The Mouse and The Wolf - Chapter 64: Chapter 64

-Oliver-
"Is it true?" Rayleigh asked when he and his mate stepped into Arch's room.
The Alpha stared at his son with sadness and excitement dancing across his face. Jaden stood up from the bed he and I had been sitting on, taking a few steps to stand in front of his parents.
"It is true," his mother breathed out.
Rayleigh smiled like only a proud father could, pulling Jaden into a tight hug.
"That's my boy," he whispered. "Your true spirit is waking up..."
"But how?" Jaden asked quietly, hugging his father tightly. "How can I become an Alpha when you're still alive?"
"Alpha's spirit wakes up in the time of need. When the old Alpha dies, or when the pack is in danger," Rayleigh spoke with a suffocated voice, pushing Jaden back so he could take a better look at him. "Lady Moon is giving us the bullets we desperately need."
Jaden's mom snatched her son from her mate and hugged him just as tightly. "I knew this would happen. My baby is all grown up now," she whispered, then stepped away and her happy expression turned into a scowl. "I don't like it – throw it away."
Jaden laughed at her words. "I don't think I can throw my spirit away, Mom."
"But you're my baby!" she gasped and hugged him again. "You weren't supposed to grow up yet!"
"Weren't that exactly what you guys wanted though? For me to become an Alpha?"
"I changed my mind," Thisalee muttered against his shoulder.
"Well, a bit too late for that, I suppose," Jaden chuckled.
"Moon Goddess is planning something," Aurora spoke next to Jack's bed. "Even though it does happen, it's still rare to have the next in line become an Alpha while the old one is still alive."
"She's watching our back," Rayleigh said. "This is the first good news I've had in two days..."
"I heard what you said," Jaden said, pushing his mother gently off him. "The whole town is infested with shadows, and Anthony isn't the only Shadow Walker we're up against."
Rayleigh let out the longest sigh I had ever heard, rubbing his unshaven chin. "We still haven't seen any of them, but we were forced to call back our scouts because of the shadows. There are way too many shadows for a single Shadow Walker to command."
"But if the town is infested..." I muttered, feeling my stomach turning upside down, "What about the kids at the orphanage?"
"Natalie made arrangements to relocate them as soon as we found out about the infestation," Rayleigh said. "They are safe."
"Thank Goodness..." I breathed out. "Where are Natalie and the others now?"
"They're building wards and other protections all around the territory with half of my guardians – they should be back soon," Rayleigh said.
"The battle is upon us. The enemy is ready to attack," Thisalee said quietly. "If not today, tomorrow, and we're... Well..." she added with a sigh.
She didn't have to finish her sentence. We were outnumbered. That information was written all over her soul. She didn't have much faith left.
"How many fathers have had the honor to see their son become an Alpha?" Rayleigh spoke surprisingly softly, staring at his son with a wide smile. "We are the guardians of the Blue Moon, and we will kick their asses out of our land because we are many, and the Moon Goddess stands with us. And I can assure you, she's not happy. She's not happy at all."
His words gave strength to everyone in that room. It was easy to fall in despair when we didn't even know how many enemies we had, where they were, and when they would attack, but I believed in Rayleigh's words. What else could I do?
Besides, Moon Goddess had been protecting us all along, so why would she turn her back on us now? Shadow Walkers were after her and her kind after all. We were only the gatekeepers that my uncle needed to get rid of in order to get what he wanted. If we failed, it would mean the end of the Spirit Realm.
"They already messed up big time," I spoke, and everyone turned to look at me. "Jack was supposed to get Jaden's Echo and possess him. They were supposed to do this nice and quiet without all this fuss and vanish in thin air with the portal before any of you noticed. I'm sure Moon Goddess had her finger in it."
"You are right," Rayleigh said with a nod. "She's not done yet. You don't piss off a goddess and survive to tell the tale."
We all agreed on that, and Rayleigh turned his attention to Arch. "How are you feeling, son?"
"Would do better without this constant nauseousness," Arch breathed out, looking sweaty again.
"And the arm?" Rayleigh asked, sitting down on his bed while Jaden sat down next to Tilly at the other side.
"Aches..." Arch mumbled.
"It'll be over soon. A few more days and you're able to transform, and then this whole thing becomes just a bad memory," Rayleigh told him reassuringly.
"I can't wait," Arch chuckled, looking extremely tired.
Rayleigh smiled at him and turned to look at Tilly, who hadn't left Arch's side. "You two know what happens next, right? Jaden is becoming an Alpha, so it won't take long until you two follow his lead."
"It scares the crap out of me, to be honest," Tilly smirked. "I thought we had much more time until we become real Betas."
"You three will be great leaders one day," Rayleigh said with a proud voice. "But don't worry – I won't be leaving you in charge anytime soon. You guys have been way too cocky and causing too much trouble, so I'll have to make sure you won't ruin my precious pack."
