Lena’s POVI felt much better after visiting Annabeth. She explained the meaning of my hallucinations in simple terms, helping me decide. I would definitely go in search of Evelyn, but not tonight. I had to talk to Zephyrus first or he would go crazy searching for me. He was the only one who loved me so deeply! I couldn’t leave him this way! ‘Come to the Headless Range, Lena or you’ll find your mother in a similar state soon!’ Evelyn’s voice floated around me. I ran faster; the wind howling past my ears. I felt disturbed by everything happening to me since the afternoon. Evelyn had gone crazy now! I realized my mother was the one in her custody. She was the daughter of the Moon Goddess Romanov had mentioned. Why hadn’t I thought of it before? I frowned at the last bit of information. Where was the Headless Range? I had never heard of it before. Maybe Zephyrus knew about it. I couldn’t wait to reach home, but there was a lot of distance to cover. Feeling exhausted, I regretted my dec
Zephyrus’ POVI went inside Annabeth’s house, hoping to get some lead on Lena’s whereabouts. Annabeth gestured for me to sit on a couch while she sat opposite. Under the dim light, I saw the bright, highly reflective crystal ball on the table, the size of a grapefruit. I sat down, watching her work on the crystal ball. She lighted two candles on either side of the obsidian crystal ball. With her half-closed eyes, Annabeth placed her hands on the orb, muttering some chants to create a perfect scrying spell. “Follow me,” she whispered, and I did. Soon my mind relaxed, and I entered a spiritually relaxed state. She released the ball and guided me to focus all my energy on the ball. “Who do you want to see?” she whispered, as if in a trance. “Lena.” She breathed deeply and gazed into the crystal ball for minutes, chanting some obscure things to herself. I watched hazy black smoke forming inside the crystal ball. Soon it filled up the entire ball and a hazy image of Lena trudging ahead
Zephyrus’ POV“Air-drop me here, David! Find a suitable place nearby to land. I’ll call you if I need you.” I called out to my pilot. Strapping my rucksack and sword to my body, I was ready to save my mate. David air-dropped me near the entrance of the cave and left. I trudged onto the mouth of the cave to find a blood-soaked Xara lying inside, breathing hard. My heart sank with dread at seeing my mate’s condition. “Xara?” I gasped as a painful howl escaped Zeus’ mouth. Taking out a bottle of water from my rucksack, I rushed to her side and kneeled beside her. “Xara, here, have some water. I’m here to rescue you,” I comforted her, holding the bottle to her snout. She drank all the water and opened her bleary eyes to gaze up at me with surprise. “Zy, how did you find me?” Tears welled up in her eyes with disbelief. My eyes took on the purplish wound on her forehead that had swelled up immensely. I could sense Xara trying to heal herself! “I won’t stop pursuing you, Lenn. I’ll seek
Lena’s POVHe intended to stay by my side despite knowing how hazardous this was! He loved me truly! I had never imagined I could see him again in this life, but he pursued me. He went through shit to find me! I felt a warm surge of emotions course through my mind and heart at his announcement. Maybe it was relief, comfort, trust, or something else. I wasn’t sure. I was pretty bad at understanding these warm emotions I started experiencing ever since I met my mate. Was I warming up towards him? Or was it love?He pulled me away with him and I just tagged along. His presence relaxed me. I knew now we would rescue my mother from Evelyn’s clutches. “We should shift to cover the distance faster,” he suggested, strapping his sword and rucksack to his body. Soon we shifted, and I picked up my clothes with my mouth and dumped them in the rucksack for later use. We hiked through the gray limestone, slate, and sandstone landscape as fast as our legs could carry us. The desolate place looked
Lena’s POVA wave of anger coursed through my body, realizing Evelyn’s intent. After torturing my mother for years, I couldn’t let her harm my mate. They destroyed my family, leaving me an orphan for the last twenty years of my life, but not anymore. I intended to rescue my mother and end Evelyn’s story once and for all. “We’ll kill her instead. None of her minions can stop us.” Zephyrus tightened his hold on my hand and led me away. I knew no one would attack us as long as we were with the humans. The sun was mellowing, and it was getting colder as we left the Lafferty’s Canyon and forged ahead. Once out of the human hiking spot, we shifted into our wolf form to cover as much distance as possible. I matched his speed with ease, but repeatedly, I could sense a shadowy figure stalk us throughout the way. “Can you feel its presence, Zephyrus?” I whispered breathlessly.“Yes. I’m waiting for an opportunity to grab hold of it.” “Do you think the Shadow Wolves are back?” A shudder went
Lena’s POVMy head was spinning from the exhaustion and I couldn’t travel anymore.“Please, can we rest a little, Zephyrus?” He looked at me with concern and turned to Romanov. “Is there anywhere we can take shelter for the night?” “Yes, I’ve found a vacant cave close to the rapids. It’s a popular canoeing spot inhabited by humans. It lies in a restricted area and we can easily take shelter there in the night. Most of these monsters avoid such places.” We negotiated sharp, rugged peaks as he led us to a cave near the gushing rapids. On the leeward side, facing the drier grounds, the place was dry and we could easily rest in the night. Zephyrus arranged some leafy branches on the floor for me to rest on. “I’ll get some trouts for dinner,” said Romanov. “I’ll help him. Don’t go anywhere. We’ll be right back.” I nodded, and Zephyrus left with Romanov to the river outside. I could hear them outside and it comforted me to know they were nearby. I rested my tired body on the makeshift
Lena’s POVLike a true guardian, Ikiaq guided us through the valley, covering as much distance as we could in the broad daylight. The place was the remotest and most uninhabitable region on the entire planet. Throughout our journey, apart from a handful of Dall sheep, caribou, grizzlies, and hawks, we hardly saw much. Maybe it was because of our speed.Urko was the fastest amongst us and we struggled to keep pace with him. Zephyrus, although fast, opted to stay by my side rather than rush. I was thankful for his presence near me. He cared for me in ways that left me flabbergasted. Every step I took, he was there to guide me. “Let’s stop for a drink. Lena’s thirsty,” he announced, totally surprising me. How did he know I was extremely thirsty? We stopped for me near a frozen lake. Zephyrus broke the ice to create a perfect hole for me to drink the water. Everyone lapped up the water greedily, the exhaustion taking a toll on us. We had to run across the uninhabitable territory, avoidin
Lena’s POV“Lena, stop!” Zephyrus’ voice halted me at the mouth of the cave, bringing me out of my trance. He and Ikiaq were beside me in a split second to guide me back to the others. “Where were you off to? Didn’t I tell you to stick to my side?” scolded Zephyrus, nudging me closer. I shuddered at what would have happened to me if I had gone into the cave. “It’s not her fault. Bronco is a master of hypnosis. He might have pulled her towards him,” said Romanov when we reached him.“Yes, I could feel someone beckoning me towards the cave through a mind-link. It wasn’t Evelyn this time.” Zephyrus instantly readied his sacred sword to fight the enemy. “Where’s Bronco? Is he inside the cave? Can you see him?” “He’s a shape-shifting vampire! I can feel him around us, but he can’t appear as long as the sun is still up. These creatures cannot tolerate sunlight,” informed Romanov while I shuddered at his description.“Stay close, Lena. I can feel his presence near me,” whispered Zephyrus.