Chapter 9 Attack On The Clan

• Chaos. It was all chaos. The sounds of screams filled the night air as Weretigers tried to find shelter, but it wasn't enough. There were too many. They have invaded their land and now they are fighting back. Trying to defend their Clan and territory but these wolves were far too powerful. They didn't even bother with wolfbane bows. Only jaws and claws. And they were going to take what they wanted. Blood and tears ran down the faces of weretiger warriors as they fought against the Werewolves. Their only chance left, to save themselves, was to retreat in defeat. But they would not do that just yet until they were certain their Lady had led the Cubs and Omegas out the lands out of harm's way. The battle raged on as the moon cast its light on the ground below. The moonlight was bright enough for them to see the enemy that was running through their lands but they kept them away from the Mainlands, waiting patiently for Scott to return with the news then they would retreat.
• "Lady Mariana!" Scott was banging on the front door of their Lady and panting breathlessly from running. "Lady Mariana!" He kept banging on the door but there was no response so he knocked and yelled louder. "Lady Mariana!!" The doors flew open then and the disheveled woman stood before him looking tired and sleep deprived.
• "Scott?" She was surprised upon seeing the Weretiger and when she met his eyes a second time she realized they were in trouble. "We are under attack?" She asked and Scott nodded sadly.
• "Yes, My Lady, we are doing our best to keep them away until you have escaped with the Cubs and Omegas," He informed and she nodded, rushing back into her bedroom to grab her bag and her spell book then she was back out in second.
• "Where are they?" She asked.
• "All safe and waiting for you in the Hall," He informed her.
• "Do you know who is attacking us?" She asked.
• "Werewolves." He said bluntly. "I bet that wicked Alpha Lycan is behind this. I wonder why he wants to get rid of us so badly." Scott sighed heavily, rubbing the back of his neck.
• "Then you and your men will have to be careful, you can't win a fight against a Lycan, you must retreat as soon as you see your opening, I will bring the Cubs and Omegas to the Safety Zone and you all had better return to us alive, you hear me?!" Mariana demanded sternly, her face twisted in determination and anger. Her voice held no room for arguments.
• "We will see, my Lady," Scott promised and gave her one last glance then turned toward the trail leading to the hall where they had hidden away their cubs and Omegas. "Please bring them to safety my Lady, they are the future of our Clan's survival and I hope someday we find our place in this world." Once Scott had finished speaking he turned to leave but Mariana halted his footstep when she asked.
• "Where is my son? Where is Caleb?"
• It was then Scott realized he hadn't seen him among the Omegas that were in hiding. And when Mariana saw it in his eyes that he didn't know the whereabouts of her son, she began to call out to him.
• "Caleb!" She yelled into the night again and again but Caleb was nowhere to be heard, only echoes of the howls of beasts. "Caleb!" She screamed desperately and suddenly felt an arm wrap around her waist from behind.
• "Shhh... shh, mother, it's alright, I am here." She froze and looked up. Her eyes met the brown of his and he smiled gently at her. "I'm here Mum, and you should be getting on your way, the Warriors won't be able to hold them off for much longer," Caleb told her and she shook her head frantically.
• "Oh, baby," She threw her arms around his neck and they both hugged for a brief moment. "Come on, baby, let's go, there's no time," She tugged at his arm but he won't move. This had Mariana facing her son with a worried expression glued to her face. "What?" She asked, meeting his gaze. "We have to leave!" She exclaimed and reached for his hand but he pulled it away.
• "No, mother, you don't understand." He shook his head. "I have to stay. I can't leave."
• Mariana stared at her son dumbfounded. "What?" She cried in disbelief. "What are you talking about?! You're our only hope!" The worried woman begged, "And my son!" Mariana said seriously.
• "I can not leave here, mother, don't you see," He begged, tears brimming in the corners of his eyes.
• "Because of HIM?!" She asked but Caleb only lowered his head and stared at the dirt instead. "He Rejected you, Caleb, there is no future for you here, his Warriors are attacking us as we speak and he is probably there with them, of course, he will be there, he is their Alpha, you will be killed if you stay here, Caleb, come with us! Come with me!" She pleaded and grabbed him by the wrist once more. But Caleb shook his head again and this time it was clear he wouldn't budge. His hands balled into fists by his sides.
• "What future is there for me with the Clan as a Reject, mother?" He asked, his voice full of sorrow. "He hates me, but he is still my Alpha," He muttered looking straight into her eyes. "He Bonded with me, he Marked me, I'm His, mother and he is Mine, he stole my Heat and because of him I endure torturous ache and pain, what kind of life would I have to lead for the rest of my life if I should run away now, huh?"
• "You do not need such an Alpha, my son, he doesn't deserve you, you're too precious, too good for a heartless Lycan!" Mariana praised, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "There is a reason Lycans are not amongst us Weres and have to be born once in centuries, they are not like the other Weres, they are evil, without a heart, and their temper is despicable, to say the least. You do not need such a Mate."
• "My fate has already been decided for me since birth, mother, I cannot escape my fate." He stated firmly.
• "Your fate?" She asked, bewildered. "You want to be like your father?" She asked skeptically and Caleb flinched. "Baby, listen to me, if you stay back, you will be killed, come with us and be with your family, where you are loved, the cubs cherish and look up to you, don't dash their hopes for the chase of a Mate who Rejected you!"
• "He did not Reject me, mother, he never uttered the word!" Caleb cried.
