Chapter 78-A Mothers Love

Enyo P.O.V
Earlier in the conference room
As Athena looks down at Mitchell, I can’t help but feel overly protective of this amazing little boy.
Athena looks up to Leon to signal his time with his family is over for now, and he turns to his wife.
‘Athena, maybe we can question him tomorrow. I don’t believe he’s a threat to us anymore,’ I say, but it’s like she doesn’t hear me. ‘Athena?’ I say, but again, I get no response or recognition from her.
“Can’t my daddy come with me, Alpha Athena?” I hear Mitchell ask, and as Athena responds, a wave of nausea washes over us, followed by a coldness I’ve never experienced before.
‘Athena!’ I try to yell, but it feels like I’ve been bound. Like there’s an invisible rope around my snout.
“Why are you blocking me?” I hear Andreas ask.
‘Oh no...’ I gasp.
“I can’t feel your emotions anymore,” he says. The look of concern on his face makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
I feel dizzy as I hear concerned voices around us. I can hear Mitchell crying in the distance, but I feel like I’m in another room, unable to fully understand what’s being said.
I try to speak again, but a dark, cold voice reverberates through our mind.
‘Get rid of the women and child. Kill the rest.’
‘No!’ I try to scream, but all I can do is watch in horror as Athena orders Cassia, Karla, and Mitchell from the room. Once they’ve left, her glare turns to Leon. ‘ATHENA STOP!’ I scream as she stalks towards him.
Leon’s voice sounds garbled as he says something.
“That’s the problem,” Athena snarls, but the voice doesn’t sound like her. It’s as if it’s someone else’s words are coming through her.
I can hear distant shouts as the others in the room try to pull her away from him, but she stands there, holding Leon’s neck, like they’re nothing but flies swatting against her. I howl, trying to break through to her as I feel her hand tighten around Leon’s throat, but it just echoes around me.
Then I hear it. The sickening crunch of his bones as she kills him.
‘ATHENA!’ I try again, as she turns and her gaze lands on our mate.
‘He’s a threat to your power. He’s going to steal it. They’re ALL going to try to steal it. Kill him!’
I try everything to take over, but I can’t get through what feels like an invisible force-field.
‘Ares! You need to stop her!’ I scream through the mate bond, but it just echoes around me.
I whimper as I admit defeat. She’s going to kill our mate. I see Andreas kneel before us, his head down and his neck bared, and I can’t help but cry for everything that our mate has gone through and survived, just to be killed by his mate.
I feel her body tense as she gets ready to attack, but then suddenly, all there is is darkness.
Hours Later
It’s been nothing but an empty void since I woke up. I can only assume that Doc Apollo somehow sedated Athena.
I still can’t reach Athena, Ares, or the pack. The binds that I felt earlier are gone, but it’s like I’m locked in Athena’s mind with no escape.
‘ATHENA! ATHENA, WAKE UP!’ I yell, my voice hoarse from trying to get through to her for so long.
I feel disconnected from her, like our souls are no longer bound together. I lie down with a whimper. I’ve never felt so alone and utterly hopeless.
I think back to the voice from earlier, and it sends shivers through me. There’s only one way to describe it. It sounded like the voice of pure evil.
Is this what happened to the generation before us? Are we starting to turn like they did?
There’s suddenly a low light around me, and I can hear the faint sound of voices. I hear Athena groan, and a glimmer of hope rises inside of me as she seems to start to wake up. But the hope is gone quicker than it came when Athena suddenly has Ryna pinned to the wall, and that voice is suddenly back.
‘Kill him before he kills you!’
The same icy feeling from earlier settles over me as Athena strangles the life from Ryna, and I cry in pain as I realize that once again, I’m rendered useless against whatever is happening.
Athena suddenly releases Ryna though, and her vision becomes blurred. I hope the Doc has sedated her again.
But this time, I don’t fall into the darkness with her.
A warm feeling washes over me as I’m pulled from the darkness into a bright light, a feeling of calm flowing through me as a gentle but powerful voice rings in my ears.
‘You must break through the barrier keeping you apart from Athena,’ the voice says.
I bark with joy as I recognize the voice. ‘But how, Mother? Whatever this is blocking us from each other is powerful.’
‘Your roar, my daughter. You and your roar are the source of Athena’s power. It will break through the barrier and bring you back together,’ the Goddess, Selina says, her voice feeling like a warm embrace. ‘You two were destined to be paired from the very beginning. Only the two of you can save all of my children.’
‘But how? How is any of this possible?’ I ask her.
‘I can’t give you the answers, Enyo. You must work this out on your own. Work as a team and never lose faith in each other. Trust in your mate and those closest to you. They have all come into your lives for a reason. And above all else, have faith that you will find the answers,’ she says.
The glow slowly dissipates, and I’m left alone in the dark once more. But this time, I’m filled with determination. I stand within the confines of Athena’s mind, take a deep breath, and roar. The roar echoes around me, bouncing off this shield keeping me from Athena, so I get low, into an attack position.
My ears pinned back, and my teeth bared, I prepare to attack whatever this is around me. I think of what the Goddess told me, and I close my eyes. I breathe deeply again, focusing on my bond with Athena, with my mate, and with our pack. I let the love for all of them flow through me. I open my eyes, the blue hue of them glowing around the empty void, and roar.