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Acacia/Ciarán - Age 18

Uncle Keveon has been recovering, his physical appearance almost waisting away...

"All this time..." dad's voice trails off as we all sit in the living room. Even Aohdan and Rochelle linger in the archway while Rian sits close to the fireplace. He shakes his head, "I'm an idiot."

"Yes and no," Aohdan can't help himself, "there's no way you could ever have perceived Acacia as a true born hybrid...no one could have, not with what's been brought to light about everything."

"Lars," Dad breathes out.

Lailoken nods and replies, "It wasn't just Acacia who was to be broken, but you as well because without your innate whit and knowledge...how could anyone make a move against the throne?"

"Lars wanted this to happen, he wanted the chaos so that we would place our faith in a stronger force," I quietly reply, still understanding everything that's unfolded over the hours.

"A goddess?" Dad asks though, but it's more directed to Lailoken.

Lailoken shrugs his shoulders and replies, "There are far greater forces at work beyond this world..." his voice trails off as he chuckles, "...and to think there was a time when hybrids were considered a myth."

He speaks the truth...but what does this mean now?

There's a knock at the front door, one of dad's coven members opening the door before a very loud Em 'n Em's voice fills the entryway, "This place is HUGE."

She walks through the door, along with Samami, Mandy, Mami, and Glofish. They are all given many different mixed looks from those who have hardly seen them.

Brilite glances around before stating, "Uh...so whatcha lookin' at?"

Aohdan shakes his head and Lailoken introduces, "Members of the Vindicator Wardens Pack; Glofish, Samami, Mami, Mandy, Brilite and Em 'n Em," he pauses a moment before giving them a questioning glance.

"The rest are guarding Elysium," Glofish speaks for everyone as she states, "we managed to reach out to hybrids that don't stand behind Mercury and Ciarán, ones who remember the time when the Code of Conduct destroyed many lives. Even the Ice Haven Pack...they'll be here in a while."

Ice Haven Pack?

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Brilite has all eyes on her as she says, "The Mercy Matrons, Primordial Snare Pack, Silent Stars Pack and Crusaders Pack will be arriving shortly."

Mandy nods and asks, "Have you seen the satellite view of their rebellion nearing Castle Valentine?"

Lailoken says nothing in return and is quick to take the screen that Mandy outstretches her arms to hand him. I'm sitting quietly with everyone else and it only takes Em 'n Em a second later before she exclaims, "Holy shit! She's one of us!"

She's pointing at me as my cheeks turn a bright shade of red. Their excitement bubbles, but it's quickly contained when Lailoken comes back and informs everyone, "They'll be within striking distance in at least three hours."

"The packs will be here in about an hour," Mami speaks up and it's then that all eyes fall on me.

"What?" I ask with confusion. Glancing at dad, even he is looking at me and I exclaim louder, "What?"

"You're the queen, Acacia," Dad reminds me and my skin breaks out in goosebumps, "it's your call."

I look from Taron to Rian and then rest my eyes on Lailoken before replying, "I can't..."

"You've already outsmarted a warlock, destroying a lifetime of plans to undo everything..." Lailoken has a soft smile on his face.

Taron clears his throat, "You freed your dad from Aeon..."

"I believe in you," Rian smiles and everyone looks to me, not a single one speaking out against me as their leader.

We're going to need more than just brute strength should that fade, so I turn to dad and ask him, "Mom's weapons...?"

"The armory has been locked away for awhile," Dad appears thoughtful as he nods and turns to Aohdan, "let's go gather the covens to arm them with guns and ammunition."

They leave the room, turning to Lailoken as I ask, "Will they not have weapons of their own?"

"If they went to the lengths they did to kill your mom, then our best bet is to assume so," Lailoken replies and then turns to Brilite, "share your blood to prevent against any toxins."

Brilite bites into her wrist before she first shares with her pack members, Rian asking, "What's that?" While he scratches the back of his head when she approaches him.

Lailoken chuckles and says, "Brilite got her nickname this way...her blood is purification essence, allowing for it to quickly heal and ward off any toxins or poisons that enter the bloodstream," he pauses a moment when Rian still appears apprehensive, "for example, if you were to be injected with liquid silver, it wouldn't affect you in the slightest."

"Why the nickname though?" Taron asks after Rian takes her blood, Brilite offering it to him next.

Brilite replies flatly, "You'll glow in the dark. Any other questions?" Amused, mock-irritation is laced in her words.

Taron shakes his head before he tastes her blood. I'm the last one, feeling the way it fills me in a different way from having to rely on immortal blood to heal. My body has never felt so alive and healthy, to know that I can heal like everyone else is a blessing in itself.

I pull Lailoken aside when everything begins to set into place, asking him in the furthest hallway near the ballroom, "Lailoken?"

He turns his head in my direction after turning his back on everyone else and asks, "What's wrong?"

My eyes search his as I ask, "Who are the Ice Haven Pack?"

He lifts his chin slightly and replies, "They're the pack my mother's true hybrid mate came from. He was once the beta to their alpha."