• "Oh, Goddess," Mariana cried. "How did I raise such a foolish son," She lamented. Grabbing onto his face so they would meet eye to eye she continued. "What he did is far worse than Rejection, he needn't say the word. Yes, speaking it out loud would sever the Mates Cord, breaking the Link of the Goddess which binds Mate as one but showing it through the Bite Mark same as the Bite he Marked you with is far worse, it would have been better if he said the word!" Mariana cried.
• "But he didn't," Caleb whispered.
• "But he should have!" Mariana shouted. "Don't you see what he has done, he Rejected you, stole your Heat cycle, and left you for dead, he doesn't care, he made sure nobody else would have you but that is where he got it all wrong. I will make sure you find a Choice Mate and you won't be lonely for the rest of your life's journey," Mariana declared and caressed her son's cheeks. She could see the hurt in his eyes and it broke her heart.
• "A Choice Mate... Like you, mother?" Caleb muttered and she met his gaze with a frown. "My father was Rejected by his Alpha wolf, it broke him and he never got over it, it affected all that he loved, all that he should have cared for, and wallowed in self-pity and hate until he couldn't bear it anymore and abandoned his Clan, his son... you!" He sniffled, choking on his words. "You know why?" He asked, "Because he never loved you, never loved me, if you were his Destined Mate, he would be with us now, he never would have abandoned us, but if a Clan Leader could abandon his Clan, who are we to him that he would not gladly abandon..." His voice broke again.
• "Yes, you are right, you are very right, but your father did not insist on staying by the side of the Mate who Rejected him. He found me, a Scarred witch, chased away by her Coven and left for dead in the dead forests. Yes, you are right he may never have loved me, but at least he took pity on me, maybe even liked me enough to put you inside me and you became my precious gift, he gave me a Clan, I am made the Lady of the Clan because of him, even though I would have loved to have him by my side, to have him love me, maybe even raise you with me, it would make me greatly happy, but he gave me enough, it is not easy to suffer Rejection, to be loathed by the one whom the Goddess has paired you with for life, so I do not blame him for running away, he does not hate you. Yes, he may never have been present but if he hated you, he would not have had you... so please, come with us, and someday you will find your choice Mate,"
• "And live as you do? A Pairing without Love, without a Bond. What kind of a commitment will that be? What different is that commitment from being lonely the rest of my life, huh?" Caleb asked, his voice sounding bitter and angry.
• "It will not be like that, my son! Your choice Mate will love you, you will learn to love each other, Caleb," Mariana urged.
• Caleb shook his head. "It will not be like that, mother!" He snapped. "It is very little you can do with your magic and I am not going to spell anyone into falling in love with me."
• "Then what?" She asked angrily. "You're going to go back to him, and perhaps beg on all paws for him to take you back, is that your plan?" She spat.
• "Maybe," Caleb murmured. "Maybe I'll go back to him, maybe I'll beg him to take me back... I don't know, mother... I don't want to end up as my father did and if I should leave with you, I will end up as he did! And if you should find me a Choice Mate then it would be like what you had with him. I do not wish for such a commitment, Mum." He broke down and sobbed, and Mariana cried with her son.
• "You can't, you can't be like any of us, baby, you don't have to beg your Mate to love you, it is their duty to love and protect. It's how the Goddess designed it from the beginning. You should not have to beg for it from Him, he is a Lycan, he is evil, he will hurt you and I'm afraid..." Mariana cried harder, hugging her son to her chest. "I can't bear to see you suffer this way, let me help you, let me take away this pain. I will clean his thoughts from your memory, I will search the Heavens and the Earth until I have found a spell to remove his scent from you so you can find another Mate." She pleaded and looked into Caleb's eyes desperately. He shook his head and she sobbed painfully again.
• "No, I want to be loved. I need my Alpha, my Mate, my Lycan, the Goddess made it so... You may not fully understand this bond as a witch but I have no life without him, none!"
• "As a witch, we do not experience such Mating Bond but I lived with your father, though it was short I saw him struggling, every night he would cry himself to sleep, a Clan Leader, a powerful Weretiger, made nothing by Rejection and perhaps I was wrong, maybe it is far worse if he had uttered the word..." She paused, thinking deeply.
• "So you see, maybe he does not hate me enough to reject me."
• "Still doesn't make what he did okay, look how much you have suffered since that night. Don't think I haven't noticed you curled up on the floor groaning in pain from Repressed Cycle, especially on the nights when he is having sex with someone else. I know you feel it and it hurt you, your father went through that. I do not wish that you go through the same."
• "I need to speak with him."
• "Is that your plan?"
• "Yes, mother,"
• "But the fight?"
• "I will stay with the Warriors and fight with them," Caleb muttered.
• "You are an Omega," She reminded him as if he forgot.
• "With a witch's blood coursing through my veins. I am a Weretiger and a Mage, I can fight,"
• "What about your magic? It is weak, you haven't recovered your strength yet."
• "I can do this, Mum, please, let me find my part in this world." He pleaded.
• "Then you must promise me you will return with the others when they begin to retreat?"
• "I promise,"
• "Good, very good..." Mariana threw her arms around her son and hugged him tightly. "Return to me unharmed, you hear me?" She cried and Caleb nodded. "And should anything go wrong, do not hesitate to send me a calling sign and I will come find you immediately." Once again Caleb nodded and she pulled away from the hug, kissed him on both cheeks, and without another word, disappeared into the Hall.
• Caleb stood at the closed door and cried bitterly for a brief moment before wiping the tears off his face and heading toward the fighting field.