Chapter 87 The Second Phase of the Alignment

(Alpha Luciana Hemming of Midnight Moon POV)

The Rogue Lord's fortress can be see from our territory and every day as the Autumn Equinox nears, more and more rogues come out of the stone gates of the fortress and situate themselves near our borders. I have heard from Alexander a battalion of rogues already wait at his border. It was a bold move by the Rogue Lord and clearly suggests he, who has suffered defeat in the past, still underestimates the Clan of Wolves.

I was asked to keep watch of any remarkable occurrences noticeable from my territory. So far, during the first phase of the alignment yesterday, there was nothing out of the ordinary. I checked my watch. The second phase is about to happen in 10 minutes. I grab my binoculars and put on my jacket. There was already a chill in the air. I didn't notice the season was changing until I had to bring out a blanket to cover myself while I sleep.

My Beta was already at the watch tower waiting for me. He has been pretty anxious knowing a war was about to start. We were the nearest pack to the fortress of the Rogue Army which would mean we would be first to suffer from any attack. However, the plan was to bring the fight to the fortress. While many of the wolves of the Rogue Army were already situated at the outskirts of each of the territories they have been designated to attack, wolves from the packs allied with the Clan of Wolves from all over the country were already scattered around the fortress, surrounding it. We were informed the numbers of the wolves inside the fortress grow less day by day while our army grew day by day around them.

"Tomorrow is the day." My Beta says.

"Yep. Tomorrow is the day. All our soldiers ready?" I look at my watch. A minute to go.

"Yes, Alpha. We have already designated them to their areas." My Beta nods his head.

"Have you told them not to drink water from the stream?" Alexander informed us The Rogue Lord had poisoned the water with wolfsbane. Just like him, we brought tankers of water into the terrritory and added our own water filtration system.

"Yes, Alpha. All of them have been informed to not drink water anywhere else but here. There are already water supplies brought in by the wolves of the packs who have flown in."

"Good." I look up into the sky and see the planets in alignment. How could something so beautiful bring havoc to our world? I sigh. The irony of life.

"Alpha, a light is coming from the planetary alignment. It is faint, but it seems to shine directly to The Rogue Lord's Fortress." My Beta points. I look through my binoculars to have a closer look.

"I see it." A light from Jupiter was beaming straight to the black fortress. Suddenly, the light was gone and a cloud of dust emerged from the top of the fortress.  I look at my watch. The light lasted only for a minute.

"What do you think has happened at the fortress?" My Beta asks me, thoughtfully.

"I don't know, but it isn't good. Call our Gamma and ask him what he saw." My Beta pulls out his phone. If there was anyone with answers, it would be him. He was at the edge of the territory of the fortress with the other wolves and if we saw it from here, they must have seen something there. He was about to call when his phone started to ring instead. He showed me his phone, it was our Gamma.

"I was just about to call you. What happened?" My Beta nods his head, listening intently. "I see. If you see anything else, update us. Bye." He hangs up and turns to me. "Alpha, the light, it caused an explosion of some kind at the fortress. It wasn't life-threatening, but it was strong enough to knock wolves down near the vicinity."

"That doesn't sound good at all." One way to break out of prison is if you use a bomb or make some kind of explosion for the walls to crumble down. "We'll have to brace ourselves for any kind of explosion during the final phase. Hope is suppose to enter the fortress tomorrow. She'll get hurt if she is near to the source. I have to tell Alexander to make a contingency plan.

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(The Butler/ The Great Shadow POV)

When the light touched the black stone, an explosion happened, knocking everyone to the ground.

"What was that?" The Rogue King asked me, irritated. He was also thrown off from his throne.

"A preview of the great power the black stone possesses, Sire. Tomorrow, at the final stage of the alignment, you will become the strongest being to ever walk on earth. No one will be able to stop you." I said , hoping the promise of great power would distract him. I check on The Black Stone and I see a crack. The capsule that held The Being has weakened. I smile. Tomorrow, it will split into pieces, releasing The Being who will then merge with The Rogue Lord. Everything is going as planned except for the surrender of the daughter of Adella. She is a constant thorn on my side.

What I needed to do was speed things up a bit with an ultimatum. Tomorrow, I will make sure the daughter of Adella arrives at the gates of the fortress before the final phase begins.

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(Arthur POV)

I have always found hamsters and guinea pigs such astounding creatures. I had a floor in my building made into a habitat for a number of hamsters. They are usually solitary by nature and for them a corner of their own is good enough for each of them.

I've trained them to run an obstacle course, to come when they are called and to follow a slice of an apple. They are quick and eager to learn. I look around their habitat seeing some of them playing on their own. I call all of them to come to me and one by one they come to kiss my hand, enter their pet carriers where a treat was waiting for them. Tomorrow, my little friends will be helping me defeat The Rogue Lord. It will be a shame to say goodbye to all of them, however sacrifices have to be made for the greater good.

The second phase of the alignment has past and tomorrow night, the third and final phase of the alignment will occur. I was already informed of the blast which happened at the Rogue Lord's fortress. Tomorrow will be much worse.

I called Hope to make sure she was ready for tomorrow. She said she has taken all necessary precautions regarding her surrender. She also said she had brought with her the son of Amelie, the man with the silver eyes.

