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***
It was nearing the end of the second hour when Dante heard the click of the latch to the door behind him. The rest of the conference was in deep discussion and hadn't noticed it, so he turned in his chair to see who was entering. His blood ran cold and he desperately started moving to intercept. Men dressed in black combat gear were flowing through the open doorway with guns and blades drawn, heading for the occupants! Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that the other entrance to the conference room was also open and flooded with armored black-clad warriors.
Dante bellowed out a cry as he leaped to his feet, "ATTACK!!"
Everyone looked up and began to move in what seemed like slow motion to respond, as loud gunfire began to deafen everyone!
Dante had stood up and turned to face the aggressors coming into the room from behind him, and had drawn both Spartans and was firing a blaze of bullets into the operatives. Two went down in front of him with two bullets to the head of each. Lily had stood and drawn her Kimber before laying fire into the men streaming in on Dante's left, putting one down and wounding another before her clip ran out. She dropped the gun and pulled her daggers, flying into the group, attacking viciously, sending splatters of blood raining against the walls, as with blinding speed she wove her way through the assassins and one after another fell to her blades. This attack was her nightmare come to life, and she would not permit her Dante to be killed, even if she herself had to die defending him!
More and more men were pouring into the room as cries of pain and screams of agony from both sides echoed in the enclosed space, along with the clash of steel and the reports of bullets flying everywhere!
Dante had dropped his Spartans when they ran empty and had drawn Twin Moons. He twirled and flowed between the assassins cleaving arms, legs and bodies clean in half with the power and anger flowing through him. He had become separated from Lily as she had sprinted off to his left, engaging more enemies there. Dante was moving right, supporting his allies as the frontless battle became more and more chaotic. Dante beheaded an operative who was about to shoot Odin in the back, before he flowed to kill the next assassin, who had cornered his mother Victoria.
Suddenly Dante heard a distinctive cry of pain from across the room. His eyes shifted and he saw Lily stagger with a dropped dagger on the floor, and blood flowing down her arm. She knelt with her back to Dante, trying to assume a defensive position, but the large assassin was advancing quickly on her with a large bowie knife held above him, about to strike down Lily, ending her life and those of the children she was carrying!
Heat rolled off Dante and his eyes and chest glowed blue-white as he jumped onto the table, his muscles bunching and straining for the dive he was about to make to intercept the fucker about to end his mate's life! Dante's legs and body extended as he launched himself towards the assassin.
Lily could see in slow motion the large knife heading for her, and she couldn't get the dagger of her uninjured arm into position to deflect it in time! She screamed in horror, fearing for her children's lives protected within her belly. An instant before the knife would have plunged into her, there was a flash of black steel as Dante swung one of Twin Moons in a downward arc, taking the mercenary's head off in one motion before Dante plowed into him with a sick bark erupting from his lips as he landed on top of the merc, before going still on the ground.
Lily stood up and hustled over to Dante, turning him over to see the large bowie knife protruding from his chest, buried to the hilt! While Dante had saved his mate's life and those of his children, when he had crashed into the merc, the knife had plunged into his chest and only pushed deeper when he landed after sending the wolf straight to hell! The blue-white light was fading from his eyes and chest, and he was bleeding out incredibly fast.
Time seemed to slow, and all sound around Lily muted, as she pulled Dante into her lap, watching her mate dying in her arms! Lily's mind raced as her vision came back to her...
No no no no NO! This can't be happening, this isn't real! My vision can't come true, I can't lose Dante, I CAN'T LOSE MY MATE!! Luna please do not take him from me, our babies need their Daddy, this can't come to pass my Mistress! PLEASE!
Blood was frothing from Dante's mouth as blood filled his lungs and he choked and tried to cough, only making it worse.
Lily looked into his eyes seeing them start to fade, "Dante! DANTE!! Don't leave me Dante, you can't leave your children and me!!"
Dante smiled a bloody smile as he reached for Lily's face before he took one last shuddering bloody breath and his hand fell, with his eyes going dead and vacant.
