Fighting with everything they got, the werewolves were struggling against the lycans, as the latter fought with total disregard for their safety. For them, the order to fight was absolute, it had priority in front of even their wellbeing. As such, in death they still managed to take a werewolf with them, or at least gravely injure one.

The werewolves were also tired from travelling for such a long distance, making their situation even more dire, but still under the coordination of Gabriel and the members of the Council, they kept their ground against the lycans. They could only hope they could hold on, to ensure it would be enough time for Salas to return with their queen.

***

Inside the fortress, even in his pain, Salas was still hanging on, looking towards his beautiful mate. He was truly worried, as Celia had stopped crying and struggling, which would have been a good thing, if at the same time she did not look like nothing but a puppet.

He was afraid, the trauma of seeing him die before her eyes was mortifying, and would let her be scarred for life. He wanted to do something about it, he wanted to run towards her and assure her that everything would be alright, but he could not. These were the last thoughts he had before falling to the ground unconscious.

"Riddick, loosen your grip on her neck! You are hurting her too much." Fenrir said displeased. He knew the rogue was as bloodthirsty as ever, he had tried to keep his cruelness under control, but Riddick still exaggerated many times. Still, if it was anybody else he would not care, but towards her he felt a closeness and a desire to protect. The threat that he would kill her if Salas fought back, was only for the werewolf to give up fighting.

He did not want to truly do that, and Riddick should have known it, but he was overstepping his position. He was getting out of line.

"My king, if I loosen my grip, she would try to escape again!" Riddick replied dissatisfied. He could see clearly that Celia was not reacting in any way, but for some unknown reason this only unsettled him more. It was like the calm before the storm.

Not to mention, he did not know what exactly stopped Celia's alpha aura, making her unable to use her werewolf powers, but she was the alpha of the watchers, he had seen her practice and knew just how powerful she could possibly be. He did not want to take a chance.

"Do you see anything?" Ebony asked frightened, as the small witch was looking down in her cauldron.

Clarissa had filled it with water and enchanted it, making the surface of the clear water inside the cauldron into a mirror to check on the situation. They could do nothing, but they were still worried.

"Yes! I think Waning is breaking the seal!" Clarissa said, gulping.

"Ehhh, but Crescent?" Ebony asked concerned. If Waning dared to do that, then what would happen to the smaller wolf?

"I do not know, perhaps the mental strain was too much. Waning may have slipped and lost her control of her aura, or Crescent woke up because of their emotions!" She said looking down. Celia looked like a statue, it would appear that she had given up, but it did not seem so.

"She is shifting!" Clarissa continued, as she started to see some changes to Celia, after a few more seconds.

"She is?" Ebony asked, jumping on the table and also looking down inside the cauldron.

"But, that ... that... is no wolf!!!" Ebony exclaimed.

"Yes, it is not!" Clarissa said, finally realizing what the Goddess had tried to do, finally put all the pieces of the puzzles together.

"That is a true ruler chosen by the Goddess' She said smirking, finally calming a bit her emotions.

"Riddick, I will not repeat myself!" Fenrir said, raising his voice.

But the watchers' former teacher did not manage to react to his order.

From the powerless woman, that felt nothing like a werewolf until this moment, a massive pressure could be sensed, as he felt his grip loosening out of fear. Fear, it was a feeling he had not felt since he was a pup. It made him wonder if it truly was this particular feeling, because of the strangeness of the matter.

Why would he feel fear from a woman, who seconds ago was having trouble of even opening his hand a little, just to free her neck?

But it would not take long for Riddick to understand that this was truly fear he was feeling. Swiftly turning around, she shoved his hand away with her right hand, before grabbing his neck with the other, and raising him a bit in the air.

The startle of the reversed situation was diminished, in comparison to what his eyes were trying to register happening before them.

Before his very eyes and Fenrir's, Celia's hair whitened from the roots until her ends, becoming a color similar to her wolf's fur.

But her hair changing color was nothing, compared to the fact that her face was also swiftly transforming. Normally, when partially transforming, a werewolf would only change the color of his eyes, the length of his canines, and his nails which would reshape themselves into claws. But she was not partially transforming, although not transforming into a wolf as well.

With her eyes changing their normal warm chocolate color to a golden hue, with her tender normal skin covered by a thin layer of soft white fur around the edges of her face, with her normal small ears reshaping themselves into wolf ears, not to mention, her canines protruding from her mouth, and her fur covered hands... she resembled more a lycan than a werewolf, although her face still retained her human like appearance.

"What are you..." Riddick tried to ask, as he had never seen such a being before.

Celia, with her hand still firmly keeping his neck in place, moved her head from side to side as if unaccustomed to her body, while also trying to relax her neck, which was already quickly healing from the previous hold.

Finishing cracking her neck, she looked into his eyes, making him tremble. It felt as though she could see into his very soul. He felt like he was staring at a being that should never be slightly offended.

Opening her mouth, with a face even more expressionless than she ever had before, she slowly spoke to her former teacher.