Both Tilly and Arch tried to look as innocent as possible, while the rest of them laughed lightly.
"I'm kidding, of course – you are good kids. I blame myself – there are so many things I should've done differently with you guys. I should've been more supportive and not try to force you to grow up so fast. I should've made sure the pack treated you well and with the respect you deserved. I should've seen your closeness as a strength, not a weakness," Rayleigh spoke with a quiet, apologetical tone. "You deserved more from me."
"You had a pack to build," Jaden muttered, but Rayleigh shook his head.
"I also had children to raise," he said. "That's where I failed."
I could feel his pain and fear. I could see so much regret in him that it hurt me, especially since I knew he was afraid this war would be the end of him, and he didn't have any time left to make things right.
Tilly and Jaden hugged Rayleigh tightly, even pulling Arch up so he could join them.
"You three mean the world to me – I hope you know that," Rayleigh whispered.
I turned to look out of the window, up to the darkening sky, so I wouldn't start crying. I had never prayed before, but at that moment, I did. I prayed Moon Goddess to make sure we all would stay safe and give us everything we needed to defeat our enemy. This pack, these people were all I'd ever had in this world, and it crushed my soul to think that not all of us would make it.
'So please, Moon Goddess... If there is anything you can still do for us, do it now – we need your help.'
Jaden and I were given our own, private room right next to Arch's. Jaden was reluctant to leave his best friend, but Arch himself demanded to have some privacy, so eventually, Jaden followed me into our room. The Hall had a few showers and an actual toilet, so I was happy to take advantage of those both – I didn't miss the outhouse back at the safe house.
Jaden used the shower as well, and after that, we were escorted back to our room. Rayleigh had ordered a couple of his guards to follow us around, and even though they seemed nice and friendly, I was a bit uncomfortable having them watching my every move. Although, I had nothing to complain about after what happened to Arch.
It took me a long while to fall asleep after we curled under the covers. Jaden wasn't having luck with it either, so we spend hours talking about random things. I eventually did fall asleep, but it was soon interrupted.
I groaned quietly when I heard someone calling my name outside the door. Jaden was still breathing heavily, so at least the person who was calling for me hadn't woken him up – he needed the sleep more than I did.
I got out of the bed when I heard them call for me again and walked to the door. I peered outside and saw the guards lying on the ground in their wolf forms, but there was no one else around.
"Oliver..."
It was a woman's voice. I pushed the door wide open, but the guards didn't even blink.
"Guys?" I spoke, but neither of them seemed to notice me. It was then that I realized I was dreaming.
I went back to put more clothes on before I stepped out of the room. The voice was coming from my right, so I started following it. A few seconds later, Jaden appeared by my side in his wolf form.
He barked at me, looking highly confused.
"Let's go see what's going on," I told him and continued walking. We reached the massive front doors of the Hall, and there were a bunch of guards everywhere, but none of them seemed to notice us, so we just walked past them and exited the Hall.
"Oliver..."
I could hear the voice again, but I didn't see anyone standing out. There were people outside, but no one was even looking at me, so I pushed my way through, Jaden following me closely. We walked all the way to the end of the main street, where I heard the voice again.
Jaden started whining lightly, but he still followed when I continued walking towards the voice.
"It's just a dream," I told him reassuringly, and he barked as a reply.
The sun was about to rise when we reached the safe house. I stopped to stare at the quite hut inside the sturdy fence, but the voice wasn't coming from there, so we continued forward.
Soon, Jaden became restless again, and I knew why: we were approaching the catacombs.
"I know... This is getting weird..." I muttered but still continued walking.
And then, we arrived at the Forest of the Dead. The pathway to the tombstone was right in front of us, and the woman's voice was coming from there
Jaden and I exchanged worried looks, but I was too close to back off now. It was a dream anyway, so I stepped onto the path. It was... different. As we walked through the hallway between the trees, I could see glimpses of spirits that lived there. Last time I could only feel them, but now I could actually see them. Some of them came closer when we passed them by, whispering so quietly I couldn't tell what they were saying.
The spirits were making me uncomfortable, but they didn't scare me. All spirits were friends, right? They weren't here to hurt me, right? At least they seemed to mean no harm, and they stayed behind the trees.
And then, we reached the end of the pathway, the great hall formed by trees. The tombstone was there in the middle. I stopped when I saw it.
The woman was there, reading the names on the stone.
"Come closer," she spoke gently without looking at me.
I took a deep breath and did what she asked, stopping to a halt a few feet away from her. Jaden was getting extremely restless now. His body was pressed against my leg, and he was whining almost silently.
"Oliver Attwood..." the woman spoke slowly and turned around.
I felt extremely cold just by looking at her. She was wearing a golden dress that didn't have any sleeves, only thin straps, and it barely reached her knees. She didn't even have shoes on. She was tall, and she had long, long brown hair. She wasn't wearing any make-up, and her age was difficult to determine. Twenty? Forty? Her big, yellow eyes studied me from head to toe, and she had a warm smile on her lips.
