Chapter 26

In the present world, Nicholas opened his eyes to see blood dripping down Michael's arm. He attempted to withdraw his hands, but he was unable to do so due to the firm grip. Their hands were covered in blood from the claws they dug into each other's palms, which dropped copiously, forming a large pool of blood on the floor beneath their hands. 

Nicholas yelled out, "Michael." 

After some time, Michael finally opened his eyes. His breathing was erratic as he pulled back his claws and relaxed his back on the sofa. Sweat dripped from his body. 

When Nicholas shoved forward and put a hand on Michael's neck, he realized he was burning up. "What happened to you?" He questioned.

"I was shot with wolfsbane." Michael muttered, fighting to keep his eyes open as he began to feel drowsy. 

"And you didn't consider telling me? How awful is it? Let me take a look." Nicholas stood up from the couch.

Michael raised the short sleeve over his arm, groggily. Nicholas slowly shook his head, realizing how severe the injury had become. It was a moderate cut, but the wolfsbane irritated the wound.

"I have to go." Michael struggled to stand up.

"Yeah, but not like this!" Nicholas sat back on the couch and held Michael's arm, preventing him from standing up.

"I'll heal." Michael slowly pulled his hands from Nicholas and stood up with a groan.

"You're healing unusually slowly." Nicholas stood up, inspecting the wound again. "Was the projectile silver?" 

"Yes," Michael breathed.

"You could've said something about it." Nicholas sighed. "Hang on, I'll need to heat up the wound so you'll begin to heal."

Nicholas stood up and hurriedly got an iron. He placed it in the hearth and waited till it was red hot. 

"No, no." Michael's head shook.

Nicholas grabbed Michael's arm and pulled him to sit back on the couch. He took the red-hot iron by the warm end, placing it directly on the injury.

Michael screamed, his claws scrattling the couch. "You said you wanted to heat it up." Michael gritted his teeth.

"Yeah! And I did. "

After a while, when Michael was calm, he asked. "So that was how my mother was turned into a regular werewolf."

"Yeah. I guess she preferred being a regular werewolf than a primordial werewolf." Nicholas replied.

"What happened after your brother died?" Michael asked.

"My father took Trevor and banished us, cursing me to birth a destroyer and a peacemaker. Laying curses was his gift."

"Creepy!" Michael grimaced. "Besides, he can't curse you; you're a pureblood."

"He had help from Zoe. She made it impossible for me to locate the kingdom again. She was really pissed. " Michael's thoughts drifted to the lady in his father's memory, whom they all called Zoe, "Elsa."

"What?" Nicholas didn't understand.

"The Zoe in your memory is Elsa."

"Who's Elsa?"

"She's a worker in your restaurant."

"Michael, you run the business, I know of no workers there."

"Of course." Michael nodded. "Elsa looks exactly like the Zoe in your memory."

"I have no knowledge of Zoe having a daughter." Nicholas's face dropped. "She was my only hope of ever seeing Trevor again, but then I heard she died."

"That's why you've always been travelling; you're searching for him." Michael stared intently at Nicholas. "Wherever he is now, I'm sure he'll understand: you did nothing wrong. All you did was protect your family. "

"If I had tried to bring back my brother's good side instead, your mother and Trevor would still be with us. You won't have to be scared of killing your brother."

"Don't blame yourself for whatever happened in the past. It's bygone to me." Michael rolled down his sleeves, glancing at the wall clock. "I have to go now." 

"Where's your car? You can't walk alone; it's late already. Have you forgotten that there are thugs roaming this street?" 

"7:00 p.m. is not all that late. My car is at my workplace. I can handle a couple of bad guys. " Michael groaned as he stood up from the couch.

"With that arm, I'm sure a few humans will beat the crap out of you." Nicholas's eyes followed Michael, who went behind the couch. "I'll drive you to wherever it is you're going."

Micheal nodded, he wasn't used to his father paying attention to him, and everything about him felt different since he returned from his memory. 

He had always wanted a good relationship between the both of them. He knew why his father was distancing himself from him. Nicholas thought Chris was the destroyer and didn't want to get too attached to Michael, so he wouldn't feel that much pain when Chris will kill him.

