NovelEnglishRiannon was locked in her room and the feeling was not new to her. Now that
she had time to think about it, she had been trapped before. In her first marriage
with Brayden. She was a hostage to that relationship and her own reputation.
Trying to be perfect all the time was exhausting. It was funny that only death
helped her to see the vicious cycle. Gideon helped her to get free from it. And
just like that time, soon he would help her to her freedom once again. She knew
it.
But by the time he came to get her, she was sure that she would destroy this
place. And when she heard a knock on the door, a smirk formed on her lips.
“Onyx, help me out to scan this place,” she asked her wolf, and now she could
sense that there was only one person behind the door. A female. Two guards
were standing at a distance that would make it hard for a regular shifter to know
what they were talking about. Those two were new. The Paddington and the fox
she knew were replaced by Castiel and now no one was fulfilling her every
request like before. The fox king learned his lesson.
“Riannon,” Bridgit whispered, “Do you hear me?”
“Yes,” she smiled, knowing that the presence of the werebear was the proof of
her plan working.“ How did you manage to get here? I thought that everyone
would be punished...”
“Everyone was punished,” Bridgit confirmed with a sigh, “But I am not everyone. I
have some privileges around here and Castiel either trusted me or forgot to strip
me of them yesterday.”
“Good for you,” Ria chuckled, “He didn’t forget to strip me of my privileges, as
you can see.”
“Oh, Riannon, you are still the most privileged woman here. Just the fact that you
are locked in the room that’s right opposite to his own is proof of that.”
Ria swallowed. She did not want to think of Castiel sleeping this close to her.
“Anyway, he is not here now,” Bridgit assured her, “and I want to speak to you
again. Do you have any kind of a plan?”
She did have a plan. A few actually. But this right now was her number one plan.
She wasn’t sure though that sharing the details with the werebear was a good
idea though. All they had was two conversations and during the first one, Bridgit
tried to kill her. This wasn’t a friendship built on trust just
yet.
She was probably silent for too long and the girl on the other side of the door got
that right. “Listen,” Bridgit sighed,”you probably don’t get how it feels to be
betrayed by a man you loved.” Oh, the irony of that statement was not lost on
Ria, but she did not say a word.
“When we joined the harem one by one, we knew that he wasn’t exclusive with
either of us. But each of us believed that there was a possibility of that. Castiel
could make you feel like you are the only one for him. While he is with you... but
over time, I think all of us realised that this would never be the case. However, it
was too late because each of us had feelings for him.”
“Bridgit,” Riannon couldn’t stop herself from saying, “he is hot as hell, yes. But
there is no way that every single woman could fall in love with him. Have you
seen his lab? Have you seen what he is doing there? He learned to create scents
that give you a similar response that you would have if you met your mate. I hate
to be the one telling you that, but he is so good because he was experimenting a
lot. And I think that he was experimenting on you. All of you.”
The werebear girl on the other end of the door was silent but then started
speaking again with
“We all came here willingly, and we agreed to be with him willingly too. The rest is
history.”
For a moment there Riannon was worried that she had lost her new ally. Was it
too late for those girls? Was there some kind of addiction to those scents? After
all, Brayden was an Alpha and he had fallen to the charm pretty fast. She always
thought that it was because of Roxy’s siren abilities, but what if those artificial
scents were to blame too?
“But,” Bridgit chose to continue her speech, giving her hope, “When we entered
the Eden there was an
it on both ends. Each girl agreed to be with him and not to be the only one. Each
of us had a
different reason for that. Some had no choice, like me, some already liked
Castiel, some were seeking, political gains and some were so poor that living in
the harem of the fox king did not seem like a bad thing at all. The list goes on and
on. But there was one condition that he himself set for all of us. He was always
saying that it’s important to him that each of us lived here willingly. He made it a
big point and this was one of the reasons we all trusted him so much. He said
that we could leave whenever we wanted.”
“And?” Ria leaned over the cold door.
