Chapter Twenty-four

We had gathered all of our allies in neutral territory. Base camp had been erected as we waited patiently for the rest of our support to arrive. A tent had been set in the center that looked like an old circus tent that had been spray painted in neutral colors years ago, but the colors had all faded and worn in places so it resembled a macabre finger-painting from the early twenties.

With rusty metal barrels and a half warped slab of plywood we had fashioned a table to converse around. What we had expected of around nine hundred souls had turned into more when the first wave arrived. The word was spreading like wild-fire and they had started calling us the rogue rebellion.

The covens arrived in the second wave with medicinal herbs and food. They also had taken it upon themselves to plan Stefan and I's mating ceremony. Stefan was a little put off by the gesture, but I couldn't have been happier. All I had to do was show up. It may not be romantic, but at this point the ceremony was a formality, with or without it I would spend the rest of my life at Stefan's side.

The only thing that was bothering me was that I had not heard anything from Jason. It had been two days and we were getting ready to attack in less than a week. The ceremony was set to take place two days before we set out for the Ulfric's court which was a mere twenty five miles south of our encampment. At the rate our numbers were growing we may have to set out sooner if the Court scouts noticed the activity.

"I'm sure everything is fine," Stefan reassured, placing a comforting hand on the small of my back.

"He has never, not called to check in, and we haven't heard anything from the hunters' guild," I replied flatly. "I was concerned yesterday, today I'm worried."

I paced back and forth with all of my pent up energy thinking of every possible scenario of why he hasn't called and each one was more outlandish than the one before. I paused and decided if I was going to pace I may as well work on calisthenics. The burn in my muscles distracted me while I waited. The last two days had been filled with nothing more than status reports on numbers. Pack Alpha's pledging their support and kissing our asses had become monotonous when all I really wanted to do was send a team to retrieve Jason. I couldn't do that though, it would potentially jeopardize everything we had already built.

It seemed like it had been minutes of a workout but from the fading light outside and the sounds of dinner alerted me that it had been hours. I had missed lunch and my stomach was growling at the neglect.

I sank to the ground next to Stefan who was conversing with Luc and Sye.

"Eat child," Sye offered me a plate and bottle of water.

I nodded my thanks and drank greedily before devouring the food without really tasting it. My nerves were too shot to really focus on it. Dread had crept in and I could tell that something was wrong, but I couldn't decide if it was my nerves running away from me or a legitimate intuition that had taken root.

I leaned onto Stefan seeking comfort, but his touch was only a temporary fix to my dilemma. The only thing that could keep me from losing it at this point was if Jason called or preferably walked into the camp unharmed.

"Are you excited for the ceremony?" she asked with her eyes hopeful and bright.

"I am," I tried to smile, but I wasn't sure it reached my eyes.

Sye didn't call me out on it. She graciously ignored my obviously feigned interest and went on to talk about the beautiful dress her sisters had made for me along with an enchanted floral crown that represented fertility, love, and harmony. I didn't have the heart to tell her that fertility hopes were wasted on me. My own personal cynicism was going to crush any romance her sisters were trying to instill into the event. So, like a good leader and participant in the charade, I kept my mouth shut and nodded along appropriately.

After a few more hours of mindless chatter of mating ceremonies, tradition, and flowers, I was ready to escape for at least a few hours of sleep. Thankfully, Stefan had known exactly what to say to get us away from the gushing elder witch to retire to our makeshift bed.

If I hadn't been wrapped in Stefan's arms I would have lied awake for hours contemplating Jason's potential whereabouts and the off chance that he had forgotten how to charge his phone and use it. As it was, I slept for at least six and left Stefan as I went back to the cook station and made coffee before entering the main tent to look over the other leaders among the rebellion so I didn't forget them. Stefan already knew most of them, but I was still learning names and faces.

It was around daybreak when a group of thirty men and women entered the command tent with solemn expressions. I looked up as if in a daze when I watched the man in charge approach the makeshift table.

"Are you Jezebel Stamos?" he asked and from the set of his eyes and the color of his hair, there was no mistaking who the man was.

"I am," I replied. "Are you Mr. Brignoff?" I asked.

"Yes, and I am afraid I have come bearing you upsetting news." He replied.

"What happened?" I asked, but in my heart I think I already knew.

"Your comrade, Jason, was killed yesterday morning on our way here." My heart stopped at his words. "He sacrificed himself so we could get here safely to aid you in your endeavor; he was a great warrior and died bravely."

I bowed my head and collected myself. I took a deep breath before raising my gaze to speak again. "Please, come sit down and tell me everything. Who attacked you?" I asked. I could hear Jason in my mind telling me, survive first, feelings later.

Stefan had already started speaking with the rest of the Brignoff's party and bringing in members of the coven to see to any wounds that were obvious.

"Who is responsible for his death?" I choked out wiping my face with the hem of my shirt.

