The Silver Guardian Bk. 02 Ch. 02

The clash and clang of steel on steel rang through the forest, echoing off the trees and boulders all around. To anyone who would be watching they would see what looked like two blurs dancing around each other at unheard of speeds while sparks flew around them. The smaller one was just a bit faster than the mountain of a figure engaging the petite one, but there were arcs of electricity coming off of the large blur flying everywhere around. A green glow emanated from the petite form while a blue-white glow was given off by the large one as they danced a beautiful and deadly choreographed dance of death. Finally in a blinding move the petite form thrust and ended the dance as a razor sharp blade was placed against the neck of the mountain and both halted.

"Our Mistress smiles at you my love, the gifts she has bestowed upon you like me have made you exceptionally talented and deadly. You are even faster than me now and I am very proud, as well as confident in your ability to have my back and protect us both." Dante was grinning at Lily as they both were taking in deep lungfuls of air, calming down after their intense sparring session.

Lily smiled at Dante before lowering her dagger, "Luna has blessed us both and endowed us with the tools and skills necessary to accomplish what we have been tasked with. We both must become the most deadly and effective warriors to walk the land in order to fulfill the prophesy, let alone win this war against Viktor and his allies. There is no one that can now match me in speed, though you do come very close. Your newfound mastery of lightning and electricity has been a tremendous boon and power. Not only are you able to use it offensively with devastating results as we have already seen, but with practice and training you can even start to read the electrical impulses in your opponent's body to anticipate what they are about to do. Between that and your frightening level of experience in battle, it would be extremely unlikely for you to be caught surprised anymore."

Dante backed up from Lily and sheathed Twin Moons as Lily did the same with her daggers. He hugged Lily tight to himself and looked down at her, "We need every advantage we can get, and we have quite the task ahead of us visiting all four Packs we need to before the next meeting. An extension of my ability to read my opponents is also my ability to read their heart rate and subtle currents to detect lies and deception now too, that will be extremely helpful in these upcoming meetings. Especially with the Pack's close to Viktor's territory where we don't know what kind of influence he may have. We need to be very careful and not give away or expose anything until we can confirm beyond a doubt that they are true allies to us and our people."

Lily smiled up at him, pleased that so many helpful tools had been gained in such a short time. "It was truly horrible watching you pass in front of me and seeing my vision come true, that will forever be a terrible scar and laceration on my soul and mind, but Luna had a purpose and a reason for doing so. When you came back we were both blessed by her for our trust and loyalty and have fully become the people she intended for us to be and needed us to be, the Silver Guardian and his Great Love. When I broke watching you take your final breath it unlocked something in me and allowed me to quickly grow into the woman I am now with the skills and abilities I now have. What you gained after coming back is nothing short of life changing and as you said to me after returning, you really were reborn fully as the Silver Guardian. May our enemies tremble in our wake because neither of us will show mercy upon them. I believe we are ready to go out and start this journey together on our own."

Dante grew serious listening to Lily, agreeing with what she said and not needing to add anything. It had been terrible and extremely traumatic experiences for both of them at the last meeting of their allies, but it needed to happen and even though the price was high, it ended up being worth it since they were able to survive it.

"You are right as always my love, we are ready. We also both know that this has already grown so much bigger than just our O'Connor Pack or even North America. Where we are headed is to the very top and to change the entire lycan race and structure on Earth. The O'Connor Pack will always be our home in many ways, but each day we travel further from them and are forced to branch out on our own. We are above Pack ranks and beyond any structure now. We don't really belong to the O'Connor Pack and in many ways stand alone, where will it end and when will it begin in earnest? How will we get from here to leading the entire lycan race and what will it look like?"

