Not Your Mate Anymore

Chapter 50- You Decide

Sabrina's POV

"Don't be silly Arianna. Why would I allow my child to kill wolves?" Josey asks and Arianna turns to face Josey.

She moves back, bumping in to me.

"You might not be alive to stop it." Arianna says and we all gasp.

"What are you saying babe?" Cj asks his mate, she turns to face him as tears fall on her face.

"I hope I'm wrong. Goddess I really hope the vision is wrong and can be changed." Arianna pleads with Cj.

"Explain the part where you say Josey may not be alive?" I ask. Arianna turns to face Josey.

"Josey, you want to go explore this love story with Cayden and I understand that. Your vampire is in control now so that also makes sense but it all goes downhill for all of us if you walk away right now with that vile creature! He sends us all to our doom. Just as Sabrina couldn't bring your mates from death, she won't be able to save any of us from what is to come if you choose him. We all die, leaving her all alone with her son and you die first, at the hands of the heir he wants so badly." Arianna warns. Josey chuckles as she shakes her head no.

"There is no way. Why would my own child kill me? Why would he kill his family?" Josey asks and Arianna looks away from all of us.

"You are aware you don't have a kingdom to rule? No vampire nation or community? Your son will watch Adrastos ascend to becoming king of all werewolves, making him the ruler, his ruler. He will be part wolf which will require him to abide by all wolf laws. Born a kings son but an heir to no kingdom.

You will birth a narcissistic evil that will bring nightmares to our world." Arianna says before fainting in CJ's arms.

We all look at each other as Evan walks in, who nods his head at Anthony and they place Josey in the cell with Cayden.

"Hey! Why am I in here?" Josey asks and I look at the two boys.

"At the moment, we can't trust you." Anthony says and Josey rolls her eyes.

"Can this place even hold me? I'm sure I could just.." Josey says before trying to walk out but the barrier throws her back, forcing Jose to land on her buttocks.

"Why are you guys so against love? I'm trying to be with Cayden. Stop standing in the way of what is meant to be." Josey says as she gets up.

My fathers walk in followed by mother. Christopher Trent looked better, he was himself again. Dressed well, buttoned up and cufflinks on. My dad was back or was he pretending?

"What is this I'm hearing? Josey is a vampire? Show me your wolf Josey." My father tells Josey who steps back from us.

Her eyes were still a bright red, her vampire still present.

"I can't do that right now." Josey says and my father shakes his head in disappointment?

"You just lost your mates and now you already want to run off in to the sunset with the bozo that killed them? Over my dead body. Separate them and put her in a different cell. We will make sure her wolf grieves in peace without the interference of a vampire slum king. Your wolf will heal and she will bounce back, I did twice. No child of mine will be without their wolf, I won't allow it." Christopher says as Anthony and Evan grab an unconscious Cayden and move him to a different cell.

"Sabrina, what do we do now?" Hunter asks as he looks at Josey.

"Uh well I think we just leave her to her thoughts. I can feel her wolf's agony all the way here and she can't stand there and say she doesn't feel the pain. Let it drive her crazy, to remind her who she has lost." I say before I turn around to walk out.

Everyone follows me as Josey shouts out.

"Are you kidding me!?" ...

"I need time to think. This is all too much and I honestly need to breathe. Let us meet up again in 3 days and hopefully Josey will be back to herself." I say before I disappeared, wanting to be in my mates arms.

"Uh oh... what happened now?" Xander asks me and I just throw myself in to his arms.

"Clayton and Chase... we lost them. Their pack was attacked and they're dead. Josey already wants to jump in to bed with the vampire king and her mates aren't cold yet. She has fed so she takes blood now." I say before burying my head in his neck.

"Hold on... say that again, slowly." X tells me and I repeat what I just said.

"I want to cry but I don't have time for that. I need to figure out what I plan to do with this vampire and how I can reverse this vampire curse that is flowing in her veins. She's different and I don't know if I can accept her like this." I say and Xander stays quiet.

"Arianna had a vision while she was up there." I say.

"Is the war still happening?" Xander asks..Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

"Yeah apparently Josey will have a child with the vampire king and that child will the one to bring trouble at our door." I say and Xander remains quiet.

We stay quiet for some time before mother barges in to Xander's office, followed by Hunter, father, Anthony and Cj.

"Sorry to just barge in but we don't have 3 days. We need to handle Josey right now." Father says to me. I open my mouth but close it right after.

"I've been asking this for some time now. How do we do that?" Anthony asks.