"Court guards were tracking our movements and he met them head on so they would not find your position." Mrs. Brignoff informed. "He led them away so we could get to you, he said to tell you that ‘I'll see you again little warrior'"

Her words nearly broke me again, but thankfully they only took the breath from my lungs.

"That sounds like him," I breathed out painfully, holding the tears at bay.

"This means the Ulfric is expecting an assault, we are going to have to attack ahead of schedule." I continued. I was focused on what I needed to do even though my legs were shaking.

"I'll get Tommy and see if he is picking anything up with his techno gadget spy shit," Stefan offered, squeezing my hand before exiting the tent to find the nerd.

"You all must be hungry," I diverted the attention to an attempt at courtesy.

"Please, we can take care of ourselves, there is no need for you to attend to such things," Mrs. Brignoff smiled at me. "Let's just cut right to the chase and talk about terms of our treaty when this whole rebellion ends, yes?" she offered.

"Thank you," I gratefully accepted as I rose to walk around the table and shake her hand.

"Our terms are very simple, do not commit harm or exposure of your kind to humans and let us extinguish those who forget that rule." Mr. Brignoff established.

"With the exception of mate bonds," I amended.

"Mating with humans? Is that possible?" Mrs. Brignoff asked.

"It has happened, it is actually why we are here, my grandmother's mate was a human, she was the true ruler, and when she died, my mother should have ascended the throne. He refused and his mind has deteriorated," I informed tiredly. "Jason would say something along the lines of hard times make harder minds and that is why we must keep going. I do not pretend to understand Fate, but I have to believe that it happens for a reason," I say as my heart clenches with thoughts of Jason.

"We believe in balance and harmony, over Fate. Your choices affect outcomes and disrupting the balance causes discord and chaos," Mr. Brignoff states supremely like a minister. "The Ulfric's choices have disrupted the natural order."

"I understand, we may see things differently, but we can both agree that the choices the Ulfric has made are full of choices that have resulted in discord, pain, and suffering for those that are innocent."

"Are we disagreeing already?" Stefan asked lightly as he walked in with Tommy in tow.

"Without much surprise, we seem to understand one another quite well," Mrs. Brignoff replied, matching the lightly jesting tone of the room that was quickly becoming a contagious and welcome distraction from the heaviness of my soul.

"We can further discuss our terms after we have sacked the Shifter's Court," Mr. Brignoff established. "Just inform us of where we are needed and we will attend to it."

"I think it would be a better show of force if you entered through the tunnels with my mate and I with the arma," Stefan offered.

"I was thinking the same thing," I nodded.

"Very well; and where is Lucas?" Mr. Brignoff asked. "I have not seen him since Budapest."

"I believe he is camped on the East side with the rest of the arma that arrived two days ago," I nodded to them.

Mr. Brignoff and his wife left with the rest of their family. I was counting my breaths as they left. I rose on shaky legs and stepped out into the woods and snow. There was not much time, but I knew if I didn't take a moment now, it would be a distraction later. My eyes were already tearing up.

My hands were shaking, but I couldn't discern if it was rage or panic. I clenched them into fists and sank into the snow. Sparks and heat erupted from my shoulder and I knew that Stefan was with me, but I couldn't hear anything right now.

Jason was dead.

A mournful howl erupted through the trees and if it weren't for the ache in my throat I wouldn't have realized it was my own voice singing sorrow to the world. This was some sort of bad dream I had concocted. Surely, I would wake up in Stefan's arms soon in our ratty little cot and everything would be fine.

But as Stefan rocked me in his lap, I realized that it wasn't a bad dream. No matter how much I wanted it to be. My mentor, my best friend, and the closest thing I had had to a father throughout my life was gone. I buried my face in Stefan's shoulder as I wept. It was not a beautiful kind of crying. It was the undignified crying of a wailing child. My guts felt like they had been ripped out of me. He had sacrificed himself for me.

I clung to Stefan and I knew I would survive, because I had Stefan; but ultimately it was because Jason had taught me how to survive. I knew this was not enough to break me.

I stepped away from Stefan and wiped my face with a corner of my sleeve. Surely I looked like a wreck with puffy eyes and a snotty nose, but Stefan just waited silently. I was not going to let his sacrifice be in vain. The Ulfric would be vanquished and balance had to be restored.

"We need to move now. They know we are coming, now," I stated.

"Yes, and we planned for this too." Stefan stated. "I've already sent out word and they have already started gathering. They will be moving into position tonight."

I nodded. The forest was dead silent. All of the wildlife had gone quiet when I had howled. You could hear the wind blowing softly. I could smell a good snow coming on the air and a stag was about a mile upwind of our position. If there was time, a good hunt would be a welcome distraction. My limbs and body felt like I had been lifting an enormous weight and had finally let go. I wanted to disappear right then. I wanted to leave all of this and just go. What forced me back to reality was Stefan. I don't think I would like how he would be so disappointed in not getting our mating ceremony, in letting all of our efforts be awash in failure. To just give up and not even try to see it through because of one loss. A heart wrenching and awful loss, yes, but it would disgrace the memory of my dear friend. It was time to get up, and be who our people needed us to be.