Lily ran her hand along his face and cheek before leaning up and gently kissing him, "I don't know my love but we will get there together and in time, it doesn't need to all be figured out this morning. If I had to guess I would say that eventually we will likely be leading our own Pack, a royal pack based on the royal bloodline that you and I have brought back to life. It will likely be similar to the first lycan Pack that ever existed when Luna blessed the first Champion and his Great Love with their own Pack. How that will manifest though I can't say, but I am sure that things will start to happen sooner than we may think and we will just have to trust Luna and do our very best as this grows and becomes even more than we know."

This had been heavy on not only their minds but also those of Odin and Victoria and many others in the Pack. With all of the revelations that had been revealed and all of the changes, everyone knew that they would no longer end up leading the Pack and taking over for Odin and Victoria, that change had meant that Lily's brother Michael was now in a position where he would one day step up as Alpha Heir and continue the O'Connor name and tradition of leading the O'Connor Pack. Due to this he was set to return to the Pack after his final semester which would wrap up in several months. Dante had still not met him, but was looking forward to doing so when he eventually returned.

"Lets head back love, we are done with our morning sparring and we need to catch breakfast and talk to Mom and Dad to see what needs to be handled today before we leave for the Kootenai Pack in Idaho tomorrow. I'm sure its going to be a busy day and we have to pack tonight to be ready." Dante said to Lily as he took her hand and started walking back towards the compound.

***

Lily and Dante were approaching the Manor house around 7:30am when they heard a rather serious Odin's voice through the bond.

Son, I need you and Lily to come to my office. A situation has developed and you and Lily have several people requesting an audience with you. It's important and I need you both here immediately.

Dante and Lily glanced at each other nodding before Lily responded.

We're on our way Daddy and will be there in just a minute. Who is waiting for us?

Odin responded, I think it's best they introduce themselves, but rest assured it will be alright.

A few minutes later Dante and Lily opened the office door and walked into their Father's office. Inside they saw four figures with their backs to them in blood red robes with hoods up standing in front of Orin's desk.

Odin stood and came around the desk before speaking to his Son and Daughter.

"This meeting is best handled privately and I will leave you both to it, take all the time you need."

With that Odin left the office and closed the door behind him. When the door shut the four hooded figures turned around facing towards Lily and Dante. The room was lit a bit dimly with the fireplace giving off a warm glow so neither Lily nor Dante could see any of their faces. One of them stepped forward from the line and spoke.

"Good morning and thank you for seeing us. We have traveled a very long way and waited a very long time for this day and this meeting."

The figure reached up and lowered their hood to reveal a beautiful but fiercely striking woman beneath the cowl. She stood about 5'10" tall and Dante and Lily both could tell by her build she was quite strong and imposing and was a fierce warrior who stood and carried herself like a soldier. She had a mostly shaved head with only a small patch of platinum blonde hair on top that was pulled back in a tight but long ponytail. Sharp and high cheekbones right below her blue eyes were covered in runic tattoos than ran across and down her face almost like tears in a language neither of them knew. She had a band of runes tattooed across her neck like a choker and more runes tattooed on her head in vertical lines. She had a somber look on her face and Dante thought she had a strange mixture of hope and sadness in the look in her eyes. She parted her robes and dropped them off of her shoulders to reveal ornate and hard blood red leather armor covering her whole body. It was tight and form fitting with a leather curiass and pauldrons down to gauntlets and gloves, a leather pleated short skirt over top of armored leather pants ending in leather boots with shinguards. Everything was the same blood red as her robes and was trimmed in black and gold with golden wolfs-heads at the shoulders that would hold a robe or cape and hand tooled dual crescent moons on her breastplate. She cut a Regal and impressive figure and stood proudly as Lily and Dante took it all in.

She took a half step forward before speaking. "My name is Astrid Eriksson and I have traveled all the way from Germany to meet with the Silver Guardian and his Great Love. I have a critical purpose and message for the Silver Guardian and his Great Love but I must be absolutely certain that you are them. Would you be willing to indulge me and prove your lineage and right to this bloodline and title Dante?"

