Calliope's Mate - Book 2
Chapter 27

It wasn't long before they could see the full force of Bennett's army. It was large, and Calliope could feel her nervousness rise. She worried that she did not have the strength to change them all. But then, even if she changed them, how many would still fight? Did she have enough warriors for this battle?

Caleb placed a hand on her back. She glanced up at him. She saw a glimmer of hope in his green and brown eyes. He trusted her; he believed in her. He had hope, even when hers faltered. With him there, she could do this. She had to. This is why she was created. The Moon Goddess made her for this very moment.

"I'm sorry," Caleb whispered.

He reached up with a small knife and cut down the length of her back. Calliope bit her lips, holding back the tears and her screams. She began to steam, to heal. Caleb did as she instructed him. She knew that Bennett would get suspicious if he did not, at the very least, see steam coming from her. The gash was not made with a silver dagger; it would not take long for it to heal, and it would not scar. But it still hurt Caleb to do it.

Calliope saw as Bennett and Amber approached, leaving behind their army. Only two archers walked with them. They stopped about 100 feet away. Bennett pushed Amber, nearly causing her to fall. She cried out but kept her footing. She slowly walked towards her brother. Calliope took a deep breath and stepped away from Caleb, away from his calming touch.

She walked slowly, making it seem like the chains were hurting her. The archers had arrows aimed forward, one at Amber, one at Calliope. She was sure they were silver arrows meant to keep her from shifting. She concentrated on her breathing, trying to keep it calm and steady.

At the halfway mark, she neared Amber. She saw the bruises on her face, the fear in her eyes. When they were shoulder to shoulder, Calliope stopped.

"Run," she commanded.

Amber did not hesitate; she ran. She ran towards Caleb, not stopping, not looking back. Calliope raised her hands as much as she could, pointing them at Bennett, at his army. She had only a second, only a moment to freeze them. She saw the arrows begin to fly. One was heading to her. With a low growl, Calliope's eyes turned bright white, and a gust of wind rippled out from her.

She closed her eyes, awaiting the arrow, but it never hit. She opened one eye and saw the arrow was inches from her face. She reached up and took it. She broke it in half and tossed it to the ground. Behind her, she could hear Caleb speaking to Amber. Then, she heard running; it was Caleb running up to her.

They both looked as everyone before them was frozen. Calliope dug her heels into the sand. She needed to find firm footing. She was about to push her gifts past their limits. Hundreds of wolves stood before her, ready to fight, ready to die.

She held her arms back out and closed her eyes. Her arms trembled as she focused her energy. She called for the energy around her, called it to circle her. She felt the electricity within her fizzle and spark. She was breathing heavily. She opened her eyes. She saw as the people before her began to move slightly.

"I'm not going to be able to freeze them and break the curse!" She yelled at Caleb. This is what she feared. There were too many, and she was not strong enough. She froze when she felt a hand placed on her back.

"Concentrate, you can do this," he reassured her. "You're not alone. I am here with you."

Calliope nodded and fought back her tears. She could do this. She had to do this. So many depended upon her. She was born to lead, born to protect. She was created for this, created for them. She could not let them down.

She closed her eyes. Caleb's touch helped her focus. It enabled her to create the energy that she needed. She could feel the electricity begin to surge through her. Her hair started to blow in a wind created by her force. The sand began to swirl around her and Caleb. Though the people she froze were shaking, fighting against the weakening freeze, she did not notice. She concentrated on the energy around her.

Caleb had to grip the chains. The wind was pulling him, pushing him away from her. But he needed to keep a hand on her; she needed him. He closed his eyes, grunting as the sand pelted his bare skin. He would not let go; he would fight against the pain.

The ground beneath them began to tremble. Calliope opened her eyes and yelled as a wave of static and energy shot from her hands. It shot forward, hitting everyone in front of her. Caleb watched as they all fell forward. They were no longer frozen. But then, he saw as those who were sun wolves begin to shift. The curse was breaking; they were changing into moon wolves.

He looked at Calliope, but she began to fall to the ground. She had passed out, her energy depleted, and her body exhausted. Before he could grab her, Giizis forced her to shift. Before him stood the white wolf, whose eyes glowed bright white. She looked at Caleb and gave a low growl. He smirked. He knew Giizis would keep Calliope safe. He shifted into his moon wolf and looked at Bennett.

Caleb charged, followed closely behind by Giizis. They both attacked an archer, making sure to kill them before they could shoot off another arrow. Giizis then turned her attention to Bennett. He looked at her, frozen in fear. They had tricked him, and he did not see it. And her powers, what had she done to them? Behind him, there was a deep, low growl. Before he could turn his head, he felt a sun wolf's paw wrap around his neck. Caleb had changed forms. Bennett's eyes shot back to Giizis.