Dad and Aohdan are back and laying out weapons with the covens, the door opening hours later as the packs begin to arrive. It's an organized chaos that begins to create a very prolific army. The warriors of the packs stand strong, each carrying a gun in hand as their vampire counterparts stand alongside them.

"Why is their pack...referred to as is?" I continually ask, hearing the sounds of guns being loaded.

He chuckles and replies, "They're also a hybrid only pack...however, they're of a different blood, their traits allowing them to survive in the harshest conditions. They derive from the southern pole...once you see them they're unmistakable for members of their pack. Their climate has conditioned them as well, and partially due to this, they remained off the grid during the Code of Conduct era."

They sound like a whole other species in itself...

"How come I've never seen them?" I ask with slight hesitation.

"How else do you believe they have survived as long as they have?" Lailoken brushes the strands of hair that fall over my shoulder, his eyes meeting with mine when he gently reminds me, "Though...the last thing they'd stand for in this lifetime is another relapse of being under the Code of Conduct."

A smile forms on my lips as I fall into his touch when his hand cradles my cheek, telling him, "Thank you."

"For what?" He arches a brow.

"For always listening to me and answering my questions," my cheeks redden when his lips touch my forehead, kissing me gently.

Lailoken replies gently, "I promised I would."

There's much preparation that goes by quicker than I can ever imagine. Traps are set, allowing for the use of tunnels that had been dug underground to create pitfalls for those who don't tread carefully.

It's when I stand back next to dad, that he tells me, "You're the greatest gift in this world...I'm just sorry I wasn't who you needed me to be...a father."

"No, dad," I shake my head and turn to him before saying, "you were the one who actually tried...but there was only so much that you could do given how you were also being played."

"I know, but I should have been there for you more," he continues to beat down on himself and yes, my childhood was taken from me...but he still tried when mom and Dante wouldn't.

"We're ready," Taron is the one to climb up the steps toward the front door that dad and I stand in front of. Weapons are drawn as we can hear off in the distance the growing vibrations of their approach. The sound climbs higher into the air, my heart beginning to beat very fast as I can hear them almost before us...

It's when I see Mercury and Ciarán, that my fear surfaces...

...though I receive the most confused expressions from the two of them.

"Surrender the crown and bow to your rightful king," Mercury muses before finishing, the crowd growing around him at his words, "or die standing in the way."

A shiver runs down my spine as everyone who stands with us...a murmur begins to break out as, "Queen Acacia," a chime between their lips as the sound grows. It continues until it becomes quite clear, that no one will bow down to a false king and his puppet master.

All I hear is the blood pounding in my ears when their side moves forward at an alarming rate. The air catches in my lungs when I see many defending their way of life, go head-on at those who'd impose the Code of Conduct. The sound of guns firing, screams rising and bodies mounting...it becomes a frenzy of noise I attempt to block out.

They dodge the traps set out, but many still fall due to the heavy gunfire, both sides dropping very quickly. It's when a very loud explosion goes off, does the ground all around Castle Valentine rises up...a thrown device going off near the grounds. Everyone is thrown in different directions and I don't realize how far I've been knocked off my feet until I'm skidding across the ground toward the treeline. It's a disoriented mess of those regaining their surroundings that give the rebellion a chance to overtake the upper hand we once had.

He's running at me, a second too late for me to see how close he is...

...but it's Rian that sideswipes Mercury from ever reaching me.

I'm regaining my balance as I see Rian and Mercury fighting for control on the ground, each of them landing punches at one another. Blood spills...Mercury's fangs sink into Rian's upper arm...though he's torn away from him a second later as his scream echoes...

...Taron throws him off Rian, quickly turning around to guard him while Mercury slides back a few feet. His irises are a bloody red, hissing at Taron before I see the sudden shift in his...golden irises quickly replacing Taron's.

Werewolves have always been innately stronger than vampires...alphas anyway. Regardless of Taron being years younger than Mercury, nothing will stand in the way of an alpha when his mate is being threatened...he will protect with his life.

Marcel breaks through the skin a second later, launching himself at Mercury. He bites into Mercury's upper shoulder, pinning him to the ground. He hardly lets up, even when Mercury is punching him hard in the side, his strength never waivers. The wolf of a beast is stronger than that of an immortal creature, and it's reminded many as the battle rages on in the distance...

Mercury has allies though, Cypher and Ryser quickly coming to his aid as they move to take out Marcel...

...Lailoken's presence causes a ripple of energy to radiate from the spot he suddenly appears in. He's quick, knocking them both to their feet while Marcel continues to pin Mercury down.

My eyes widen as I can see off in the distance, those attempting to run and escape from their assault on Castle Valentine, nearing the edge of the traps. It's at the treeline they run to, that I see many figures appearing...their hair a distinctive winter white, their skin reflecting a similar paleness while their irises are heterochromatic...remain a haunting blue and green.

Lailoken glances to Rian and I see it in his eyes...my vampire's strength and reassurances are given a renewal, his confidence growing as Lailoken and he quickly restrains Cypher and Ryser.

