Magic of Moonlight

Chapter 12 - Stalker Trouble 3

Caius took a deep breath. The other Knights and him had been taking turns sitting next to Sebastian's prone form. It was his turn. Part of him desperately wanted to join his Father's search for his sister. But another part of him knew that once Sebastian woke up, he would be able to pinpoint exactly where Ember was. He was afraid of what was happening to her while they were waiting for him to wake up.

"Any change?" Violet asked quietly as she entered the room. She and the other Avatars had been trying to scour the past to find out where Ember had been taken to. For some reason, the person who took her was always clouded or invisible to their eyes. Something was blocking everyone's view of this wolf.

"None," he replied softly. "The Doctors said it will be days before we see any sign of improvement. I need to talk to his father at some point. Chelsea keeps coming in here trying to convince us to step outside so she can spend some time alone with him. We've been refusing but she continues to try."

Violet's eyes glazed for a few minutes before she returned back to him. "Toby and Rita both say she wants to mark him. She believes that her mark will override Ember's." She let out a sigh before adding. "She isn't going to stop unless commanded." She moved towards the door. "I'll go see if I can find Alpha Alexius and bring him here for you."

Caius nodded and sent back to watching over Sebastian. His mind mulled over the information he had been given to date. Chelsea was in on this attack in some way. Rita had seen her talking to an invisible person. She couldn't see or hear this person's voice but she could hear Chelsea's responses. A week or so prior to the poisoning, Alpha Arazel and Raven had searched Trance's home and came up with nothing. Alpha Arazel had been informed of Trance's erratic behaviour by his twin sister, Phoebe, which was what prompted the search. Someone had been watching Sebastian closely enough to know that he always had a roll from the cafeteria at lunch. All the wolves who were poisoned all had rolls as well for their lunch. Frowning, he wondered what he was missing. Trance didn't have the resources to pull off a poisoning of this magnitude and also to hide Ember away so thoroughly that no one can find her. Was he to believe that Chelsea, a future Beta, had provided him the means to do this?

He glanced up when the door opened to reveal Alpha Alexius and his father entering the room. "You wanted to see me?" His voice was soft and sad. His heart ached that not only was his son unconscious but his mate was also missing. It was a hard blow on the entire pack causing added stress and weigh on his shoulders.

Caius sighed and set about letting them know everything he was thinking about including what Violet had told him earlier about Chelsea. He knew that they knew about the Knights and the Avatars. He knew they didn't know specifics but as long as they didn't ask direct questions about it, they could play this game of ignorance until Sebastian finally revealed himself.

***

As the weeks passed, Trance continued to visit Ember in the cabin. Every day he found the shield to be intact and as strong as ever. He growled angrily and attempted to try and claw the shield down each time. And as always, each time getting spark burns and pain for his trouble.

"I should have used silver," he growled at Ember's catatonic form. "A dead Sebastian wouldn't be able to use a shield like this for so long to protect you. How dare you two stop me from taking what is mine!" He growled even louder when a certain scent filled the room. Trance knew it. He had smelled this scent before just after Ember was marked by Sebastian. "And now you're fucking in heat!" He growled clawing at the shield, not caring about the sparks that flew out at him. He was being driven wild by her scent. "I will fuck you into oblivion once I get a hold of you. You should be going into heat for ME not HIM!" He growled again loudly as he threw things at the shield in an attempt to bring it down. "I will make sure that you will never go into heat for anyone but me. Mark my words!" He stormed out of the cabin, slamming the door behind him. He had to find a way to kill Sebastian.

His benefactor was taking too long to mark him. She kept giving excuses to him. He growled lightly at the latest excuse. She had been commanded by Alpha Alexius to no go near Sebastian until he woke up. Trance growled again louder. Alpha Alexius couldn't command him away. Where Sebastian was now, no one had control over him.

Trance picked up his phone and smiled. Quickly, he purchased a silver dagger off the black market with the remaining funds the she-wolf had given him. He was going to kill Sebastian or die trying. He smiled to himself, imagining Ember's petite frame writhing under his own. He wanted it so badly and he was going to make it happen by any means necessary.

***

It had taken another week for the dagger to arrive. Trance had been watching the hospital ward Sebastian was on and planned the timing of his attack while he was waiting for it. There was always roughly an hour between the nurses rounds. The future Alphas all took turns sitting with Sebastian. He decided to strike when Logan was in the room. In Trance's mind, him being the Alpha mated to another male wolf meant he was weaker than the other two. He knew he couldn't go in when Raven was there and he had already had a taste of Caius' strength in the past. He knew there was a tiny gap, about five minutes when Sebastian was completely alone. He knew that was when he was going to strike.

Dagger in hand, he waited in the shadows watching the door intently. Caius left the room and walked down the hall to grip hands with Logan, who had just arrived to take over. Trance smiled and knew now was the time. He crept quietly into Sebastian's room.

