Guardians of the Opal Moon

Chapter 25

Was Brodie’s life really worth so little? Or was it just to show them that they will not be able to measure up, to show that they are not contenders, to beat them down before the game has even begun, to make them really feel like they are jokes, isn't the ultimate insult?

How is it possible to make the closing move before they have even had a chance to play?

The feeling of losing is so hard. The fact that it is not just a simple game, the fact that lives are lost when they fail, it is really hard to take. Their failing is the loss of a little boys life, a boy who had his whole life in front of him.

Alexis clutches Lucas’ hand in one hand, the other hand clutching her chest tightly. She thought she had seen bad things before, but they are nothing in the face of this. She takes a deep breath in trying to get Lucas’ scent to overpower the smell of blood.

Jade and Ava are closer to this situation as they actually met Brodie and were in the pack when this happened. So Alexis takes it upon herself to step up. Lucas is always by her side and backs her up on anything she wants to do. Alexis has been taking in and observing everyone's strengths so can read the group just as well as Axel and Jade.

Alexis still faces the gruesome scene as she links. Even though it is terrible to look at it, it can also be a source of inspiration. If they never want to see this again, they know that they have to be so much better. It is an unbearable mistake but they can only learn from it.

‘Okay, this is a massive blow to us, but if we are defeated so easily, the moon goddess picked the wrong people, as long as we learn from our failings these lives have not been lost in vain. We can take this as a complete defeat or a learning experience. Maybe we underestimated the opponent, maybe we overestimated our own abilities, but there is one thing I know....’

Alexis pauses and turns around to face the group. Everyone is looking at her. Lucas wraps himself around her to cover her naked body, even though none of that matters to them. Alexis links with strong conviction, she rarely does a motivational speech but now she can only speak from the heart and hope that it inspires.

‘...I will never do that again. I will never let this happen again. If they think they have won, if they think they have defeated me, they are very wrong. I will see this out till their death or my own. I will not give up’

Lucas squeezes Alexis a little bit tighter, looking at her with a gentle expression, knowing that her fighting spirit is truly awakened, Alexis may not be the softest and gentlest of mates. Nurturing is beyond her grasp, but she can fight it out with the best of them and has a strong sense of right and wrong. Once an unforgivable sin is committed, she will go to all lengths to inflict her justice. Lucas is the same, he ripped out his own mother's heart once his bottom line was crossed.

Alexis and Lucas stand together in the front of everyone. They have all taken a severe hit in this round but Alexis has spoken straight to their hearts.

This is not the end, they still have a long way to go.

This was never going to be a one-day project, this was never going to be easy, they knew all this before they started.

Little by little, six spines start to straighten out, they stand a bit taller, the sense of defeat replaced by determination.

Alexis gives them a chance to process and the confidence that got crushed so brutally moments before starts to grow once more.

‘Okay, we must get a scent, this is fresh, there is no way that every trace can be gone, Phoenix, you have the best nose. You lead the tracker team of Alina, Hunter and Ava’

She was going to go on the tracking crew herself as they are naked and have just been shifted previously, but Ava is a sweet heart and asking her to be around Brodie’s body for longer than necessary would just be cruel. Alexis continues

‘Axel and Jade, you figure out how Brodie ended up here. Lucas and I will comb this area for anything. They can not leave this much mess and do this much without leaving something behind. We were all here, they wouldn’t have been stupid enough to spend too long here at risk of being caught. Speed equals sloppiness’

Alexis stops and nods her head as if agreeing with herself, then actually says out loud.

“Let’s do this”

Jade smiles at Alexis, thinking that maybe she missed her calling as a motivational speaker. She is glad that someone else can step up when her brain has turned to mush. She is also thankful that she doesn’t have to be around Brodie’s body anymore.

Words are easy, it is fine to take this as a learning experience, but looking at Brodie’s lifeless eyes it is easy to tell that the price of knowledge this time was just too large, a lesson should never have to be learned in such a way.

Ava strips, handing her clothes to Alexis. Lucas breathes a sigh of relief as Alexis slips into the dress. While Alexis’ naked body has not been the focus at all, it is hard for him to stand idly by while she is naked in front of others. Just call it an irrational alpha thing, it should be the last thing he is worried about, but somethings can not be controlled.

Ava and Hunter happily shift. Ava is so much more comfortable in natural form, her emotions are easier to balance out, the grief she is feeling dulls slightly as she gets into game mode.

While they have known their enemy is ruthless, killing the child to send the group a message is beyond disgusting, it is depraved, it is the worst of the worst, such a person no longer deserves to breath, their heart no longer deserves to beat, if someone that can do this even has a heart in their chest, if there is one it must be as cold as ice and as black as ink.

Axel leads Jade away from the scene, heading straight back to the car. He shifts and drives the car back to the alpha house.

Alexis and Lucas stand and watch the others depart. Alexis takes a deep breath in, of course she didn’t want this task, no one wanted this task, but someone had to have it and she wasn’t about to task it to others to suffer, she would rather suffer herself.

She looks up into Lucas’ handsome face, his vivid blue eyes look back down at her, he knows that she took a sacrifice for the team and it makes him even more proud of her.

Alexis just stares at Lucas’ handsome features and breathes a sigh of relief. The world can’t be that bad if it manages to have such a beautiful person within it.

“We can do this”

Her voice that was brimming with confidence earlier is slightly shaky now. Lucas leans down and kisses her gently. His words spoken into her lips as his lips brush against hers.

“Princess we can do anything”