Spring the trap.

Lailoken's thoughts slip through to mine, quickly standing to my feet before I outstretch my hand...the spiderwebs weaving an impenetrable wall. It blocks those from escaping as the many mines erupt from the ground when they step wrong in their haste to scramble away. The liquid silver explodes from shards beneath the surface of the Earth, puncturing their flesh before they're brought to their feet...

...those few who do manage to escape, those prismatic beings are there to stop them in their tracks.

I'm able to keep the wall up easily...

...until a moment later, I feel like I'm hit by a train.

Arms are wrapped around my body as I'm knocked to the ground. The concentration I have drops immediately, those who have come to aid us are able to take out the remaining individuals who'd supported Mercury and my brother. Their feeble attempt to get away is just that...futile. It's Ciarán though...the one who brings me to the ground and quickly punches me in the face. When I turn right back around, standing to my feet, his eyes meet with mine.

Ciarán's eyes hold mine as he snarls, "What the fuck?"

"I now understand..." my voice trails off as I state, "...I now know what it is I did to you...to have you disregard me as your sister. The ties that were once deceiving...they affected you too," I pause a moment as I see his nostrils flare with anger, "you were just like Rian...yet much...much more violent and took out your hate on me."

Ciarán rushes forward very quickly and wraps his hand around my throat, knocking me onto my back once again.

"Acacia!" Rian yells.

Lailoken warns him, "Don't let go of him!" He refers to Ryser who is within his grasp, hearing others rushing forward toward the two of us.

"You took everything from me," Ciarán's voice is uneven, seeing the anger that blazes in his eyes.

"No, Ciarán," my hand wraps around his wrist, "you took it from yourself the second you betrayed me as your blood."

While Ciarán's grip intensifies, feeling my airway cutting off...my true born hybrid strength comes forward and I'm able to match him...exceed him even. His eyes widen when he sees my true self, staring back at him as wisps encircle around his arm. The darkness ensnares him, purplish flecks lifting until they consume his being.

It's then that I see those moments when we were little...my brother giving me the moonstone necklace, our love we had for one another.

I can't...

I release the aura around him and he nearly crushes my windpipe a second later...

...though, Lailoken never allows for it to happen.

He tears Ciarán off me, throwing him down hard before he's on top of him. I'm coughing as I slowly sit up, seeing now that Aohdan and dad are the ones restraining Cypher and Ryser. Lailoken punches Ciarán over and over again in the face, feeling the intensity that rolls off his body in waves. The anger and hate come forward, watching until Ciarán is nearly beaten an inch from death...

...it won't be that easy though.

Lailoken rises to his feet, his hands clenched into fists as his spits out, "Though it might not be in Acacia's nature to kill..." his voice trails off, snarling angrily, "...that doesn't mean it isn't in mine."

"Death would be too good for them," Aohdan is the one to state, watching as members from the Vindicator Wardens Pack begin to slip on cuffs behind the backs of Ryser and Cypher. Marcel releases his jaws from Mercury, he too being restrained.

"You're quite right about that," a dark glint reflects in Lailoken's eyes, "they'll beg for death....for a mercy that will be graced by that of Acacia herself."

Em 'n Em let's out a snarl as she lays eyes on Ciarán, "That...That pathetic waste of life energy is my true hybrid mate?!" She turns to Lailoken and retorts, "You're right about one thing, the Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes because in me being his mate...that means there are far more ways of endless torture..." she continues to carry on, ranting and raving about Mercury next as her beloved...as the Vindicator Wardens Pack members begin to take away the leaders.

Lailoken kneels down in front of me, looking me over worriedly. I tell him, "I'm sorry..."

"Why are you sorry?" He asks me with complete confusion.

"I couldn't kill him..." it pains me that if I didn't have my mates...Ciarán would most likely have killed me because I wasn't strong enough...

...emotionally, to end his life.

Lailoken reminds me gently, helping me to my feet, "We cannot change the nature of our souls...though we can balance each other out quite easily," he nods also to Rian and Marcel, my wolfie nearing me.

"Acacia," dad is standing there, my heart skipping a beat as he sees me...

...though it's odd, a strange sensation that fills the area when those who are very different in appearance approach us.

"Lailoken," a tall, built man regards my mate, my eyes widening at the informality and also...him using his entire first name at the same time. I see the way they respect each other in their own right, though the man turns to my dad, regarding him briefly before he says, "Here you are...all this time."

What?

Dad is in complete confusion also, but I see the way he refuses to allow himself to show the emotion wanting to surfaces so easily. He does ask, "Wh-Who are you?"

The man lifts his chin and proudly states, "Sebastian Danvers, Alpha of the Ice Haven Pack," he pauses a moment, his irises shifting to that of a reddish-orange before I see that golden glint flicker across his irises. One word leaves his lips, his full attention on dad, and everything comes to light when that alpha tone resonates, "Mate."

💫--To Be Continued--💫

Sebastian Danvers

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