He stared down at the future Alpha with disdain. How can someone so weak keep up a shield for so long? He raised his dagger high, aiming for Sebastian's chest. With a growl, he threw his weight into bringing the dagger down. He was jolted to a halt by a hand gripping his wrist tightly. Trance glared down at Sebastian's golden eyes. "Mate stealer!" he hissed. "I'm going to take back what is rightfully mine!"

Sebastian pushed Trance back before letting of a loud growl. It brought both Caius and Logan into the room at a run. "Mate stealer?" His voice was deep and dark. "My human did no such thing. Glacier is MY MATE! MINE!" His growl rumbled again causing the building to shake. Trance stared up at Sebastian with fear in his eyes. "You better be afraid. I'm not like my human. I don't care for laws. You will tell me where my mate is!"

Caius and Logan stayed back. They had never seen Griffin take over Sebastian so completely before. They both quickly mindlinked the Alphas and Raven to let them know what was going on before watching what was about to happen before them.

"Why should I?" Trance replied trying to sound braver than he felt. "You stole my mate and ignored yours. Then somehow you got the Werewolf King to agree to you two being mated before she was sixteen. Do you know how maddening it is to have your mate go into heat before you and know that she is going into heat for another wolf?" Trance let out a powerful growl of his own but one that couldn't compare to Griffin's mighty rumble.

"You don't have a choice," Griffin growled loudly. Everyone could feel the power shift in the room. "You will tell me where my mate is now!" His Royal Alpha aura bore down on Trance making it hard to breathe. "She was NEVER your mate. Where is she!"

"A cabin," Trance unwillingly replied. He couldn't stop his wolf from forcing him to spill his secrets. "In the woods not far from the school. It's on Shadow Runners territory and now cloaked with a witch's spell." He laughed maniacally. "You won't be able to find it. Only I can get through the cloak."

"I don't need you," Griffin reached down and wrapped his hands around Trance's throat. "All I need is a location." He squeezed his throat tightly causing Trance to gasp. He tugged at Sebastian's hands in vain trying to loosen their grip. Darkness swam before his eyes. He could feel the fingers tighten, closing off his windpipe completely.

Caius and Logan came closer to Sebastian and rested their hands on his arms. Caius let Gabriel come to the surface to talk to Griffin. "You need to let go. Glacier is more important than this runt. We will take it from here." Yama, now in control of Logan's body, nodded as well. Together they hoped to shift Griffin's attention to finding Glacier. Time was of the essence. Griffin surfaced because he was angry. If he subsided again, Sebastian will once again fall unconscious due to the wolfsbane.

"I'll find her," Griffin growl before shifting and bounding out of the room. He passed Raven on his way out of the hospital, who immediately also shifted and followed after him. Raven could sense it was Griffin in complete control and passed over control to his wolf, Envy. He knew Griffin would respond more favourably to Envy than to himself, particularly in the angry state he was in.

"What's the plan?" Envy asked as he caught up to Griffin. "Did Trance tell you were she is?"

"Yes," Griffin growled. "He had the audacity to tell me she was his mate!" He let out a growl scaring all the wolves in his way. They jumped out of the way as they passed. As they ran into the woods near the school, Griffin paused before sniffing the air. He growled before turning towards the cabin.

Envy looked confused before feeling the shift from Griffin's royal Alpha aura to an ancient aura. He stared as the wolf before him grew bigger and snapped at the air. A lycan... He thought in awe as he watched Griffin's head movements. He felt they were like that of a wolf tearing something with their teeth. Envy remained silent as the royal Alpha aura and the wolf form returned before simmering down to Sebastian's usual future Alpha aura.

"What just happened?" Envy asked as a cabin materialised before them. "How did you know it was there?"

"Later," Griffin growled and bounded forward, pushing the door open and disappearing inside. Envy remained outside. He could sense Griffin didn't want him to see any more of what he could do. He relinquished his hold back to Raven. Raven sighed internally and mindlinked the Alphas as well as Caius and Logan letting them know where they were.

Inside, Griffin shifted back into human form and smiled. The golden shield sat hovering over Ember's catatonic body. Reaching out, he placed a hand on the shield, causing it to dissipate before he came closer. He laid down next to her before moving himself on top of her.

"Glacier," he purred in her ear. "Glacier, wake up." He lowered his head to nuzzle her neck before kissing his mark. "Glacier, you need to wake your human up. We need you." he purred in her ear. He could feel her slow and steady heartbeat pick up a bit. Purring more, he wrapped his arms tightly around her before sinking his canines into her mark again. The effect was instantaneous.

Ember cried out with a pleasure before raising her arms to try and grip his bare back. Awareness of her surroundings flooded her senses. Memories pressed in on her. She gripped him as hard as she could and began to cry.

"Shhh, my love," Griffin soothed kissing up along her neck to her lips. "You haven't lost Sebastian. The wolfsbane is strong and he still sleeps. But we need you to survive. You are our air, my love. Our life's breath. If you die, so do we. We will always need you." He got up and held out a hand to her. "Come." He shifted back into his wolf form. "We better get me back to the hospital so I can continue to rest and recover. But we will rest easy knowing you are safe." He licked her face before indicating to her to get on his back.

