Veritas

Chapter 38

A heavy silence fell over the group as everyone digested the seriousness of the situation. If they had bad luck in their timing, they could be walking into a war, or even a massacre. If they didn't go, though, that wouldn't change the outcome for many innocent individuals. They had to try to uncover what was happening so they could try to stop it.

The werewolves began their goodbyes, knowing their path forward. Before they could leave, though, Gwen stopped Aislinn.

"Here...You'll be able to control your dreams better with it. You can stop them if they're too scary, or avoid them altogether...The power is yours" Gwen explained, pressing the smooth silver stone she'd used before into Aislinn's talisman. The talisman glowed briefly, then returned to normal; however, Aislinn and Gwen were the only ones who could see. Now that the talismans were on and active, nobody but the wearer and the witch could see them.

It was for this reason that, as the group was walking towards the Royal Pack's entrance, that Ryan gave Aislinn a small punch to her bicep.

Aislinn had been thinking of what Gwen had said, while fiddling with her talisman as they walked. Since nobody could see the talisman, she appeared to be fiddling with empty air.

"Hey...Stop doing that, it looks...Odd" Ryan said gently once he had her attention. He felt weird about her masculine appearance; he longed to see her pretty face once again.

Aislinn gave Ryan a forced smile and dropped her hands to her sides with a nod. She was anxious about so many things; and so, it was the positive prospect of being able to stop her nightmares that she chose to focus on. Still, the idea that those nightmares stemmed from the hatred of the King, of her mate! It caused her blood to pound in her ears as her rage built inside her.

Again, Ryan gave her a shove. "What's up with that heart rate? You're going to make us look suspicious" he chastised her half-heartedly.

"Mind-link from this point out, we're almost there" Rei cut in to warn them. "The King is very protective of his entire territory...Soon the mountain will give way to huge walls, and before long we'll reach the side gate. There's no sense in going all the way to the main gate if they'll let us in there" she continued, hoping to distract Aislinn with details.

Aislinn looked up, and sure enough she could see not too far ahead that the dark, rocky surface of the mountain merged entirely into a beautiful, starkly contrasted ornate wall of gold with delicate-looking green glass decorative panels. The gold wiring detail was breathtakingly beautiful, with intricate designs woven through and across the glass panels. If one looked closely, they could almost read a story in the design. Aislinn was astounded by how tall the wall reached, staring up into the sky to try to determine where the wall ended.

Upon seeing Aislinn looking up, Rei smirked a bit. She was amused to see a similar reaction from her son. "When your goal is to keep vampires, witches and rogues away...No normal wall will do. This wall was built with magic, dedication and cooperation between the Royal family and the Moon Thread pack, as well as the Moon Thread coven. Height alone could not keep the enemies out; but, with a hint of magic, it can do the trick" she continued.

"What's the magic do?" Ryan asked.

"Nothing to you...It will burn any rogue, vampire or witch who tries to touch it; so, they'd never be able to climb it. Even at the top, a barrier protects the open sky from having them jump in off of the mountain top" his mother answered.

"Sounds like they're a paranoid group. Who cares about royalty anyways? They're just werewolves like the rest of us. Seems stupid to have one guy in charge of an entire race" Ryan scoffed.

"It's meant to be a mated pair to rule us. They bring out the best in one another, to ensure that the race is loved, protected and guided properly. As wolves we look to our Alphas for all of these things, but with no leader for the Alphas, chaos would ensue. Wars would wage internally, and we would decimate ourselves for the witches and vampires. The Royal Family is there to ensure peace and harmony, while also ensuring a united front against our enemies" Rei explained, sadness evident in her voice. "The current King has allowed himself to be led away from this natural balance, and I fear he will lead us to chaos without help in righting his wrongs" she finished quietly.

With his mother's passionate yet sad explanation of events, Ryan decided to keep his thoughts on royalty to himself. Meanwhile, Aislinn was contemplating how she was ever mated to such a selfish jackass that he would risk the safety and balance for the entirety of the werewolf race just to avoid her. Her anger was beginning to mount again when Rei broke the silence.

"There" she said, pointing as they walked over a crest and were within view of the gates into the pack. Werewolves were lined up as they waited their turn, while two very bored-looking guards ushered them in after a preliminary search. The trio joined the line; however, after about ten minutes of waiting they were nearing the front when one of the guards happened to catch the eye of Rei.

Suddenly, both guards took on a shocked appearance that was quickly overtaken by a look of fear. Their bored, slumped postures were straightened and an air of seriousness took over. They suddenly became much more thorough in their searches of the werewolves they were letting in.

Rei watched this with an apprehensive look, not knowing why they were behaving in such a manner. Both Ryan and Aislinn had noticed the change, too, and were looking to Rei for answers. Before Rei could even attempt an explanation, though, it was their turn to approach the guards.

The guards turned to Rei and saluted her, taking the group by surprise. The guards greeted her in unison: "Welcome back, Captain! We weren't expecting you!"