RISE OF THE LYCANS - Mates and Bonds

Lukas

There had to be something in this church that would give us a clue—something that we just weren’t seeing. I looked up at the ceiling and gothic arches, then down to the marble floors. I checked under the altars, around the statues, and felt the stone pillars and walls. There was nothing, but my beast could sense there was something.

Grandma moved behind me, muttering something about the Bible and demons possessing a King. I thought the darkness would have kept her quietly seated beside my mate, but I should have known better. Sol mentioned the rack of prayer candles and wanted to drag them closer for more light.

“I’ll get it in a moment,” I promised, worried one of them might tip the whole thing over. “Grandma, please sit down so I can concentrate on the search.”

“The bench is hard on my tushy,” she complained just as I saw a dark shadow in the corner.

I took a few steps closer and heard Ranger ask my sister about chandeliers. The shadow moved, and I crept closer, dimming the ball of fire in my hand. My claws extended to full length, and my canines dropped. If it was the she-demon, I was going to send her straight back to hell.

Storm replied to Ranger, and Alpha Orléans’ voice rang out from somewhere high up in the church. They were talking about red velvet curtains or wallpaper, but all I could think about was the dark shadow. I neared the corner and saw a peak of red hair.

“Are you sneaking up on me?” Flaym asked, and I realized it was his shadow cast by the zippo flame in his hand.

“What are you doing behind there?” I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

“The same as everyone else,” he replied, noticing my extended claws. “Searching for clues.”

“I saw a shadow moving,” I said, shaking my head and retracting my claws. Grandma Dori was right; everything about this place was putting me on edge.

“Then light this place up, so we can tell the difference between shadows and black mist.”

I turned my attention back to the candles on the iron prayer racks and realized Selena and Sol were not seated were I last saw them.

“Selena?” I called out.

Nothing.

“Grandma?” Flaym tried calling her, and there was no response.

“She’d better not start playing the organ!” Rex’s voice replied.

“Sol? Did anyone see where my mate went?” Ranger asked. “She was here just a second ago.”

“You know Grandma,” Storm said from the other side of the church. “She probably needed the lady’s room, and the others didn’t trust her to go alone.”

“The public toilets are located outside,” Flaym told us. “Maybe they slipped away to find a private toilet in a back office or chamber.”

“Selena!” I tried through the mind link. “Where are you?”

“Sol,” Ranger roared, knocking over chairs as he rushed to the bench where she was last seated.

I sniffed the area, and there was nothing unusual. I returned to the confessional and tore the door from the hinges.

“SELENA!” I growled, and the church shook. I wanted to bring this whole damn place down. I wanted to sink the entire damn island in the middle of the river.

“How is it possible?” Rex asked looking closely at the bench they had been seated at.

“What the hell is going on here!” I snarled. “SELENA!” I kicked the confessional wall and splintered it open.

“Maybe there’s a portal or door we can’t see,” Alpha Orléans suggested and started touching the stones on the pillars.

“Erick disappeared in this confessional, and Zane and Cynder disappeared while visiting this church,” Storm recapped. “Now Grandma, Selena, and Sol have vanished right under our noses in this church.”

“There has to be something in this church,” Rex agreed.

“Grandma always said the devil is in the details,” Flaym said. “Or, in this case… the church.”

“I need to talk to Aunt Hazel,” Storm retrieved her cell phone and scrolled for the number.

“I haven’t told my mother about Caspian yet,” Ranger told Storm. “I thought we would have found him by now. Fuck!”

I kept sniffing the area, trying to pick up a different scent. There was nothing. I couldn’t even scent my mate near the confessional or anyone else. I should have been able to scent everyone who touched it when we first arrived. My beast roared inside me, and I was blinded by rage.

“Lukas,” Rex spoke through the mind link. “Calm down. You won’t be able to help her or your pup if you let emotions rule you right now. She needs you to remain calm.”

“I don’t even know who the hell it is!” I snarled, running my fingers through my hair. “Is it Erick? Is it Jose?”

“We’ll figure it out,” Rex replied calmly.

“How about Jules Darc? Did they summon a demon?” Everything seemed to make sense, and yet nothing was making sense. “And that creepy fucking priest…”

“We’re going to find them,” Rex said as his lycan eyes started swirling. His emotions were rising, and I knew he was upset seeing me in this state.

“We’re in the house of God. Is he punishing us because our souls belong to the Moon Goddess? Maybe it’s the Moon Goddess punishing us?” I threw a bench against the remains of the confessional, and the sharp sound of splintering wood echoed in the church.

