Chapter 10

Maria had a devil-ish smirk on her face as she followed one of the pack members. She went down the hallway and down some steps. She could hear feet walking behind her and looked behind. She saw that Freya, Chris, Enzo and Yasmine were all following her to see what she was going to do. The man in front of her stopped and Maria looked to her left. There was a glass window with a door in the corner so you could get in and people could see what was going on. Callum had his arms and legs tied to a chair and were sat behind a desk. Taking in a deep breath, Maria looked at Freya and gave her a reassuring nod and walked inside the room. Callum looked up with a bruised face, but managed to give an evil smile towards Maria. Maria stood at the other end of the table and said, "You wanted to speak, so speak."                       "I wanted to tell you that you will lose this war, even if Salice dies." Maria let out a small smile and replied, "The end result to me will count as a win and I know what you're thinking, and I know what I will have to do." Callum looked a bit startled to find out Maria already knew what was going to happen and that she was still going to go through with it. "Now I am going to give you a choice. You can either tell me where Salice is hiding or we can do it the hard way."                                    "You won't do anything. You know it would break Freya's heart."                                  "Freya has already given me permission to do whatever I want to you. Now, is it going to be the hard or easy way?" Callum looked heart broken and stared down at the floor. Maria looked back at the window and Freya had a tear running down her face. Chris wrapped his arm around her waist and said, "You don't have to watch this if you're not ready for it."                   "No. I want to. I need to." Yasmine and Enzo looked at each other in confusion and Freya caught on. Freya looked at them and explained, "That's my dad. Although I don't consider him as one. He neglected and abandoned me all because I fell in love with a vampire." Yasmine's and Enzo's eyes went wide in shock. They only knew that witches and vampires had been enemies for years and to hear that they had fallen in love was strange for them to understand. Freya looked back at the window to see Maria still staring, waiting for an answer. Freya tapped the window twice and nestled her head in Chris's chest. Maria turned to face Callum and slowly pulled a knife out of her back pocket. Callum didn't look scared, but Maria knew it wouldn't last long. She then slowly pulled another knife out of her left pocket and gripped them both in her hands tightly. She moved closer to Callum and stabbed both of them in his thigh! He let out a grunt and anger filled his eyes. Maria tilted her head and asked, "Where is Salice hiding?" Callum didn't say anything and just looked away. Maria rolled her eyes and pulled one of the knives out and stabbed it his hand until it came out the other side. She then twisted the knife that was still in his leg in 360 degree's. Callum let out a low and deep scream and spat blood in Maria's face. She punched him over and over again. This happened for around 30 minutes and Callum soon became un-recognizable. Callum had blood all around his face and cuts from the stab wounds all over his body, but eventually, he caved in. "S-Stop. I'll tell you." Maria stopped her hand from hitting his face and pulled it back. She still had her hand gripped around one of the knives in his arm and stared at Callum, waiting for an answer. "There's an abandoned house near the high way. About 60 miles from here. It's hidden in the forest." Maria pulled the knives out of his body and stood up. She began to walk towards the door until Callum asked, "What are you going to do to me now?"                                                           "Whatever they want to. You're in pack territory now, Callum. It's not my call to make: if it was, you would be dead already." Callum's eyes pleaded with desperation and then slowly said, "Don't let anything happen to Freya. Protect her for me, please." Maria turned her head and replied, "I was never going to let anything happen to her, unlike you." Maria opened the door and walked through. She saw everyone else standing and staring at her. Maria looked down and saw that she was covered in blood. "I'm sorry you had to see that," Maria looked at Freya, but carried on talking "Now we have our answer, we must start getting ready to leave." Maria walked out of the room and the others followed. Freya looked back at Callum through the window and he looked up like he could see her (but he couldn't). Another tear rolled down her face and she walked out the room, leaving Callum. Alone. 

