Riannon was locked in her room; the feeling was familiar to her. Since she had time to think about her predicament, she realised she had been trapped before – in her first marriage with Brayden. She was a hostage in their relationship, as was her own reputation. Striving to constantly be perfect was exhausting. It was funny how death helped her see the vicious cycle she lived in.
Gideon helped to free her from it. Like he had done before, soon he would help her to her freedom once again. She knew he would.
But by the time he would come to rescue her, she was sure she would destroy this place. When she heard a knock on the door, a smirk formed on her lips.
“Onyx, help me scan this place,” she asked her wolf, and she could sense there was only one person behind the door. A female. Two guards stood at a distance which would normally make it difficult for a regular shifter to overhear what they were talking about. Those two were new. Paddington and the fox, whom she knew, were replaced by Castiel and now no one was available to fulfil her every request. The Fox King learned his lesson.
“Riannon,” Bridgit whispered, “Do you hear me?”
“Yes,” she smiléd, knowing the presence of the werebear was proof of her plan working. “How did you manage to get here? I thought everyone would be punished”
“Everyone was punished,” Bridgit confirmed with a sigh, “However, 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. The fact that you are locked in the room that’s directly 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 on the premises,” Bridgit assured her, “and I want to speak to you again. Do you have a plan?”
She did have a plan. A few actually. Right now, this was her number one plan. She wasn’t sure though if sharing the details with the werebear was a good idea.
All they had between them was two conversations, which during the first one, Bridgit tried to kill her. This wasn’t a friendship built on trust just yet.
Riannon was probably silent for too long, and the werebear waited as patiently as a werebear could on the other side of the door knowing why Ria was hesitant.
“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 he wasn’t exclusive with any of us. Still, each of us hoped and believed there was a possibility of that.
Castiel can make you feel like you are the only one for him while he is with you. Over time, I think all of us realised this would never be the case. However, it was too late because each of us had developed feelings for him.”
“Bridgit,” Riannon couldn’t stop herself from saying, “he is hot as hell, yes. However, there is no way every single woman could fall in love with him. Have you seen his lab? Have you seen what he creates in there? He learned to process scents which entice you with a similar response you would have as if you met your mate. I hate to be the one telling you this, but he has you all in the palm of his hand because he experiments a lot with mimicking the mating bond. I think he experimented on you. All of you.”
The werebear female was silent, but then started speaking again with newfound determination.
“We all came here willingly, and we also agreed to be with him willingly. The rest is history.”
For a moment, Riannon was worried she had lost her new ally. Was it too late for these women? Was there some kind of chemical addiction associated with those scents? After all, Brayden was an Alpha and he had fallen for Roxy’s charm pretty quickly. She always thought it was attributed to Roxy’s siren abilities; however, what if those artificial scents were also part of the cause too?
“But,” Bridgit chose to continue her speech, giving Ria hope it could move in a direction favourable to her,”
When we entered the Eden there was an agreement 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, like me, had no choice, some already liked Castiel, some sought 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. Nevertheless, there was one condition that he himself set for all of us.
He always declared the importance to him that each of us lived here willingly. He made it an imperative point, which is one of the reasons we all trusted him so much.
He promised we could leave whenever we wanted.”
“And?” Ria leaned over the cold door.
“After the revelations of yesterday, when a few girls expressed the desire to leave, he did not allow them to,” the she-bear’s voice trembled in admittance. “Everyone is locked in Eden. Now we know why there is only one door, no windows, and a ceiling that is so high we can’t get to it.”
“The Eden is locked, yet you are here,” Riannon pointed out. She still wasn’t convinced she could trust the woman she spoke to.
“I know how it looks,” Bridgit replied calmly, “but I was here for years. I have earned his trust. He doesn’t know that he has lost mine. I was thinking about what you told me. As long as I stay here, I will never meet my mate. I want to try to find him, to experience a relationship with a mate bond. I want to be the only person for my special someone. I don’t think l want to share someone I care about with anyone else. I want to love and be loved in return. I want a mate who would never lock me up or belittle me. I want what you described to me. I want all of it if that makes sense.”
