บท 18: 18. Sacrifice

Benjamin was supposed to go see things for himself but that would mean he leaves the pack and still return if the news was true.

All the pack warriors, scouts, hunters, and even a little of the palace guards were assembled. The rest of the members, like the nursing mothers, pregnant wolves, pups, and the few omegas in the pack were led to a hiding spot underground and were heavily guarded. They hold the next generation of the pack if the current team doesn't succeed.

Momentarily, Benjamin left his warriors and commanded that they shouldn't follow him aside from his beta and gamma. With him leading the run, they arrived at the house of the pack shaman.

Because they had little time, the shaman had to consort the help of a witch to help him brew an antidote for the poisoned wolves and another to buffer the poison from affecting the warriors. It was against pack laws to let other kinds intervene in their affairs but the current events called for a bend.

Benjamin and his associates carried the liquid antidote and poison shield back to the gathered warriors. The ill ones drank the cure while the rest drank the deterrent.

At Benjamin's command, all the warriors raced behind him to the battlefield. The majority of them were lycans while the minority were well-built wolves. Crescent pack was known for their large population of Lycans and little omegas because they didn't accept them.

In no time they were at the battlefield that was a few acres away from the territory. The leader of half bull, half-man-creature came forward. To the surprise of the werewolves, he opened his mouth to speak and translatable words were heard.

"Who is your commander?" The minotaur commander shouted.

Benjamin who was standing in front of the army took a step forward. "I am the king of crescent pack. What is the reason for this senseless attack?"He said after transforming into his human form.

The commander had his head high as he stalk the spot he was standing with his flexing hands behind his back. "Something that belongs to our god was taken from where it was kept . Produce the thief and bring the artifact otherwise prepare to face the consequences !"

Benjamin's heart suddenly skipped a beat and the face of his mate flashed in his mind. Since the pack was connected to him, they felt his distress. "We have nothing that belongs to the mountain god, if you want war, war shall we give. ATTACK!!"

The battle ensured, Samuel quietly slipped out of the field and bolted in the opposite direction. He ran with all his might, following Dorothy's scent. Because he was known, he was permitted to enter black moon pack grounds but wasn't allowed to wander as he was forced to wait in the packhouse for them to go fetch Dorothy.

After explaining the situation to her, Dorothy shifted and ran out of her pack, leaving Samuel to cater to her son.

Samuel had Brian clung to his back as he sprinted back to the pack. He knew it would be unsafe for a pup to be on the battlefield. Putting him down, he said to the young prince. "Kiddo, something serious is happening and your father needs me by his side, you see these gentlemen." He pointed at the guards. "They will take you to a safe place okay? Be a good boy." He ruffles the prince's hair.

Brian didn't utter a word as his uncle spoke nor did he stop looking when his uncle ran off. His heart was beating erratically, a bad omen. His guards tried to lift him off the ground but the six-year-old remained rooted on the spot.

The two guards looked at it each other. How were they going to move this pure blood Alpha without injuring him? If he was a regular pup, it won't take them anything.

Suddenly, Brian broke into a run, his guards knew how fast those tiny feet were so they leaped in the air and shifted. The young prince also knew he wouldn't get far before he got caught so he rapidly dived into a rabbit hole that was big enough for his small size and kicked a red button above the entrance of the hole. A metal gate, the size of the hole blocked the entrance.

The guards who were just a foot behind Brian didn't dare touch the blockage, it was smitten with red mountain Ash, a poison even more toxic than wolf's bane... They gaze at each other in horror, the king will have their heads.

The special escape route Brian took was created as a precautionary measure in case the pack was ever invaded. The next on line to the throne can escape and return when he is fit to reclaim the territory, only the king, queen and prince knew of the route that directly led to the outskirts of the pack.

Brian kept crawling inside the mini tunnel that had moonstones lit up ahead of him whenever he was close. He needed to find his mama and papa, his instinct and wolf told him they were in danger. Yes, his wolf is not supposed to be active until after his shift but he was pureblood, the rarest kind of wolf.

Meanwhile...

The battle was becoming unfair , the werewolves had Agility, speed, and precision, the number of Minotaurs kept increasing, they were like an endless river of monsters. Many wolves lost their lives because they had to fight close to five or six minotaurs at a time. The Lycans were a bit luckier since they were faster but for how long?

"Stop!! I have what you came for, "Dorothy yelled at the top of her voice from a nearby hill close to the battlefield.

In her lifted right hand was the ruby she found only that was now a necklace. All the fighting werewolves halted at the sound of their queen's voice. Benjamin especially who had his claws in the throat of a minotaur ripped it off and tried to get to his queen but then his men and brother held him down.

Unbeknown to Benjamin, in the split second he delayed, Dorothy already passed information to the pack with him blocked from the mind link. She said, <" hold down your alpha, this is the only way to save our pack." >

The commander's eyes glimmered when he saw the gem. "Go and get her, "he communicated to his men but before they can move Dorothy did something unthinkable.

She placed the gem on a rock and held a smaller rock above it. "If your monsters come close to me, I'll break it, "she cried.

Immediately, the commander waved his hand and stopped his men from moving." Do not break the gem or incur the wrath of the mountain god, "he yelled. He was also on top of a hill.

"I want the word of the god, that if I return the gem, he would never attack my people, "Dorothy bargained.

The commander did not agree, he closed his eyes and when he opened them, it was white and his head moved heavenwards. "The mountain god wants the one who found his sacred gem as a sacrifice, "he said.

"No! No! Never! Dorothy get out of here, now!"Benjamin screamed while still struggling to break free from the pile of werewolves on top of him.

"Do I have his word? Will he let my people go?"Dorothy asked with teary eyes.

"Yes, you have his word, "the commander said.

Dorothy felt a burning sensation on her arm and looked at it, a golden seal was imprinted on it with an inscription she couldn't understand at first but somehow, she translated it and the god promised to do her wish.

Dorothy looked at the commander whose eyes have returned to their normal color and nodded. The minotaur understood her and also nodded. She threw herself off the hill, smiling as she accepted her fate.

The minotaurs waiting at the bottom caught her and immediately cuffed her hands but didn't attempt to take the gem from her.

It was at this point Brian came to the field, he watched as his mother got taken away by the monsters he had never seen before and his father went feral. He stood like a statue, the fast lycans ran back to the pack and returned as humans with heavy chains, smitten with wolf's bane, their hands protected by thick gloves.

After some failed attempts, they succeeded in chaining the feral alpha who doesn't seem to recognize them anymore.

As Benjamin got dragged away, his eyes met with his son's and for a moment he regained his sanity but it didn't last long.

Samuel caught a glimpse of his nephew and ran to him, he knelt and hugged the boy. A tear rolled out of Brian's eyes. "I am sorry kiddo," Samuel murmured.