After a shower and cleaning herself up, Maria was standing outside. Looking out at the view and the blue sky, Enzo walked up beside her. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Maria nods and they both just stand there for a while in silence. Neither of them wanting to break the quite. "You need to tell the pack about what you know. You're their alpha now. You need to step up and be the leader you were born to be."                                                     "I know what I have to do. I'm not stupid so can everyone just stop treating me like a child. I've been trained for this my entire life so just sto-." Maria slaps Enzo across the face and muttered, "Boys." She looks at Enzo who looks calmer and more collected than he did before. "Thanks. I needed that." Maria nods her head slightly and explained, "I know that you know what you're doing, but sometimes you just need some advice. Being a leader for the first time is not easy and you will need guidance and I will be here for you," Maria takes Enzo's hand and said, "We will do this together." Enzo smiles from ear to ear and looks like a kid on Christmas day. He hugged Maria, but she didn't do anything. She didn't hug him back because she forgot what it felt like to be... loved and needed. After a while, Maria hugged him back and a feeling of being safe and a feeling that everything was going to be okay erupted into her body. She closed her eyes and took in the fresh air and meaningful moment. They both pull away from each other and Enzo was still smiling. "Let's get this over with." Maria took a few steps back and stood at the corner of the patio opening. Enzo cupped his hands around his mouth and howled like a true alpha. People started running and stood in front of him. Some were in human form and others were in wolf form pacing along the grass. There were a few growls towards Maria, but she didn't care. Soon, Yasmine, Riley and Brian joined him and stood near Maria. She could see Sara near the few front steps smiling a flicking her hair back to try and get Enzo's attention. Enzo stood forward and raised his hand. Everyone fell silent. "I know that the past few days have been eventful, strange and worrying, but you have nothing to fear. You are right that my father has been captured by Salice, but we will get him back." People started to talk and shout questions at Enzo in anger and worry, but he let out a growl that soon quietened them all down. "In the absence of my father, I will be your alpha. I will two people helping me out. Brian will be my beta and someone that means a lot to me and can be a good leader in any situation." Sara smiled around and put her foot on the first step like she was ready to walk up and hug Enzo for nominating her. Maria rolled her eyes at her desperation to get Enzo back. "The other person will be Maria." Some people started to clap and others were shocked, not knowing what to do. Enzo looked at Maria and she smiled while clapping her hands. "We have already got a lead on where Salice is hiding and me and a few others are going to investigate it. While I am away, my mother and sister will be in charge. I won't let anything happen to you." Cheers and barks filled the air and people began to have hope once again. Maria went up to Enzo and whispered in his ear, "Well done." Enzo nodded his head and walked inside with her. They began packing and Freya went up to Maria. "Be careful, we don't know if this is a trap."                                                                                          "That's why I'm going. I'm the best fighter and most experienced fighter out of everyone here and you know it. Don't worry about me." Freya smiled, but it quickly faded and she quietly said, "Clean up your nose. It's bleeding." Maria put her finger under her nose and looked at the tips of her fingers that were now covered in blood. She wiped it with a tissue and walked away with Enzo, Chris and Brian into the forest. They thought it would be too risky to take a car, so they decided the safest plan would be running in wolf form (Maria would be in human). While they were away, Freya and Riley were discussing with Yasmine and Elenor about the Emerald coven. "I've already asked to get invitations for two people, but I know we will get accepted."                                               "How are you so sure?" Yasmine asked in disbelief. "I know because I put Maria's full name on it and everyone wants to talk to Maria Rivers." Replied Freya. Yasmine's eyes went wide and then returned back to their normal size like she expected this to happen. "I had a feeling she was Maria Rivers when is saw her wolf, but I didn't want to believe it. I thought they were all dead." Yasmine and Elenor both said. "That's how we would like to keep it so please don't tell anyone." Yasmine nodded and so did Elenor. "I just hope we all come back alive from this war."