“And when after the revelations of yesterday, a few girls expressed the desire to
leave, he did not let them,” the she-bear’s voice trembled. “Everyone is locked in
the Eden now. Now we know why there is only one door and no windows except
for the ceiling that we can’t get to.”
“The Eden is locked yet you are here,” Riannon pointed out. She still wasn’t
convinced she could trust the woman she was talking to.
“I know how it looks,” Bridgit replied to that calmly, “but I was here for years. I
earned his trust. And he doesn’t know yet that he lost mine. I was thinking about
what you told me. As long as I stay here, I will never meet my mate. And I want
to try that, to experience that. I want to be the only one for someone. I don’t think
I want to share anymore. I want to love and be loved in return. I want a mate who
would never lock me up or lessen me. I want what you described to me. I want all
of it if that makes sense.”
“It does.” Ria could feel that the girl was telling her the truth. “So? Do you have a
plan?” she asked once again. “I do,” Ria finally admitted, “Do you think you can
fight and open the door of the harem on your
Own?”
“We can, but there are more guards here than usual. We wouldn’t be able to
tackle them on our own.”
“You won’t have to,” the Alpha smirked, “All you have to do is wait for my signal
to act.”
“What will the signal be?” Bridgit asked.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Riannon chuckled, “You will recognise it when you hear it.”
“I hope you do understand that we entrust our lives to you,” the werebear said, a
slight hesitation in her voice.
“And I am not making you any promises.” Ria wanted to be honest with these
girls, who were already lied to so many times. “I am asking for your trust, yes. But
I cannot promise you that when the action starts every one and each of you will
survive. If you want to have your freedom, you will have to fight for it yourselves. I
will be with you – this is something that I can promise. Because I will be fighting
for my own freedom and the freedom of my people. I have already been fighting
for it for a while. I know that we deserve it and I know that this is what the Moon
Goddess always wanted for her daughters. I changed the laws for women, and I
want to live in the kingdom that I am building with my mate to see the changes
that I made with my own eyes. Every red girl would be welcome in my land if they
have nowhere to go. This is also something that I can promise. But for the rest –
you will have to make your own decisions now and if
The silence was her reply and she was atraid that this wasn’t what the werebear
wanted to hear. But she sensed how the girl placed her hand on the door.
“I will tell the others,” she said, “I can’t speak for them now. But I am willing to
fight by your side, Riannon.”
A sigh of relief escaped her and she smiled to herself. This was exactly what she
wanted.
“I need to go now,” Bridgit whispered, “The ones willing to fight will be waiting for
your signal whatever it is.”
Gideon was getting closer and closer with his best warriors to the place where,
according to the little fox, his mate was kept. They took mostly lycans and some
of the very best werewolves since Maya insisted on it. A huge force was left
slightly behind them in case things got really bad. He couldn’t march with them
into this territory and give themselves away immediately. He at least hoped to get
to Riannon first.
The scent of warriors guarding the perimeter hit his nostrils and he motioned for
his people to stop. Through the bushy branches of trees, Gideon noticed the
glimmering of the distant lights. The palace of the fox king was well hidden deep
inside the woods. This kind was used to not being together all the time and hiding
in small groups so that enemies couldn’t find them even within their territory.
They would have been searching these woods forever of not for the top of the
disappointed and broken Roxanne. He ordered
for her to be moved into a better cell now. Purely because she was pregnant.
He made a few steps, counting the guards that he would have to kill to get closer
when he felt her. His mate. She could feel that she was agitated and not happy.
He could also feel that, despite all that, she wasn’t broken. She was determined
and stayed strong. And the feeling of pride for her filled his chest.
“Riannon,” he called her name via the mind link and immediately felt a wave of
happiness and relief coming from her via their bond.
“Gideon!” There was so much in her voice. He knew that she had been waiting
for him, that she missed him. He never admitted it to himself, but he had been
worried. He had been worried that Castiel would do something to her, trick her,
bewitch her or whatever. He had been worried that he could hurt her even though
he knew that his mate was strong. Waiting and not knowing had been an agony
for him and he was so happy to hear her voice. Just one word of hers healed his
heart and his soul.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she said and he could tell that she was smiling through tears. He could
feel her sharing his emotions through their bond. “And you?”
