The passageway

It seemed as if Conri’s father didn't hear him well. He paused on his track, turned swiftly, and stared at his son. He knew his son to be soft-hearted but he also knew that he could never joke with such serious matters. However, he took it to be a joke since he knew something concerning the pregnancy. 

    “Conri, what did you just say?”

    Alpha Dolph busted out with laughter as he walked a bit back to his son while staring at him. 

    “Tse tse tse, this is unbelievable. You have the guts to be messing around with Moonstone Luna while I thought you were a weakling. My son, you are something else. Don't you know you will be killed if that truth materializes, hmm? Just count yourself lucky… “.  Conri cut his father short. 

    “Come on Father stop, I didn't lay the Luna. It was accidental, I didn't plan it. It just happened because I didn't have a choice”. Conri tried to explain. 

    His father laughed, turned to go, and said to him, 

   “Not to worry son, still count yourself lucky that Luna will die. Oh, I won't tell anyone that you once messed around and somehow I liked what you did. You dared the Alpha”. 

   The father chuckled as he started walking away while Conri followed trying to make him see reason. 

    “Father, you are getting it wrong, her pups are mine. You can't kill her,  please”

    “Relax son, the pups are not yours. Let me tell you what happened. Alpha Gonzalo couldn't father a child because his wife, Luna Achina had issues conceiving. So medically, they had to use IVF for her to get pregnant. They have tried several times before at last one worked out”.  The father laughed. 

    “Exactly the point Father… “

    “Let me finish, son. Do you know the amazing thing, son? As we were planning for the war, we found out about the IVF arrangement, so we used one of our allies to exchange Gonzalo’s semen at the semen bank with one of the omegas. So the Pups were not even Gonzalo’s and they are not yours either because Luna can never conceive naturally. So come along, they are ready for the attack”. He walked on outside while his son followed. 

    “Father, that was such a disgusting thing to do to a fellow man. I guess you are the reason the moon goddess allowed the accident to happen”.

    His father turned and stared hard at his son's seriousness. Then started walking again as he asked him.

     “What exactly are you saying? What accident?” 

     "Will you listen to me now? I swear, I'll never forgive you if you harmed my pups. I have a secret to share, and it's been weighing on me for far too long. On the day of the IVF procedure, I was at the hospital on duty. I was the one tasked with bringing the vials containing the semen. It was my final week of internship, and I was eager to prove myself. But fate had other plans. As I was transporting the vials from the semen bank to the IVF section, I missed a step and they fell, shattering on the floor. Everything spilled out, and I was left standing there, frozen in horror."

    Conri paused, noticing his father's sudden stop in his tracks. He turned around, his eyes fixed intently on Conri as if urging him to continue.

    "Go on, Conri," his father prompted, his voice firm but curious. "So, after you broke the vials, did they obtain another semen sample from Gonzalo?"

    Conri took a deep breath before continuing, his words tumbling out in a rush. 

    "No, Father. I didn't tell the gynecologist about the accident because I was terrified they would be furious with me or might think I did it on purpose. They seemed so desperate to get the procedure done, and I didn't want to crush Luna's hopes. So I kept quiet about the accident instead, I I…”.  He paused to breathe. 

     “You what, what did you do about it? Wait, oh my moon goddess, you gave them your semen?” Finished off by the father. 

     “Yes Father, I gave them mine to cover up the one I broke. I even prayed to the moon goddess not to make it a success but she did the opposite”. Conri said helplessly. 

    “So the pups in Luna’s belly are your blood, which means my blood. Damn it,  Conri”. His father cursed angrily. 

     He stared at his father hoping he would change his mind. Far from it, he didn't change his mind. Rather he became more eager to kill Luna Ashina. He matched out and joined the people for the attack. 

    Conri followed him instantly, pleading that they were his grand pups to be. The father didn't yield, rather he told his men that it was time to kill Luna Ashina.

