Chapter 125 Mistaken

(Alpha Bailey POV)

"The woman with the golden eyes...she is here." I tell my Beta as the lightning clapped and the thunder rumbled. He looked at me with utter confusion.

"Alpha, but my men, they have just called to inform me they are giving chase to the woman with the golden eyes. She is with the bear named Jacques in a car heading to our territory as we speak." Now it was my turn to look confused.

"How can that be? She is the only one who can bend the elements at will. And as you can see," I point to the horizon, "the storm clouds are hovering at our territory alone." Unless she had the ability to bend the elements even from great distances. Well, if lightning strikes my mansion, the lightning will be conducted from the lightning rod on the top of the roof to the metal poles on the side of house that lead to the silver cells below where her friends are now imprisoned. If that were to happen, they will die by her hands.

My Beta's phone suddenly starts ringing. "It is the Delta, Alpha." He answers it while I wonder what is was this time. I had ordered him to keep an eye on the cave which in my opinion is the easiest among all the tasks I had ordered the other wolves to do today.

"Alpha, the bears! They have escaped!"

"WHAT?!"

"I said the bears have-..." I wave my hand in front of his face to silence him. Why am I surrounded by imbeciles?!

"I heard you the first time. How did they escape? Copper has always been deadly to bears. The old man with the silver eyes is proof of that."

"The Delta said the old man with the silver eyes is being carried by another old man wearing oversized trousers and a jacket. The old man wearing the oversized trousers, he is the one conjuring the storm. He has killed many of our wolves and they are now walking through the field. I will go and help our men." My Beta bows and leaves while I went upstairs to my bedroom window where I had a clear view of the fields. Lightning clapped and I saw the wolves of my pack fall to the ground as they sprinted towards the two men hobbling across the field.

All this while, Maximus was a disguise?! Everyone who was a wolf knew he was The Rogue Lord's Beta, big, ruthless and cunning. He was adopted by the Rogue Lord when he was still a small boy and the Rogue Lord himself poured everything which was dark and unholy in his young ward.

When we first heard about the death of the Rogue Lord, Maximus was gaining a name for himself here in France. He said he had fled from the daughter of Adella and decided it would be nice to grow some roots in Southern France. His Beta, Fang, followed him wherever he went. If Fang was around, surely Maximus was there somewhere. So when I saw Fang outside my shop, flaunting his silver eyes at me, I assumed Maximus was also a bear. He definitely had the stink of one.

And now it turns out he is an old man with great powers. Priestesses, mages, and witches were few. How was he able to hide all this while?

"*Look at the family tree of the bloodline of Lupa. You will find your answer there*," the voice echoed inside my room. I walked to my desk at the corner of my room and flipped through the parchment I had so painstakingly acquired to find a connection between the silver eyed bears and the golden eyed wolves.

I started from the bottom where a single name Stella was printed, born from the priestess Adella. Adella was the pup of a she-wolf Victoria, while Victoria was the offspring of Camilla who shared a slot with a male wolf named Arthur. Twins? I rummaged through all the papers with information on the Lupa's I had on my desk, quickly searching for anything regarding Arthur. There was nothing I could find. It was as if he did not exist.

I walk to my closet and took out the black velvet box of the ring I was given by my grandmother. She had said the man who had trained here left  it and said it would serve its purpose when the time was right. On the Harvest Moon of the Autumn Equinox three years ago, the ring had started to shake inside the box. When I opened it, the onyx gem of the ring casted an eerie dark shadow upon my room. That was the night when the voice started speaking to me.

I opened the box and the onyx ring let out the shadow that encased it. "Who is Arthur?" I asked, wondering if the shadow had answers.

*"He is the former High Elder of The Clan of Wolves. He had faked his death to aid the daughter of Adella."*

"The former High Elder? The one who once upon a time had made the Rogue Lord retreat?" He had been hiding in plain sight all this time. He must have trained Adella and had done the same to Stella, hiding her while the Rogue Lord searched for her.

"*Yes. He has suppressed his power all these years. One male, one female together forms a complete bond."

"So you are telling me, I have no chance against them? That all of this was for nothing? Why would you put me and my pack in harm's way? Why would you allow your fellow Ula to die?"  I knew I shouldn't have listened to this shadow. He had brought great peril to my pack!

I felt the earth move and I had thought Arthur had conjured an earthquake. I walk back to the window and I see the wind howling and all my fellow wolves running away from the territory. What was happening?! I left my room to look from the front balcony of my mansion. My eyes widened in terror. A huge tornado was coming my way. I ran back inside my room and gathered all my valuables. I will hide in the dungeons with the rest of the prisoners until this was all over.