“I am now! I am coming for you,” he chuckled, “Just give me a moment or two.” “I
will wait for you for the eternity if I have to,” Ria reassured him.
“You will not have to, my love,” he gave her a promise that he intended to keep.
But then suddenly he felt her worried and distressed. “Riannon, are you all right?
What is happening? Speak to me!” he was desperate to know what was going
on.
“He came to take me somewhere,” she informed him quickly. “He knows that you
are here. I think it’s a trap, Gideon.”
“It couldn’t have been anything else,” he tried to calm her down and give her
strength, “I am ready to face whatever he has got!”
“And I will help you,” his mate promised, switching off their connection.
“I’ll see you soon,” he said into the emptiness before him, hoping that she could
feel his intentions.
And then he shifted his men following his command.
They were as fast as lightning, cutting through the bushes before their enemies
could even see them, digging their sharp teeth into the werebears, leaving the
foxes to the werewolves to deal with.
Gideon was ripping throats and guts out, each kill bringing him closer to his
woman.
He had almost reached the building – a very tall mansion with a glass dome
towering over its centre when he received a distress syngas from Reid.
“What is wrong?” He asked him via the link while still staying one bear after
another.
“They attacked us. They were expecting a backup from this side I guess,” his
Beta notified him, growling. Reid was probably fighting too now. This meant that
whoever Gideon had with him was it.
“Can you take them down?” the Lycan king asked. “Yes, but it will take time. Will
you manage without us?”
“I think so,” he replied, “But when you are done there, come here. Since they
know already, there is no point in staying behind.”
His Beta cut him off and it meant that he was in the very heart of a battle. And
Gideon hated it. He hated that someone tried to take his mate and his friends
away from him. This made him and Mars even more furious. Their common
beast was threatening to overtake them too. Because it hated that someone tried
to take what was his...
He was already near the entrance when he heard the loudest and most piercing
howl, recognising his mate...
“You are coming with me!” Castiel burst into Riannon’s room, grabbed her hand
roughly and pulled her after him.
“Just leave me alone!” she struggled against him, not making it easy for him.
Onyx inside of her was ready to act any moment.
“Stop it, Ria, I am just taking you to a safe place! I don’t want you to get hurt!” he
gritted his teeth, throwing her into the arms of two werebears, whose grip was
painfully tight.
“Hurt?” she scoffed. “These are my people over there and they came for me! I’d
rather believe that you are trying to cover yourself with me! And why don’t you try
to take your girls to that wonderful safe place?!”
“Because,” he was next to her in less than a second and grabbed the hair at the
back of her head, tugging it to make her look at him, “Because the only one I am
worried about is you.”
He crashed his lips into her and she completely did not expect this. His tongue
was forcing itself inside and trying to dominate her. The two guards were still
holding her hands and she felt him using Gideon’s scent again. As if it could have
helped to make her agree to any of this.
Anger boiled inside of her, like lava. It spread down her veins and filled her
whole. So much for not forcing women!
Riannon wanted blood and blood she got because she bit him as hard as she
could, spilling the warm ruby liquid from his tongue and his lips.
Shocked, Castiel stepped away, looking at her with wide eyes and covering his
mouth with one hand. It took him a few seconds to process what she had done,
but then a smirk appeared on his face, which annoyed her even more.
“Not your Queen!” each word was punctuated with the growls from the outside
which were getting closer and closer, “Gideon’s!”
“We’ll see about that!” Castiel spat the blood onto the immaculate marble floor of
the passage they used, “Bring her to the dungeons and lock her in the best cell
until it’s over. Tripple the men guarding her. I want them to never get to her until I
am dealing with this!”
“Will be done, my king,” one of the bears said, and Riannon burst out laughing.
