Chapter 247: The other part of her soul
[ Switching back to the Fortress area - Just outside Autumn’s Fortress ( a few minutes back in time) ]
"Orion Dadaaa! Take me back!" Jasper wailed, kicking against the big man’s solid iron hold.
His curls bounced wildly as his little fists pounded against Orion’s arm. "I don’t wanna go away! Mamma needs me! She will be sad if I am not there!You don’t know her. I do. She is saying she wants me gone but she doesn’t mean it. She is being a Silly Billy.Just put me down..."
Orion clenched his jaw and kept walking, the muscles in his arms taut as steel. "Stop wriggling, pup. You will make this harder on both of us.You know these bones are old, don’t you? Your Orion Dada is not getting any younger soon! Besides, you are one hell of a gentleman, my little fellow. My arms are already aching...I must ask you to stay still now! "
But Jasper only fought harder. He twisted like a fish, his small body sparking faint glows that slipped through the cracks of the Masking Charm Autumn had put on him.
Blue wisps leaked into the night, trailing like faint stars.
Shit!
If Kieran got even a whiff of that scent... everything Autumn built over the years would crumble like a house of cards.
Orion tightened his grip around Jasper.
"I don’t wanna go!" Jasper screamed, tears streaking his cheeks. "I didn’t do anything wrong! I wanna dance with Mamma! I wanna stay!Put me down. You can’t kidnap me. I am strong,like you said. You know me! " His aura pulsed louder with every word, lighting Orion’s stern face in flickers.
The guy wasn’t holding back and that was going to be a big big problem. He was emitting his insane aura like crazy...
Orion hissed under his breath. "Dammit, child...keep it down!" He pressed Jasper closer to his chest, but the little boy’s power only kept surging.
The air shimmered with it, enough to rattle the leaves on nearby branches.
Jasper didn’t notice. He was too caught in his storm. "You don’t love me anymore!" he accused, voice breaking. "You are just being mean to me for no reason! You just want me gone!You hate me! "
The bluish flickers were now travelling... even. Orion could see some drift towards the inner circle of the fortress...
Shit!
That was when Orion snapped.
He stopped dead in the middle of the clearing, eyes flashing. His grip tightened as he shook Jasper once...firm but not cruel, just enough to silence him. "Enough, Jasper!" His voice boomed like thunder...sharp and perhaps too raw. "You don’t understand the danger you are putting yourself in! You are not even listening to me anymore...and you are going to get us all killed with your noise!"
The words cut deep.
Perhaps a little too deep that intended.
Jasper froze, his eyes wide, tears suspended on his lashes. Orion had never spoken to him like that. Never.
First his Mamma...then his Orion Dada... it was told much for the little soul.
His small chest heaved, his breath hitching.
But Jasper was not like other kids... he had a force coursing through his veins... restless energy that enriched the cosmos itself... he couldn’t sulk like any other child... nor could he submit and surrender and cry like a baby... his emotions were too raw for him to handle... it twisted.
And then anger flared.
"I HATE YOU!" Jasper screamed, his tiny voice shattering the quiet woods.
His little body erupted in blue light, glowing so bright that Orion had to shield his eyes.
"Jas! Jasper...wait...!"
But it was too late.
With a deafening crack, Jasper shot upward, breaking free of Orion’s arms.
His body zipped into the sky like a comet, aura blazing. Trees bent under the force as sparks rained down.
Orion cursed, already moving.
His bones cracked and shifted in an instant, skin tearing as his massive wolf form exploded outward.
A red wolf...broad as a bull, glowing faintly beneath as he took off...landing heavily on the forest ground.
Claws tore into dirt as Orion launched himself forward. His massive lungs bellowed a snarl that echoed through the forest.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Each stride crushed roots and snapped branches. His nose lifted, tracking the sharp, blinding scent trail Jasper left behind...pure power, wild and unmasked... but he could not see the little flame any longer.
He was already gone... too fast even for a massive wolf of his stature from the Old world.
Somewhere far above, Jasper streaked like a star gone wild, zig zagging through the night sky.
His sobs were lost in the wind, his little fists clenched tight, his curls whipping around his glowing face.
"I just wanna go back to Mamma!" he screamed into the endless sky, voice breaking. His aura answered, cracking through the heavens.
Somewhere far behind, down below, Orion ran himself ragged, his wolf eyes locked on the tiny star-like figure zapping faster than lightning above the trees.
He pushed harder, his paws tearing earth, his massive form a blur of red fury beneath the canopy.
But Jasper was too fast. Too untamed.
Shit! Fucking shit! Faster! Faster! This was the worst possible time to lose that kid...
Miles ahead, the Blackmoon stronghold rose against the horizon... gradually... where Roanoke, crouched in his shadows, pressed a rotted hand to the stone wall.
His lips twitched, whispering his curses... he was close... So close to getting his hand on what he wanted... Freya... a part of Autumn that he so badly wanted...
Then something ripped the sky.
Blue light blazed across the heavens, a streak too bright, too raw to be natural.
Roanoke’s head snapped up, his eyes widening as the air filled with Jasper’s oozing aura.
"What...?" His grin split open, jagged, wicked. His breath came fast...almost fevered. "What delicious power is this?"
The comet-like figure zipped straight over the settlement, trailing sparks of light.
Roanoke’s tongue flicked across his blackened lips. "Another piece of Autumn’s soul?" His veins bulged, his blade thrummed in his hand. "So she hid you from me...from the world...damn...this one’s power is crazy insane...That sly bitch! "
He pressed closer to the wall, eyes rolling back in ecstasy as he breathed in the boy’s raw scent. "Ahhh, yes. So much brighter. So much sweeter than I could ever expect."
His laughter oozed into the night like poison.