After they left the earth witches coven, they visited Anderson to say their goodbyes to him. Emerald had told them to make sure they see him before they leave. When he saw them, he walked up to them and smiled. It was good to see them before they leave. They showed Jamal's mate to him and also spoke about a few things, one of which was relaying Emerald's message to him. After spending a few hours with him, they told him they were leaving.
"I have something for you, Jabal and Jasmine," Anderson said to them. "I will be right back". He left them in the living room and went to his room but returned some minutes later with a metal. "This belongs to your father. It is a badge that helps you to through packs in the northern and southern hemispheres. You might be needing it. I have been renewing it for a day like this". They thanked him for taking of them just like a father would. "Take care of your little brother and his mate," he told them and they assured him that they will.
They left the human territory where Anderson lives and with the help of the map and the glowing blue stone, they set out fully for their journey. It was night soon and they decided to take a break in a cave they had seen some minutes ago. The boys went to get some wood while the girls opened up some cans of food for them to eat. Soon, they lit up the fire and settled in. They talked and laughed about random things while getting themselves warm.
"Can't believe we finally have the book and will be destroying it" Kelvin said. "But it is for the best thing" he added and they nodded in agreement. "But do you think one of us will go after the book?" he asked.
"We can't say there won't be and we can't say there will be. We just have to be careful and not let the book control any one of us" Jamal said.
"We must look out for each other," Jasmine said and everyone nodded.
Jabal encouraged them that as they start this journey, and during this journey, there will be a lot of obstacles. More enemies will rise but they should not give up no matter what. Every one of them encouraged themselves.
"We are not going to give up. We must succeed" Jabal said raising his hand and they said it after him.
They clapped, cheering themselves up. It was fun being together like this, fun still trusting each other and they hoped to continue this way until the book is destroyed.
**
As they continued their journey they met new faces who voluntarily joined them in the quest just like Stella had said. Not only did they meet those who joined them, but they also met those who were after the book. No one knew how the news of the book got out so quickly when none of them had spoken about it to anyone. Every day, they had one person or more to fight it, and this slow them down. At some point they had to follow up a longer route to either avoid those going after the book or because they missed the route while fighting off those after the book.
More people kept joining them from the different packs and realms they go through. They soon became so many, they began to form different groups among themselves to keep themselves in check but despite that, there wasn't harmony among them. Every group wanted to rule over the other. There had been more people coming after the book which they needed to deal with but their internal problem was stopping them from focusing on what they needed to do. They decided it was best to have a leader for each group formed. There were different beings, among them, are the goblins, the dragons, the witches, the wizards, the werewolves the vampires, and the demons. The goblins were not much so they joined up with the witches and wizards to form a group. The werewolves were alone being the largest among them all. The dragons formed a group of their own. And the vampires and the demons formed the last group. During the time of the selection, there was a prophecy saying both Jasmine and Jabal are the Alpha but Jasmine forfeited her Alpha title for Jabal.
"We can both be the Alpha. Why did you forfeit your title for me" Jabal said to Jasmine when he found out she rejected the Alpha title.
"There can't be two masters in a house. One has to be superior to the other" Jasmine answered. "And that should be you"
"It still doesn't make any sense"
Jasmine assured Jabal that he has nothing to worry about. And that she won't be leaving him to do the job alone.
"I will support you until I am sure you can work on your own"
Jabal felt blessed to have a sister like Jasmine. Though they fought and argue a lot, they love and care for each other.
"Then be my Beta" Jabal told Jasmine.
"You have someone who will make a better Beta. He comes from the family of Betas. Do you not know him?"
Jabal knew immediately who Jasmine was referring to.
He announced Jamal has his Beta. Though it was just for the time being and will only last until the book is destroyed, Jamal felt thankful. Ariana and Pearl were to work hand in hand with them. Kelvin became the leader of the demons and vampires present. Ryan took charge of the goblins, witches, and wizards. Though he is a werewolf who knows nothing about goblins, witches, and wizards, Jasmine offered to help. The dragons picked a leader among themselves.
After the selection of leaders, they decided to have a little celebration to celebrate their leaders. They sent out some men to get them meet while some went to get drinks. They soon began to jubilate. While they celebrate, ladies troop around Ryan. He is the only leader that has no mate, every one of the ladies has said. But he has a mate, they had argued among themselves. Every one of them had thought she was his mate at first until they found out they were just friends and Kelvin is her mate who rejected her.
