The cursed Moon.
Chapter 30

Zion peered through the smoke that was all through air, the battlegrounds filled with its clouds. It had started, they had closed in on the hunters just as Mena had planned. He could see both Ronan and Reids men, streaming in from all sides, the she wolves seemingly appearing from the smoke, his own men running into the fight.

His keen ears heard the whizzing of arrows, the crossing of blades, the tearing of teeth though flesh.

Death was already scattered around, wolves pounced on men, arrows from Mena's warriors flew all around, most finding targets.

He joined in on the choas, Moon scent was heavy here, it only spurred him on as he cut through the first of many men, shifting mid air to crush a group of hunters who were attempting to wrap Scout in silver.

"Thank you" Scouts voice echoed in his mind as he shook of the shackles and re-entered the fight.

Zion tore through another hunter, shaking him in his jaws the way a dog would a rabbit, discarding him quickly before sinking his teeth into the next. It was a bloody battle, and it had only just begun.

Atlas approached from his side, fighting in unison, quick, deadly, powerful.

Energy blast now shook the ground, bringing some of the enemy to their knees.

Atlas paused sniffing the air, in a sea of hunters he sensed something approaching, Reign.

She strode onto the battlefield, killing anything that crossed her path, she was brave, she fought with a power that he had known lived within her the moment he found her in the woods, flanked by the she-wolves. His eyes searched the group for his sisters, they found neither one.

Instead, they found a boy, the sword he clutched too large for his hands, his eyes filled with fear, but he did not raise his sword to the wolves that surrounded him, they were protecting him, he was part of their pack.

Atlas's eyes connected with Reigns, she was safe, alive, and he intended on keeping it that way. With her presence he felt something building in him, something that couldn't be controlled, he let out a growl, and with it a blast, the men around him flying through the air, the life knocked from their bodies, their death quick.

“Atlas, she isn't here, why is she not here?" he heard Zions voice in his mind and he had no answer, he couldn't reach her, her mind somewhere he couldn't touch.

They continued their onslaught, the female rouges living up to their reputation. Both sides loosing life, each side fighting for their survival.

Zion and his pack closed in tighter, pushing the hunters into their own camp, the circle they had created encompassing the enemy.

As he fought through hunters with a raw power, a speed he didnt know he had. He paused, looking around her, for any sign of Moon. As he did, he felt something sharp, painful pierce into his shoulder, and then another. He swung in the direction of the arrows, sprinting towards the hunter responsible as he pulled back another arrow, he released, the arrow flying towards Zions chest.

His life did not flash before his eyes the way he expected, he didn't see his childhood, his memories, instead they saw only her, the emerald of her eyes, the light that radiated around her.

He braced himself for death but saw only a flash of black, shielding him from the arrows that now flew fast and quick.

The large black wolf kept moving towards the archers, and as he looked back at Zion he only saw his father's eyes. The beast took over, completely, there was only him now, he lunged out from behind Apollo, a massacre had begun, anyone who held a bow would perish.

It seemed like seconds before Zion came to from the blind rage. Around him, limbs were torn from their bodies, blood pooled at his feet, his panting an indication that he had been in a deadly fury. His father laying in among the carnage, his body still, his breathing shallow.

Zion let out an agonizing howl as he approached, coming to stand over him.

“Zion, you must go, you must find her, protect her. I will die here, I am fading already. Do not make the same mistakes I did, protect them, at any cost” Zion heard Apollo's words, but he was unmoving. He cried out in desperation and Atlas soon appeared at his side, howling in unison as the last breath left Apollos body, a loss to the whole pack. He stood with his father for what seemed like eternity, protecting his remains with his own life, until Atlas spoke.

“He is gone Zion. We cannot do anything for him, but we can do something for them.” Atlas urged him to fight, Zion looking around at the death that surrounded them. Large wolves still continued to chew through hunters, some had fought their last fight, their bodies littered in with those of men.

He saw it all, and yet he still could not see her. He knew Atlas was right, he has to fight and so he did.