She couldn’t stop for a while and now the three men looked at her, not knowing
why she had such a reaction.
“You see,” Ria raised her chin and tilted her head slightly, “this is exactly your
problem! You recognised me as this special, perfect Luna but even now you are
not taking me into consideration. And this is exactly why a man like you will never
be by my side!”
“No offence, my dear,” Castiel smirked, “but I know that you haven’t been able to
shift since your wolf returned.”
“Oh, really?” she snorted, relaxing in her captors’ hands to give them a false
feeling of overpowering her finally. “And who told you that? By any chance was
that your spy Marcus?”
The king’s face changed but it was too late.
“You think I am a powerless female who can’t shift?” Riannon snarled, her eyes
glowing with pure light, “The Moon Goddess herself blessed me! Now, watch me
shift!”
It took her less than one breath to let Onyx out in all her glory, their silvery-white
fur glowing just like the last time. She could feel how power was streaming
through her and she knew that she could destroy anyone in her way now. She
had been brought back for a reason. And this fight that was ahead of her today
Castiel and his two bears were looking at her in shock and she used that moment
to lift her head up to the moon and let out the deepest and longest howl of her
life. In that howl, the Moon Goddess herself was joining, calling to every woman
in the area to fight for what was right.magic
Deep inside the Eden, every girl in red heard that howl and Bridgit’s mouth
opened when she recognised the sign they all had been waiting for. They felt the
ancient goddess’ call and most of them chose to respond to it.
“Ladies, it’s time!” Bridgit commanded and one by one they were turning into their
beasts – wolves, bears, lionesses, panthers, birds, reptiles... Castiel sure got
himself an amazing and rare collection. But now he was about to taste their fury.
Bridgit’s white bear, Uma, was the one to knock out the doors of Eden and to
attack the guards outside of it. But the rest joined her quickly, destroying anyone
who stood in their way. They all had enough
and they all craved freedom now.
Gideon had to blink twice when he saw a fox being thrown out of the window. He
was finishing off yet another bear when he finally could have a glimpse of what
was going on inside. And it seemed like there was pure chaos.
“After me!” he commanded to his warriors and jumped inside through the window
on the first floor. Enemy warriors were throwing themselves at him, but he dealt
with them at ease, amazed by the sight of a huge eagle pecking out one of the
foxes’ eyes. When the bird was done, they looked at each other and he wasn’t
sure if it would attack him next or if they were on the same side.
But the bird flew away upstairs and he followed it, his own men bursting inside
through windows at the very same moment. beautifui queen was lignting two
werebears at once, siashing the inroat or one of them witn ease.
Their eyes met just for a second in the chaos that was surrounding them and
warmth spread over both of their hearts. Some fox dared to attack him and he
snapped its neck in two, moving towards his mate. Onyx finished off the second
bear and he was amazed by her strength and grace all over again. Even now, in
her wolf form, she was the Queen. His Queen.
They let themselves just two desperate seconds of reunion when their noses
were dug in their furs. Riannon could smell blood on him but she also knew that
none of it was his. He had already killed many in those minutes since they last
spoke, so many!
“Who are all those creatures helping us?” he asked her when they looked into
each other’s eyes again.
“Castiel’s harem,” she giggled, “I guess he wasn’t making them as happy as he
thought.”
“You don’t say!” he chuckled, “Ria, you are amazing! Not only are you safe, but
you also managed to stage a coup.”
“Ah, don’t exaggerate!” she snorted, “Just doing my usual thing and multitasking!”
“Where is he?” Gideon knew that it was time to get back to business.
“I am not sure,” she said, knowing without any further explanation who he meant,
“He ran almost as fast as I shifted. So much for making me his queen!”
He knew that she was joking but he growled anyway, “In this life, you will only be
my Queen, Riannon.
“I have no objections to that,” she agreed, “Let’s go! Onyx can recognise his
scent now even if he changes it! We need to find him!”
“How does she do it?” Gideon followed her, without any kind of hesitation.