“If there’s a door here, we’re going to find it,” Storm told us.

“How?” Flaym asked.

“Aunt Hazel is less than an hour away from here,” she replied, shoving the phone into her pocket. “She was worried when Selena asked about demons earlier this afternoon.”

“Selena called Aunt Hazel?”

“Is my brother coming with her?” Ranger sighed in frustration.

“There’s no way your father is going to let her come all this way to hunt a demon alone,” she told Ranger. “Uncle Zeus is with her.”

“He left the pack during high alert?” Alpha Orléans looked stunned.

“It doesn’t matter,” Flaym replied. “There are plenty of other Alphas at the Moon Realm to keep it secure. Nothing will get past Aunt Cassi.”

“My mother’s magic protecting the pack lands will hold up even if she’s not there,” Ranger said with certainty.

“What if it’s a trap to lure your mother here?” Alpha Orléans asked. “Alpha Darc went to great lengths to secure Erick from my pack.”

“The greedy bastard tried to secure a lycan, too,” Storm reminded us.

“Alpha Darc is dead now,” Rex snarled, and I knew he wanted to be the one to end Darc for plotting to take Storm.

“Yes, but Jules is still out there,” Alpha Orléans reminded us. “When I tell you he’s crazy, I mean it.”

“If he wants a taste of my mother’s magic, he’ll get it,” Ranger snarled as his gray eyes turned black. “She’s not a mage. She’s a child of Hecate!”

Alpha Orléans looked stunned by this revelation. Hecate was the Greek Goddess of Magic. She had helped the Olympians overthrow the Titans and was honored by Zeus above all other gods. A child of Hecate was something most considered a myth.

“They’re still an hour away.” An hour was too long. My beast snarled inside me, urging me to destroy this place brick by brick, and another tremor escaped me.

“She could be trapped in a hidden room,” Rex said. “Bringing down the walls of the cathedral might hurt her.”

“I say you tear this entire place down,” Ranger rumbled. “They have to be here somewhere.”

“Maybe you should go outside and get some fresh air while we wait for them,” Storm said. “I’m going to try meditating to see if anything comes to me.”

“We’re not splitting up!” I snapped at her. “Every time someone walks away, they disappear.”

Flaym suggested we go up to the bell towers. “Storm can meditate in a corner, and you can clear your head.”

We climbed the tight stone spiral staircase to the first lookout deck, only to be greeted with a downpour of rain we had started. I didn’t mind the rain so much because it would keep people indoors and away from the cathedral in the heart of Paris. Notre-Dame was normally lit up at night, and if I stopped the rain, it might bring unwanted attention.

The thunder rolled in the sky, and lightning flashed. I used my water element to keep the lookout point between the two towers dry. Rex moved to the far corner, where it was still dry thanks to the overhang of the observation deck at the very top of the bell towers. He pulled off his jacket and laid it on the cold stone floor. Storm seated herself first, and Rex took the seat behind her.

They sat back to back, supporting one another as they did when they were tiny pups. Rex was nearly a foot taller than our sister, and the back of her head reached just below the nape of his neck. She folded her legs and took a deep breath before she closed her eyes.

Rex’s voice came through the mind link to me. “I’m going to try tapping into her visions or relax enough to see if something comes to me.”

I looked at my brother and nodded before turning my attention to Paris. To my surprise, people were still milling around on the Latin Quarter side. My annoyance got the best of me, and I stirred the winds, causing choppy swells in the river that splashed up the sides of the retaining walls. I used my earth element to bring down a few trees and caused winds strong enough to tear a few café awnings.

The fallen trees should have been enough to cause a distraction away from the cathedral, but thinking about my missing mate caused my anger to flare. I struck the Eiffel Tower with three successive lightning bolts and considered dropping a tornado on the city. I thought about draining the Seine River and sending the water flowing into the streets of Paris. The Louvre was just on the other side of the river, and I considered burning it down.

I returned my gaze over to the Latin Quarter in the direction of Selena’s burned apartment. My chest constricted, and I had to clench my hands in tight fists to keep from screaming out in frustration. She loved her little apartment and Paris so much… I knew she’d be very unhappy with me if I unleashed my wrath on this city… But Goddess, I wanted to burn this whole place down.

“Where are you?” I whispered into the darkness of the night.

“We’ll find them,” Alpha Orléans assured me. “This very church has survived wars, revolutions, and fire, yet here she stands, a beacon of hope in the city center. When I was a little pup, everyone believed that lycans had gone extinct. It seemed impossible to bring back something that was lost, and yet here you stand.”