After a few hours a running, Maria and the others reached the abandoned house. It was in an isolated area and the only thing you could hear were the leaves rustling and the wind howling. The house was large and had vines climbing all around it. There were a few windows that were covered by the curtains so no one could see inside and there were a large wooden door, leading inside. Everyone glanced at each other and headed inside. Inside the building, there were two rooms and a staircase leading up stairs. "I'll go with Maria and Chris and Brian will search the other room. That way we will cover more ground and please, be careful." Each of them went in the different rooms. In one room, Maria could see paintings covered in cob webs and dust. There were a table with paper covered all over it and a drawer with a mirror on it. Maria walked over to the table to have a look at the pieces of paper. Some of them had strange symbols drawn on them which only witches would be able to understand. The others had writing on all about Maria and where she is. Some of them were letters from other covens and pack surrendering and wanting to join the fight. One letter in particular stood out and that was a letter to the Black River pack. Maria reached her hand out and slowly folded it into her pocket. Enzo was looking through the drawers and something caught his eye. Everything was mainly clothes and more blank pieces of paper, but this piece of paper was small and had a picture of it and a necklace attached to it. It was a picture of Maria! Although, she looked different. Her eyes were filled with joy and happiness while now; they were filled with nothing, no emotion. She also had light brown hair that made her blue eyes blend in and not stand out. She was also holding a piece of paper that read 'Winner of the fighting pit 2017'. She was also smiling and for the first time, she looked happy. She wore the same necklace that was now in his hand. It was one with a diamond in the middle surrounded with silver.  Enzo looked at Maria and then back at the picture and necklace. He also placed it in his pocket and wondered how Maria could have gone from a happy person to this cold, dark and mysterious girl. "Let's go see what the others have found. I also need to talk to you after this." Enzo said. Maria nodded and followed him to the other room, but she couldn't help but think that Enzo had found something out about her. They entered the other room to see it was a living room with pictures of Salice and her sister. "That's Salice's sister." Chris and Brian turned to face Maria. Brian went to open his mouth, but quickly closed it when he heard the door knob start to turn. They all ran behind the sofa and hid. Two people walked in and you could tell they were vampires. "Let's get the paper we need before Salice kills us." One of them stated. "Once she has them on her side we will be unstoppable and we can finally do the ritual on the full moon."                                                                                     "Let me tell you. That Maria person won't know what hit her." They both started to laugh and one of them emerged from the other room with a piece of paper in their hand. "Should we get anymore?" one of them asked. The other one shook their head and replied, "Let's see if they want to join us first." They both left and Maria looked at Enzo. "It's not safe here anymore. We need to leave, but we can't let them come back here."                                                             "What do you purpose we do then?" asked Brian. "Just go outside and make sure no one comes back. I'll do what needs to be done in here and I will be outside in a second. Go." They listened to what she said and went outside. Maria grabbed a few pieces of paper and started to spread them across the living room. She then waved her hands and the pieces of paper caught fire. The fire began to spread and Maria walked out of the building with a devil-ish smirk on her face. When she reached the others, they all asked, "What did you do?" Maria laughed and looked back at the building. She closed her eyes and pushed her hands towards the building. Soon, it was all in flames and everything around it was beginning to catch fire. She also waved her hands at the ground and a message began to get carved into the ground. It said, 'Game on Salice.-M'. Maria looked back at the others, "This way, she can never get those papers. Now watch it burn." She walked off into the shadows of the forest and Chris followed after her. As they were all running back to the pack house, Brian said to Enzo, "Remind me never to get on her bad side."

