Miracle of the Moon Goddess

10: Report

Sam’s POV:

I greet the four wolves as they whimper with joy and happiness at seeing their king and leader. They are throwing themselves under my feet as a playful sign of submission. My wolf loves this animalistic display of respect, but it’s too much for the human soul in me. I let the wolves decide how much they want to keep it up. As soon as I sense a change in them, and the play becomes calmer and not erratic, I change into my human form.

I look over at Sarah and her mate Brian when Seb calls over at them: “Brian, the cave. Please!” We all share a hearty chuckle as we see them leave for privacy. Mates being mates, they need this. I’m not bothered by Brian not even registering that I’m here, too. When Angel is safe with me again, I will do the same; I will ignore everyone but her.

When we are all dressed, the four bow deep before me. “My King,” they say, greeting me in the human way. I bend my head slightly to them and lift my hand so they can get up.

“There is no need for this formality here. We are in enemy territory, and we have our missions,” I tell them, and they nod gravely. “The elves have closed all portals to our world; they left no connections.” By their looks, they have gathered as much already. “Not only that, but they kidnapped Queen Angel before they closed the portals.”

A gasp ending with tears in their eyes runs through them. I blink a couple of times to not join them as reactions of grief and anger run through them. They might not know Angel like me, but she is their queen, and they need to react to the new information I bring.

On the other hand, I cannot show the same weakness because I’m their leader, their king. With the pretense of giving them a moment to react to my news, I breathe myself calm enough to keep going. I can break down later, I tell myself again, as I’ve done several times in the past few weeks.

“We need to find out where they are keeping the queen and how to return home to our own world. Your former mission was to gather information on the world you entered through the portal. What’s your report?”

Brian is the group leader, but they are all experienced enough to deliver a report. Seb, second in command, nods in acknowledgment while he gathers his thoughts for a concise description of their intel. As he gathers his thoughts, I take the time to study the four of them more closely. Their hair has grown longer than a few weeks should indicate, and the three men sport long, scruffy beards, making them look unkempt.

“How long has it been for you?” Seb asks. Tilting my head, lock my gaze on him. His eyes are tired and weary. “How long has it been since you left our homeworld?”

“Are there time differences between the worlds?” I ask, and all four of them nod. “For Special Agent Black and me, it’s been 16 days since we left our world, and in that time, we have seen about eight worlds.”

“We lost track of time, so we are not sure how long it’s been,” Seb tells me as he does some head calculations. “Best estimate is that it’s been over a year for us, close to a year and a half.”

“In other words, your report will take some time. Let us relax somewhere as you give me the short version.”

The soldiers nod to me, and we sit under the moonlight between the fruit trees. I’m tired as hell, but sleep can come later. I was about to wake Sarah up to be the next guard when she suddenly sensed Brian, and we ran to meet the group.

“Start with the whereabouts of the five that are not here,” I order, and I see Seb’s shoulders slump.

“Michael died the day we were heading back to the portal we came from. There were elves about to close it. We were too late to stop them, but killed them at a great cost. We had hoped it would cause other open portals, but we lost hope when Lauren lost contact with her mate.” Seb sighs.

“She went mad with grief, and one night, she just took off. We do not know where she is, but we assume she is not alive.” I won’t dig further about her status as alive or dead. There is a reason they assume the worst, but one thing is gnawing at me.

“Lauren’s loss of connection to her mate wasn’t because the final portal was closed. I can still feel Rory, King Richard. He is more distant than Angel, but he is there. I suspect Lauren’s mate died,” I tell them. “He was in the Pine Forest Pack; the last we heard, it was under attack.”

We all become quiet for a minute before Seb continues his report. “The last two, Ellis and Sondra, we lost when we fell under an ambush. We saw them fall but could not confirm their deaths,” he says, shifting in his seat and glancing at the three others. He seems nervous about the next part.

“Peter is undercover with some friendly slaves we met a month ago. We heard rumors of female werewolves being kept prisoners by the elves, and we wanted to check it out. We hoped it might be Ellis and Sondra. Someone else, like the queen, may need our help.”

Again, Seb looks at the three others as the realization hits them, too. The hope of finding the two soldiers alive becomes diminished. Freeing the queen will feel good, too, but two surviving friends would be immensely better. They almost slunk together.

“It can be both,” I add to Seb’s deduction, igniting the four sets of eyes beside me. Sometimes hope is needed, and this is one of those moments.

“Tell me about the slaves Peter is in contact with,” I ask when the four have taken a deep breath of renewed hope.

“The elves have a massive number of enslaved races under themselves. After taking a world, they decide if the natives will live or die. If the elves spare their lives, they become slaves. The worth of a slave is meager, and the elves can torture or kill them for any slight mistake,” Seb summarizes.

“We have found them beaten and broken, but still they fight back. The slaves are rebelling against their masters. Some in a big way, others in more minor but highly appreciated ways. They are helping each other out in big and small ways.

“Once, we helped save some people destined to die. We smuggled them to another world while the slaves left said they had already died. No one checks upon it. By the numbers of slaves alone, they keep hidden in the sight of the elves.”

The words come out almost in a jumble. Seb shines as he speaks of the resilient people. That alone, it is enough to impress me with the perseverance of the enslaved races.

“The slaves have created this network of communication. It’s through them we can get the best information. We tried going undercover among the elves, but they are difficult to get close to. Unless you are a slave, that’s why Peter has joined a crate train, as they call it. Food delivery. He’s going to the world rumored to stems from.”

Listening to them gives me renewed hope, and the need to get up becomes too great. My body can’t sit still anymore. Angel might be within reach! Soon, I will hold her in my arms and make sure she is safe and happy. After all the pain she’s been through, she deserves to live a happy, quiet life with me, Rory, and the baby she is carrying.

I take a little stroll away from the others to calm myself down. They let me be. I’ve filled their heads with new information, just as they filled mine. Emotions roll inside me. I don’t know what to do with myself if Peter is unsuccessful!

A flash of light flares up from the ground a few meters before me, disturbing my thoughts. The sound of a roaring waterfall accompanies the light. When the commotion stops, there is a portal open before. I run to it, to peer inside, my heart beating fast. There might be an attack on the way.

Inside the portal, is a young elven man gaping at me. He is young—he might even be a teenager. Behind the man, a face appears, and it’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

“Angel?” I whisper, drinking her in. My heart swims in an ocean of tears, ready for Angel to reach out to me. When she does, my heart soars, only to fall in again and drown as the young man shouts and closes the portal just as Angel is about to enter the world I’m in.

Falling to the ground, I howl at the moon, my soldiers surrounding me and joining me in my sorrowful song.