“You’re not worried that the existence of lycans will bring the fall of werewolves?”

“Not at all. Both were created by the Moon Goddess and have lived on this earth in harmony before. Your LaRue ancestors were from France before the pack moved to Western Canada. If your family seizes the Darc pack, then LaRue blood has returned home.”

“And if your sister and Erick are involved?”

“Then I pray you give them a swift death,” he replied and bowed his head.

“I should look inside the bell chambers,” Ranger suggested as he paced anxiously.

“I’ll come with you,” Flaym said. “I hear the bells all have special names.”

“Easy there, Quasimodo!” Ranger scoffed just as a loud crash landed behind us.

The smashed remains of a gargoyle had fallen right where Storm had been seated. She and Rex appeared to have rolled out of the way just in time. They were both on the ground, rolled back against the stone of the building.

“Are you okay?” Rex spoke first.

“Glad I dodged that splitting headache,” Storm replied.

“Did you see it in through the vision?” Rex asked.

“Yes,” she replied. “You?”

“Same,” he nodded.

I looked up at the other gargoyles and realized there was one with curved horns at the very top. It looked like a winged female troll or something. I watched as it took flight, and before I could strike it with a bolt of lightning, it turned into black mist and evaporated.

“What the hell was that?” Alpha Orléans asked.

“We think it’s a demon that Erick may have summoned.”

“It just tried to kill your sister and took off into the night,” Alpha Orléans looked out into the wet darkness in shock.

“Let’s get back inside and wait for my father to call,” Ranger suggested. “You’re going to need to settle the storm so they can land.”

I didn’t want Uncle Zeus using his energy the moment he arrived in Paris to neutralize my storm, so I turned it down to a gentle rain. We returned to the spiral stone steps and climbed down.

“Do you think the she-demon has them?” Alpha Orléans asked.

“It’s been stalking us since we arrived in Paris,” Flaym said. “I’m surprised she snatched Grandma!”

“I’m surprised she hasn’t returned Grandma yet,” Rex replied.

“I like your grand-mère,” Alpha Orléans told us. “She’s very spirited.”

I spent the next hour sitting in silence, staring up at the gold cross of the altar as if I were in a trance. I had failed to protect my mate and pup, and now I was at the mercy of others to find her. Some Lycan King I was… I had failed my mate.

“What else did you see through the vision?” Ranger asked Storm.

“I saw the gargoyle crashing,” she said.

“And I saw the entire rooftop of the church,” Rex added.

“Before that, I saw a dark pit,” she said.

“I saw tunnels,” Rex told us.

“I saw the same chandelier,” Storm continued.

“And I saw an opulent room, like a royal suite, with a massive chandelier,” Rex replied.

“And, did you see anyone?” I asked eager to hear if my mate was okay.

“No,” Storm said softly. “I saw the melting moon.”

“But I saw the Moon Goddess,” Rex stated.

“What do you mean you saw the Moon Goddess?” Uncle Zeus’ voice rang out.

I turned, relieved to find my Uncle Zeus and Aunt Hazel walking towards us. If anyone could detect a portal or hidden door, it was her. As a child of Hecate, she was the key to other realms, hidden doors, and locks.

Ranger rushed to embrace his mother and greeted his father.

“The Gamma in front must belong to you, François.” Uncle Zeus extended a hand to greet him.

Aunt Hazel reached to hug me, and I couldn’t resist one of her warm hugs. For just a split second, my beast calmed, knowing Aunt Hazel would do everything she could to help me find my mate.

“Where did you last see them?” Uncle Zeus asked, and I showed them the confessional.

Aunt Hazel turned to me, and her hands moved quickly to speak the words on her mind. “Did you find the confessional damaged like this?”

“No,” I shook my head. “I was frustrated,” I admitted.

“It’s okay,” her soft voice came out just above a whisper.

“When we were in Egypt, a sorceress used a portal on my sister,” Zeus started to say… “What do you mean it’s not a portal?” He asked his mate as if responding to something she said.

She crouched low and extended her hands out in front of her as if sensing some kind of energy. “An enchanted doorway,” she spoke.

“Portal? Enchanted doorway? What’s the difference?” Alpha Orléans asked.

“A portal can transport you miles away, and an enchanted doorway leads into another connected room, but it’s designed to be unseen,” Uncle Zeus explained. “Sometimes ordinary people walk past a door or shop and don’t even see it. If someone gets close to the door, the magic deters them, and their legs just carry them off in a different direction.”

“Can you open the doorway?”

She nodded her head and stepped back. With a wave of her hand, the entire confessional vanished.