Chapter 78 The Companion

(Hope POV)

"Moon Goddess, I brought with me George. He has the essence of The Great Shadow inside him and I need your help to cure him." I would ask more questions about The Being later. First I need to help George so Alexander and him can go back to their bodies ahead of me.

The Moon Goddess smiles at us and moves forward to place a hand on George's head. Black smoke rises from him and forms a small ball above his head. The Moon Goddess takes the ball in her hands and envelopes it with her bright light, the light consuming the darkness until it was no more.

I saw Alexander open his mouth to ask something, but the Moon Goodess put her hands on both him and George and they were sent back to their bodies.

"Now, Hope, what are the questions you need answered."

"What do you mean, Moon Goddess, when you said we need to destroy the vessel?"

"Pierce the heart with the spear of The Ring." She answered.

"And where is this spear you speak of, my Goddess?"

"The rings of the Priestesses of The Circle will form the spear."

"Moon Goddess, you are able to defeat the evil, why can you not just envelop the evil with your bright light?"

"I can remove the essence yes, however I can not take a life. Their earthly bodies have vanished, but they still live."

"I have taken many lives, Moon Goddess. Does that make me evil?" I ask her, remorseful.

"You saved them, Hope. They are now at peace. Now go. Your mate is at a panic you are not awake. Blessed be." She puts a hand on my head and I float back to my body.

"Hope, wake up." I open my eyes and I look up to see a scared Alexander looking down at me. He lifts me and hugs me. "I thought something happened to you." He sounded relieved.

"I needed a few more answers in private." I look around and see George has some color back in his cheeks. "George looks better." Alexander helps me up. His phone starts to ring.

"Where are you now?" Alexander asks the person he was speaking to. "Good. We will be there as soon as the helicopter can fly." He hangs up. "We fly to Seattle tomorrow morning. Let's bring George to the hospital now and check on the others." Alexander walks out of the communing room to have David prepare the car. I walk over to Grace and George.

"Grace, we need to bring George to the hospital for a check-up while we go check on the others. I'll be leaving tomorrow for Seattle. I need you to make sure the rest of the pack have their implants taken out." Grace nods her head.

"Alpha Hope, can anyone join your pack?" George asks.

"Yes, just as long as they agree to peace."

"There's a young girl at the fortress who I take care of as my ward. Without me there, she will be tortured and raped. I left her a phone and some money so she could escape if ever I don't come back during a certain time." George explains.

"Oh my gosh. Here Dad, call her." Grace hands him her phone. He dials and waits.

"Lucy, thank Goddess, you are ok. Where are you?" George listens intently. "Ok, I'm going to have someone get you." He hangs up.

"She's at the edge of the Hemming territory. She's been moving around because she thinks someone is following her." George tells me.

"What does she look like?" I ask him.

"Like Grace, when she had her curly hair."

"What is something only the both of you know? Like favorite food, a gift you might have given her. Specific. So we know it's her."

"She has a diamond. I gave it to her. Inside a wooden box with tissue." He tells me. I take out my phone to call Leia. She answers right away.

" Leia, there's a young girl at the edge of your territory. Her name is Lucy. She has a small diamond in a wooden box. If you find that on her, it's the young girl I'm looking for. Bring her to safety. The Rogue Lord is looking for her." I tell Leia.

"I know of a Lucy. Curly brown hair?" Leia asks me.

"Yes, that's her."

"She was the ward of Master Red. What has happened?"

"Master Red was possessed by the Great Shadow of Ula. He is now here, however the Shadow escaped." I explain.

"The Being has made it possible for him to actually possess wolves." Leia said thoughtfully.

"Once you find the girl, remove the tracker from her hip and fly to Seattle with her as soon as possible."

"Yes, High Priestess. I will call once I find Lucy and make the necessary arrangements."

David motions to us that we need to leave. I help George up, but he waves his hand and says he's fine. He just needs to rest.

At the hospital, Dr. Frances that all of the implants of the first group are out and they will start with the second group early in the morning. She scans George and sees his implant was still in his hip. She tells us he should spend the night at the hospital so the implant can be removed early in the morning. Grace calls her mother so she can assist him here in the hospital while she tends to her work as Beta when I leave for Seattle.

My phone starts ringing and I exit the hospital so I can take the call.

"Leia, did you find her?"

"Yes, High Priestess. Fortunately in time. They had quite a number of rogues on their tail. Luciana is really angry the rogues were near our territory without even a warning from her guards. She's grateful you called." Leia conveys Luciana's thanks.

"They?" I was surprised she used they instead of she.

"Lucy is not alone. She has a companion with her, someone I don't know if I could trust, however Lucy vouches for her companion. Has Master Red mentioned any other ally of his in The Rogue Army?"