"You are not worth keeping!" The voice solemnly spoke, but it was not Celia's voice, it felt like there were two people speaking at the same time, Waning and Celia had fused with each other. They were neither wolf nor human, neither lycan nor werewolf, the two personalities were at this moment one and the same.

"I can smell too much blood from you, too corrupted..." She said, before slamming his body into the wall, from where it lifelessly fell as soon as she retracted her hand.

Seeing his brother dead, Cain cleared his mind of the haziness her power had induced, and swiftly came roaring towards her, but he did not know what struck him, as he also lifelessly fell, with his neck snapped.

At this point, Fenrir was frozen in place, she had surprised him from the very moment he saw her, but nothing compared to how she had now, he felt speechless to even ask or react in any way.

Even when she quickly passed him, he had no reaction whatsoever, the only thing he did or better said felt compelled to do, was follow her movements with his eyes.

All the people in the room felt frozen much like him, as her aura was leaking everywhere, even the lycans that had clawed Salas and were standing near him, had refrained from hurting the unconscious man any longer.

Lucian was only able to react when he saw her in front of him and tried to shoot, but there was no time to put his thoughts into actions.

With inhuman speed, Celia had arrived in front of the door, and angered beyond measure, gripped the weapon that was still in Lucian's arms, the weapon that he had used to hurt her beloved, and deformed it, making it no longer usable, before the latter was able to fire even one single bullet.

"You as well, too much blood." Her echoing voice spoke, and as the man still tried to regain his composure and attempted to hit her, she quickly disappeared from his eyes, before appearing behind him. He did not see her face for a second time, even as he thought to turn around, he only felt the shock of hitting the cold hard wall, as she had brutally slammed his body with her foot in the opposite wall.

Assuring that no weapons could be used against Salas, only then did she quickly come to his side, where the lycans were surrounding him.

Fenrir had expected the lycans to attack her, even though he did not order them to, just for the fact that they would mindlessly attack anyone that came near them. He could already envision them hurting her, and he was about to command them not to. But he did not utter one word, as they not only did not touched even a strand of her hair, they also strangely moved aside, allowing her access to Salas.

"What are you doing, kill him!" Fenrir angrily said, but he was in for another shock when the lycans stood in place, not reacting in any way, it was like they were still awaiting orders.

Why would the lycans docilely move and not continue killing Salas, as he commanded them to? And whose order would they listen to, if not his?

Kneeling beside him, she felt his breath was shallow. With just that much wolfbane in his blood, he would not be in immediate danger, but with the wounds all over his body which were still dripping blood, surely he was steadily becoming weaker.

Her heart felt like it was pricked by thousands of needles, as she gently took his head into her arms, afraid of hurting him even more. Her golden eyes narrowing, with warm tears once again falling from her eyes, she gently placed a kiss on his forehead.

This man had saved her from death, this person had shielded her from the outside world and her family, had loved her without asking anything in return. He had even been willing to give his life for her without a second thought.

"I am sorry, my love. Normally, only a male would mark his mate, but you see... I am not a normal mate!" Celia whispered slowly, removing her lips from his forehead, but still keeping her face close to his. Giving him another loving gaze, she slowly raised his neck a bit, exposing his fair skin, and sank her fangs into the crook of where the shoulder meets the neck.

From ancient times, only a male would mark his mate, making them both grow stronger from the bite, strengthening their bond, and completing their pairing, but in this situation her mark would solidify their connection, while also help his regeneration restart itself.

Seeing the situation before him, only then did Fenrir furiously move, angrily coming closer to them.

He wanted to rip Salas from her arms. If the lycans would not answer to his orders for some strange reasons, than he would do it himself. At least, that was what he intended, but did not expect that those very same lycans would immediately turn to him, moving a step in his direction, as they wanted to block his path.

Bewildered by the killing intent he could feel from them, he stopped confused. He was their master, he had created them, they would listen even if he would tell them to take their own lives, but those very same lycans felt like enemies at this moment.

Celia calmly removed her fangs from Salas's neck, with Salas's color gradually returning to his face, as his wounds immediately started to close. Not a moment later, he also opened his eyes. He had not witnessed the transformation of the being before him, but instinctively knew that it was Celia.

Feeling the power emanating from her body, he felt glad and sad at the same time. Could her sorrow had possibly destabilized Waning's control, and they had run amok?

"I am sorry!" She said, but did not specify for what.

Still he knew, he could see it in her eyes, she was sorry she had marked him without his permission, although he did not know it was possible for a woman to do it. And also felt regretful for placing him in harm. It seemed that this woman still did not realize just how much he was willing to do for her, if he had to do it all over again, he would gladly die.

"Seeing how you marked me as yours..."He slowly said, causing her eyes to flinch because of worry. Was he upset?

"... then you will have to take responsibility for me!" He continued, with the corner of his mouth raising up in a smile.

Relaxing her worries, touched that even now he was still thinking of her, she found his shamelessness quite cute.

Seeing the happiness of the couple in front of him, Fenrir let out a huge roar, as he once again shifted into his lycan form. He wanted to kill Salas as soon as possible. The last member of the royal family, the last person of the family that caused his existence in this world, and then denied it. He was a person who was never supposed to exist, but he was here nonetheless.