Ember got onto his back and buried her face in his fur. She inhaled his scent deeply savouring the toffee apple goodness before securely wrapping her arms around his neck. Griffin let off a loud howl before bounding out of the door. Raven followed after them again as they passed warriors from the Shadow Runners. Griffin nodded to them before commanding they secure the cabin for a thorough investigation.

***

Back at the hospital, Alpha Alexius and Alpha Marcus had secured Trance's unconscious body. Alpha Arazel was getting statements from the medical staff. And Alpha Lucas was watching the corridor for anything out of the ordinary. Caius and Logan were assisting Alpha Alexius and Alpha Marcus when a howl nearby caught their ears.

"Griffin is on his way back," Caius said with a smile before another howl sounded, albeit fainter. "Raven is with him. And they found Ember." He moved to open the door in time for a pair of large black wolves, one of whom had a white patch on his forehead and something on his back, bounded into the room.

Griffin shook himself lightly causing Ember to pop her head up. Alpha Marcus and Caius embraced her in a hug before helping her off his back so he could shift back. Griffin wobbled on his human legs. "My energy is fading again." he murmured before allowing himself to be held by his father and assisted back into bed. He reached out to Ember to took his hand. "Don't be alarmed. I'm going to go back to sleep. We need to heal. We will wake up again soon, I promise."

Ember nodded and watched while Griffin's eyes slowly closed. She turned and latched onto Caius, crying again. She didn't want to see him this way. Caius gently stroked her hand and murmured softly in her ear. Violet... Can you come to the hospital?

Why? Violet asked curiously. Has something happened?

A lot... Caius sent her everything on what happened. Ember needs you here...

I'm coming. Rita and Toby are with me as well. Violet replied quickly. She was trying to contain her excitement that Ember was back.

I'll let her know.

***

Ember took over sitting at Sebastian's bedside while the future Alpha's moved to continuing the investigation on the poisoning. Trance had woken up and had been screaming about being wrongly imprisoned every chance he got. Ember could often hear him when he was particularly loud. Violet and the other avatars all frequently visited Ember in the hospital. They always brought food with them knowing that she wouldn't move from Sebastian's side to eat or drink.

Ember always sat in the same place. Her chair was right next to Sebastian. Her fingers on the hand closest to him were always entwined with his. Her thumb occasionally brushing gently over his knuckles and the back of hand. In her lap would sit a book she was reading, turning the pages with her other hand. The sight was always very sweet to the Avatars when they would come to visit.

"Any changes?" Rita asked handing Ember a little mince pie. She and Toby had been baking and make a number of mince and fruit pies for the visit today.

"None..." Ember replied sadly. Her thumb brushed over the back of his hand lightly. She nibbled on the pie before adding. "The Doctors think it should be any day now that they will see some signs of him waking up."

"That's good to hear," Toby said with a smile. "He'll wake up and see you with him." He winked and added. "You might even get some playtime when he wakes up."

Ember threw the foil casing from the mince pie at him. "I'm not going to put him through that sort of activity as soon as he wakes up." She was very red at the thought. "I don't want him to relapse if it's too strenuous."

Toby looked at her feigning shock. "Did I just hear one of my besties call her mate weak?" He leaned against Rita, his hand resting on his forehead. "What is the world coming to? The mate of the future Alpha for the strongest pack calling him weak."

Ember sighed and rolled her eyes. "Idiot..." she murmured causing the three to laugh. "Don't give him ideas to do as soon as he wakes up..."

"Oh my dear," Rita teased mimicking Toby's dramatic energy. "He doesn't need to be given ideas. One look of you at his side and you'll be pinned as soon as he can free himself from all the monitoring equipment."

Ember giggled lightly. She could picture him doing that very easily. Rolling her eyes, she gave them a playful glare. "Hush..." She picked up another pie and took a bite. She paused her eyes widening. When nothing else happened she took another bite. There it is again... She could feel a thumb gently brushing against the back of her hand. It gave her a squeeze before gently stroking her again. "Can one of you grab the Doctor?"

All three smiled and Rita set off in search of the Doctor. Ember leaned over the bed to look at Sebastian's peaceful face. She looked at him closely before letting out a squeak followed by a muffled sound. Sebastian had reached up and gently pulled her head down for a kiss. Toby and Violet let off little squeals of their own before mindlinking their mates to let them know that he was awake.

Ember lifted her head only to be pulled down again for a more intense kiss. He was determined to show her he was fine to take up any fun activities after just waking up. He had been awake when Toby started teasing her and felt mildly upset when Ember declined that she would play with him so soon.

She gave him a playful smack on the chest before dropping herself back into her chair. "Horn dog," she whispered with a smile on her face.

"Of course I am," he replied with a chuckle. "If I had my way I'd live there." He laughed louder when his comment earned him another playful smack on the arm this time. "I told you before, my love. Wolves are sexual beings..." His comment hung in the air causing Ember to go bright red and him to roar with laughter.