***
Dante surged through the earth covering him and clawed his way up. When he broke the surface, he stood and found himself standing on a great silver plain. The full moon was bright in the nighttime sky, dominating the entire field of his vision. Great rolling plains covered with silver grass were all around him. In the distance he could see a large silver forest and mountains rising up, looking like they could touch the sky and form a bridge to the moon that presided over his vision. He looked down and saw that he was standing on a winding path leading to a great tree that must have been hundreds of feet tall, at the top of a hill maybe a mile away. He started walking towards it, not knowing where he was or what was going on.
Eventually he crested the hill and the great silver tree loomed above him. Standing in front of the tree was a mountain of a man. He was Dante's height, and had long black hair like his own braided down his back, and a full but short cropped beard covering his face. He had silver eyes, just like Dante's own unique liquid silver pools. His powerful arms, dusted with black hair, were crossed over his chest, and he stood like a monolith before the massive tree. Dante stopped in front of him, staring at the impressive personage.
"Welcome Dante, long have I awaited you, and that time is finally upon us. Come let us talk of what is, and of what must be done," the great man said.
"Where am I, and who are you?" Dante asked.
The man grinned before responding, "You have arrived at your eternal home, on the Ancestral Plain where all wolves worthy of Luna come to rest, becoming one of our Mistress Luna's Pack. This is the world of our Mistress, and she blesses us by allowing us to remain here and be at peace, roaming Her lands with our loved ones. As for who I am, I no longer have a name. I have been called the First, the Champion and the Father of our race. Our Mistress Luna named me the First Champion, blessed eons ago by Herself, and tasked me and my heirs with the defense and prosperity of all lycans. And now that duty has come full circle and abides in you, my son. It is a heavy burden, but one you must shoulder for the good of our race and for the wellbeing of your Great Love, Lily."
Tears streamed down Dante's face as he realized that he had passed on to the ever after, abandoning his love and his children when they needed him the most!
The Champion continued, "You are the first of the Royal Line to re-emerge since our bloodline was lost nearly a thousand years ago, and you have a duty to serve. You have only recently awakened to this knowledge and your powers given to you by Luna, and you have only scratched the surface. You must now see to the birth of your son and daughter and in partnership with your Great Love Lily, bring about the renewal of our race. She will guide you, she will be your Luna-given seer. She will also heal you, love you, and pull you back from the brink. You must not falter, you must not fail, and above all you must come into your gifts, so that you may fight the spread of darkness that is falling across the land, endangering our brothers and sisters."
Dante spoke sadly, "But, First Champion, I have already failed. I may have saved Lily's and my children's lives, but I abandoned them and passed! None of what you say can happen now, it's too late! I would return in a heartbeat if I could, but it's too late now and no matter how much I wish to do what our Mistress dictates, I cannot do it from here!!"
The Champion smiled, "What you say is true. However, as one life ends, another begins and our Mistress will always have her way. The life of Dante Silvrash has ended, but the life of The Silver Guardian begins anew. It is not yet your time to rest, and you must rejoin your mate and fulfill the prophesy. When you go back you will still be Dante, but you will be reborn fully as The Silver Guardian with all of the strength and power that you will require to complete the great task that has been laid at your feet."
Hope burst forth in Dante's heart and unbidden sobs robbed him of the ability to speak as he heard that he would rejoin his family and that he need not abandon his love and his unborn children!
At last Dante spoke after he regained control of his emotions, "Our Mistress' will be done. I accept the responsibility and will trust in Luna as she guides Lily and me on our path to our destiny. How may I return, what must be done?"
The Champion stepped forward and laid his massive hand over Dante's heart, right on top of Luna's Seal.
"Silver Guardian, your Great Love is even now reviving you with Luna's Green Magic and with her sacred touch on your heart. Return with the grace of our Mistress Luna. Wreak vengeance and fury on our enemies and let the light of the Goddess shine upon the worthy, and the fires of hell consume those you judge unworthy!"
With that, a great pulse resounded throughout Dante's body as lightning engulfed him and his vision flashed blue-white...
