We will gain control of the Winter Moon pack completely” she blew my work off like it was nothing.

“But”, I began to say but stopped myself quickly but not quickly enough.

“But what, Laura, are you seriously going to try to tell me you like your life there, that you love your fake mate? That is just laughable,” she sneered at me “You will do this, Laura, and if you survive the spell, then you can pick a new partner, one from our pack. Do I make myself clear” she orders me, and I knew I had no choice, none at all.

“Yes, mother, I understand”, I mumbled back.

“Good, now be ready. Beth will be picking you up shortly after she has finished up what she is doing,” she instructed me, and my stomach sank; this may be the last time I see this place, and I couldn’t do a thing about it. This was only a job, after all. It’s my fault for growing attached; I was warned not to, that it would only lead to me getting hurt. The sad truth is, I was already hurt and could never say a word about it, or I would be punished for that too. This pain was mine to bear and mine alone.

“Yes, mother, I’ll be ready.”

Alune’s POV

I loved this plane; it was so alive, so vibrant and being able to experience it once again and be in complete control was the best feeling in the world. I had a job to do, but a little fun first wouldn’t hurt, would it?

Ayla had a fantastic body, even though she couldn’t see it herself. Loads of males looked at her, and I could tell they wanted to have some fun with her; I intended to have that fun too. This body craves its mates; I will admit they were pretty things.

“Now, where do I start?” I spoke out loud. First, I had to find those Chase boys; second, I had to decide whom I would claim first.

Suddenly I had an overwhelming feeling to leave them alone, mixed with longing and fear. Being connected to my host’s soul may grant her powers and use of her body, but she can still inflict me with her emotions, not those I control; it wasn’t very pleasant at times.

“I get it you don’t want me touching your precious men, fine I’ll go play with others then”, I laughed, followed by a feeling of sheer horror and repulsion.

“You are never happy, are you” I scowled. I couldn’t enjoy myself if she kept flooding me with these feelings.

Walking through the expansive grounds of this pack house, I felt free for once in my long miserable life. I kept getting called upon by different planes to do different tasks, this one was by far my favourite place to reside, but I wasn’t often called here. It’s been ages since any of my kin had been called to help this plane. So I guess if I wanted to keep coming here, I better seek the reason for my summoning.

Closing my eyes, I reach out into the nether, it was all around us, but mortals could not see it or touch it unless they were granted the use of magic, and not many could. I had only come across the elf and the other magic-using bitch; it seems to be less and less with the ability each time I come here.

Slowing my breathing to almost nothing, I feel the sparks that tell me something isn’t right. I didn’t have to search for long. The whole place was littered with evidence of misuse and neglect.

I couldn’t believe what the mortals had done to this plane, all for greed, but nothing had been gained. This girl had been through so much pain surrounding her, so much grief. I had to fix this, but where to begin?

Coming back out of the nether, I saw the false Mate of the Alpha walking across the gravel; a car was pulling up, and she got in as soon as it slowed. Looking closer, I saw her companion was an older woman, serious looking and surrounded by blackness. She was the dark magic user. She was one of the reasons this plane was suffering.

There was no way anything good would come from those two meeting up. I had to keep a close eye on them; otherwise, my job here would become much harder.

Ayla’s wolf Bria was usually very quiet; she didn’t like me and wouldn’t talk to me if she didn’t have to, but tonight, she reached out to me.

“Alune, if you let me shift, we can follow them at a safe distance so that they won’t see us coming”, she informed me; I had to admit it was a good idea.

“Okay, mutt, do your thing but make it quick; they are getting away.

Bria’s POV

Reaching out to the Exalted was not something I wanted to do; I wanted to stay beside Ayla; she was so weak right now. She was lost and scared and hardly there at all. But I knew after seeing the Luna with that woman and seeing what Alune could see herself, I knew I had to step in; something had to be done about her, and we couldn’t miss our chance.

Shifting took me seconds now, Ayla’s body knew what to do, and it didn’t cause her any pain either. Landing on the ground on all four paws felt fantastic; it had been days since I had had a decent run, and I was more than excited to get moving. Bowing my head low and streamlining my body, I sprinted off in the car’s direction, sticking to the woodlands and forest to hide that I was following them. The smell of the car fumes was enough to keep me on the right track.

The night was beautifully clear now; after all the rain we had had that day, my paws splashed down into countless puddles, and it felt blissful.

The car drove for around twenty minutes before turning off. They parked in a well-covered alcove and proceeded on foot. I slowed and followed a few paces behind; I could move silently when I wanted to.

Laura and her friend stopped not long after leaving the car. The other woman chattered on, whereas Laura was quiet; I felt she did not want to be there. Finally, the other woman pointed to the centre of the clearing they had just entered, and Laura made her way over to the spot indicated.

“Laura, I will start the spell, and when I call out to the spirit plane, slash your hand with this Knife”, the other woman instructed her. Laura nodded but looked pale and unsure.

Hearing the spirit plane mentioned set my teeth on edge and made my blood run cold.

“What are you up to, old woman,” I thought to myself.

Magic spilt from the older woman’s outstretched hands towards Laura, whose eyes had sprung wide open. Just as she was told, she slashed her hand when the woman uttered the word spirit plane. Blood and shadows mingled together floating around the Luna in circles.

I watched in horror as I saw the world rip apart and black tendrils crawled out of the gash left by the dark magic. Then, clouds began to gather, obscuring the beautiful clear sky and the stars from my view.

The most unearthly shriek filled the air, and a hideous creature dragged itself through the void created by the dark magic being cast.

“No, I know that cry”, I breathed.

“State your name, oh great one,” the older woman called. The whole time I never took my eyes off the creature crawling through the dark portal. In its clawed hand, it clutched a wolf, my wolf, my Titan; tears filled my eyes, and I wanted to howl. But I couldn’t give myself away. I wouldn’t stand a chance against that thing, not right now, anyway.

“I am the ethereal being, the Exalted, the mighty Leighara, and you will be rewarded for your services in releasing me from my prison. I accept your given host and will grant you my aid” its voice raked its way into my ears; it sounded rough and harsh. No kindest resided in this creature.

“Oh, great one, we are so pleased you are here. We need your gracious help to rid our world of another Exalted and unwanted one and restore it to what it is meant to be, granting us the power to rule the mortal packs as the earth intended.

“My sister is here, I feel her, and I will gladly help you rid this world of her; she is a stain upon this plane and does not deserve what she has. But do not fear my loyal little Mortal. I have something her host wants; this will be easy and take no time, “she hissed with satisfaction.

All the blood drained from my face as I watched the scene unfold in front of me. My mate hung limp in her hand, and he swung from side to side as she stepped towards Laura. She was frozen to the spot, eyes wide and looking terrified. I felt sorry for her, but not enough to rush in and save her. I had to get back to the pack; I had to warm them of what was coming.

Screams erupted from Laura’s mouth as the Fallen merged with her body. She was never intended as a host, so the process was brutal; Leighara shrieked as she forced her way in, dragging Titan in with her. She planned to use his form as well as Laura’s. But, unfortunately, merging a wolf with another was dangerous; more often than not, one or both wolves would die.

Turning away, I needed to leave, but the Fallen began to speak again, stopping me in my tracks.

“I see you, little wolf; I know you host my sister. I will be coming for you, and this plane will be mine,” she laughed through the mouth of the Luna.

My world stood still. She knew I was here. If I didn’t leave now, I wouldn’t stand a chance; no one would.

“That’s it, run along, little one, go and tell your friends what is coming, but next time, I will face my sister one on one; she has something of mine, and I want it back”, she paused. “Oh, and Titan says hi; he has missed you.”

The end