Cerberus growled at the disrespect towards his queen. He was releasing his aura when Celeste suddenly tapped him out of his thoughts. Then a small snout touched his chin. It was the small pup that was saved earlier. He was able to transform into a wolf pup due to his royal blood, but not the hybrid form because of his age. The pup mind linked Cerberus, "Dad, I'm sorry for breaking the rules. I wanted to see our warriors in battle." Then the pup yelped a little and bowed his head down in submission. Cerberus was irritated, but watching his pup yelp made him pull him close into his arms. Cerberus closed his eyes, furrowed his brows as tears escaped his eyes. "I'm sorry son, I could not give you the world I promised and are now in hiding until we find a way." The king felt a pain in his chest as he remembered their last battle when they were once free. Now they are hunted for rewards. Cerberus would often leave Celeste and his pup alone for days to find his scattered kin. He needed his pack to survive and all who survived the war with the elder's armies. He found each Lycan in dungeons or deep in the forest, forced to fight and not leave that area. There were runes that kept them in place. As king, Cerberus possessed a lot of power still. With every Lycan he found, he would notice there were symbols tattooed on their necks like necklaces, no, more like collars. It would enrage him. Celeste still had their son in the womb and the added motherly protection broke through the bindings. That is why she had more power reserved and their son, Aaron. Celeste caressed Cerberus face and then dried it. She then said, "Aaron lives, because of that human girl." Cerberus, opened his eyes in disbelief, and looked down at the pup in his arms and at Celeste. He felt his heart sink, he almost lost his son too. Then he tightened his hold on Aaron as he asked, "who attacked Aaron, I'll rip him to shreds." His anger flared up instantly. Celeste grabbed his arm and looked at him in the eyes. "This was a battle ground, the male instinctively went for what was behind the door peaking." Celeste's eyes shifted to Aaron, then continued, "it was in that same instant the female covered Aaron with her shield. I was one step too slow to pull him to safety." Cerberus felt his anger stop growing and asked, "Why didn't you tell me it was our pup to begin with that was in danger!" Celeste stared at him in defiance before she answered, "because you would have rushed to find and kill them. Then exposing us to the elders' punishment for breaking their rules. I've been working day and night to break the restraints on our pack's necks and haven't found a solution yet. So far any human has been dealt with in the dark by Blake and Ciara, who weakens them with their dark particle control." It was rare for the Lycans in their pack to have the same power unless they were twins. But somehow Blake and Ciara were not twins. They actually belonged to different packs like some of the others, but now they were recruited to one. The only conclusion Cerberus and Celeste had for this placement was that the elders saw them as pawns in their game and felt they would never meet. "Of course I would crush the one who dared to attack my son!" Cerberus yelled furiously. "And what would you accomplish then? Get us back in chains and separate your pup from his mother, and from you?" asked Celeste inquisitively. Cerberus growled internally and paused for a few minutes thinking of all his options. Not one seemed logical, most ended in him releasing his fury. He took a deep breath before asking, "Where is Blake?"
Celeste answered in detail, "He is recovering from his fight with the celestial. He woke up at the end of the battle and fell back to sleep after only uttering a few words, 'The Living God, she's part of.' I had someone check his condition while I spoke to the human girl. His organs are stable, but his recovery has been slowed to human speed. I ordered my tears of restoration to be administered, but they had no effect on him. The rest of the Lycans that faced her felt their power and strength fade away with each blow. It's described as if their magic left like a spirit leaving their body. After the intruders left, our members reported their power returning like a battery being charged again. Why the celestial didn't kill them is a mystery, I don't have those answers. I only spoke to the human girl."
Cerberus groaned as he was about to say something he despised. "Does this human girl have a name?" Celeste smiled as she took a triumphant posture. She knew Cerberus didn't like dealing with humans or refer to them by name because they have outlived them. To him, remembering their names was unnecessary and he hasn't met that many he wished to know their name. Humans in his past, were expendable creatures and many only sought the power and prestige of the royal blood. Only the few he did wish to remember, he saw them as pets that sometimes had good ideas. "She is called Eden. That is what I heard the man call her," answered Celeste. "And what of the man? Did they not have the manners to give out their names themselves?" Cerberus asked, irritated.
