Oh For Mates Sake
Chapter 55

Sion

The world changed around me. One moment I was with my angel and the next I was plunged into darkness.

I looked around angrily until my eyes landed on the

"How dare you? I wasn't done telling her-"

"You never would have been done. It never would have been enough time. Trust me. This is something I know all too well. Everyone wants to tell their loved one's goodbye one last time. At first, I used to accommodate this... but it was never long enough for them." "This isn't the same thing!" I growled. I couldn't believe this man. I understand I made a deal with him for my life. I even understand that I have to learn to control my powers, but at least let me properly say goodbye to the woman I love.

I felt anxious leaving her. Everyone was saying she was safe, but my insides burned with rage. The moment we stepped into the Nova pack I felt the hairs on my arms rise. I didn't want to leave her there. Something seemed... off. I needed to hurry back to her. I wanted to warn her; I wanted to tell her to stay close to our officers.

Reapus was right. I would never be prepared to leave her. That wasn't what this was about. This was about me warning her. Maybe it was nothing. The pack didn't seem excited that their Luna had returned. Though, most of that was because they were disappointed. They expected her to take Doug as her alpha. Just thinking about that made me want to rip him apart. He is lucky he didn't look at her in a lustful way or there would be pieces of little Dougie everywhere.

"We should have brought Clover with us."I sighed, trying to shake this feeling in my ch3st.

"You need to learn to control your powers without her." Reapus said, stepping towards me.

I shook my head as he stared at me.

"What is it?"

"Something felt off. The moment we stepped through the barrier. I don't feel comfortable leaving Clover there. There was this strange sense of.. dread."

"Is that right?" I watched as a knowing smile spread over his l!ps.

"You know something? You know what it is? Is she in danger?!" | squeezed my hands together as they trembled angrily.

"The world is in danger." Reapus shrugged, the coc.ky b*stard.

"She is my world. What about her?!"

"Well.. I guess that will depend on you. Better master your skills quickly."

Da.mn gods and their sadistic games. I don't give a sh.it about the greater picture. To hell with the world.

That is their job to take care of it. My job is to protect Clover and my pack. But no. they insist on playing these idiotic games by pulling the puppet strings. They try to trick the other powers by saying they are not directly manipulating anything when, clearly, they are... they all "I am not a piece on your chess board. I am not interested in your games. We are the ones who suffer from you pulling the strings

"Suffer? Pfft, you are alive because of these games.

You seem to forget who you are talking to. I am not your buddy, I am not your pal, I am not your pack member. I am a god... YOUR god, Sion. And I have given you a power that will allow you to protect the ones you love.

I'm going to teach you to use it so that I won't have to interfere." I watched as he straightened up. He tilted his hat up as his eyes bore into mine. "You want to protect your mate? Then DO IT! You want to get back to her? Then go. I'm not stopping you.." I watched as a smirk curled over his l!ps.

"Oh but you'll have to get past the sand worms.. and on your own. So I suggest you embrace what you are so that you can fight. Oh, and"

"What in the actual HELL, REAPUS!"

A woman's voice cut through the dark world like a knife. A blue light appeared, followed by the goddess with blue hair, Shiva.

"Not now" Reapus said, trying to sound annoyed, but he looked like he had anticipated this.

"It is always not now with you. I'm not having it."

Shiva clicked her tongue and folded her arms across her ch3st. As she did, frost spread across the ground, creeping under my feet.

"It's a school day, Shiva. You should come when I am not with a student." Reapus said, flashing her a broad grin.

"That student is the reason I am here."

"MY student?" I watched as Reapus turned from me to face Shiva. There was something between these two, but I imagine, being immortal gods, they were bound to have history together.

"You can't play these games, Reapus. You are going to make them mad." Shiva hissed out in a harsh whisper.

"I don't give a da.mn about them. I told you that before. I do what I want, not what they want. If our interests align, fine, but I am not going out of my way to make them happy. Don't you think they've caused enough trouble?" "They don't mean to cause trouble-"

"Bull.sh!t. You don't really buy that? Or are you that naive?"