“It does.” Ria could feel Bridgit 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 won’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 initiate an attack.”
“What wili 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.
“l am not making you any promises.” Ria wanted to be honest with these women, who had been lied to so many times before. “l am asking for your trust, yes, but I cannot promise you that when the action begins each and every one 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 I can promise. I will be fighting for my own freedom and the freedom of my people. I have been fighting for it for a while now. I know we deserve freedom and the right to make our own choices, and I know this is what the Moon Goddess has always wanted for her daughters. I changed the laws for women, and I want to live in the kingdom I am building with my mate. I want to see the changes I made progress with my own eyes. Every red woman would be welcome in my land if they have nowhere to go. This is also something I can promise. For the rest, you will have to make your own decisions, and if you choose to fight, you have to be ready to give it your all.”
Silence was her reply. Riannon was afraid this wasn’t what the werebear wanted to hear. She sensed how the girl placed her hand on the door.
“I will tell the others,” she said, “l can’t speak for them, but I speak for myself when I say 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.”
“As I have already told you;it would be hard to miss.
” Ria grinned at the recent turn of events.
Gideon moved in closer and closer with his best warriors to the place where, according to the little fox, his mate was kept. They mostly enlisted lycans with some of the very best werewolves since Maya insisted on it. A huge force was left staggered behind them in case their situation got really bad. Gideon knew 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. He hastily motioned for his people to stop.
Through the bushy branches of trees, Gideon noticed the glimmering of distant lights. The palace of the Fox King was well hidden deep in the woods. This kind of warrior was used to not working together all the time, instead, hiding in small groups so their enemies wouldn’t find them even within their own territory. Gideon and his men would have searched these woods forever if not for the disappointed and broken Roxanne. He ordered for her to be moved into a better cell. Purely because she was pregnant.
He made a few steps, counting the guards he would have to kill to get closer to her the moment he felt her.
His mate. He could feel she was agitated and unhappy.
He could also feel, despite all he could sense, that she wasn’t broken. She was determined and remained strong. Feelings of pride for her filled his chest.
“Riannon,” he called her name via their mind link and immediately felt a wave of happiness and relief coming from her.
“Gideon!” There was so much energy in her voice.
He knew 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 Castiel would do something to her;trick her, bewitch her, or whatever a lowlife male did when he stooped so low to take something that wasn’t theirs. He had been worried Castiel would hurt her even though he knew 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 from her healed his heart and his soul.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she said. He could tell that she was smiling through tears. He could feel her sharing her emotions through their bond. “And you?”
“l am now! I am coming for you,” he chuckled, “Just give me a moment or two.”
“I could wait for all eternity for you if l had to,” Ria reassured him.
“You will not have to, my love.” He gave her a promise he intended to keep. However, suddenly he felt her worry and distress. “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 you are here. I think it’s a trap, Gideon.”
“It couldn’t have been anything else,” he stated, trying to calm her down and give her strength, “l am ready to face whatever he has!”
“I will help you,” his mate promised, switching off their connection.
He knew whatever she meant, she was going to keep her word.
“”l see you soon,” he said into the emptiness before him, hoping she could feel his intentions.
Then he shifted. His men followed his silent command.
They were as fast as lightning, cutting through bushes before their enemies could even see them, digging their sharp teeth into the werebears, leaving the foxes for the werewolves to deal with.
Gideon ripped throats and guts out. Each kill brought 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 signal from Reid.
“What is wrong?” He asked him via their link while slaying one bear after another.
“They attacked us. They expected backup from this side, I guess,” his Beta notified him, growling. Reid was probably fighting his own battle, which meant whoever Gideon had with him was he was going to get.
“Can you take them down?” the Lycan King asked.