Jacques was as special as Hope. He is living proof two weres can mate. I first caught his scent when he was just a little boy. Amelie tried very hard to mask his scent when they were in France living in a villa situated beside the Mediterranean Sea, hoping the sea breeze would help mask his scent. Unfortunately, even at a young age, his scent was very powerful, so she decided she would bring him to New York, far away from those who were chasing him and to create a strong enough scent in her laboratory just for him. She was successful in doing so and has kept the boy hidden all these years.

Maximus' phone starts to ring. The Butler must want another update. I pick up the phone and answer it.

"The Rogue Lord is giving an ultimatum. If the daughter of Adella does not appear at our gates 15 minutes before the final phase of the planetary alighment, Crescent Moon will burn. Good day." He hung up. The Butler seemed to be in a hurry.  Usually our conversations were more than just a measley message. I was starting to actually like the conversations I had with the Butler, however snide and abrupt they were.

Don't worry, Rogue Lord. Hope will come see you at your home...bearing you with gifts.

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(Jaques POV)

Alpha Alexander's friend was taking me to the temporary werebear village at the edge of Dark Moon Territory. I admit, I found his behavior when we met a little odd, with all the kneeling and the bowing. I didn't know how to react because I have never had anyone kneel before me.  I was a bit grateful when Alpha Alexander asked Yuri why he was acting in such a way. When Yuri though said the word deity, I knew he was mistaken. I am just a regular wolf born from an Alpha mother and a father who could not shift.

As we approached the village, I saw the tops of what seemed to be small prefabricated homes. They were all lined up beside each other about ten prefabs per row. Beside the prefabs were a mess hall, a recreation room, a small gym and a training center to keep the bears in shape while they wait for the war to begin.

The jeep stopped beside the mess hall and Alpha Alexander, Hope and Yuri exit the jeep. I was sitting there, trying to summon the courage to get out and meet the bears. Hope walked to my side of the jeep knowing how I felt.

"Jacques, I know this is all really hard to digest. I felt the same way when I found out who I am and who my mother was. Can you believe I shifted in a restaurant my first time without anyone telling me I was a wolf? It was pretty embarrassing." Hope laughed.

"I have never shifted. I am like my father. A wolf who has never shifted."

"Are you sure Jacques? Wouldn't you want to find some answers about who you are? All you know is what you remember as a child. Come, let's get some answers. Don't worry, I will be with you. I promise." I look at Hope and saw the sincerity of her words in her eyes. Meré told me Hope was raised by humans and lived a normal human life until she met Alexander. Then her life  changed. Now she is Alpha, High Priestess, Luna and CEO.

"You're right. I need answers and if I can find them here then, so be it." I jump out of the jeep and walk with Hope to where her mate and Yuri were seated. They were talking to an older gentleman and lady who were both shaking their heads at Yuri.

Yuri pounded his fist on the table and pointed at me. At first, their eyes widened with disbelief then the started nodding their heads. When I reached the table, the elderly couple bowed theirs heads low and uttered, "Argenti Unus Lucus."

All around me the people in the village stopped what they were doing and bowed. I didn't know how to make them stop. The elderly couple then straightened themselves and the elderly woman took my hand. She put my hand on her cheek and closed her eyes and when she opened them, her eyes had turned black. "We have waited for you for many years. Your coming is a sign the gods and goddesses bless us. Come. You have questions that seek answers. I will help you."

She takes me to one of the prefabricated houses which was set up as a ceremonial ritual room. She made me sit in the middle.

"High Priestess Hope, I need you to stay here. You are a powerful conduit and the answers he seeks require strong magic." Hope nods her head and sits on the floor in front of me, her hands resting on her knees with her palms up. "Put your hands on top of mine. I have the gift of hindsight and foresight. I will help you." Hope whispers.

I place my hands on top of hers. The elderly woman places two flat coins on the back of my hands. She starts chanting something and blows flower scented smoke into our faces. Hope closes her eyes. I follow suit and close my eyes, not knowing what to do. I focus on the words of the elderly woman and start to feel sleepy. My body felt heavy and I could not move arms.

I was suddenly transported back in time. I saw the beings from the Planet Aura. A woman and man were saying their goodbyes. The woman with the golden eyes mated with a wolf while the man with silver eyes mated with a bear.

I was then navigated to a happy couple who were expecting a baby. They were clearly in love.They lived in a cabin hidden up in the mountains and spoke French. The woman then gave birth to a baby boy. Everything was fine and they lived in peace away from the hassles of the world. But on the boy's sixth birthday, wolves came barging into the cabin, murdering the woman and the man. They were looking for something, but wasn't able to find it in the cabin. An old woman took hold of the boy and imprisoned him. In a dark and cold prison, the little boy grew up to be my father!

On his 18th birthday, while he sat on the floor of his cell, he shifted for the first time. He was a werebear! He broke out of his prison, killing the old woman in the process, My father, who was on the run and in need of shelter from the cold, met my mother and they fell in love.

I was jolted back to consciousness and took my hands off Hope.

"I don't understand. Am I a wolf or a bear?"

"You are both. However, your mother was already being poisoned when she had you, which made her and her wolf weak. The stronger "were" took over the weak. Thus, you are bear with special wolf abilities." Hope answered me confirming my suspicions my mother was being poisoned by my uncle.

It made me so angry.

"Jacques, it is time." The voice in my head tells me. Time for what?