Lily looked at Dante who was strictly standing at attention in front of this strange woman. He glanced over at her to see Lily nod her head and then give him a gentle kiss on his cheek before releasing his hand and stepping back. Dante nodded at Astrid and pulled his shirt over his head showing Luna's crest on his chest. He closed his eyes and placed his hand over his seal as he let out a deep breath. With that breath came a cloud of blue-white mist as electricity started to race across his skin covering his body and his seal began to glow. He opened his eyes to show they were glowing before he slammed his hands together and pulled them apart with a huge arc of lightening racing between them before closing them back together with a clap of thunder, he had entered his War God mode as proof of who he was.

Lily stepped up and soothingly ran her hands around his face and down his neck bringing him back before kissing his chest at his seal. He took a deep cleansing breath before letting it out as his unique state reversed and he was brought back to the present.

Gasps were heard by Dante and Lily from Astrid and the other cloaked figures. Tears were running down Astrid's eyes as she stood in awe.

"It is true, the Silver Guardian has descended to us from Luna, the Royal Bloodline returns to cleanse our people and restore balance to our broken race!"

She knelt and bowed her head as did the three other figures behind her before she spoke softly and reverently.

"Centuries have passed and we have waited in darkness for this day and this holy time. You honor us by being in our presence Silver Guardian and we are in awe of you and your Great Love and so very grateful."

Dante understanding how somber and special this was to this strange woman responded kindly and respectfully.

"Rise Astrid as well as your companions, it is our pleasure to meet you and you are welcome here. Please tell us who you are and why you have come here, neither Lily or I know who you are or how you would know us."

Astrid stood as did the three other figures. She glanced back at her companions and made a gesture to them before all three lowered their hoods and removed their cloaks. Three other women's faces came into view all in matching armor to Astrid's. Most were of similar height to Astrid though there were some differences between all of them. A woman with brown hair cut in the same fashion as everyone else's with mostly shaved head and a tight ponytail with runic tattoos covering her face and body and neck stepped forward.

"My name is Brynhild Johansson and it is an honor to be in the presence of the Silver Guardian and his Great Love."

The second woman stepped forward with coppery-red hair and introduced herself next.

"I am Freydis Andersson and it is an honor to finally meet you both."

The final woman stepped forward with straight black hair.

"I am Hilde Olsson and it is an honor to be in both of your presence and I look forward to walking this path with you, as do we all."

At the mention of the four women "walking this path" with Dante and Lily they became confused and suspicious.

Lily looked at Astrid who was the clear leader and inquired as to what was meant.

"Astrid, what did Hilde mean walk this path with us? You've introduced yourselves but we still don't really know who you all are let alone why you have come."

Astrid nodded and took a moment to compose herself before speaking.

"Centuries upon centuries ago when the Royal Bloodline still governed our kind there was the Royal House that lead the Royal Pack and ruled and governed our race. These were the descendants of the First Champion and His Great Love and are the only royalty our kind had ever know and would and will ever accept. Their Pack is who protected them, followed them and gave counsel to them through the ages. It was a small Pack but by far the most respected and strongest that there was. The Pack was known as the Order of Fenrir since we were descended from the Norseman and Vikings from Scandinavia who settled in Germany centuries ago and was the seat of power for our kind. When tragedy befell us and our kind lost the last of the Royal Bloodline to hate and jealousy and fear, it was thought that their Pack, the Order of Fenrir, were lost with them. While we were nearly wiped out, we were not lost entirely. With the proclamation of the prophesy we knew there would one day be a time when our Alpha's the King and Queen of all Alpha's would return to us in the form of the Silver Guardian and his Great Love. We stayed hidden and bided our time, keeping in trust their fortune and seat of power from behind the shadows waiting for their blood to return to us. We re-grew our Pack and Order and over the centuries have grown and invested their wealth and power in anticipation of their fated return. Finally today that time has come and all of our efforts have borne fruit in you two. My sisters and I are the chosen Hellhounds that in the past acted as the personal guard of our King and Queen and now with you two our duty is once again clear. We will be accompanying you from here forward as your personal guard and warriors. Please allow us this as it is our duty and our honor, and we have awaited centuries and generations for this to finally come to pass. We can't let a repeat of the tragedy that took our Royal Bloodline from us to happen again, I beg of you both to allow this."