“Yes, but it will take time. Will you manage without it?
“l think so,” he replied, “When you are done there, come here. Since they know we’re here, there is no point in staying behind.”
His Beta cut him off which could only mean he was in the very heart of a battle. Gideon hated it. He hated that someone tried to take his mate and his friends away from him. The thought made him and Mars even more furious. Their common beast threatened to overtake them. Being a territorial and possessive creature, it hated that someone tried to take what was his.
He neared the entrance when he heard the loudest and most piercing howl of alI; his mate.
***
“You are coming with me!” Castiel commanded as he burst into Riannon’s room, grabbing her hand roughly and pulling her after him.
“Just leave me alone!” She shouted, struggling against him, making it difficult for him to keep his hold on her. Onyx was ready to act out Riannon’s wishes at any moment.
“Stop it, Ria, I am taking you to a safe place! I don’t want you to get hurt!” he gritted through his teeth, throwing her into the arms of two werebears, whose grip was painfully tight on her.
“Hurt?” she scoffed. “Those are my people over there, and they have come for me! I’d believe you are trying to cover yourself with me as your shield! Why don’t you try to take your other women to that wonderful safe place?”
“Because,” he explained, moving next to her in less than a second and grabbing the hair at the nape of her head before tugging it to force her to look at him, ” the only one l am worried about is you.”
He crashed his lips into hers, which she did not expect at all. His tongue forced itself inside her mouth and tried to dominate her. The two guards held her hands, and she felt Castiel use Gideon’s scent. As if Gideon’s mimicked scent could help make her agree to any of this.
Anger boiled inside of her like lava. It spread down her veins and filled her whole being. So much for not forcing women!
Riannon wanted blood, and blood she got when 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. He covered his mouth with one hand as he took a few seconds to process what she did to him, but then a smirk appeared on his face, which annoyed her even more.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less from a Queen,” he said.
“Not your Queen!” Each word was punctuated with growls from outside the castle, growls which were getting closer and clóser.”l’m Gideon’s!”
“We’ll see about that!” Castiel snapped, spitting 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. Triple the men guarding her. I don’t want them to reach her until | am finished dealing with this!”
“Will be done, my king,” one of the bears said, and Riannon burst out laughing. She couldn’t stop laughing for a while and now the three men looked at her, not knowing why she had such a reaction.
“You see,” Ria stated, raising her chin and slightly tilting her head, “This is exactly your problem! You recognised me as this special, perfect Luna, yet even now you are not taking me into consideration. This is exactly why a man like you will never be by my side!”
“No offence, my dear” Castiel smirked, “but I know 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 finally overpowering her. “Who told you that? By any chance, was that your spy Marcus?”
The King’s face changed, but it was too late.
“You think l am a powerless female who can’t shift?
” Riannon snarled, her eyes glowing with pure light. “The Moon Goddess hersélf 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 glowed just like the last time she shifted. She could feel power stream through her, and she knew she could destroy anyone in her way.
She had been brought back for a reason. This fight which was ahead of her today was a significant part of it.
Castiel and his two bears looked 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 joined in, calling to every woman in the area to fight for what was right.
Deep inside Eden, every female in red heard the howl, and Bridgit’s mouth opened in awe when she recognised the sign they had all been waiting for. They felt the ancient goddess’ call, and most of them chose to respond to it.
“Ladies, it’s time!” Bridgit commanded. One by one, they turned into their beasts; wolves, bears, lionesses, panthers, birds, and reptiles. Castiel sure had himself an amazing and rare collection. However, he was about to taste their fury.
Bridgit’s white bear, Uma, knocked down the doors of Eden and attacked the guards outside. Then the rest of the harem females immediately joined her, destroying anyone who stood in their way. They had enough of being manipulated, and they all craved freedom.
Gideon had to blink twice when he saw a fox being thrown out of a window. He finished off yet another bear when he finally caught a glimpse of what was going on inside. It seemed like pure chaos was unleashed.
