Beastly

Chapter 52

Marcus was no fool. Xander had intentionally put him on the spot to raise the level of caution in the

meeting. It seems that he didn't fully trust him enough to allow the atmosphere to be lax. He didn't

blame him though. A lot was being put on the line for Xander. The same went for Marcus. The only

thing that was allowing them to have a compromise was the woman staring intently between them.

Heaving a sigh, he looked back at Xander, dropping his smile "I'm a hybrid."

"A hybrid?" Sterling asked then chuckled, "What does that even mean?"

"Simply put Commander, it means although I am a werewolf, I have no wolf. I cannot fit into the order of

any pack because of this. I feel no connection to ranks and I do not easily submit to Alphas."

"That means you're exactly like-!" Sterling's hostility rose and displayed in his stance

"That maniac we have down in the prison." Xander finished, "Which brings me back to the question I

first asked; why are you here? I don't take it as a coincidence that you suddenly showed up here, after

the attack and want to rekindle a relationship with my mate."

"Your mate who happens to be my long lost sister."

"Your sister only by blood."

"At least it's better than only being a mate by wishful thinking, Alpha Xander."

Xander's wicked grin stretched out across his face and Ava swore she saw the wheels turning in his

head. This wasn't the time to rile anyone up. Marcus was the only one who understood just what the

hell he was trying to achieve, but then again, she liked that he didn't back down from Xander's dreadful

aura and words.

"I should kill you right now, don't you think?" Xander asked, his tone emotionless

"Alexander!" Ava shouted, getting annoyed by how they were going at each other's throats now "If you

try anything, I won't go out to dinner with you. Ever. And Marcus..." her brother looked like he had a

triumphant smile on his face but she glared at him making his smile to drop "Stop trying to rile him up."

Both men looked back at each other and Marcus raised his hands in surrender.

"The man you have in your prison is a product of what they call 'The Induction'." Marcus started "Before

I go into detail of that. I want you to understand something about Ava and I." At his last sentence, he

directed a gentle smile at her, then took a deep breath

"I am a natural-born hybrid, a guardian of the gifted. Although we were born to the same parents, we

have no similar characteristics and could be mistaken to be utter strangers. This is because I was born

to protect her and she was born to fulfil a destiny assigned to her by the heavenly beings and the

orders of fate. In layman's terms, your mate is a superhero and I'm the one who has to help her get

there." he said Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Cole was usually playful about these kinds of topics but Ava noticed that he was very attentive. The

room was dead silent as Marcus relayed what she knew to the rest of them. He spoke about 'The

Induction' and of how the people that had captured him had run multiple tests on him and had extracted

his DNA, using it on their followers to get rid of their wolves.

Most died in the process. Some had survived and had developed few powers that could be likened to

his, although everything came at a price and the price of his DNA infused with their normal werewolf

DNA was complete and utter insanity. The cult glorified themselves as people who could stand next to

The gifted in the aftermath of the war and were dying to get their hands on her as soon as possible.

The reason for the death of the many women across the country was not because Ava was Xander's

mate. It was because after she had suddenly vanished, no one had been able to trace her at all. The

cult had caught wind of it and had suspicions of her being the one they had been waiting for. They had

started to search for women with the description Xander had given out and when they were not

satisfied, they killed them off. Most times, they subjected them to torture before they died. It was really

sickening and only increased the anger of the men in the room. It was even more aggravating that

others would take advantage of what this cult was doing and try to raid the pack in the absence of their

leader.

"My God." Sterling said lowly "Just what the hell is happening?"

"I need to start her training at once." Marcus said, concluding

Xander stared back at him, not believing what he was hearing. Heavenly beings? Things that controlled

fate? A war? Everything sounded so grave that he imagined the world crashing and burning in its wake.

"What exactly..." he started, organising his thoughts "What exactly does this war mean?"

Marcus' stance became rigid as his eyes narrowed even further "I'm not sure, but I can tell you one

thing, nobody will be able to stop it. This cult has been gathering up a large number of followers. They

know she exists and they'll keep trying to get to her because she'll be the turning point for everything."

"Isn't this too much responsibility for one person to bear?" Cole asked "She's barely trying to deal with

these cult guys and now you're here, running your mouth about a war!"