"Get off your-"

"Damn.it, Shiva! Admit it. They are the reasons you sealed yourself away from everyone. You hid from the world. You locked yourself away with your pets to pass the time. You made yourself a prisoner because you were afraid." "Afraid of what?"

"Me."

The atmosphere felt tense, and the thick air made it even harder to breathe. This was a private conversation that somehow, I was caught in the middle of. Yet, it was like a trainwreck. You couldn't help but watch. Besides, I was curious what was going on. Maybe there was some clue about this them' Reapus was speaking about.

"No..." Iheard Shiva's voice whisper out. "You don't get to say that. You don't get to put the blame on others instead of yourself."

"You didn't give me a chance to say anything. You wouldn't even hear me out. You heard a piece of the information and that was it. Poof. Gone. Sealed away from me. Now you pop out all casual like nothing happened. You know what-"I watched as Reapus stormed up to Shiva and grabbed her wrist. She yanked it back as ice shot up his arm, but he didn't let go. "We are having this talk now. We are not doing this anymore.

"I don't want to talk about this!" I watched as Reapus moved his arm around her, holding her flush against his body. Then, without hesitation, he planted his l!ps on hers. At first, she fought against him, but slowly, her body changed. Her arms moved up around his neck.

I watched as his hand began to slide up her back as their k!ssing became more intense. Here I am.. stuck.

Did they even know I was still here? Maybe I had been quiet for too long? Ifl made a sound now, would I just be reminding them I was here... or was I now considered a pervert?I didn't want to watch this. I needed to get back to Clover. I turned my head away so thatl at least wasn't just standing here staring at them. I waited for the sounds to quiet before I glanced back in their direction.

"The reason I was late that day wasn't the reason you were told. Yes, I was intimate with the celestial maiden Reapus gripped Shiva tight as she tried to break free of him. "BUT that was before you! Not once was it during.. I never would have done that to you." "Then why were you with her." Shiva spat out.

"You are such a hot-tempered woman for having powers of ice." Reapus pulled her closer. "I had gotten you a present. That is why I went to see her. Then you made your assumptions because busy body moon b***h can't mind her own business. She wanted us separated so that she could use us. Everything she does is a calculated plan. Even now, I am sure she knew this would happen, so she felt okay with meddling. You thought I was cheating, and didn't even give me a chance to explain. You cloaked yourself from me so I couldn't find you."

I could see the shocked face of the goddess. She looked almost numb. Her strong composure was gone, and she didn't look like the fierce goddess she did moments ago. "You.. were getting me a present?"

I watched as Reapus nodded his heada small smile reaching his l!ps.

"You and your d*mn grudge. I hope you have grown up a little since then. Luckily, we are immortal gods and your little temper tantrum was just a torturously long blink of an eye of our lives."

"What kind of present?" Shiva asked. "Do you still have it..

I listened as Reapus laughed. The dark wall he had up around him faded and I could see the human quality about him. I could see the way he was looking at Shiva and now it all made sense. His cold demeanor and harsh undertone it all reflected someone who was wounded. I am sure I would be much worse if something had torn Clover and I apart like that. I felt like I understood Reapus more at this moment.

"Yes. I've kept it for you. I know how much you like rare creatures, and I remembered that the celestial maiden had primordial pets and immortal animals. There was one that I knew was perfect for you."I watched as Reapus snapped his fingers and an icy looking seal appeared. It looked like it was made of solid ice.

"A crystal seal!" Shiva stared up at Reapus' eyes and I was afraid they were going to make out again. No offense to their sweet moment, but they didn't need me here as a witness to it. I finally decided to clear my throat to let them know I was still here. "You are still here?" Reapus finally acknowledged my presence. "You are wasting time. I would hurry back to Clover if I were you."

"Exactly how do I manage that?"

"You need to move between realms. Once there, you'll have to fight against the sand worms. You'll need to use your power to make them submit to you. Once they learn you are their master, they will not bother you again. After that.. you will be in the in-between realm.

You will be able to see both places and walk around unseen."

"I don't get it... is that all I have to do?" I watched as Reapus smirked.