“After me!” He commanded his warriors, and jumped in through the window on the first floor. Enemy warriors threw themselves at him, but he dealt with them with ease. Amazed by the sight of a huge eagle pecking out one of the foxes’ eyes, he watched in awe. When the bird was done, they looked at each other and Gideon wasn’t sure whether it would attack him next or if it would leave him alone in the hopes they were on the same side.
The bird flew away upstairs, and he followed it, his own men simultaneously bursting in through the windows.
Sensing her before he saw her, Gideon rushed up the stairs where he noticed the familiar glow of the woman he loved. His beautiful queen fought against two werebears at once, slashing the throat of one of them with ease.
Their eyes met for just a second in the chaos which surrounded them, and warmth spread over both of their hearts. A 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 allowed themselves two desperate seconds of reunion with their noses dug deep in each other’s furs.
Riannon could smell blood on him but instantly knew none of it was his. He had 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 didn’t make 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 it was time to get back to business.
“l 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 she was joking, but he growled anyway.”
In this life, you will ońly be my queen, Riannon.”
“I have no objections to that,” she agreed, “Let’s go!
Onyx can recognise his scent even if he changes it! We need to find him!”
“How does she do it?” Gideon followed her, without a hint of hesitation.
“Perks of being blessed by the Moon Goddess,” Riannon chuckled, “we also tasted his blood a few minutes ago. We can recognise him anywhere!”
Onyx followed his tracks, 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 toward 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 have been captives for years!”
The two Betas followed their commands without question, and the two Alphas continued their way.
She could feel Castiel was alone, abandoning all his people just to save himself. Some leader he was!
“He went this way!” she pointed the path to Gideon, “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 exclaimed, speeding up. She had a hard time keeping up with him even now in her upgraded wolf form.
They saw his red fur soon enough. Castiel ran for his life, but when he heard Gideon’s mighty roar, he knew he wouldn’t make it to the border so he stopped, preparing himself to fight. One of his eyes glowed red as usual, and Riannon realised that in his fox form he was blind. She also noticed a part of his face looked burned.
What happened to him?
Ria tossed those thoughts aside. Castiel wasn’t the one to feel sorry for.
He was a monster who stood behind deception and manipulation. He destroyed her past life; sent Roxy to terrorise her, and then made her kill Ria. He was the corrupt evil mastermind who had planned everything and would later destroy the werewolves and the Lycans of The Union, leaving a few behind to serve as his puppets. If they didn’t stop him now, everything would be for nothing. She was ready to attack him, but Gideon stood in her way.
“With all due respect, Riannon,” he said, “You have nothing to prove as a warrior. 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 Riannon saw the determination in his eyes and knew how important this was to him, so she stepped aside, giving him the honour of slaying their common enemy.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Gideon charged at the fox, and the latter managed to recoil. Castiel tried to attack the Lycan in a desperate attempt to gain some advantage. Ria could tell Castiel was a good warrior, but it wasn’t enough if he were to fight against her mate.
The Lycan King was bigger and stronger, he was also faster, so soon enough his teeth cut into the Fox’s flesh, making him shriek from 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, spilling bright red blood onto the grass under them.
Castiel was desperate, attempting to make one fatal blow after another. His canines and claws were aimed 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 to 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! This is for your schemes! This one is for sending that siren to kill her in her past life!”
Castiel’s eyes grew wide, and Riannon placed her hand on her mate’s shoulder. The touch immediately helped him calm down and look at her.
“Past life?” Castiel hissed, barely being able to speak. “So, this is how you knew everything-That- explains it.”
“What you did was awful. All those schemes and traps!” Riannon accused, deciding 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 his life, 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 only at her.
“We already figured that out,” Gideon spat, clenching his fist.
“No,” Castiel gave them a crooked dark grin, “This is not the trap. The two of you have still not yet learned how to deal with foxes, even after two lives with them.
This was just a distraction.”