Before he could speak, Caleb began to squeeze his neck. Bennett reached up, trying to pry Caleb's fingers off of him. He struggled to breathe. He kicked his legs, trying to do anything he could to get loose. But it was no use; Caleb was not letting him go. Caleb's grip tightened until he heard a snap, and Bennett went limp. But Caleb was not risking his wolf still being alive to heal him, so he pulled Bennett's head from his body. Blood sprayed everywhere, covering both Caleb and Giizis.

They looked at one another. Caleb reached out, gently touching Giizis' face. As they stood there, their warriors ran past them. The fighting had started. Giizis was the first to pull away. She turned and looked. Moon wolves were fighting moon wolves.

Her eyes searched through the wolves, looking for those familiar to her. She caught sight of Lea's light gray wolf. As she ran to Lea, a wolf slid over to Giizis, grabbing her front right leg. Giizis leaned down, snapping her jaws at the wolf. Her teeth grabbed on tightly to the first thing that went into her mouth, one of the wolf's ears. She yanked, tearing the ear off. The wolf yelped in pain, letting go of Giizis' leg. This allowed Giizis to move her front paws on top of the wolf. She slammed hard, breaking the wolf's back. The wolf whimpered in pain. He tried to kick his back legs, but he was paralyzed.

Giizis left him on the ground; he would heal, but he wouldn't be able to continue to fight. She looked up, trying to locate Lea again. Her eyes scanned, but there were so many wolves. Giizis heard a bone-rattling howl and turned her head. Caleb was nearby, slashing at the wolves that were attacking him. But it was too many; he would be overwhelmed soon.

Giizis quickly turned, running straight to Caleb. She gripped the neck of a wolf that was jumping to grab his arm. She slid in front of Caleb with the wolf in her mouth. The wolf was kicking and scratching at her belly, trying to break free. With a quick jerk of her head, Giizis was able to toss the wolf, breaking their neck. She crunched down, tasting the blood in her mouth.

She dropped the wolf and snarled at the other wolves that eyed her. Some stepped back, while others began to move forward. Caleb walked up, standing beside Giizis. His claws were bloodied, but it wasn't his blood. But he was steaming. She could see steam on his arms and chest. Yet, as he stood close to Giizis, his wounds began to heal quickly. He reached over and gave her head a gentle pat.

As they began to charge at the wolves, Calliope began to stir. Her body felt heavy; her muscles felt sore. She groaned as she forced herself to sit up. At first, her senses were dulled, and there was ringing in her ears. It took a moment for her to realize she was inside of Giizis. She had no memory of shifting. She had no idea if it worked, if she broke the curse.

She rubbed her eyes, trying hard to focus on what Giizis was seeing. She saw her wolf and Caleb's sun wolf fighting. But there were no other sun wolves around. All of the wolves that she could see were moon wolves. It worked! She did it! She laughed excitedly.

It worked! She yelled to Caleb over mind link.

He paused, retracting his claws from within the gut of a wolf. He turned his head and looked at Giizis. Calliope was awake; she was alright. He smiled, but he could not stop. He needed to focus. They were still being attacked.

Calliope looked past those Giizis was fighting and saw wolves and people sitting in the distance. They were the ones that surrendered. She couldn't tell how many gave up, but she could not help but feel happy. She wanted as few deaths as possible. She pressed a hand on her stomach, hoping to feel the baby. It was still early, but she could feel a faint heartbeat as she pressed. It was quick, and it wasn't hers. She smiled. The baby was alright.

Calliope took a deep breath, and the smell of blood hit her. The thick, iron smell. She had not missed it. She could hear growling, yelping, death. She could hear as wolves died to Giizis and Caleb. Her heart broke watching it. Her heart broke for Caleb and for those that died. She wanted it to be over. She wanted there to be peace.

Calliope then focused her attention back to what Giizis was doing. She watched as she held down one wolf, biting into any unguarded flesh. She was gripping and tearing into muscles. The wolves that tried to attack her did not stand a chance. Not when it was one on one. But they were learning; others were watching, seeing how Giizis attacked.

Calliope noticed out of Giizis' peripheral that a group of wolves were lunging at her. Calliope could hear Giizis' yelps as several sank their teeth into her. Calliope wanted to be free; she wanted to freeze everyone again. They needed to regroup; she needed to get Giizis to safety. But she was weak. She could barely stand, let alone use her gifts.

Caleb! She called out.

Her heart raced. Giizis was trying; she was fighting hard. But she was being overrun, overcrowded. Calliope began to scream from within Giizis. If she fell, Calliope fell. If she died, Calliope would die. Calliope could feel herself falling. She felt as darkness crept into her vision. Was this it? Was this death? She closed her eyes, awaiting the end. A tear slipped down her cheeks as she continued to fall.

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