I took Stefan's hand and we walked back together to our tent. My father was there with Mr. Brignoff, they each held something. It looked like pieces of armor and weapons. Sye was coming too with an amulet in her hands.

"It was once customary among the wolves for the arma to bless the ruler before battle." My father tells me. "It would be my honor to bless you, my daughter, in the old way that once united our people and united our wolves to our spirits."

The wolf in me recognized this as well and so I nodded once; holding my head bowed with my hand over my heart. "It would be an honor to my wolf and myself for your to do this."

Stefan and I mirror each other and kneel in a circle Sye drew in the loamy soil at our feet. It was not a complicated ritual. The armor was laid at the edge to our right. We all drank clear water from the nearby stream. Lucas instructed us to pick up dirt and wash our hands with it.

"We bind our souls to the earth where all life is born and returns." Lucas calls out and touches our foreheads with his thumb. "We drink of its water, are warmed by its fire, and are protected by its stone." I could feel the weight of his words as energy thrummed from the earth around us. Instilling it's power in our limbs and minds.

"Victor, of the hunters, Sye, of the spirit walkers, Lucas of the guards, and the harbor of the wolves, Lenuta and Stefan, descendants of the true Ulfric, blessed before the moon, rise and lead us to balance with the blessings of our ancestors." Lucas finished the blessing as Victor presented us each with an Obsidian dagger with a handle made from a stag horn. Sye placed an amulet on our neck. The strap was leather, the amulet itself woven vine with magic radiating from it. Lucas handed us each a pair of bracers made of hardened leather and in-laid with metal detailing around the straps. A wolf's head had been carved into the right side with blue stones for eyes.

"Thank you," it sounded lame, but it was all I could say.

"We will help you finish getting ready for battle," Sye states and leads Stefan and I into our little tent.

There was armor to match the bracers for each of us. It was not new armor, it was all old, and looked like it had been altered to fit us.

"Stefan, do you know?" I asked, hoping his knowledge of our history would shed some light.

"I'm afraid I don't, a lot of history was buried, but there was a bedtime story my grandmother used to tell me. My mother used to scold her, saying she shouldn't fill my head with nonsense."

"The Wolf King and the moon" Sye said. "It's not just a story, it's the origin of your people."

"Why would your mother call that nonsense?" I asked.

"Because, child, the Ulfric didn't want anyone to question his rule, as the line is still unbroken in your mother, in you, and if its just a silly story, then it is not a threat." Sye explained.

"So it is true, the Wolf King fell in love with the moon and so the moon transformed into a wolf spirit to be with the King. When they would hunt together the Wolf King wished he could be a wolf also so they could truly be equals. So the moon granted his wish and he turned into a wolf." Stefan told me as Sye finished tightening the chest plate down over his ballistic cloth liner.

"The Wolf King was the first shifter. There is much lost to time, but it wasn't the moon, it was a forest spirit that took many forms. She took the form of a wolf to hunt with the King, but she most definitely could take the form of a human. His request and wish of her was to be her equal. Just as you two are equals." Sye finished. "The arma stole this armor from the keep many years ago in hope there would be a descendant of the Wolf King to wear it. To bring back the true Ulfric and his Moon, Luna, guide of the people.

"We will try our best to not let you down." I told Sye. I was fascinated by the story. "When this is all over, maybe you can tutor me on my people's history. I have a rogue education on the matter." I tried to joke about it, but it fell flat.

"It would be my honor, but let's get the conquering part done first. You're the last of the line, and I know your ancestor's blood will fuel you, but it is your heart, your wolf that guides you. Trust that, my dear." With a palm at my cheek she kissed my forehead and left Stefan and I alone for a moment. We stared at each other.

We could have been from a fairy tale the way we looked, if it weren't for the ballistic cloth and modern touches underneath that gave pause to the wearer. I wasn't sure exactly what the purpose of wearing the ancient leather pieces on our chest, arms and legs was going to do, but I had to admit there was a hum to it. It had to do something for us, otherwise Sye and Lucas would not have insisted on us wearing it.

"I love you," Stefan started.

"I love you, too," I said automatically.

"I mean, everything is about to change, but that never will change."

"I know," I smiled at him.

"I should have known when I first saw you, it was never going to be a simple life leading Il Duce Luna together, you were meant for far more." Stefan said. "I was just too dumb to see it."

"I wasn't ready for that kind of life, but now that's all I want for us, to be able to live a quiet life, a simple one." I countered.

"You'll be bored in a week." Stefan teased.

"Maybe two," I teased back.

Stefan moved toward me and we kissed. It wasn't quick like a habit, or slow and romantic. It was passionate, it was kissing the person we loved, because we knew it may be the last time we ever could. There were no goodbyes said, just a promise, that if we both made it through this, we would still be there for one another.

I took Stefan's hand in mine and we exited the tent together, hand in hand, to the waiting group of leaders outside.