"No, just the young girl Lucy. I am outside the hospital where he is currently admitted. I could ask him. Who is the young girl's companion, Leia?"

"The Beta of The Rogue Lord." She answers.


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(Alexander POV)

It was first light and we were waiting for the helicopter to transport us to Seattle.

Hope was on her phone the whole time we were at the hospital last night. She made arrangements for Leia and a few other people to meet us in Seattle.

I decided we could have a late night snack at the diner, just me and her so, we could talk. Hope's eyes lighted up when she heard apple pie, so I knew I could brighten her spirits before we fly to Seattle.

I told David and some of my men to bring home the ones discharged from the hospital and promised Grace and her family some food from the diner. We walked under the stars, our arms locked in each other's, thankful for a moment alone.

Hope ordered so much food and when I looked at her, she shrugged and said she was hungry.

"Leia will be meeting us in Seattle?"

"Yes. With George's ward and a companion of hers."

" Who is this companion?"

"The Beta of The Rogue Lord. Seems he has deflected." She says nonchalantly.

"Wait. You saw how ruthless The Rogue Lord's Gamma was, now we're going to meet the BETA?!" I couldn't believe Hope could trust him.

"Leia has him subdued because she herself can't trust him. I was going to ask Master Red, I mean George," she corrected herself, "if we could trust the Beta, but he was already asleep. He's dead tired. Poor man. Anyway, Grace will ask her father and will call me once she has his answer." Hope shakes her head in pity.

"Good thing you told me. I'm bringing some men and I'll have Mark go on high alert. This could be all a plan to help Berkeley." I tell her.

After I told Mark the new developments over a phone call  he told me he had picked up Yuri before they landed in Seattle. He had a feeling there was more to this and after hearing me tell him the Beta of The Rogue Lord came to us so willingly, he was right.

I see the helicopter over the horizon. Moon Goddess, I beg you, keep us safe.

We arrived in Seattle and landed on the helipad of my building. Mark and Oliver were already waiting for us at the entrance to the building, ready to give me an update. The helicopter flies off again to pick up Leia and her companions at the airport.

Berkeley was in one of the rooms downstairs with Yuri while his bodyguards were left with Alarick. Alarick wanted to play host and see what information he could get from them. He'll call if he gets any information worth sharing.

Maria and Ava were waiting in my penthouse. The intercom rings, Mark picks it up.

"Yuri says Berkeley isn't talking." Mark hangs up the intercom.

"I'll deal with him later." I tell Mark. "All of us need to be at the helipad. We have another infamous guest arriving. Is his cell ready?"

"Yes, Alpha. The basement prison is ready." David answers.

"Make sure Berkeley's scent can not be traced. Spray a scent in the elevators and hallways. If this is a rescue mission for Berkeley, we have to make it seem Berkeley is not in this building until we need to give him to the High Elder." David nods and exits my suite to make sure Berkeley's scent is masked.

"I see the helicopter. They are here." Hope says as she puts her phone in her pocket. She was talking to Grace.

"Come on. Let's welcome our new guests." We all leave the suite to go to the helipad.

While waiting for the helicopter to land, Hope waves her hand to cast a protection charm over the building.

Leia comes out first, all smiles. She is followed by a teenaged girl with curly brown hair and a huge tall man who looked like the Juggernaut. Goddess, why make them so big!

"The Beta of the Rogue Lord is here?! High Priestess, make sure to be ready with your lightning." Maria warns. I look up and the sky was beginning to darken. Hope was already preparing the elements as a precaution.

Leia takes the hand of Hope and kisses it. "High Priestess, I would like to introduce you to Lucy and this is Max, Beta of The Rogue Lord." She looks at Max. "Go on. Tell her." He walks up to us and bows his head.

"Daughter of Adella," His voice was actually soft for a huge man, " I heard The Butler tell The Rogue Lord you would adopt wolves into your pack. Give them a home, a community, and fair treatment. You may not want to adopt me, but I beg you to take my daughter." He kneels down in front of Hope. Even on his knees, he was still big.

"Lucy, she is your daughter?" Hope asks.

"Yes. She is soon to come of age and will be in heat soon after and the men of the army will take their turns with her. I can not, as a father, stand by and let this happen."

"What about the other women who were raped by your army?" Maria asked him.

"I tried to stop as many as I could. Even the woman who bore Lucy, I wooed her even if she was our captive."

"Where is her mother now?" Hope asks.

"She is a servant of The Rogue Lord." He answers.

"All the information checks out. I just spoke to Master Red. You are the one who provides him information. In return, he takes care of your daughter." Hope puts a hand on his shoulder. "I would like the same arrangement."

"What do you mean?" Max asks.

"I want information." Hope tells him.