Why should that person still carry on with a mate? Why should Salas keep on living, reminding him of the father he lost, the only person who truly loved him, and also the one who had never felt he was enough just as he was, a hybrid?

In his lycan form, he easily tossed aside the lycans that had tried to stand before Celia and Salas, he wanted once and for all to kill Salas, or if not ... at least die by Celia's hand. Either way it was far better, than continuing being in the situation he had been for all of this time.

Fenrir took two steps in their direction, his massive legs sending vibration to the floor as he moved, and was about to raise his clawed hand, expecting Celia to end his life, just as she did with the others.

"Kneel!" Her voice authoritatively spoke.

It was a single word, a word that should have meant nothing to him, but this small five letters word caused him to crash to the ground, and really kneel in front of her, without him wishing too.

"Transform into a human!" She demanded with her echoing voice.

Words he once again unwillingly obeyed.

"Why?" did I listen to her words, his face seemed to say what his mouth could not manage to utter.

"You would, how could you not listen to your ruler!" Celia and Waning replied in unison, understanding his unsaid words.

"Wha... " There had never existed a ruler for the lycans, as they never were supposed to exist.

He was wordless, his mind not capable of fathom what she had tried to tell him. The Goddess did not recognize the lycans, but this woman before him, a ruler meant for werewolves was saying she was his ruler as well.

Her words could not be true... could they? But the lycans that formerly listened to him, protected her, he was also inclined to protect her, since the moment he had seen her.

And just now, he did what she said, he obeyed her words...

"How... you are the rulers of the werewolves." He tried to speak again.

"Whoever said that a ruler can only lead one race?" Waning and Celia spoke again, with the same solemn face. She was not joking, nor mocking him, she was sincerely informing him of the current reality.

"Why did you not kill me yet?" Fenrir asked again, not inquiring her once more how it was possible for her to be the lycans' ruler. The proof was his body that still did not respond to his commands, it was evidence that she had the ability to command the lycans.

"A ruler imposed by the Goddess does not necessarily know the lycans. I cannot understand them, you will help me in this!" Celia said firmly. She had seen no future for the rogues beside him, but through his eyes she saw the possibility to change. And she also did not see herself capable of killing someone who resembled so much her beloved.

"Why would I?" Fenrir asked, still trying to move, but try as he may he did not raise even an inch his knees from the ground.

"You are under the impression that I am asking, I am not. I am commanding!"

***

Outside the fortress, the werewolves were struggling more and more to keep the lycans in check, they could not advance forward even a bit. Gabriel had initially thought that he and the Council could go with Salas, but if they went, then the rest of the werewolves would have fallen by now.

"Damn!" He muttered continuously inside his mind, as he avoided a lycan and threw him away. If they could reason with the beings it would be much easier, but unfortunately they could not. It was a pity as initially these were normal innocent people before all this.

Quickly, still cursing in his mind, upset they had hurriedly come and did not manage to gather even more stronger werewolves, he went to help another werewolf that was overpowered. Salas had been gone for some time now, could he have encountered too many problems? He had tried to also mind link him, but the latter did not respond.

Could they survive this night? He thought, as another two three lycans cornered him, shortly after he had helped the other werewolf. He muttered under his breath some curses, as the lycans were preparing to jump towards him, with their huge claws exposed.

On the wall of the fortress in the moonlight, a single woman stood, her white silver hair reflecting and blending with the rays of the moon, as small twinkle sparkles could be seen between the strands that fluttered in the wind. She was an ethereal beauty, even in her transformed state, resembling more a mirage than a real person.

She was truly beautiful, but the frenzy under, the werewolves and lycans below, had not time to look towards the walls, as they were concentrated on their fights.

Upset at the bloodsheds, and the deaths that had already occurred, Celia's voice rumbled in the night, in one powerful roar.

Startled by the high pitched sound, all of them finally looked up. The werewolves were surprised by the woman's appearance, and felt her pressure, and were even inclined to submit themselves, but they did not as she resembled more a lycan rather than a werewolf.

Seeing that all the lycans had also stopped fighting, they suspected her origin. Was she their master, was she trying to issue to them new orders? The members of the Council and Gabriel thought, immediately mind linking the werewolves to be wary of the new presence.

As she had stopped roaring, Celia looked towards the lycans, satisfied at their obedience. This was the third reason for which she could not kill Fenrir, they were too many and innocent, she could not kill people that had no fault in their actions.

"Kneel!" She said once again with a much more powerful voice, her voice echoing towards all the parts of the battlefield. She was demanding obedience from the lycans. To discuss rationally with them was impossible in just a second. To make them stop and see if they could reason, she must subdue first, then ask questions later.

Under the dumbfounded eyes of the werewolves, all the lycans listened without exceptions.

This master was unusual, why would she command them to kneel, exposing them weakly in front of the werewolves, offering them a chance to easily kill them? A chance some of them were already eyeing.

But the werewolves took no action yet, afraid of the individual capable of holding under her command thousands of lycans.

Checking her every actions, the Council members were already thinking of attacking. If they could control the master, then the lycans would have no choice but to listen.