Jasmine was furious when she had about it. No one knew she was rejected except for Jamal, Jabal, Ariana, Ryan, and Kelvin himself. Pearl doesn't know about it either. She asked them if they had told anyone but they said no. It soon circulated that Jasmine was rejected and a conversation ensured between two witches which Kelvin overheard. He became furious and left without returning until two days after. They tried to know what had happened that made him leave but had said nothing and when he finally spoke to them, he gave them the location of the ice pack he had found out when he left.
"You should send Ryan and a few goblins alongside us, the demons to the hideout" he suggested.
Jabal and the rest talked to each other about it and they agreed to do it.
**
Kelvin was to take Ryan, the goblins, and the demons to the location he had found out. They were to meet and plan out their attack. Kelvin was to give the details to Ryan and the rest. And after making sure everything was ready, they were to leave their location and go to their enemies' hideouts. They were to stay in a place closer to their enemies' supposed hideout until they are sure that was their real hideout. That was the plan they had, which of course to some point they were able to carry out.
But somehow, they got busted and the enemy went after them instead. Someone among them had betrayed them and given out their location to the enemy. They had also told them all their plans and that made them powerless. It was late in the night and everyone was fast asleep. They had put no one on watch because they thought no one knew about their presence. Ryan was the one who noticed something was wrong. The night was silent but the creeping movement he heard made him open his eyes.
He had heard the movement some seconds ago and had wondered what the movement was for. Could it be one of the warriors moving? He had thought. He wanted to open his eyes and check but when the movement stopped, he concluded that it has to be some animals walking past the cave. Maybe it's a rat, he had thought. But when he heard the movement again, this time a little louder and closer, he was tempted to open his eyes and see for himself. The room was so dark he could hardly see what was beside him. it took some seconds for his eyes to get adjusted to the darkness. He saw a figure going out of the cave and he became alert and stood up promptly.
"Kelvin" he whispered to be sure he was the one leaving the cave, but when he heard no voice, he stood up promptly and followed him. From the structure, he could tell it was a male. The figure began to run and he wondered if he had suspected he was following him. To make sure he keep pace with him, Ryan ran after him. He kept running and suddenly stopped when he got to a bend. Ryan stopped running too and stared at the figure in front of him. The dark environment and the thick bushes did not make Ryan see his face, but the structure was familiar to him. He blew a whistle and soon, Ryan was surrounded by armed men. He looked around, not moved by their numbers. He was only surprised to see them. Who are they? And why did they send him to that cave? Were they aware of they were coming?
So many thought ran through Ryan's mind as he positioned himself for a fight, just in case that is what they want. He wasn't armed at all, as he had never thought they would be these much.
"Good to face you here, Ryan," someone said and he batted his lashes. Does he know him? How come?
"Who are you?" Ryan asked.
He scoffed. "You came all the way here and you don't even know who you're here for?"
Ryan furrowed his brows. What is he saying? "I..."
"I will save you the stress of asking your question. I am Declan. The alpha of the Lycan pack of the north. The one you're here for" the voice said and Ryan batted his lashes.
This can't be true!!. The ones they are here for are supposed to be here by tomorrow not tomorrow. Did Kelvin get the wrong information about their arrival? Or someone has betrayed them? Did someone tell them they know about their arrival and they had to come before the said time? How did they find out about them?
Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Y-you were supposed to be here tomorrow"
Ryan felt something being thrown at him and he closed his eyes. He heard a laugh and he opened his eyes. "So you thought. Do you think I am daft?" he heard. The figure in front of Ryan moved closer to him. "I am smarter, boy. But you know. I have no business with you. But you're a teenage boy who loves to poke his nose into other people's affairs". He folded his hands. "I have to teach you a lesson"
Ryan stared at the figure in front of him. The voice and the figure are not familiar to him. They were different from the ones he heard and saw when he first came. This figure looks older. He gestured to someone to come over and Ryan batted his lashes. What kind of lesson does he have in mind to teach him? "Make sure he doesn't die but don't leave him alive" Ryan heard him say.
He watched him leave and he batted his lashes. He should not be killed and should not be left alive. What does he mean by that? He suddenly stopped walking.
"Do not hurt any of his group. Just him"
Ryan furrowed his brows. Is he the only one they are after? The thud sound he heard jolted him back to reality. His eyes widened in shock as he felt a sharp object pierce through his chest. He groaned in pain and tried to put up a fight but felt a hard blow on his face. He had learned to fight irrespective of the situation. He was able to kill some of the men left but due to how injured he was, he fell flat on his face. As he watched someone raise his sword but was surprised to see him fall. "Are you ok? Ryan?" he heard Kelvin say and my eyes finally closed. "Ryan! , Ryan!!!" The voices began to fade away, darkness and silence eluding him. And that became the last thing he heard and remembered.