He felt a weight as a hunter dropped from the trees and onto his back, he kicked and bucked trying to toss him off, he could sense the hunter reaching for a blade, and just as he was about to sink it into Zions back, a single arrow whipped through the air, hitting the hunters chest, he slipped off Zions side and into the ground. He eyes looked to the source and found Mena, her face bruised, a hunters cape draped around her.

He nodded in her direction, before he noticed a shadow appear behind her, Max materialized from nowhere, from nothing.

He grabbed Mena from behind, wrapping an arm around her neck, pulling her into the trees.

"Where is Moon?" Mena seethed as he dragged her further away from the battle.

"Far away from here, she thinks she has won, I maybe mortal, but I can still kill you. You were always my biggest disappointment." He hissed as he pushed her into the dirt.

"You can try father." Mena said as she sprang to her feet, reaching for a discarded sword.

The two circled each other, both relentlessly swinging there weapons, neither able to land a blow on the other.

Mena puffed as she continued to swing, he knew where Moon was, she was determined to find out.

Her blade nicked his face, and for the first time in her life she saw him bleed, a trickle of red now running down his cheek.

He wiped it from his face, smearing it in to his skin, rage built in them both.

He swung once more, and as she dodged it, his fist flew into her abdomen, doubling her over, the wind knocked from her.

He approached as she tried to recover her breathe, this was it, this was how she died.

She braced herself for the feel of the blade and instead was surprised to see Ronan from the corner of her eyes, riding on Zions back.

It happend so quick, Ronan flew from the wolf and ontop of Max, knocking him to the ground.

Ronan stood urging Max to fight him.

"I have waited many years for this." Ronan said as he pulled Mena to her feet.

Ronan and Mena took their places, Mena behind her father, Ronan in front. Max's heard darted around trying to keep track of them both. Zion watched on as they drove their swords simultaneously into his chest, and back, his death instant. He was a god no longer, whatever Moon had done it had made him a mere man.

The trio knew the fighting was not over, even with his death. They returned to the carnage to find Reign and the she wolves becoming exhausted but still fighting, his father's body laying where he had died, Autumns laying not far off. Ronan and Mena continued to fight, a swords cutting across Ronans chest deeper then most would survive, Mena catching him in her arms. They were loosing more than he was willing to give, it was then he realized, there may have been glory in the victories of war but on both side there was also loss, Zion was at a loss.

And then he smelt it stronger than ever. It filled him, and with it, he was filled with the strength to continue. Wind circled through the air picking up hunters with it, and then she appeared. She floated rather than walked, the light around her blinding, no one could touch her, they were thrown in every direction if they tried. Moon was exhausting her power, herself, to save them.

She came to the center of the fight, landing on her feet, her voice a loud echo as she spoke.

"Hear me now!." As she spoke the battle ceased, it seemed that man and wolf alike served her.

"I know some of the men that wear the hunters cape do not deserve death, leave this place now and I swear it we will not follow, for those who choose to stay, I can promise, you will not survive this." Zion looked on as some of the hunters obeyed her, dropping their weapons, and retreating back into the woods.

The ones that did not swarmed her all at once.

He speed towards her, before he could reach her, the ground beneath him began to shake, large rocks lifting from the ground, crushing the enemy around her. She had lost control, just as he had. She had offered them peace, they had refused it. He needed to calm her before the death she was causing included their own.

He pushed through the wind, squinting through the light, shifting as he did.

"My Moon" he called to her through the noise.

She couldnt hear him, she was alight like a comet, her power only increasing, she would destroy herself if he couldnt reach her.

He pushed forward, struggling with the gusts of wind, reaching desperately for her hand, as he caught it she released one last energy blast, putting every hunter that was left on their knees, before collapsing into his arms, limp and lifeless.

He held her tight, he could feel her heartbeat, she was alive, only barely.

"My Moon come back to me" he whispered as he tucked her hair behind her ear, noticing the cuts and bruising that now painted her perfect skin.

“It is over Zion we have won.” Ronan approached, Mena holding him upright, blood seeping from a wound under his ribs.