Michael watched Nicholas as he grabbed his car keys from the coffee table and stood up, heading to the garage. 

He smiled to himself. 

He walked out and stood by the front porch, waiting for Nicholas to drive out of the garage. Michael hopped in the car when Nicholas slowed down not far from him. He gave Nicholas directions, as they drove to Sydney's house.

"That's it." Michael raised his hands and pointed at Sydney's house.

Nicholas pulled over at the front of the house that Michael had pointed at. He turned off the engine and jumped out, banging the door behind him. Michael gave him a blank stare as he began to head to the door.

"What are you doing?" Michael questioned. "You should be heading home now." He got out of the car and leaned on it.

"Why? If y'all are going on a mission to rescue Chris, I should go too. He's my responsibility. " Nicholas continued walking towards the door.

"Oh my God!" Michael exclaimed wide-eyed, pushing away from the car, "What have you done to my father?" 

"What are you talking about?" Nicholas frowned. "I'm me." 

"Well, the person I know will probably be at home right now, staring at the pictures of his wife, who died fifteen years ago, and starting to get emotional, not bothering about his children's welfare. "

"You made me face a memory I was too scared to face, and I realised that you and your brother are all that I have." Nicholas turned around and walked to the door, placing a quick knock on it.

He looked back at Michael, who was still standing in his position. "Come on! Let's go kick some Ravens asses and get your brother home. "

Michael walked to the door, and a few seconds later, Sydney opened it for them with a frown forming on his forehead. "Michael, who's this?"

"Oh, you too don't know each other." Michael turned to Nicholas. "Dad, this is Sydney. Sydney, this is my Dad. "

"Nice to meet you, Sydney." Nicholas extended his hands to Sydney, who was too stunned to move.

"Dude?" Michael hit him slightly in the arm.

"Oh, yeah, um..." Sydney stretched his hands to Nicholas. "Nice to meet you too..." He scanned him with his eyes before adding, "Nicholas."

"How do you know me?" Nicholas asked as they shook hands.

Sydney pulled back his hands and hesitated before hurrying upstairs. Michael was confused with the whole thing that happened. He rushed after him and caught him halfway across the stairs. "Hey! What was that about? " Michael questioned.

Sydney paused and turned to Michael. "You just introduced that man as your father."

"He is my father." 

"Is he a primordial werewolf?" Sydney asked, and Michael shook his head.

"Then how can you tell me he's your father?"

"Biologically, he is. I saw what happened. When my human mother was pregnant with me, a primordial werewolf by the name of Benjamin bit her. They claimed that she would die because her body would not accept it, but after my human side absorbed the venom, saving her in the process, the majority of me turned primordial. This catastrophe was all started by Benjamin. "

"He did nothing; your father betrayed him; ." Benjamin said.

"You know what happened?" Michael's confusion grew even worse. 

Sydney made no comment. He made his way up the stairs to his room. 

"This is it!" Michael tightened his fist and hurried to stand in front of Sydney.

"Why are you so upset over seeing my father, and who the hell are you?" He shouted.

"Benjamin is my father!" Sydney retorted with a yell of his own, his eyes flashing bright green.

"What?"

"My family died, thanks to him." Sydney pointed his finger downstairs. I suggest y'all leave now before I do something I'll end up rejoicing over, because I sure as hell won't regret it! " Sydney walked into his room, slamming the door behind him.

Michael stood there for a while, trying to digest what he had just discovered, but then he remembered that Chris was in danger. He had to find Elsa and Jacob. Listening closely, he heard two heartbeats. Following the heartbeats he heard, he found Jacob dressing up in one of the rooms. 

"You're up already?" Michael asked. "Were you even sleeping?" 

"How can I sleep with all the yelling between you and Sydney?" Jacob stood by the mirror, checking out the clothes he had worn.

"The staircase is down the hallway, so the sound would probably be faint."

"Why does everybody seem to forget that I'm part werewolf?" He turned away from the mirror and faced Michael. "How do y'all werewolves cope with your hearing? I can literally hear Elsa snoring next door. "

"You'll get used to it." Michael nodded.