When they arrived back home, they all go into the meeting room/dining room and talk about what they found. The people that were gathered in that room were Yasmine, Elenor, Riley, Brian, Freya, Chris, Enzo and Maria. "When we were there, we overheard some of the vampires from Salice's army talking about a ritual that was going to happen on the next full moon. They were also talking about trying to get someone to join them which would make them unstoppable. Although, we don't have any ideas of what the ritual is and who they were talking to." An eruption of chatter filled the room and questions were flying everywhere. Freya, Chris and Maria all looked at each other. Maria whistled loudly and hit her fists against the table. Everyone went silent. "I have an idea of what they were talking about." Everyone looked at Maria and was hanging onto every word she was about to say to them. "The people they were talking about were some of the best fighters that anyone has ever known. They fight in a place called the fighting pit. If the money is good, then they will fight against anyone. They go by the name 'the shadows'." Everyone looks at each other and the air starts to grow tense. Maria could see the fear in some of their eyes. "There's more. The ritual is when Salice will kill all of the alpha's she has captured on the full moon when they are strongest so she can take their power and use it against us. That also means she will kill Mark, your father." Riley starts to cry a little bit and everyone starts to get upset and look towards the floor, not daring to make eye contact. "Although, we won't let that happen because the shadows will never fight with Salice if they know who they are going up against me."                                                   "How do you know that? You said it yourself that if the money or reward is good then they will fight. The next full moon is only in a month." asked Riley with a tear rolling down her face. Maria goes to open her mouth, but quickly closes it again and waits for Freya and Chris to say something, but they don't. One by one, they all start to leave until it was only Riley, Enzo and Maria left. "I have to tell you something." Maria said. She takes a deep breath in and said, "My aunt is still alive. That means I'm not the only Black River member that is still alive. I'm telling you this in private because I trust you with it. Now I know you must be wondering and have lots of questions, but I just can't answer them because I probably don't have the answers to them either." Riley hugs Maria for a few seconds and then backs away. "I'm so happy for you, Maria. Although, there is something I need to say to you." Enzo and Maria both look at her with a worried expression on her face. "I want to go with you when you visit the shadows. This involves my dad too and I'm not going to sit around at home while the boys do all the work. I'm not a little kid anymore Enzo. Maria is teaching me how to fight so I'll know how to protect myself. Please Enzo." Enzo looks at Maria for reassurance and she nods. "Fine you can come, but you will train every day with Maria. You will also stay by my side at all times." Riley's face glows up and she hugs Enzo tightly, saying thank you over and over again. She runs out of the room and both of them laugh. "Have you heard anything about the Emerald coven's ball yet?" Maria shook her head. Enzo took out the picture and necklace that was in his pocket and asked, "What's this?" Maria took them of him and looked at them for a while. A small smile spread across her face and she explained, "I was a part of the shadows and I used to fight in the fighting pit. That's how I know who Salice was talking about and how I know that they won't fight with her if she says my name. I loved fighting there. I still do it, but I don't compete in the yearly tournament since I declared war on Salice. When I won it in 2017, I was given £50,000, but I didn't use it on me but instead on something much better. The necklace was my mothers. She gave it to me just before she died." Maria smiled once more and placed it around her neck. The diamond glistened in the light and matches the colour of her eyes, making Enzo like her even more. "What did you use it on?"                                                                        "People that needed it more than me. Anyway, I need to start planning the route to the fighting pit and try and figure out what to make Riley do tomorrow." Maria chuckled and gently, gave Enzo a peck on the cheek. "Thank you for letting me stay here." Maria walked out of the room and left Enzo smiling to himself.

Over at the abandoned house, Salice and some of her army had returned and saw that the building was on fire. Salice waved her hand over and over at the building to try and put the fire out, but she had no luck. Maria's magic was too powerful for her and was equal to hers so there was no use. Salice hits her foot against the floor and could see the message that Maria wrote for her. Anger began  to boil up inside her. "If Maria wants a game, then she's about to get one and I hope she's ready to lose." Over at the pack house, Enzo is trying to find out everything he can about Maria's aunt, but so far he had no luck. After a while of searching, he found out that she was married to someone that fights in the fighting pit. For once in this war, things were starting to look up for Maria and everyone, but it wouldn't last long.