"Well, locking her up isn't the answer." Mother says and I chuckle.

"And you think letting her run around is? She is ready to forget all and be with the vampire king. Locking her up is the answer until we figure out what to do." I say. Everyone else nods in agreement.

"Look, scrambling for answers might not be the best thing. Sabrina was right to come home and clear her head, this is all just too much. We lost family and as much as we all want to save Josey, the heart is broken and maybe a few days will do all of us some good before we rush in making a decision." Xander points out.

Even with my family's interruption, I was still holding on to Xander. He was my peace right now, all the time actually.

"Fine but we will all stay close to Josey until we make a decision. We all go back up there now..." My father says, leaving no room for argument.

Mother, Hunter and father disappear first. Leaving us, the kids behind.

"You guys go ahead. I'll be there shortly." I say looking at my brothers. They nod their heads before Anthony holds CJ's shoulder, disappearing off and leaving me with my mate.

"Well, your father is feeling better." Xander says and I smile.

"Yeah, with him calling the shots, he is definitely his old self again. We just can't enjoy that because of what is happening with Josey." I say and Xander tightens his hold on me.

"Is it so wrong of me to want to lock her up so she can give her wolf the chance to grieve? If she still wants the vampire king then, I won't stand in her way. She is my sister and I want her to be happy but she was mated and they just died!" I say, drained of all energy from just thinking about all of this.

Lucas shouts out "Yo, alpha! We have a problem." They share a look which tells me they were talking through mindlink.

Xander kisses my forehead before mouthing sorry. He walks out of his office, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

How am I going to fix things? The choice to meddle with vampires just brought all of this heartache. The war to come. This was partly my fault for going in to this blindfolded and sending Josey in there without backup.

Xander barges in, he was dressed differently too.

"The councilmen are here. I had them sit in the lounge so maybe go change in to something appropriate and meet me down there with them?" X says and I look at him confused.

"What do they want?" I ask in a whisper tone as if they were in the room.

"Beats me but they would like to talk to the both of us." Xander says mimicking my whisper tone, opening the door for me to walk out. I leave him in his office, making my way to the alpha quarters.

Decided to wear a flowy green dress with green and brown sandals. I let my hair fall and brushed it, pulling it to one side. Showing Xander's mark.

Joining our visitors in the lounge, where Xander was already seated.

"Councilmen, we were not expecting you. I'm sorry to keep you waiting." I say. Forgetting that I am the moon goddess and they can wait all year long for me.

They all stand and bow their heads at me.

I sit first, next to Xander and they follow right after. Someone had brought refreshments and placed them on the coffee table.

"We are sorry to just drop by like this but we have pressing matters to discuss with you both. We have been alerted and shown a vision of the coming war between vampires and werewolves. It is troubling and because the vampire already have a monarch and one ruler, it makes it easy for them to follow orders." One of the councilman says.

"The king lives yes, but he has no one to rule. They are all dead. What threat could he be right now? The war is years away if it all depends on a child that isn't even born yet." I say looking at all three of the councilmen.

"We can't take our chances and have therefore decided to build our own kindgom. We will have one king and one queen to rule over all werewolves in the country. The council in other parts of the world agree with this and they will also be implementing the same thing. We will still have alphas and Luna's but they will be reporting to a king and a queen. We have decided to hold trials, every alpha has to compete for the role of king. The strongest alpha will occupy the the throne and rule beside his luna." The other says and I watch Xander scratch his neck.

"When does this trial begin?" I ask and the three men smile at me.

"Next week. We are aware it is short notice but we are pressed for time. It will take time for the werewolf community to get used to the idea of a king and queen and we don't have time to deal with

unrest plus the coming war. We will use this time to implement the plan and slowly work on adjusting to a new lifestyle." The one says.

"What happens after an alpha wins? Is there a castle to live in?" Xander asks. I nod in agreement.

"That is in the works. We will be confirming that during the trials. We just came here to formally invite you to the trials." The councilmen all say before standing up.

"We are also under the impression that the twin alphas are missing. Although we would like to launch an investigation, as you can see, there are more pressing matters." The one says and X growls.

"We will pass on the message." I say trying to defuse the situation before it escalates too quickly. The men nod their heads.

We say goodbye to them and they leave us with a big question mark.

A competition of alphas?

"This is.. well.." I say and Xander groans out loud.

"I'm not against fighting to show my true strength, it's just not the best of times." He says to me and I nod in agreement.

"Josey needs to return and run the pack until the twins son grows up. She can't just abandon it but she is no alpha so she won't be able to take part in the trials." I say trying to come up with ways to bring her back.