"You called," she said, giving me an expecting look.
"I... didn't? You called me?" I stammered.
Her smile grew wider. "I came here to answer your call. It was quite a task to pull you here, but I understand."
"I'm sorry?" I frowned.
"You said you need my help," she said ever so gently.
"I don't even..." I trailed off when something massive clicked in my head. "You are..." I breathed out, but that was all the air I had left in my lungs and I forgot how to take in more.
"I am Selene," she said. "The Goddess of the Moon."
I could only stare at her for a moment. "Okay... All right," I nodded slowly. "I believe you, but this is just a dream."
"No, it's not. You are in the spirit realm," she explained quietly. "It was easier to pull you here while you were asleep, so I understand the confusion."
"But... How is Jaden here then? He can't phase," I asked, trying to stay rational.
"His spirit is linked with yours, so he can follow you," The goddess spoke and turned to look at Jaden. "Your true spirit woke up just in time, little one. We are going to need it to win this war."
"War...?" I repeated, and she turned her attention back to me.
"There is something I need to show you," she said, and suddenly, we weren't standing in the Forest of the Dead anymore. We were standing on a snowy top of the tallest hill that was surrounding the town. I could see everything from where I was standing. The sun was now rising behind us, slowly lighting up the town below us, and the wind was blowing pretty hard around us.
"Look at your home closely," Selene spoke, and I did so, but couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary. It was so odd to see the entire town...
"I can't see anything weird," I told her, and when I turned to look at her, she snapped her fingers. I could see the air rippling a little at the corners of my eyes, but it faded soon.
"Look again," she said, and I turned my gaze towards the town. And my knees gave up.
"No..." I breathed out when I saw hundreds, maybe even thousands of shadows everywhere.
"This is the size of the enemy," Selene said with a cold voice. "Our enemy."
Jaden was completely silent as well as he watched the town. I could feel his horror in my soul.
"You cannot win. Your wards cannot hold them all. Your friends cannot stop them," Selene spoke.
"We need to go back and warn everyone," I said and hurried up on my feet. "We need to go back now!"
"No," Selene said. "You will die if you go back. The enemy is already on the move – they will reach the wards way before noon. They will break them down and invade the land, possessing every single living being on their way. They will enslave Alpha Rayleigh and force him to open the door to the catacombs, and they will steal the portal. And at that moment, everything is lost."
"We need to do something!" I almost yelled at her face.
"Yes – you need to take the portal and run," she said.
"What? No! All my friends will die if I don't help them!" Now I was yelling.
"I am offering you the easy way out. Your friends will be lost, but you will save yourself, your mate, and the spirit realm," she told me.
"Fuck that! I'm not leaving my friends to die!"
"Even if you die? Even if your mate dies?" Selene asked.
"If I can't save them, I will die with them," I told her, feeling almost angry. "And Jaden agrees."
"Then you will die, and send this world into chaos," she replied without a blink of an eye.
"You don't know that," I scoffed. "You are the Goddess of the Moon, not the Goddess of the Future."
She snorted in amusement and laughed lightly. "So, you are not running away?"
"No," I said sharply.
'I told you so.'
I nearly jumped when I heard a male voice behind us. I sprung around and saw a spirit approaching us with a smug smile on his face. He... He looked...
"I never doubted him," Selene spoke - her voice was warm again.
The spirit stopped in front of me, looking at me with my own eyes – the eyes I inherited from him.
"Dad?" I whispered.
'Hi, son,' he smiled at me. 'I wish I could hug you, but I guess I'll have to wait until we return to the spirit realm.'
I could only stare at him. He looked so much like me, just like everyone said. He didn't even look much older than me, which made the whole situation extremely odd.
'I'm so sorry I couldn't be there for you – you have no idea how much I regretted being dead when I found out about you,' Kevin – Dad- told me with a sad voice.
"When did you find out?" I asked.
'When Rayleigh told me about you when you visited my grave...' he muttered. 'I'm so sorry about everything... I had no idea I had a child until now...'
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I was about to cry because of all the emotions that suddenly hit me all at once. "It wasn't your fault," I managed to say.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but the world is about to fall into chaos," Selene spoke apologetically.
'Ah, sorry – of course... I just... I still can't believe I have a son,' Kevin said, looking like he was about to cry as well. 'But you're right – let's save the world first. After that, we have all the time in the world to catch up.'
"Yeah, because apparently, I'm going to die," I said, squinting my eyes at Selene.
"It depends on you," she said. "You told me that if there is anything I can do for you, I should do it now. And it so happens there is something I can do."
"What?" I asked.
She smiled and snapped her fingers again. The world rippled around me once more – I assumed we were phasing back into the spirit realm since I couldn't see the shadows anymore – and once it stopped, she took my hand.
"Come. There is someone you two should meet," she said, and suddenly the snowy world around me vanished.