It was a lot for Lily and Dante to absorb all at one time and they quickly spoke with each other through the bond. Neither had thought that their conversation from this morning would come to pass so soon but they had been discussing it and knew that this was the path Luna had chosen for them and would accept.

Dante finished up his private talk with Lily before addressing Astrid.

"We accept and agree Astrid, though we must talk about many things that are going on right now and what is to be done. There is war coming and the blood of our enemies will stain the ground we walk upon as their ashes fill the mouths and choke those that are still awaiting their time to perish at our hands. It has been brewing for a very long time and it is one that we will finish and our to rest before anything else of the prophesy is fulfilled. You need to know what is going on and we need to bring you all up to speed since we are leaving tomorrow to start our trip to visit four Packs and try to gain more allies for the upcoming conflict. Let's all write to Lily's and mine suite and we can talk and get prepared for what is to come and better understand each other. I will have Abigail our Head Chef put together some refreshments and food and have someone deliver them to us so we can remain uninterrupted and hash out what was, what is, and what is to come."

Astrid and the Hellhounds nodded their thanks and acceptance and followed Lily and Dante out of the office. Lily let her Father know through the bond what had happened and that they would be in their suite dealing with those matters and that the office was open again.

***

It was many hours discussion as Dante told Astrid and the Hellhounds of his life and meeting Lily and their journey to now. Many tears where shed and much anger and pain was given voice as they learned of the tragedy that was his life up until just recently, but a deep respect and awe was developed from understanding such hardship and experience. Each of them knew that Dante and Lily would be leaders the likes of which had never been seen and would change the entire lycan world in ways they couldn't possibly imagine, they were deeply honored and excited to have such people lead them and bring their Order and Pack back to its rightful place as the guiding light of the lycan race. They truly felt blessed and humble to be here with them both. One thing both Dante and Lily had insisted upon was that at least in private they would try to be as relaxed and at ease as possible, understanding that in public the Hellhounds and eventually the rest of the Pack the Order of Fenrir would be treating them as the King and Queen Alphas that they now were. Neither Lily nor Dante wanted much fanfare and insisted on being called by their given names as much as possible and to have them try to treat them as normal people. Astrid and the Hellhounds agreed with understanding that they would do their best but that they wouldn't be perfect either.

Lily took over at this point to explain what had happened since the Alpha Conclave as well as recent events at the Allies meeting and what their purpose and goal was going forward.

"Tomorrow we will be leaving to meet with the four Packs that we've chosen to try to creat alliances with. We were planning on going alone but now that's changed so you will all be going with us. We will need to find transportation to the Kootenai Pack in Idaho we will have to get on that shortly."

Astrid smirked, "That's not a problem, you have a private jet waiting for you at Glacier Airport. You'd be surprised at the fleet of jets, planes, helicopters, trucks and other equipment you have now. As I said, your Pack has been anxiously awaiting your return for centuries and there is a vast fortune of yours that will also be used for the Pack of course as well. But we brought one of the Leerjets with us when we came to find you. You also have your seat of ancestral power waiting for you in Germany, your castle..."

"WHAT?!?! A freaking CASTLE?!" Shrieked Lily. Both her and Dante were blown away at what they were being told, never imagining anything like this even when discussing the far reaches of the prophesy and how it would shape their lives.

All of the Hellhounds were grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh yes, Hohenzollern Castle in Germany, near Bisingen. One of the few hilltop castles in Europe and our ancient seat of power. It is owned by our Pack and when you are ready to travel there it will have been closed to the public and will become your new home. It is quite grand and has been outfitted with every available amenities and luxury as well as being a near impenetrable fortress as well, without taking away from its ancient roots." Said Astrid with a shit eating grin.