Chapter 4: CHAPTER FOUR: OUR HEAVIEST BURDEN
Cassian lived with Lyra taking care of her and hiding her from his people. Even his parents knew not of her existence. Garven who knew Cassian's secret came to confront him.
"Cassian, friend. We caught a Crescent female wolf, she was trespassing. Orion has given us the order to kill her" Garven lied. Cassian was afraid, he thought it could be Cersei; Lyra's sister. It was obvious that she would want to look for her sister since she hadn't returned for over a month.
"Do you know the name of this Crescent?" Cassian asked.
"Why should I know, we don't associate with the enemy. You of all people should know that" Garven retorted.
"Of course, I know Garven"
"No, you don't. If not you wouldn't grant shelter to that Crescent wolf" Garven claimed. His words put Cassian in shock.
"Rules are set here for us to follow and the one in power chooses to break the gravest of all" Garven continued.
"She's pregnant, all I need is three months then she shall return to her people" Cassian begged.
"And what becomes of the child she bears? Cassian you are half Markarian half Arcturus. Your forbidden mate, a Crescent. Your child will be more an abomination than you are. He'll never be accepted as ours"
"Growing up I was called many things yet I became who I am and the people who insulted me, now respect me. I believe that I earned a second chance, and so shall my son. I will train him in the ways of the Arcturus wolves. He shall grow up to be a leader of many men, a saviour. All I ask friend is that you keep my little secret" Cassian begged. Garven gave it a quick thought and then made a decision.
"After the baby is born, the Crescent will leave our pack and return to hers...and you shall never see each other again" Garven demanded. Lyra who had been eavesdropping came out of hiding on hearing what Garven had said.
"You won't deny me the pleasure of seeing my child!" She retorted.
"Lyra, Get back inside!" Cassian ordered.
"No Cassian, no! Listen to me carefully, friend. I will see my child whenever I want, do you understand?" Lyra stressed furiously. Garven looked at her with disgust and addressed Cassian.
"Three months, if Orion finds out about this, my hands are washed clean...and there's no Crescent wolf in custody" Garven declared then he vacated the area.
"Don't let them take me away from our child" Lyra begged.
"I won't my love" Cassian assured Lyra hugging her tightly.
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Crescentia was in bed with Lucius. As he kissed her arms up to her neck, all she could think about were Idryssa's words.
"You don't have to believe me, one by one,
you will all fall. Everything Lucius has ever
worked for will be worthless. You will all meet
your doom"
She wasn't willing to make love to her alpha. Idryssa's words troubled her deeply then she spoke up.
"Lucius, stop. The prophecy bothers me. I fear that Idryssa may be right and that one day...one day we will all fall" Crescentia confessed scared. Lucius grabbed her by her chin and tilted it towards his face.
"Nothing will happen to us Crescentia. Klay and his men already know what to do" Lucius assured with an evil grin.
Lucius had ordered Klay and his men to raid people's homes and kill every male newborn. He also told them to apprehend any pregnant wolf. They did as ordered, raiding the village and making the people tremble in fear. Some fought for the lives of their male newborns but it was to no avail as they would either end up dead while trying or badly injured.
"You always come here to remind us about who the enemy was, now you come here to kill my son as though we were the enemies! Give me my son, give me my son!" One of the werewolves demanded in tears. Her father tried to pull her back from charging at Klay and his men but she resisted and when she went for Klay, he shoved his hands into her body and grabbed her heart out. She fell to the ground as Klay threw her heart away.
"Odessa!" Her mother screamed. She rushed instantly to stay by her dead daughter's side. She buried her face in her daughter's blood-soaked clothes shedding uncontrollable tears.
"You shall all reap what you sow" Odessa's father declared in anger but Klay wasn't threatened by his statement. He gathered his men and they left the village with over ten pregnant werewolves. Cersei who witnessed the whole commotion felt relieved that her elder sister wasn't around to witness such.