“But what have we lost?” Zion asked coldly as he gathered Moon in his arms.

“She isn't lost, she will return to us, she nee.” Atlas remarked as he joined the Alpha's.

Mena slumped Ronan against a tree, checking his wound, tears falling from her face.

“Huntress, you are tougher than tears. Your sister, she will come out of this, the battle is won.” Ronan spoke as he wiped a tear from Mena's cheek.

“My tears are not for her.” Mena answered as her eyes searched his.

“I told you Mena, you would be the death of me, but you, you were worth dying for.” Ronan pulled Mena in as he spoke, the sparks erupting under his skin, spreading through his bones, the pain replaced by pleasure, by her.

“There will be no more death today.” Reid's voice appeared and with him Lilith, her hands filled with carry bags, in them anthora, bandages, everything that was needed to begin healing the wounded.

Mena moved quickly, allowing Lilith to begin on Ronan.

“My destiny is to die in battle. I will not be healed, leave me.” Ronan spoke as he weakly brushed away Lilith's hand.

“Ronan....please?” Mena asked in sadness as her hand slipped into his.

“I die with him. It is the moon goddesses design” Ronan answered with a cough.

“And my heart dies with you, your destiny is yours alone” Mena said pleading as she felt a pain stab in her chest, a hole opening, so large, so dark she could perish in its abyss.

"Mena...I want this, us, but it is written in stone." Ronan buried his head in her hair as her face pushed to his chest.

“We are destined too, that was her design.” Mena spoke quietly as she moved aside once more, Ronan hesitating, his eyes searching the sky, his breath shallow.

He looked at Mena, he felt the pain his death would cause her, the insanity she would slip into, the Mena he knew, the first and only being he loved, she would be lost.

“Fine, have at it Lilith” Ronan spoke, allowing Lilith to begin her work, Mena's face lighting up at his words.

“What do we do now?” Reign asked as Atlas pulled her into his side.

"We go home.” Zion answered.

•••••••

Moon's eyes flickered, her sight finding the dawn sky, she felt the warmth of electricity wrapped around her, inhaling deeply, breathing him in.

Zions eyes looked down, a smile spread on his face. She felt his relief, his love fill her, as he carried her through the woods where they first collided.

"Welcome back." He said with affection.

"Zion, is it over." she whispered reaching a hand for his face.

"Its over." he answered.

"Your father." she spoke

"He is gone" Moon heard the sadness in her mates voice. Her and Apollo had sat in the meadow, he was at peace with his fate, he wanted his son to be at peace too.

"He isnt gone, he lives, on another plain, he is a God." Moon reassured him.

"He was always a God to me." Zion whispered with a smile.

"And the others?" She questioned.

"We won the war, but life's were lost." He said with a downcast look.

"Mena? Atlas?" She asked with worry. Our family is safe, all of them.

"But not unscathed." Ronan winced from Moons side, Atlas and Mena on each side.

Moon smiled lightly at him, even near death he kept his humor.

Moon felt her eyes become heavy once more, feeling like she could sleep for a decade, knowing she was safe in Zions arms.

*********

Lilith had her hands full, patching wounds, handing out anthora, the day had been long. Reid watched her work, stitching up a cut to Reigns arm, he found himself for the first time greatful for the loss of his last mate, it took loss to apperciate what he had gained. A mate that healed not only the sick, the wounded, but a mate that healed him.

"There all done, the anthora should assist in flushing the wolfsbane from your system." Lilith explained lightly.

Atlas entered the room brusied but in better condition then most, he wrapped Reign in his arms as she stroked his hair. He listen for her heartbeat, reminding him it was over, they had survived, she had survived. He listened to its thumps, strong, just as she was, and then he heard another, a weaker faster heartbeat coming from inside.

"Reign...." Atlas gasped as his eyes met hers.

"What is it?" Reign asked with concern

He pressed a hand to her stomach, reading the mind within, strong like her, gifted like him, joy bubbled inside him.

"I am ok Atlas, we did it, we are going to be fine." she reassured him.