    He shifted instantly to wolf form. So everyone including Conri went all on fours immediately. 

     He led with his son beside him pleading for the father to reconsider his decision but the father growled at him and started running at full speed towards Moonstone Pack. Conri’s heart beat faster while his pours pounded on the ground beside his father as the thought within him was to make sure Luna was saved. 

     Within three hours they had already killed many of the guards before Gonzalo’s warriors got the news and mind-linked their pack members and warriors. They all headed out to defend their pack. The fight had already escalated as the enemies kept forging further into Moonstone Pack. They made sure to kill or give serious injury to anyone standing in their way. 

      At the side of the cave, Alpha Gonzalo was urging his wife, Luna Ashina, to use the magic ring to escape and return when their pups were older, if he didn't survive the impending battle. But Luna was adamant, refusing to leave without him, her tears falling like diamonds in the dim light. Jared tried to reassure her, explaining to her that he had been to the human Globe before and that it was easy to blend in with the humans and other werewolves who lived there. But Luna's fears and doubts lingered, and the couple's distress was palpable.

   Just as they were at the spot, a group of enemies, led by the menacing Alpha Dolph, arrived at the cave. Conri, still linked to his father through their mind bond, pleaded with him to let Luna go, but Gonzalo was too focused on the threat before them to listen. His growls and barks ordered Conri to silence, but the werewolf persisted, sensing Luna's desperation.

     As the enemies closed in, Gonzalo's instincts screamed at him to protect his mate. He realized that they had come for her, and she had to escape by all means.  Luna, sensing her mate's urgency, begged him to come with her, her voice laced with anguish and fear. Gonzalo's frustration and desperation mounted, torn between his desire to keep his pack together and the need to ensure Luna's safety above all else.

    “Ashina do it now, I will go with you. No time, you got to save our pups. Do it, I will come with you”. He lied to her so she could do the needful since all the pleading was falling on deaf ears.

     Instantly, she uttered some strange language, pulled out a ring from her finger, and threw it up. There appeared a huge ring of fire like an open part way to an unknown location which kept rolling in a circle. It was dark and scary for someone to jump into but that was how it worked. Ashina turned to her husband and told him that it was time for them to go as she tried to hold his hand. 

   As Alpha Dolph saw the fire in motion he forged towards Luna but Jared blocked him by jumping on him on all fours. Two of them kept fighting each other. Other wolves tried going for her but the maids were busy as well protecting their Luna as well. Conri was confused about what to do as his father kept shouting at him to kill her. 

     Gonzalo shouted at Ashina, to go on that he was behind her as he fought the two wolves that pounced on him. He attacked them back ferociously. He threw one on a coconut tree close by. Then held the second one, snapped his neck, and dropped him dead. He moved towards his wife instantly as another wolf wanted to attack her. He pounced on the wolf and flung her far away. Then instantly pushed Ashina into the open partway. 

   “Please go now before it closes, I will come for you. I love you “. 

    “No, please jump in now. Come with me, please”. She cried as the partway started reducing in size. 

     Gonzalo and everyone else continued to defend themselves. To everyone's surprise, as Alpha Dolph got away from Jared, he rushed to his son who was just defending himself from another wolf. Conri didn't want to fight and it was annoying his father. He grabbed the wolf and threw him far away. Then growled at his son.

     “You should have killed her when you had the chance, Conri. I don't care if the pups are yours”. 

    Immediately, he flung his son into the part way and it took him in as he shouted after him.

      “Make sure that you kill Luna and those pups, don't return until you kill them. Priestess will come for you when you accomplish the mission”. Gradually the partway disappeared. 

    Gonzalo growled in despair and with annoyance, he faced Alpha Dolph, fighting him with all his strength. 

    As the passageway closed, Ashina found herself alone in a thick forest. She was all alone in her human form on the ground. She looked around her but her Alpha was not there. She cried out, 

    “No. No.. Nooo”