Klay surrendered the pregnant wolves to Lucius. He kept them in a room where they were to drink a tonic that would kill the baby inside of them. The room wasn't enough to fit one of the women, so Lucius ordered Klay to take her to the dungeon where Idryssa was conserved so she could keep her company. Klay did as he was told. He flung the woman into Odessa's cell and abruptly locked the barricades. Idryssa looked very awful. She wasn't being fed well, she hadn't washed in days but she was hopeful. She knew that whatever Lucius did, he would never stop the prophecy.
Klay mocked Idryssa from behind the barricades. He poured a jar of water on her face and then spat on it.
"You claim to be a witch, yet you can't even save yourself" Klay said mockingly.
"A heavy burden lies on all of us from the day of our birth until the day we return to Selene. We are fearful, dreading the day of our deaths- all from Lucius on his remarkable throne to the victimized werewolves dressed in sacking, living in constant fear" Idryssa declared with little life in her.
"Crescentia doesn't sleep well at night...in her dreams, she runs from the prophecy only to wake up and see that there was nothing to be afraid of. Tell her that there is something to be afraid of, tell yourself and your alpha that someone is coming, someone more powerful than you can imagine and his reign will be your end!" Idryssa stressed angrily. Klay got furious and ran his claws against Idryssa's face. She was very weak so her wounds took time to heal.
"Control that filthy mouth of yours" Klay demanded then walked out on Idryssa. When she was sure Klay was long gone, she began crying.
"You are just a young girl, you don't deserve to go through all these. My apologies" the woman said.
"Do not despair for my soul. Why have they brought a pregnant woman here to abide with me?" Idryssa asked as she wiped away her tears.
"Lucius ordered his men to seek out male newborns and pregnant women. They killed the newborns and brought the pregnant women here. I have not a single idea..." The woman explained but was cut short when her water broke. Idryssa was alarmed. She had never assisted in the birthing of a child before.
"I cannot birth my child now, Lucius will kill him" the woman lamented but Idryssa calmed her down.
"But you must, you can't hold the child in for long" Idryssa advised. After much contemplating, the woman agreed to birth the child. She covered her mouth so her screams won't be loud enough to attract unwanted attention while Idryssa kept telling her to push. Subsequently, the child was born. She was named Annora.
"Annora, meaning honour" Idryssa said smiling at the baby.
"Right after her elder brother, Nye; man of honour" the woman proclaimed and her words put Idryssa in shock. Nye was the boy who she had foretold his future some days ago.
"I'm sure you will have a beautiful family once we figure unravel a way to get you out of here" Idryssa hoped smiling.
"Can I hold her?" Idryssa asked and the woman gave her baby to her. Idryssa rocked the baby as she smiled uncontrollably. Soon, they began hearing footsteps and immediately, Idryssa hid the baby in her clothes. Lucius and Crescentia came by to see the woman who they thought was still pregnant. They handed out her a tonic that would terminate her pregnancy. When she took it, they escorted her out of the dungeon. As they were about to leave completely, the baby let out a cry. The cry attracted Lucius and he went for the baby. Idryssa tried to hush the baby but it was to no avail. Later on, she stopped crying.
The mother of the child tried to stop Lucius and in an attempt to do so, Lucius leaves her for dead. Her body rolled down the stairs and landed right in front of Idryssa's cell. Idryssa was horrified. Then came Lucius and Crescentia.
"Where's the child?!" Lucius asked furiously. Idryssa was scared and refused to talk. Lucius unlocked Idryssa's cell and overpowered her. The baby began crying furthermore as Lucius forcefully grabbed her from Idryssa's grasp.
"I beg of you Lucius, spare the child, take me instead" Idryssa begged.
"You shall leave the face of this Earth when you watch me triumph over your ridiculous prophecy" Lucius declared leaving Idryssa's cell. As Crescentia went to lock Idryssa's cell, Idryssa begged her not to allow Lucius to kill the child telling her that it was a girl and not a boy. Crescentia left without assuring Idryssa that she would do as she said. When Crescentia had gone, Idryssa stared sorrowfully at Annora's dead mother body. She wept bitterly and apologised for letting her down.
Meanwhile, the pregnant women who were abducted all returned home, all but one. Nye watched as everyone welcomed them back. The five-year-old waited patiently for his mother's arrival but she never came back.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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