“Perks of being blessed by the Moon Goddess,” Riannon chuckled, “And we also
already tasted his blood a few minutes ago. Now we will recognise him
anywhere!”
Onyx was following the trace and they sprinted out of the house just in time to
meet Reid with the rest of the warriors.
“Finish them off,” Gideon commanded, his wolf nodding his head back to the
mansion. “Be careful not to hurt any of the harem girls. They are on our side.”
“Maya,” Riannon greeted her Beta, “Find Bridgit, she is a white bear. She is in
charge of the harem now. Help them, they were all captives for years!”
The two Beta’s followed their commands without any extra questions and the two
Alphas continued
their way.
She could feel that Castiel was alone, abandoning all his people just to save
himself. Some leader he
was!
“He went this way!” she pointed to Gideon the path, “I think he is trying to reach
the border with the werebears. If he manages to do it, he might be protected and
we will have to back off.”
“Not going to happen!” her mate sped up and she had a hard time keeping up
with him even now in her upgraded wolf form.
They saw his red fur soon. Castiel was running for his life, but when he heard
Gideon’s mighty roar, he knew that he wouldn’t make it to the border and he
stopped, preparing himself to fight. One of his eyes was glowing red as usual and
Riannon realised that in his fox form he was blind. She also noticed that a part of
his face looked burned. Just what happened to him?
But she threw those thoughts away. He wasn’t the one to feel sorry for. He was
the one who pianned everytning and later destroyed the werewoives and the
lycans on the union, leaving just a few behind as his puppets. If they didn’t stop
him now, everything would be for nothing. So, she was ready to attack him, but
Gideon stood in her way.
“With all due respect, Riannon,” he said, “But you have nothing to prove as a
warrior. And I don’t want my woman to fight while I stand and watch. I should be
the one to kill him, not you.”
That was debatable, but she saw the determination in his eyes and knew how
important it was to him, so she stepped aside, giving him the honour of slaying
their common enemy.
Without a shade of doubt, Gideon charged at the fox and the latter managed to
recoil. He tried to attack the lycan in a desperate attempt to gain some
advantage. Ria could tell that Castiel was a good warrior, but it wasn’t enough if
he was fighting against her mate.
The lycan king was bigger and stronger, he was also faster, so very soon his
teeth cut into the fox’s flesh, making him shriek from the pain. The master of
schemes did not expect to fight today and it was clear to them both.
Not wishing to prolong his agony, Gideon slashed his side with his sharp claws,
bright red blood spilling onto the grass underneath them.
Castiel was desperate, trying to make one fatal blow after another. His canines
and claws were aiming at the lycan’s vital organs but he barely managed to
scratch him.
Gideon pressed him to the ground, breaking his arms and legs one by one. The
pain was so immense that Castiel turned back into his human form. The king and
the queen followed his example, and Gideon sat on top of him throwing punch
after punch, breaking his handsome face once and for all.
“This is for the explosion at the Summit! This is for kidnapping my mate and
holding her against her will! This is for Dean! And this is for your schemes! And
this one is for sending that siren to kill her in her
past life!”
Castiel’s eyes went wide and Riannon placed her hand on her mate’s shoulder.
The touch immediately helped him to calm down and look at her.
“Past life?” Castiel hissed, barely being able to speak. “So, this is why you knew
everything... That... explains it.”
“What you did was awful. All those schemes and traps!,” Riannon decided to tell
him what was on her mind after all, “You destroyed so many lives! Including
mine!”
“I wish I knew,” he chuckled, coughing up blood, “I would have stolen you away
sooner...”
Gideon punched him again, preparing to make that one fatal blow to end this
when Riannon stopped him. Something was off.
“Why are you laughing?” she asked, every fibre in her tensing. “This was a trap,”
he told her, looking at her only. “We already figured that out,” Gideon clenched
his fist.
“No,” Castiel gave them a crooked dark grin, “This is not the trap. The two of you
still did not learn to deal with foxes even after two lives. This was just a
distraction....”
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