"Are you sure she can't take part? Her wolf is a strong. You can't allow the vampire, a baby vampire to just take control like that. You are the moon goddess Sabrina, bring Josey back and we can work out the rules later but for now, her pack needs an alpha." Xander says to me.

"You're right." I say and Xander nods his head yes.

I grab his hand and before he knows it, we are in front of the castle doors with Evan waiting for me.

"What's the status?" I say and Evan let's out a sigh.

"The vampire king is awake and he wants out. His sister tried to escape, goddess knows where she was going to run in a place filled with wolves but she did that. It's been crazy. Your family keeps bickering all the time about what to do with Josey, it has been a loud time here with your family and Josey won't stop whining for the vampire king." Evan says, looking drained.

To think I was only gone for 2 hours max. I forget how time works here and it had probably been a very long time up here.

"I also need to point out that it isn't normal to have earthlings here, in this realm and also in this castle. The order of things doesn't allow for such, although with recent events, the elders allowed it but it is now something they wish to talk to you about." Evan says, not looking at me.

I roll my eyes and walk in to the castle. Walking straight to check on Josey. Evan leads Xander to where the twins body's were kept so he can say goodbye.

Josey was pacing up and down, pulling on her hair.

"Shut up. Just stop being so sad. They are dead! You need to die too!" Josey says and I raise my eyebrow at what she was saying.

She growls and her body stops pacing as she turns to face me.

"Sabrina make it stop. My wolf won't stop crying and being sad, it is driving me insane." Josey says and I remain silent.

Josey continues to pull at her hair, scratching herself. Well she was losing it, yep.

"Is this you or your vampire talking?" I ask and she shakes her head no.

"Me. Look I want to be with Cayden, my vampire is not forcing me to do anything." Josey says pleadingly and I shake my head no.

I look straight in to her eyes as she gives me the puppy dog eyes.

"Feel everything." I say and she falls to the floor crying. She howls out loud as she folds in to a fetal position.

"Why are you doing this? It hurts so bad." Josey cries out and I almost felt bad. Almost.

Looking at her was breaking my heart but I needed her to remember her mates. She was once so in love with them, once and that kind of love, their mate bond was one you can't forget about in just an hour.

I walk away from her cell, leaving her to her feelings. Just when I was about to walk past Cayden's cell, he calls out for me. I stop walking and turn to face him.

"Please, don't put her through that. Would it be so bad being with me?" Cayden asks and I send him a death glare.

"Don't be full of it. Clayton and Chase just died and you already want her in bed with you. She will mourn her mates and if she still wants to be with you after all of that, I will allow it but until then, you will not be with her. I lost my brother's because of you and for that, you will pay because they did not deserve that kind of death and you know it, she knows it." I say before walking way, not giving him time to respond to me.

I walk to my office and I make my way in, closing the door behind me. A book on the shelf falls on the floor and just when I was about to put it back, it catches my eye.

It was a book explaining my powers, my gifts. A book that explained in detail what the powers of the moon goddess were and how I was to use them.

The book also reminded me that I was the moon goddess. I can be advised but in the end, I make the decisions. I had the power.

What stood out the most for me was that I had the power to choose between life and death. Yes, in most times, it is safer not to get involved as all my pups had to live their lives and most of their deaths was a result of the lives they chose but when it came to people that did not deserve death, I could intervene.

I could intervene, prevent a tragedy or bring someone back to life.

The problem was, that portal was only open for a short period and that portal would only be open if the person thought they had been robbed of their lives. If indeed they were robbed, there was a portal where I had to decide if they should be dead or they come back to life.

Had I gone to school, I could've saved the twins. The elders advised against me interfering with death saying I'd have to pay an even bigger price but the book doesn't mention that. Obviously, there will be a price to pay for this.

It's inevitable but there's also more to this.

I stormed out of the office in pursuit of Hunter. He is sort of the king of this realm and he had to know if this was one of my capabilities.

I find my family sitting in the garden. They all had sour looks on their faces and I mentally groaned. Evan was right, they were definitely arguing about the Jose issue.

"Hunter, may I speak with you? In private." I say before turning around and making my way back to my office.

Hunter follows me and closes the door once inside of my office.

"I found a book. The book is about my powers and what I can do with them. I came across a power, not exactly a gift but because I'm the moon goddess, the god of werewolves, I get to choose between life and death. Do you know of this?" I ask and Hunter let's out a loud long sigh.