"You really don't get it. You already have everything you need inside of you. Mastering it will only require one thing... for you to accept who you are. You are not the same person anymore, Sion. You have to let go of Alpha Sion of the Chance pack. You are much more than him now."

"But I am still Alpha Sion of the Chance pack. Why do I have to let that go?" I asked and watched as Shiva placed her hand on Reapus' arm.

"He words things badly. What he means is, you must accept who else you are. You need to embrace your new powers and fully embrace the new you. Then your powers will be one with you. They will answer your call when you need them. This is what Clover must do

too.

She has a barrier up inside of herself. Keeping her wolf and sheya separate."I watched as her eyes flickered blue, as a frown formed on her lips. "She is going to need her wolf at full strength." me.

"Wait... why?" I asked as Shiva looked back at me.

"She is going to have to fight. Alone."

"Fight? You mean while learning her powers? Or is there something else?" I felt my eyes flicker as dark energy crept through my veins. "The Nova pack... what is it? I felt like something was off there. The welcoming seemed to fall flat, as if they were anticipating something else."

Shiva nodded her head. "Something else would be accurate."

I clenched my teeth together. "Dam.nit. I need to be with her now.

"This one is Clover's fight," Shiva said as I felt the dark swirling inside of me beating against the pink energy there.

"It is never just Clover's fight because she has me."

"Use that," Shiva said as Reapus snorted. His l!ps curled up slightly as he looked at me.

"But can you get to her in time?" Reapus sighed, clicking his tongue and shrugging his shoulders.

This wasn't some reverse psychology class. I'm not a moron. I don't need him to say that to motivate me.

Going to Clover was motivation enough, but hearing she might be in trouble fueled me. I didn't need Reapus' commentary about getting there in time. I had a feeling his attention would now shift from me. Now that he was seemingly back together with Shiva, I think he will be preoccupied. Why was Clover going to have to fight? What was going on in the Nova pack? She was their luna... would they really hurt her? This didn't make sense.

It didn't have to make sense, to be honest. I just needed to get back to Clover so I could protect her. I felt her pink ribbons of energy inside of me. There was a small tug from them that almost helped guide me. Then my insides began to spin as black dust swam around me. Was this my darkness? My energy? It was so different from Clover's warm pink glow.

I wasn't afraid of it. Instead, I allowed it to drive me forward. This energy wanted the same thing I did... to be reunited with Clover. We had the same goal. I could feel what it wanted, as if it was a life of its own. The same way I felt my lupine and lycan before that. We were one.. this was me.

My vision became blurry.. no it wasn't my vision... it was the world. I was shifting between the realms. Only now, it was as if I was stuck in something else. There was a tan haze blocking my view from both planes.

A colossal creature rose out of the ground. It looked like a giant worm with rough tile-like shapes over its body. Then those shapes met with circular rings that encompassed the whole body. It had a wide mouth full of many sharp jagged fangs. No eyes that I could see, but I don't think it needed any. It could sense my energy and body movement.

The worm bellowed at me and began to create a suction. It was inhaling the air that was trying to pull me closer to it. Did this creature think it was going to eat me?!

I didn't feel fear as I faced the worm fully. Instead, an overwhelming surge of confidence embraced me.

Suddenly, it was like a veil was being lifted. Dark energy swarmed around me like a tornado and then fell upon.me like a blanket. This was it.. the piece I had been afraid of. The veins in my arm turned black as the darkness entered my body. It cascaded all over me, absorbing inside of me.

I had left a part of it here before. Now it was fully joining with me. Reapus was right... I was different now.

The energy began to awaken inside of me and I felt the new power swarming. At this moment, another worm came from the side. It didn't stop, though, it kept coming, hungry for my energy.

The pale clay creature blurred towards me at incredible speed. I lifted my hand as I stared at the worm. A black orb began to glow from my fingertips as the monster closed in on me.

And then there was an explosion of gray meeting black. A wave of tremors rippled over the ground sending sand clouds in the air, followed by a moment of deathly silence. I tried to look through the thick cloud as I shielded my face with my arm. There was the sound of one worm screeching and then a chorus of bellows rippled through the air from all around me.