"Did your father really betray his family?" Jacob hesitated before asking as Michael was on his way out.

"No, he just got it all wrong. Get dressed. We're leaving in a minute." Michael left Jacob's room and hurried to Elsa's. She was peacefully asleep, snoring like her life depended on it.

He stood by her side and watched her snore. He fought the urge to laugh. This was a different Elsa from the one he used to know. Why is everyone exhibiting new and different characters today? He mused aloud. 

"Get up, we need to go." He threw the blankets off of her.

"What's the rush?" She muttered, half asleep, spreading her limbs across the king-sized bed.

"Come on, Elsa, we need to go." He pulled her up gently.

I haven't slept satisfactorily in the past few days. Is having a long, peaceful night's rest on this soft, big, and comfortable bed too much to ask? " She asked, digging her face into the pillow.

"I'm sorry." Michael said.

She clenched her jaw, searching the bed with her hands to locate her phone. She grabbed it and pulled her face away from the pillow to check the time. 

"What?! 7:22? I thought you said we'd leave in the morning. " She grunted, "I won't forgive you if my eyes start to bulge."

"Plans changed, and don't worry, it won't bulge." Michael chuckled. "You'll even prettier with protruding eyeballs." She snatched a pillow from the bed and threw it at him, causing both of them to laugh loudly.

Let me freshen up. I'll head down in a minute. " Elsa said.

Michael left Elsa's room and went downstairs. He saw Jacob relaxing his shoulders on the wall by the door. Nicholas, who didn't move from the position he was in earlier, strode up to him and asked, "That is Benjamin's son?" 

Michael nodded. Nicholas opened his mouth to talk, but his attention drifted away from Michael, his eyes looming ahead of him. "Zoe?"

Elsa paused. She looked back to be sure no one was standing behind her before turning to face Nicholas. "Who's Zoe?" Elsa questioned. "Because that name is too old-fashioned, I can't bear it, not even in my dreams." 

"I thought you were dead."

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," Michael interrupted them, "It's just that you look like my aunt. Her name was Zoe. " 

"Oh, well, then she must be a pretty one." Elsa continued walking down the stairs. 

"We should leave now." Michael said and they began to move out.

"Wait, what about Sydney? Isn't he coming? " Elsa asked.

"Come on, let's go; he'll catch up if he changes his mind." Michael said, and they all headed out.

They got into Nicholas's car and drove off. With Richard's description, Michael directed Nicholas, and after a forty-five minute journey, they arrived at the raven's enclave. It was built on top of a huge mountain. They traced their eyes from the bottom to the top, where the enclave was built.

"Oh, men! This is too enormous for Richard to forget. " Michael sighed, wondering how difficult climbing the mountain would be.

"My eyes can't glow, but I'm glad I can pop out wings." Jacob withdrew his wings and began to fly up the mountain. 

Elsa shrugged. She held her hands to the sides and cast a spell that gathered the wind around her, making her float on air. After a while, she and Jacob reached the top, and Michael and Nicholas were still halfway across.

Michael climbed the mountain and arrived at the top. Placing his hands on his knees, he breathed heavily.

"Seriously? It took two werewolves almost an hour to climb this mountain?" Jacob asked, and just then, Nicholas arrived, the sound of his breathing, overshadowing Michael's.

The tall fence was lost in the dew. There was a black gate blocking the entrance. It was thick, with no space to see through, and it seemed indestructible. 

"How do we get through?" Nicholas asked, his breathing settling slowly.

"We wait till they open the gate, then Elsa will cast a veiling spell, and then we go through, just like we've planned." Michael said.

"Wait? I could just cast a spell that shatters this gate into a million pieces," Elsa grumbled.

"Yeah, I know, but we don't have to trigger their alarm. We can go in quietly." Michael said.

"I'm at the top of a freaking mountain; it's cold out here. Who knows when they'll open this gate? Perhaps you'll be standing before a huge iceblock by then. "  Elsa said.

"Can everyone be quiet please? I'm so hungry, I can't wait to get in. " They all glanced at him, which he didn't mind.