***
A shriek torn from the pits of the abyss broke from Lily's mouth, thundering through the room and shaking it to its very foundation! Most everyone paused, friend and foe alike, to stare at Lily, the unearthly wail sounding from her depths as she held the fallen Dante in her arms. Her head was thrown back and simultaneous with the sound, an eerie emerald green glow erupted from her eyes, coalescing around her hands. She pulled the knife from Dante's chest and placed her hands over his wound as her face descended and she kissed Dante's slack lips as the room was bathed in the eerie green.
A pulse echoed throughout the room like a massive heartbeat, and all hell broke loose! Dante's back arched as he spasmed before blue-white light burst like searchlights out of his eyes, mouth, nose, and the gaping wound in his chest. The wound quickly knit shut, but Dante continued to strain and spasm as sheet lightning raced and danced across his skin and body while Lily stared at her fallen love!
Moments passed like an eternity before Dante finally went limp, his eyes and mouth closing. A strong pulsing heartbeat echoed throughout everyone's ears as they saw Dante's chest rise and fall.
Lily whispered words filled with hope, "Dante? My love?"
Dante's eyes flashed open and the blue light poured out of them as he surged to his feet, placing Lily behind him to keep her safe. Blue-white lightning was racing around his body and concentrating in his hands, his long hair whipping violently around him as his eyes burst forth with the otherworldly glare. He extended his hands and immediately Twin Moons glowed and flew into them! He took a step forward and electricity zapped between his feet and the floor as he advanced on the remaining enemies in the room. His allies were frozen by the impossible events unfolding in front of their eyes, but his enemies finally snapped out of their stupor and the remaining ten assassins charged him.
Dante extended his right katana and a bolt of lightning flew from the tip, slamming into the first assailant, lifting the man off his feet and slamming him into the saber held by the man behind him! Dante surged forward and drove his electrically-charged blade diagonally through the torso of another enemy, cutting him completely but bloodlessly in half as sheet lightning cauterized the strike. A brief dance of death and destruction ensued, as Dante tore into his remaining adversaries, electricity sparking and flowing through him and around him as he decimated their ranks.
The remaining two enemies fled through an open doorway, sprinting towards the front of the house. Dante paused for just a moment before he flowed out of the room like a War God chasing after them.
Lily and the rest in the room looked around, stunned for a moment before she surged to her feet and chased out of the room with everyone following behind her. She raced towards the front of the Pack House towards the open door. When she broke into the daylight with the rest following behind her she froze at the sight in front of her...
Pieces of maimed bodies were littered around Dante as he advanced on the final remaining assassin. He was on his knees, missing his arms, no blood pouring from his large wounds, and screaming horribly in fear as Death approached him. Dante thrust both blades of Twin Moons through his chest and used them to raise the maimed enemy over his head, twitching. Dante gazed up at his scarcely alive foe and bellowed a war cry, precipitating a great burst of lightning to flow from him, incinerating the assassin into a black smoking husk before Dante ripped his blades apart and the charred meat fell to his feet.
Dante, still enraged and looking like Death itself had come to claim them all, looked towards the Pack House. He sheathed his blades before throwing his arms out and screaming towards the heavens as electricity poured off him, dancing all around him. Nobody could see a trace of sanity in the face of their berserker friend and ally.
The only onlooker not paralyzed by fear, Lily took a step forward, followed by another, striding confidently towards the face of Death. She knew what she had to do, the prophesy had already told her. She was his sheath, the one to calm the raging storm inside him and bring him back from the brink.
She stood directly in front of him and extended her arm, reaching for him with her open hand. Dante was breathing raggedly, the blue light still pouring from his eyes and mouth as well as from the seal on his chest. Lily smiled at him benignly, guiding his soul back with the outpouring of her love.
"My love, my fierce warrior," she called to him in a loud piercing voice even though he was looming menacingly over her from only two feet away. "It is time for you to return to us. You have succeeded in your duty and protected your Great Love and your unborn children, but now we need you to return to us. You need to return to us Dante, to allow me to soothe your soul that it may replace this War God that has descended to our land to do such violence to Luna's enemies. Return to me my love, my Dante!"
