The Moon Goddess' Chosen

338 Secret Tunnel

Cole turned to Thorrin, concealing the emotions that threatened to explode from his heart, “You said...”

“I know what I said. We have to get going. Marie, would you call the doctor? We need to have her stabilized before transporting her,” the Mighty Warrior was already steps ahead, playing the part of the level-headed powerful hunter to perfection. What was inside, however, was an entirely different matter, but Thorrin didn’t have the luxury of letting his emotions cloud his judgement. This was what the hunters had trained themselves to do in situations when no one else could function clearly. As soon as requested, Marie vanished from view.

Caden and Jason got to overseeing the hunters that were securing the prisoners, diligently reporting all their decisions and discoveries to the king so he knew he would have nothing to worry about.

Cole seemed petrified at the spot with his unconscious mate in his arms. The girl was breathing, but there was something eerie about how she slept this time. He could sense it and so could his wolf.

The fear that had gripped him every morning when he woke up. The fear he hoped would never come. And one that almost seemed impossible. Waking up to someone who was completely fine, but unable to wake up was a nightmare he’d had, but that still wasn’t something he thought possible.

However, after watching a swarm of pigeons save the empire from rogue criminals and a lion come to Katie’s rescue, why would this be impossible? Cole was now certain that Katie was incapable of waking up from this slumber. “Cole, what’s happening?” a deep voice called out through all the chaos. The hunters guided the frightened wolves out of the throne room, giving the royals and everyone that was needed the space to sort out these unfortunate events.

Cole looked up from his mate and regarded the King of Sirius approaching him with the rest of the Sirius family. If Cole had expected Katie to wake up soon, he probably would have had the ability to be frightened by the man’s booming voice and scary demeanour, but this didn’t phase him.

He wanted only to know that his mate would be well. Alas, the Mighty Warrior had not explained everything to him and he could not be sure of what was going to happen, “Katie... has been pushing herself a little bit... and I’m afraid her condition has reached the point we were trying to avoid.”

“What do you mean by ‘she has been pushing herself a little bit’? You brought her onto the stage on your own. We all saw you do that,” the king countered.

.....

“That was for her own protection. She had just told me of the attempt on her life on her way to the throne room, so I chose to bring her here,” Cole replied, keeping his voice levelled and unintentionally distant.

The sirens of an ambulance soon reached the tense air of the throne room. Thorrin was about to walk off when the lion that was going unnoticed leapt off the raised stage. With the criminal it had pinned captured, the king of beasts thought to proceed to other matters that required his attention. Katie was in good paws after all.

“Oh no, that big cat is not going...” Thorrin paused when he noticed the beast race off in a direction opposite from the exit. The mighty warrior followed the lion, curiosity finally taking a hold of him. Leaving the chaos behind him, the man followed the lion. Not far from the two thrones, at the back corner of the throne room that wasn’t as lit as the rest of the room, the lion came to a stop.

The wall looked odd at that point, almost like it had been mistakenly built out of alignment with the rest of it. The lion pushed the wall with both of its paws and it budged, easily gaping open to reveal a large tunnel on the other side. On the other side of the hidden door was a man covered in dirt from head to toe. The man tipped his head to the side in confusion.

The man before him didn’t look like a rogue criminal. In fact, his shivering hands signified terror, yet when the lion walked past him, he barely flinched, “Who are you? I see you have met this lion. Did the Voice of the Wild send you here?” Thorrin asked him. When he noticed the confusion, he added, “An old woman that can speak to animals.”

“What... No, I mean, yes... Oh no, you weren’t supposed to see me. All I was supposed to do was warn the king before the attack,” the man fidgeted, “but I was late. I don’t have any connection to the woman if that’s what you’re asking. Please, you have to believe me.”

The Mighty Warrior pinched the bridge of his nose, “Come with me now.”

The man took a step back only to bump into the muscular body of a lion that was clearly in agreement with the hunter. Slumping his shoulders, he gave up and followed the Mighty Warrior through the hidden door to the throne room.

Thorrin found the king still standing in the same position he’d left him although with more of the Sirius royal family surrounding him, “Your majesty, I found this man hiding... dare I say it... Hiding in the walls. It seems there was a tunnel the criminals might have used to get in undetected.”

“Are all the criminals accounted for?” the King asked in reply.

“No, there is one that hasn’t been accounted for yet. Counting the one that was captured when Katie was on her way here, that leaves just one of them,” Thorrin answered, reserving his comments concerning the sudden discovery of secret tunnels.

“He’d be foolish to attack without allies. But just in case, keep security tight until he’s found. In the meantime, let’s get Katie to safety and stable,” Cole responded. Thorrin grimaced... the king wanted results. Results he hadn’t yet presented.

“Very well, however, there might be just one problem.”

“What might that be?”

“I’m sure you know about the werewolves that used to talk to animals. They have been known to show up and vanish just as quickly as they came. All we know about them are myths and legends. I had Marie look into the matter and she found one... here in Lycaon,” the man said to the king.

“What does that have to do with anything?” thankfully, Cole’s tone was still levelled. Thorrin was hoping he would stay that way by the time he was done with his explanation.

“I found a trend in how they used to appear. It was usually after or before the moon goddess had appeared in person to one of the royals,” the man said, “If I’m right, which I usually am. They protect the places the goddess lands in and keep werewolves and humans away from them. They use nature to tame human routes and drive them away from those places.”

“This history lesson is taking a long time. Is there a point to all this?” King Davin asked this time. The royals weren’t as patient as the hunter had hoped, so he skipped to the end.

“The woman we are looking for can help us fix Katie. She has to know a way to reach the gods themselves. I’m hoping they can help with what’s happening to her.”

“What makes you think the gods are going to do anything for her? They don’t interfere with humans,” Queen Martha argued.

“I know that, but her condition was caused by divine energy. In a way, if she dies, it will have gods written all over it, sooo....”

“Blackmail, are you trying to get them mad?” King Davin chuckled.

“We don’t have to go that far, but if it means getting her better, I might be inclined to use it,” the Mighty Warrior responded. The doors of the throne room burst open and admitted the medics that Marie had called. Cole placed the girl on the stretcher and watched them take her away.

“Will it work?” a female voice filled the room. Cole turned to the source of the voice. Stunned, he watched the tears rolling down Sandra’s face as they took her friend away on a stretcher. Katie’s best friend... and the only other person that had always been there was something that was happening to her. Cole hadn’t known Katie nearly as long as she had. Perhaps, the only other person that knew her that well... was Kyle.