"I agree with Beta Cole. This is too much for her to burden on her own. What kind of training does this

even entail? Is it something we the warriors of the pack can't handle?" Sterling chipped in, agitated as

well

"She's not on her own. Although this pack is linked to a lot of trauma for her, you all are here for her. I

am here for her. This cult has been digging for information, sending off spies and eventually triggered a

large wave of power from her. Expect for this pack to be more under attack than usual." Marcus said

"I'm not childish enough to believe they fear here just because of what happened last time. They are

also aware that she can barely control her powers."

"But if what you're saying is true then why are we still having murder cases of red-heads being

reported? It doesn't make any sense." Sterling said

"Diversion." they all turned to look at Xander. His eyes were cold and his facial expression was filled

with silent rage "They are trying to pull us away from the pack with these deaths because they know

we'll want to take responsibility. During that time, they'll strike." He released a deep chuckle "Are you

fucking kidding me?"

"Exactly. The only reason they didn't come here during the time you were absent was that Beta Cole

was still here." Marcus said "Although it was fortunate that I was able to sneak in during the time you

were gone, it's dangerous for you to leave her Alpha Xander. You are, the only capable person that can

be able to handle keeping her out of their hands. There's no one else I can entrust this to."

"So I was right when I put her under fucking protection then and where did she go?! Into that maniac's

den." Xander growled, looking her way

It was then that they all fully paid attention to her. Xander was the first to notice and instinctively

reached out to her when he saw the blank look in her eyes and on her face. She was staring straight

forward but it was very obvious that she wasn't here physically. Her mind had travelled but there was

no trace of her wolf being at the forefront of her mind.

"Shit. What the hell is happening?" Xander asked, pulling her into his arms and looking down at her.

Her eyes remained open but there seemed to be no life in them.

"Stay that way." Marcus suddenly said as he sensed that Xander's wolf would push him over the edge

of reason, "She's fine. She's just somewhere else right now. She'll return soon."

"What do you mean she'll return soon?" Cole asked, "Isn't this another panic attack?"

"Beta Cole, I assure you and swear on my life." Marcus' expression was serious as he looked down

"Give her a few minutes."

Xander's jaw ticked. He hated this. Why was he always so helpless when it came to this woman? His

hand raised to wave them all away. Cole and Sterling hesitated, but once they sensed the growing aura

of their Alpha, they bowed and left without another word, choosing to stay at the door. Marcus stayed

behind and sat down on a chair with a big sigh.

Marcus wasn't expecting this to happen so soon. It was probably linked to having her real memories

returned to her. Now that everything was complete, she would be able to enter that plane. The plane

that only she could go.

"Avaline is like a flower that opens up with the sun." Marcus started "Delicate, but powerful. I can tell

you this Alpha Xander..." he leaned forward as Xander looked up at him "Put some faith in her."

Faith? What the hell could faith do? It was the most obvious thing ever that she was probably much

more powerful than him, but he'd rather die than not try not to protect her. Even though he could feel

her heart beating at a normal pace in her chest, he wanted nothing more than for her eyes to be filled

with life and for her face to squeeze up at him. His arms held her closer, tighter as he took in her scent.

She was alive.

He had to be patient.

She would return. And she would get ready in time for their date tonight.

............

Blue skies above. Clear tranquil waters below.

"Just how long am I going to be here?" Ava asked out loud, as she kept walking on the water

One moment, she was in a room with the guys and the next, she was here in this weird place. Instead

of getting panicked, she was hit with a sense of deja vu and had the lead to start walking. There had

been no one else and she had been walking for some time. At some point, she had even called out but

there was no response. It was like an endless space.

"I wish I could at least talk to Keira." she sighed and looked back "Just what is this place anyway?

Marcus has a lot of explaining to do." She took a deep breath again and stopped walking. Her eyes

closed as she took a deep breath. Home. She wanted to go home now.

When she opened her eyes again, blue eyes were staring back at her in what seemed to be relief and

a voice echoed in her head, softly yet so clear.

'Xim'

"You scared me." he said, his voice steady and soft "Don't do that again."

Xander was holding her tight and before she knew it, he was laying soft kisses on her temple. It was

warm. It gave her deja vu again. Why did it feel like she had felt all these before? Somehow she

understood just what the voice has said to her.

'Home.'