Dante's breathing slowed, and he reached out his hand, entwining his fingers with Lily's as the ubiquitous electricity surrounded them both, crackling and popping. Slowly the electricity and the eerie blue light faded, and Lily was left staring into the sterling silver pools of Dante's eyes.
Lily spoke softly and lovingly, "Welcome back my love, I thought I had lost you."
Dante took a deep gasping breath before he spoke, "My love you did, but I have returned. I cannot abandon you or our children, and so by your own hand Luna has returned me from our Moon-swept Home to you."
He smiled and pulled her to his chest, crushing her close as his lips captured hers and he embraced, almost consumed, his lover in front of everyone.
He broke their kiss, staring into her eyes as he spoke, "It's good to be back, my love..."
It was suddenly fortunate that Lily had preternatural strength, since Dante collapsed into unconsciousness and she was left supporting his massive frame.
***
Dante awoke in a strange bed in a hospital room, gazing up at a ceiling with the lights dimmed. He turned his head and saw Lily's emerald green eyes staring into his as she smiled. The bed was a gurney, but he wasn't hooked up to anything.
"Welcome back my love, you gave me quite the scare. It's good to see you awake now, and back with us!" Lily said softly to him.
Dante sat up and turned to her, pulling her close and kissing her deeply as if it had been a lifetime since the last time he'd done so. Lily was pulsing against him and moaning into his mouth as he devoured her and ignited her lust. After several minutes of this, Lily put her hand on his chest and slowly pushed him back into his pillow.
"What happened, Dante? I saw you die!! You left us and I watched you die, you touched my face, then rattled your final breath. It was the single most tragic moment of my life, and it shattered me. How is it that you are back with us?"
Dante sighed before he looked into her eyes and spoke, "Your loving touch brought me back because my task, our task, is not yet completed. It has only begun, and it wasn't yet my time. I awakened clawing upwards through the earth on our Ancestral Plains in our Home, our Mistress Luna's world. It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen. And then I met Him, the First Champion and Father to us all."
Lily gasped, "Oh my Luna! What happened?!"
Dante proceeded to tell her about his entire spirit journey upon the Ancestral Plains, and his conversation with the First Champion. It took a while but eventually he was able to wrap it up, leaving a wide-eyed Lily staring at him.
"So I now have the power to heal you, and you have started to fully come into your powers and gifts from Luna, is that about the gist of it?" Lily asked her mate.
Dante grinned at her, "That's about right. Except for the small details that you're a seer and a healer in addition to one hell of a fighter. Oh yes, and an amazing mate, an incredible lover, and soon-to-be mother."
With Dante's mention of motherhood, Lily placed her hands over her swelling abdomen, since she had a decent little baby bump now. Dante placed his hands over hers and smiled lovingly at her.
"I couldn't abandon you or our children, Lily. When I realized where I was and what that meant, that I had abandoned you and our children, it completely broke my heart, and the shame and grief were overwhelming. But the sense of hope I felt when I was told I must return, filled my heart. It was the greatest gift I had ever been given, outside of you and our children. I swear I won't abandon you, and now you have a few tools of your own to help ensure that I can keep that promise."
Lily smiled like a shark at him, "I told you long ago I would fight for you and bring you back to me kicking and screaming. I just didn't imagine it would ever be like this. You can't do that to us again though Dante, I can't go through that twice!"
Dante shook his head solemnly, "I won't my love, I swear it! We must fulfill the prophesy and the task that Luna has laid before us. And I must live my life with you and our children and usher in a new era for our race. It's past time for this to happen and we have to start taking immediate steps."
Lily agreed, but wanted to refresh herself on a few points. "So, when you came back to us, you did things we had never seen before. It's like you had become a War God, and you completely devastated everything in your path. You were a destroyer, and Luna help anyone that encountered your wrath. Is the lightning part of your new powers, or something else?"
Dante nodded, acknowledging her statement before pausing and considering.