"There'll be no killing." Michael said.

They held hands, waiting for someone to open the gate so Elsa could cast the veiling spell. 

"This plan sucks," Elsa scoffed.

"True," Jacob said, separating his hands from the others. "This is the worst plan ever. Can't we just be badasses for once? Break in, kill anyone that comes our way, rescue Chris, take the golden dirk and drive into the sunset. " 

"Guys, let's stick to the plan," Michael spoke, and immediately, they heard a creaking sound, and the gate was opening slowly. 

Elsa cast the spell as they reconnected their hands. Before the gate shut, they entered. Even so, the raven enclave was vast, gorgeous, and unsettling. Purple coneflowers partially filled the ground, alongside some green plants.

There were enormous trees virtually everywhere. On top of the trees, they erected their homes. There were a lot of them. Some people were entirely in raven form, others in human form, while yet others looked human but had wings and claws. 

They successfully crossed the area between where people lived and a remote location. Where they were, only the soldiers were allowed to cross.

Eventually, they found Chris in one of their prisons. There were two guards by the prison door. Nicholas detached his hands from the others. He broke free of the veiling enchantment and sprinted toward a guard. They had been alarmed. Michael also disengaged his hands from the others. Having become visible, he dashed over to the other guard. The two guards were knocked out, and they searched for the key to the cell and opened it.

They helped Chris out; he had wolfsbane pumped into his body and was too weak to stand. It was burning him up from the inside. 

"I can absorb the wolfsbane from his system," Elsa said as they placed him down outside the cell.

She held his hands and cast the spell. He felt as though the excessive pain was diminishing. He felt the wolfsbane slipping away. His blurry vision started to become clear. 

"Y'all came for me." Chris muttered. He didn't believe they would come to his rescue after all he did when his dark side was activated.

"Yeah, we did. Hang in there. Let's get the golden dirk and we'll get you home." Elsa said.

"Not so fast." They heard a voice from the entrance.

"Elias," Michael spoke in a hushed tone.

"You're not taking him anywhere. As for the golden dirk, that's the only weapon that can kill the avian hybrid. It was spelled with a lot of dark magic by our witchy friend over here. " Elias pointed at Elsa.

"Me?" Elsa asked. "Liar! I did no such thing! "

"There's no point denying it. I knew y'all would come for him but wouldn't let the hybrid come along because she hadn't mastered her powers. " Elias chuckled, looking at the ravens around him. "I can't believe my plan really worked. I've sent some ravens to do the job. "

In a whisper, Michael turned to Elsa and asked, "You put a hindrance spell around the house, so no one can actually get to her, right?"

"I might've just put a hindrance spell by the front door." In the same whisper, Elsa replied.

"Kill them all!" Elias ordered the ravens and left.

During their fight, Michael viciously bit into the flesh of one of the ravens. His destruction was immediately set off. As he swiftly proceeded through the ravens, he clawed at them and tore their hearts from their chests. 

Nicholas made a concerted effort to avoid activating his destruction. He fought with them but took care not to bite any of them. 

Some of them were instantly killed by Elsa's death spells. 

Jacob pulled out his claws, fangs, and wings and growled. The surprised ravens watched as he started to fight them. They had never seen anything like him before: a winged wolf. Chris sat helplessly; he was too weak to fight.

"Get Chris to safety; we'll handle them." Michael told Nicholas.

Nicholas hesitated, but then he looked at Chris, who was covered in blood. There were wounds all around him that weren't healing because they were inflicted by a sliver weapon, and he was losing a lot of blood. Nicholas hurried to Chris; he grabbed him and headed out as the rest of them distracted the ravens.

After a while, the ravens retreated. They hurled up in unison and started flapping their wings, propelling dark energy towards their adversary.

Elsa quickly used her supernatural power to shield them, protecting them from the dark energy. The ravens didn't stop; they continued ramming the dark energy against the invisible force.

"It's too much." I can't hold it any longer. " Elsa warned, but before they could come up with anything, Elsa's hands dropped and the dark energy penetrated, rocketing them all into the air. They plummeted heavily to the ground and lost consciousness.