Celeste shook her head, "It was a curious interaction, while I was receiving reports through a mind link and talking to her to settle a compromise. She was careful to avoid a contract with her choice of words and not reveal her name herself. The male human was more carefree, but they trust each other very much. As soon as she pulled back from continuing to fight he did the same without question. But to answer your first question, I did not get the man's name. Ha ha ha I figured we can figure that out once Duncan completes the binding contract."
Cerberus was thinking of mindlinking Duncan to at least give the man a good beating for his attempt at striking Aaron, but Celeste interrupted that thought when she said, "Don't you dare ask him to do such reckless things. We already have his agreement to cooperate." Cerberus frowned, but this is why she makes a great Queen. She always kept her head level headed in situations he would want to rip everyone to shreds. He couldn't be more grateful for having such a mate.
DBoots caught up to Eden and said, "well that escalated quickly, see what you got us into. You don't know when to back down." Eden looked at him and pulled her lead rope on Thunder that made him stop. "You didn't want to fight?" DBoots stopped his horse too and turned back to look at Eden shocked, "What! Against imminent death? We were surrounded and you dismounted your horse!" Eden smacked her head and furrowed her brows, "holy shit! I thought you weren't going to back down since I didn't see you pull back, so I said to myself fuck it." "Whhhaaaat! I was following your lead!" DBoots replied with a surprised face. Eden grabbed on to saddle for support as she leaned in closer to tell DBoots, "I was waiting for you! You knight and shiny armor!" They paused for a moment and then both laughed. "That was so fucken stupid, to think we both thought the other wanted to still fight," said Eden. "Hey, don't look at me, trouble, you sent your whole army away first. I figured you had a plan, so I followed your lead." Eden chuckled, "Dude, I didn't have a plan, I went on instinct and my gut told me as long as Erza was there, we'd be alright. I didn't know if her shield would extend, so I tested it out right there." DBoots raised his eyebrows and said, "You mean I followed you blindly into a cave with no plan, none you knew would work and we could have for sure been killed. You walk by faith, girl." Eden smiled at his words, "and you followed me there without question." "I told you, toaster in the bathtub," responded DBoots sarcastically and they both laughed. "It's your confidence that does it. But after this, I might have to question it," said DBoots slyly. "You should have questioned all your life choices when you got here," said Eden as she pointed to her surroundings. They chuckled and looked around to see if the Lycans were following them. DBoots looked at Eden and said, "I guess I can't be a peeping Tom with someone always following me around. Getting peaked at while peeping is an odd feeling." Eden let out a small giggle. "You need Jesus," she replied. DBoots shrugged and began to go in a different direction with his horse, "send me his number and I'll leave it in my inbox." Eden pursed her lips and replied, "you know it, you just leave him to read when he messages you." With that, they parted ways.
In Eden's castle, she was soaking in the bathtub when Erza knocked on her door. The bathroom seemed to be the place Erza would respect her privacy. Eden looked at herself and to check if she had fully scrubbed. Then she grabbed the towel and covered herself. "Come in," she instructed Erza. "You have pending messages and mail from your alliance members as well as some private ones from Odin." Eden forgot she wrote to Odin before heading out due to all the excitement of the day. Eden equipped a night gown and covered her hair with the towel to dry. She went to her study and opened the message from Odin first.
"Greeting Eden, the equipment you have can be improved with refines and unlocking special features to them with magic stones. This is something a beginner like you can accomplish quickly. The rest is through constant EXP increase. The fastest way is through battle against another opponent. Boss fights will take longer. As for glitches, there's some advantages you receive if you get killed in battle, but the cost might be too high to pay. You will find that your realm may have natural inhances and some beings that can be sacrificed. Though, you don't seem like the type who would sacrifice the beings for power."
Eden closed his message and sat there drinking her tea meant to relax her. This guy Odin is always cryptic and sounds super old with his way of speaking. There's no details on how to do it. I guess it's like hearing a story and going out to see if it's true. Erza sat at a desk not too far from Eden's with pen and paper. Eden felt weird to constantly have Erza stand next to her as guard. Eden then looked at Erza and said, "please equip yourself with a comfortable outfit while we rest throughout the day and one when we are in our castle grounds." Erza switched into training gear. It was loose and flexible. Eden was hoping to see Erza in something more feminine, but she didn't want to force her. She was just relieved that Erza's presence was not tense anymore. Now, Eden just needed to focus on her alliance duties.