"Yes. We are not sure it is an ability you have as my mother struggled with it. She could not do it while she was alive and I need you to not get your hopes up." He says as he makes his way closer to me.

"She's the one that saved me after Ethia killed me. I was dead and she said she would not allow it." I say folding my arms for that added effect.

"Oh?" Hunter says, shocked.

"Yeah. I met her and we had a chat. She saved me so clearly she finally figured out how to use it." I say and Hunter nods in agreement.

"You are thinking of bringing Clayton and Chase back, aren't ya?" Hunter asks me and I could not find the words so I nod my head yes.

"Well I won't stop you there. I don't know how it works but I know where it is done. Come with me." Hunter says and walks past me, opening one of the many doors in the office. We walk in to the room, revealing a small pond. I don't even know if that's what they call it.

Glowing fish swam in the pond. It was actually very quiet and tranquil in this room.

"This is the room my mother used to talk to the spirits. To spend time with them and gain some insights on their wisdom and time on earth. Like me, she was from this realm so she could not really connect properly with the earthlings or understand anything they went through and this was her way of connecting with the earth so she can better help the ones still alive on earth." Hunter tells me and I go down on my knees, palms resting on the ground and looking in to the pond.

"Sabrina, you need to know that sometimes you can't bring people back. Not everyone will be in this pond or needing a save. Sometimes you also have to deny the ones that did terrible things the chance at life again, you can't save everyone. You are the god here and even family members need to stay dead for life to run it's course. Understand?" Hunter says to me and I nod my head yes.

"What do they call the fish?" I ask and Hunter chuckles.

"I don't see fish but that's because I'm not the goddess. The fish you see are lost souls, souls that have not passed on completely and ones that need your help to move on. There will be some that need you to deliver a message or help with something." Hunter tells me.

I touch the water and immediately I'm pulled in. I feel like I'm floating, I could not open my eyes as the light was too blinding.

I took a minute to get used to the light and I was surrounded by it. Different light sources surrounded me and I reached out for one.

When I touched it, it turned in to human. An old woman, who looked stressed and worried.

As soon as she noticed that I could see her, she looked relieved.

"Oh luna! I know I am old and I have lived a long life but I was killed by rogues, leaving behind a three year old boy on his own. His parents abandoned him and I am all he has, I can't leave him. Not yet." She says to me. I touch her body and her whole life story comes to me.

I see the boy, little stuart she calls him. A happy chirpy boy who was still hiding in the closet of their house in the woods. He could not find the courage to get out even though it has been a few hours since the attack. He was sobbing, his body shivering.

I could smell his fear and if the rogues were still around, they would have caught his scent but then again, sometimes rogues take in children to raise. They turn them in to slaves to do their bidding.

Something overcame me and left my body straight in to the old woman's body. A bright light formed around her, illuminating her to be even brighter.

She mouthed a thank you before there was nothing left of her. She was gone and then it hit me!

I had just returned her back to earth. She would be able to care for her adopted son once again and I was able to do that. That gave me enough courage to go through with this, I was able to save the twins.

I swam around looking for the twins. I touch a body and it wouldn't be either Clayton or Chase and I was losing it. I start to feel panic growing inside of me.

Had they accepted their fate? Did they truly believe that they had lived an eventful life and it was time to call it quits? No!

I couldn't accept that. They were young and had so much more to live for! Josey needs them, her wolf needs them.

It just can't end like this.

After swimming for some time, I gave up. What was the point? I thought they would be here but to my disappointment, they weren't here. They had passed on to the other side, where peace waited for them.

It was weird, I could feel myself crying. I felt defeated, lost. I had lost this fight and my job as moon goddess hasn't even started yet. I wasn't initiated properly as yet and I have failed, dismally.

I began to swim up, hoping to get out of here and figure out a way pull my sister's wolf back and something touched my leg. I looked down and I touched the light, revealing Clayton.

His smile broke all the sadness, the dismay. I felt my insides cheer and feel happy. Boy was I happy to see this damn wolf!

"Clayton! Where is Chase?" I ask and he just smiles at me.

"So? Where is he?" I ask again and a light shines in front of me, touching it to reveal Chase.

"Hello Sabrina... I'm so glad to see you." Chase says before hugging me.

"Are you here to say goodbye? We need you to tell Josey we are sorry for not being strong enough to stay alive for her. We are so sorry we failed her but she must know we will watch over her and love her still, we will wait for her and she is free to start a new life. Her wolf needs to know this Sabrina." Clayton says to me as Chase nods his head in agreement to what Clayton was saying.