**
"Jasmine! Jasmine!!" Jasmine could hear someone call her name. She was already drifting to sleep but had to jump off the bed.
It was Ariana and she sound so sad.
"What's going on?" Jasmine asked
"R-Ryan is back" her words were so fast it took time to process what she had said.
"What did you say?" Jasmine asked.
"Ryan is back" Ariana replied.
Without asking any further questions, Jasmine ran out of her room. It's been two days since they left and she had been worried about him. "Jasmine. Wait up. There is something I need to tell you" Ariana yelled, running. Jasmine could hear Ariana's footsteps as she tried to catch up with her.
"Jasmine" she called again and Jasmine stopped running and turned to face her.
"Where is he?"
"I was about to tell you that he is in Jabal's tent but you ran off before I could"
Jasmine furrowed her brows. "Why is he in Jabal's tent"
"Because he's kinda injured "
Jasmine batted her lashes. "H-he injured? Did he say what was wrong with him?"
"He was brought in unconscious. You..."
"Who brought him back?"
"Kelvin did"
"D-did he says what happened?"
"He was attacked"
Jasmine sighed. "It's a good thing he's back and alive"
She had had a dream where Ryan was killed. She has been worried his life might be in danger. It's a good thing he came back alive, but just injured.
Ariana sighed. "Please don't cry when you see him"
Jasmine furrowed her brows. "Tell me is it worst?"
"Jasmine..."
Jasmine sighed. "I will try not to"
Ariana stretched her hand to Jasmime. "Let's go"
As they walked closer to Jabal's tent, Jasmine's heart began to beat so fast. When Ariana told her not to cry when she sees him, she quickly concluded that Ryan must be in a very bad condition. She knew Ariana would not have said that if the condition was not bad. She had also wondered what could be wrong with him. Though she had promised herself to be strong irrespective of what she sees getting closer to the tent, she began to feel she might break the promise she made to Ariana as well as herself. They got to the door and she stopped moving. Her body was reluctant to move and Ariana must have noticed Jasmine stopped.
"Are you not going in?"
Jasmine sighed. "I-i don't think I am ready to see him yet. I..."
She held Jasmine's hand. "You are ready to see him. Even if he is still unconscious, I can bet you, he is going to feel your presence. Remember how many sleepless nights you had. How you had starved yourself. Now that he is back, don't you think you need to see his face?"
She had told Ariana about the dream. Ariana also knew about her sleepless night. She knows she should not be worrying about another person when she has a mate, she couldn't help it.
"I-i... I don't think I should see him. I shouldn't worry about someone else's mate. I don't want to see him"
"I know you want to. Follow your heart, Jasmine"
Jasmine sighed. "But..."
"Just do what you think is right, ok?"
"I will go in"
Ariana smiled. "I will wait here"
She moved backward but Jasmine stopped her. "You should go in with me"
She nodded. They entered to see Jamal and Jabal sitting beside him. They stood up when they saw her. Jasmine stood, staring at him. "He was brought in, unconscious a while ago," Jabal said
Jasmine nodded but said nothing. She couldn't take a step forward until Ariana poked her. "You should go close" she whispered
She took a few steps, stopped, and turn to look at Ariana. She gave Jasmine an approving nod and Jasmine nodded too. She moved closer to him and sat beside him. His eyes were closed and his lips slightly opened. He had a bandage on his chest with was soaked in blood. He was looking pale and she wondered how many pants of blood he had lost. She placed her hand on his face as she tried to hold back her tears. She had promised not to cry but seeing him in this state, it became difficult not to cry. She sniffed.
"Is there any other person hurt?" she asked.
"Ni, just him"
Tears dripped down her face and she held his hand. "Could you get hurt? How could you? Did you not promise to go and come back without a scratch? Please, just wake up. I can't bear to see you in this state, please..."
Ariana patted her shoulder. "He will be time"
She sniffed. "Jabal, can I stay here until he wakes up?"
"You can but will you not check on Kelvin"
"Hw is not hurt. Let me stay with the one that is"
**
It's been over three hours since Ryan was brought back and he is to gain consciousness. The doctor had come to stop his bleeding and had also changed the bandage. Jasmine placed her hand in his, squeezing it slightly. She wanted him to wake up so badly. She wanted to know who had done this to him, so she could go after them. She was furious, seeing him lie down on this bed without saying anything to her. She couldn't imagine the kind of pain he must have passed through when he got pierced. She shivered with the wave of rage that swept over her. She was losing control of herself and needed to get some fresh air. She pulled her hand off his and made to stand up but he held her back. She turned to face him and his eyes were opened. "J-Jasmine" he called and she felt het anger subside