"We will be better then fine, for with all of the death, we have been given new life......your pregnant" Atlas laughed as he threw his arms around her.

"We are having a child!!" Reign asked in excitement.

"We are." Atlas spoke as they both began to cry, tears of happiness.

"Thats wonderful, no pup could ask for better parents." Reid beamed as he come forward, shaking Atlas's hand.

Atlas looked back on the last few months, what began as a life with no kin, a broken mate and alpha, had ended with a family, his sisters, his uncle and now a baby. A journey that had bought love, fulfillment, peace, a journey that began with

********

Mena sat in the same chair Ronan once occupied when she faced death, he had faced his and he had turned his back on it, for her he had given up everything he believed in, he gave up his destiny in exchange for their own.

She watched him sleep, he was arrogant, stubborn, he got under her skin like no other, but once under there he could not be removed, he was part of her and she apart of him.

He stirred clutching his wound, a groan of pain escaped him as Mena come to sit on the bed.

"It seems the roles have been reversed" Ronan kept his humor as he tried to sit upright.

"There was a time when it would of bought me great pleasure to see you wounded, bed ridden, you know" She sighed.

"And now?" he asked lightly.

"Oh I still wish to see you bed ridden, only with me, there would also be far less clothing involved" Mena teased.

"You may just be the death of me yet" Ronan laughed.

"No, I have far too much fun tormenting you." Mena remarked as she stroked his forehead gently.

"When I am back on my feet you should be warned, I will not go easy on you" Ronan breathed out feeling the electrity, the euphoria spread through him.

"I look foward to it." Mena smiled at him before curling up into his side, he breathed her in as they both drifted into sleep.

*****

Zion sat, watching Moon sleep. Atlas had explained that she may be asleep for sometime, she has used almost all of her power, it was time for her to restore, rest.

When he sent his men to take a girl from the village, he never once imagined they would return with his mate. She was more than that, she was magic, kind, courageous, his Moon.

Moon slept for days, everyone taking shifts to sit with him, waiting for her to wake, just as he had done for Atlas. Reign would read her stories, all of their favourites, Mena would come with very few words, just worried stares, insisting that Atlas do more to rouse their sister. Reid and Lilith always came as a pair, Reid telling her tales of her grandmother, of their histories.

One day bleed into the next, bruises healed, the packs grief for the ones they had lost remained.

Zion yawned, surrendering to sleep by his side, in his dreams she always came, but on this night it was different.

He was in her meadow, he could feel the warmth of the golden sun on his skin, she spotted him, beckoned to him, someone sat with her, someone he never thought he would see again.

"Father." Zion whispered as he approached.

"Zion, you are here." Apollo rose from his seat in the ground, throwing his arm around his son.

"I told you I could do it, I told you I could bring him here." Moon said, as she took her turn to embrace her mate.

"I never doubted it." Apollo laughed.

"Is this real?" Zion said in awe.

"Its real." Apollo confirmed.

"I have missed you, both of you." Zion sighed as they settled into the wildflowers around him.

"And we you." Moon smiled.

"Zion, there is a reason you are here. I am afraid there are many more battles ahead. The realms of men from outside our lands are aware of existence, for a long time we were a myth, the magic of the creator kept us hidden. One of our own has betrayed us, and soon they will come for you all. Beware the false idols who call themselves Kings, they are not to be trusted. I can help from here, but the rest is upto you....and Moon." Apollo warned.

"Does this mean...." Zion started.

"I get to come back, I am ready" Moon burst with excitement.

"Its time Zion, for both of you to wake up, I have always been proud to call you my son." Apollo said with sincerity, before placing his hands on Zions shoulders.

Zion woke, back in his room. He watched Moon closely, certain his dream was real, he lent in closer, squeezing her hand gently, then he saw them, he emerald eyes opened.

To the readers, the poets, the dreamers, I write this for you.

As I wrote this story, I became attached to each I'm every character, just like you. That's is why the story does not end here.

The second installment "The Rising Sun." Is on Inkett, new chapters will be added as often as possible.

Thank you for reading

Love always

Bell Wilde

Aka Stacy

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