"I can do you one better. I can bring you back! Josey's wolf is in distress and now her vampire has taken control, making hasty decisions that change everything. You both need to come back!" I say grabbing both their hands.

"We will only come back if Josey will have us. If she agrees to being with us then we will come back with you." Chase says and the shock hits me.

How was I going to convince a vampire Josey that I could bring her mates back from the dead? Would her wolf be able to take back control and agree to this?

"You both don't have enough time! I can't go up and down between you guys and Josey trying to play cupid here. My sister's wolf is dying and only you two can bring her back. There's no time to ask Josey to choose between you both or the vampire king. There isn't time for that!" I say losing my patience.

The twins disappeared from me and I was alone again. A hand made it's way inside the pond and I was pulled out of the pond, into Hunter's arms.

I broke down, tears falling. How would I convince... how was I supposed to...

"Dad, I don't.. I don't know what to do." I say through sobs as Hunter comforts me. I was a wet crying mess but Hunter's arms around me helped.

"What happened in there? You were gone forever! I thought you would drown and I remembered you are immortal." He says and I let out a howl.

"I found them but they will only come back if Josey wants them to. How will I.. how will the new Josey react to this? I don't see a happy ending with this one." I say..

"You'll never know unless you try. Go to Josey and try to connect with her wolf, if anyone can do it, it's you." Hunter says to me and I wipe the tears staining my face as I nod my head.

I stand up and make my way out, I stop at the door to look back at Hunter who was looking out in to the pond, lost in thought.

"Thank you, dad." I say before walking out. I leave him to his thoughts as I make my way to the cells, to Josey.

I find her still in her fetal position.

"Josey, get up." I say and she looks up at me but quickly looks down again to sob.

"Do you want to be with Cayden or the twins?" I ask and Josey rushes to be next to me, the barrier keeping us apart.

"I need to be with Cayden but I.. fuck! I hate feeling like this and I hate having a wolf. Her grieving is driving me insane. I only see memories with the twins and I can't take it!" Josey complains.

I roll my eyes at her before trying to connect with her wolf. I feel her faintly, barely.

She was weak, defeated.

'I have a way to bring the twins back to life. I can bring them back but that is up to you. You have to choose between Clayton and Chase or your vampire king.' Athena says to Josey, trying to call out her wolf.

"I don't care for the twins! Just get me out of here so I can be with Cayden." Josey says and I chuckle.

"You listen to me. You are a wolf first and I will not let you take control of Josey's strong wolf. I am calling out the celestial that is inside of you, the strong inner self. You are stronger than this and I need you to take control of your body once more, fight this earthly curse and take charge again. I will say it again, I can bring your mates back but I need you to tell me that I should bring them back. They will only agree to come back if you want them to, you are their only reason to live." I say.

I walk past the barrier and Josey looks around me. Shocked that I was able to get through, she chuckles.

"Ah moon goddess, all so powerful." Josey jokes and I walk up to her.

"You got that right. I am the all so powerful and I have a sister in there that is powerful too. Yes the twins died but they are willing to come back and that's for you to decide." I say looking at her.

I look straight in to her eyes,

"Come out." I order her wolf. Her eyes started to change from red to black, back and forth they'd go.

A battle of power began as vampire and wolf were fighting for domination.

"Stop it!" Josey screamed, her hands balling in to fists before she started punching at her head.

A growl escaped Josey and I knew then that I was cracking her open.

"I will give you time to decide. You decide. You decide who you want, just know it is within my power to give you whoever you want, if you want the twins you are now aware that I can make that happen. Like I said, you decide." I say before walking away.

Before I could walk up the stairs that lead out of the dungeons, I feel Josey's power. She releases all her power and I smile, my sister's wolf had won over that vampire and I could finally clean this mess up.

A growl reverberated throughout the room, confirming that she was indeed present.

'You tell them to come back to me. I will be waiting for them.' Josey's wolf calls out and I spare Cayden a glance.

He was sitting on the bed, his eyes dark red. Anger written all over his face as he sneered at me. I smile, happiness spreading through me as I witness a win.

There was only one way to prevent the war from ever happening. Bring back the twins, have Xander win as the strongest alpha and finish this heavenly school shit. I have to be the moon goddess I am meant to be and this was my chance to start on a clean slate.

It was time to save my sister's mates and bring them back home.

What would happen to the vampire? Well, I don't see him living long enough to change Josey's mind. His dark twisted ways were at an end and I was going to end the vampire race, once and for all.