"*Wear the ring. We together, one male and one female will be enough to take down the Lupas. Once you wear the ring, you will feel an instant surge of power you have never felt before.*"

"How can I trust you? You only brought destruction to my pack. Not once did you inform me of Arthur."

"*I could not see. You have never touched him until today."

I looked at the ring. I was to blame for all of this. I wanted power. I wanted the world free of bears. I was mistaken to have ever listened to this voice. It was a curse!

"*Wear the ring, Alpha Bailey. It is the only way to save your pack*!" The voice boomed, urging me to wear the ring. I just wanted to throw it out into the tornado so I wouldn't have to see it ever again.

I sighed. I had to do something though. If I became powerful like the voice had said, maybe I could stop the tornado in its path and save whatever I could.

Merde! I took the ring from its box and put it on. It instantly tightened around my finger and turned flaming red and hot to the touch. I screamed in agony, holding my hand as the ring sizzled. It had burned itself into my flesh. The only way to take it off was to cut off my finger.

A black fluid started flowing out from the ring. It went up my arms, down to the other parts of my body, then in my nose, mouth, ears and eyes. I blacked out and when I wake, I was trapped inside a transparent bubble.

"Oh Bailey, you are such a gullible wolf. Generations of Ula's give you their thanks. Now, it is time to destroy the remaining golden-eyed wolves. This world is now ours for the taking. Everyone shall bow to us!"

My voice sounded sinister and malicious. It didn't sound like me.

I started to laugh, but the laugh was not mine.

I wasn't me anymore. I was something else.

I was now just a mere spectator. I have been such a fool!

"It is time for them to see true power." My body walked to the balcony and raised its arms.

Balls of fire descended from the sky, making everything around us burn.

________________

(Amelie POV)

"Can't you fly faster?" I scolded the pilot. The helicopter ride was suppose to only take 45 minutes, but time was not on my side today. I had to get to Lune Sacrée as fast as possible.

I was praying Alarick would get there in time. The ancestry of Ula had a long line of dark priestesses and mages and I had a theory, all of them had left a bit of themselves to purge this world when the time was right.

I had come across the story of the black ring. I had asked Maria if she knew of it and she nodded her head, but she also said it was lost.

Maria said the ring was borne from all the envy and hatred the Ula's had for the wolves with the golden eyes. When it was casted by the brother of the young priestess who was part of the Lupa's Circle of the Ring, he poured in all his hatred inside it, jealous of his sister for sitting with the golden-eyed wolves. He had wanted to be chosen, being as powerful as his sister, but the Lupa's only wanted Priestesses, a symbol of the fertility of the Moon Goddess. It was believed the brother left his mark on the ring and passed it down to his kin who showed an ability to wield magic. They too had placed their mark on the ring, pouring their hatred for bears and humans alike.

I have been blind to all of this and now my family is in great peril! They had the last of the golden-eyed wolves in their grasp. If Arthur couldn't survive this, I fear Hope will not be able to either, given the condition she is in. I had seen Adella's power wane when she was pregnant. It could be possible for Hope as well.

"Madame, we are near however, everything looks like it's burning." Merde! Smoke was billowing in the sky! I squinted my eyes and I saw tiny balls of fire falling from the sky.

"Land at the airport. It is not safe in the sky. I will find a car to take me to my destination." I needed to call Alarick, but if he is in the air, his phone will be of no use.

We land at the airport near the hangar where the private plane of Alexander was parked. In the hangar was a car. My luck!  I saw Ava and Mark and told them what has happened.

"I'm coming with you Amelie." Mark growled.

"No, we need a pilot for the plane so we can leave straight away."

"Ava can do that." Ava nodded her head.

"No, who will help Ava if something would to happen to her?"

"But-" I knew Mark would not back down on the issue, but I needed him here.

"Mark, we need you here. Make sure the plane is ready to leave." He reluctantly nodded his head and I saw the worry in his eyes. We all shared the same feeling.

Another helicopter landed as I was about to take my leave. Alarick came rushing out. Good, we could drive together. Moon Goddess thank you!

"There are balls of fire and rain falling from the sky and a huge tornado tearing down that territory. So we decided to make a detour here. Good thing we did!" He showed me the object in his hand. "I got the spear." He slides inside the passenger seat of the tiny car. "Is this the only car available?"

"Yes, my love. Now hold on. We need to go as fast as we can." I step on the gas and speed out of the airport, rain following our path.