ZION’s GREAT DIRE
~5~

Please Note:

Bold sentences mean their wolf is talking.

Bold statement with italics 🐺 =mindlink/wolf speaking in thoughts

Reminder: Wolfs names

Zion’s = Zeus

Luns’=Maze

Aaron’s=Maxwell

Italics could also be thoughts 💭

A heavenly ethereal voice echoes, calling in a delicate way that sounds too perfect for this world.

“Zion.”

“Awake Zion.”

“Zion”

Zion woke up to conclude that he was dreaming. He looked down to see the ground protected by its thick layer of tightly packed snow while big light snowflakes gently landed on his eyelashes.

“This feels too real to be a dream. Where the fuck did Master Elijah take me?” He thought.

Zion lifted his face letting the light dance across his face. The wintry sun is bright taking centre stage, poetically showing the earth’s every corner of nature as the snow forms a blanket over the landscape and the colours of fall. Since the winter sun is not as hot and dazzling like the summer sun, winter still extends its icy grip causing a deadly temperature drop.

It was calm and quiet, the deadly silence was deafening, haunting and taunting the forest. With trees stripped bare of leaves and branches that barely withstand a load of snow. From time to time the gushes of icy wind would swoop up and down the branch and a pile of snow falls down like a small snowfall. To Zion’s surprise he does not feel the coldness at all, not even a little bit. He opens his mouth and breathes out, seeing misty clouds from the warm moisture of his breath.

Just as he was about to walk he suddenly began to shift. Without any control, Zion's bones forcibly elongate, transforming to his wolf form. Zeus takes control and his fur is as a white as the snow. Just when Zion was about to protest both their gaze landed on a large white wolf walking towards them. From afar the wolf walks carefully, moving silently, almost like the wolf is floating to him like a phantom leaving no pawprints behind. The wolf had the same colour fur as him but this wolf was different. It’s fur glowed blue, exhibiting a powerful aura that only can be identified as an Alpha. The overwhelming power oozing out demanding attention. Zion was astounded by Zeus' submission to this wolf. Never have either one of them showed any form of submission to any Alpha.

“Why Zeus? Alpha’s do not bow to another Alpha!” Zion protested.

“Do you not feel it?” Zeus asks Zion.

“Feel what?”

“Take in her presence. Feel the energy she is sending out to you. Take in the changes and the impact of our body connecting to her energy. Notice how we do not feel the need to be defensive? Our guard is low. Who else have we ever felt this with, besides Azah? I did not force myself to shift but I heard her commanding me.”

Zion looks through the eyes of Zeus, as he listens to what Zeus is saying to him. Zion suddenly feels the warm inner energy field that extends beyond their physical body. This sudden set of vibrating energy is compelling, dynamical, dominant and ruling. She emits this powerful omen with grace but never to be easily fooled because she is after all the dire of death.

“Mom?” Zion said in realization, but still questioning if it’s truly her

“Yes. Our mother.”

Zion was confused. Thinking to himself, “If this was their mother, why would Zeus bow down?” Zeus has never done that to his adoptive father Andy.

“Because a dire wolf only bows to one that he is equal to or one that leads them.” Maze's voice was rich, strong and loud.

Maze had now approached Zeus. Usually she-wolfs and even dire she-wolf are a bit smaller than the opposite gender but Maze stood as tall as Zion. Maze begins to nuzzle and kiss Zeus, their tails wagging, showing her excitement in finally reuniting with her son. Having never gotten a chance to bond with her baby since leaving this world too suddenly.

Maze uses her magic and shows Zeus everything. She was always there watching over him from her spirit world. The wisdom, grace and strength she had provided for her son before leaving were all left for him to use. Like any other mother she carried the unending love that transcends all other affections of the heart. Zeus purrs as his mother continues to groom and nuzzle him. She pauses for a moment and rubs heads with him.

“We don’t have much time my child. Come with me.”

Maze faces the sky and sends a great howl and Zeus joins in. Their howls echoed throughout the entire forest. A sudden store of energy from the earth’s ground shakes. Branches were now naked from the fallen loads of snow that made a big thump noise as it landed on the shaking ground.

Maze extended her body and started to run, her legs and paws were swift. Zeus followed behind her noticing that she didn’t leave any pawprints while his pawprints trailed behind him. Trees blurred around them as they ran through the wintry forest. The icy wind in their fur felt exhilarating. The dire wolves' speed was unmatched, they looked wild and untamed. Their Snow White fur camouflages them into a blur through the wintry forest. Their paws did not make the usual loud thumping noise; it was gentle and silent as a grave.

Zeus' ears shot up without warning, sensing another dire wolf rapidly approaching them. Zeus halts, positioning himself in a defensive stance and growls aggressively. The dire wolf cautiously stops to show Zeus that he is not a threat. Within an instant Zeus relaxes his guard, now low. He recognized this scent, it was very similar to the scent that his mother had. Zeus turns around but his mother is no longer there.

“I’m not here to fight but to guide. I’m here as your brother.” The unknown dire wolf bowed to Zeus.

“Brother?”

“Many years ago your mother had saved my life and imprinted me as her own. We share the same energy that came from our mother’s womb. Though she did not give birth to me, her scent is permanently imprinted on me. Making us brothers.”

“She didn’t tell me.” Zeus said.

“She sent you to me, and I to you. I am called Maxwell, also known as Aaron Zeus-Heights.”

“Aaron?” Zeus thought to himself.

“Yes. Aaron was our father whom I never got the chance to meet. She named me after him. Come we must enter.”

It was a sort of forest that seems to never come to an end, Zeus was not sure where he was going but felt they were running in a never ending cycle, everything looked the same and was covered with snow. Shortly after they finally had stopped running.

Zeus saw an veil that’s only visible to a true dire, his brother stood beside him and turned and said to Zeus, “I warn you now the moment you enter here is the moment they will all know of your existence and be on a search for you.”

“Why would I need to come here then?” Zeus asks Aaron.

“There’s only so much of your mom’s magic can do. If you don’t then you will endanger your pack. A pack that is not destined to be yours.”

Zeus begins to step further back from the mystical veil.

“My mate, and my life belongs there. I will go back there.”

“You are cursed just as every other dire. Your powers and strength will be unsettling for them to handle and they will fear you more than respect you. Zeus, you must know as a Royal dire, you are bound with this pack no matter what. Especially one that is born to be an Alpha.”

Zeus' frustration of hearing the same things over again. “My MATE is a spirit vessel who holds the spirit of the Moon Goddess. She will help me.”

“Your mate is a witch but she is NOT the Moon Goddess. The Moon Goddess will judge you according to how she has judged us.”

Zeus growled “I am NOT your Alpha.”

Maxwell's voice became more authoritative and said “No? Then you have no need to worry. Come, or leave. If you leave you will regret it in time. If you come, rest assured your pack will be safe till you meet again. But I’m giving you this option now. Soon they will force that option on you.”

Feeling defeated and cornered from this discussion he lunged forward in midair going inside the mystical veil. The mystical world is a divine and legendary land that was once only visible to the Royal dire pack but later became a refuge for all dire packs. It has a clear blue sky, vast land with lush green grass, colourful birds and beautiful mighty trees all around. It was a mysterious land that strangely had a flowing body of rivers and lakes that surrounded the land but were all frozen even with the warm temperature. It was no longer winter here like the wintry forest that Zeus and Aaron ran through. Zeus found this to be weird because geographically speaking this was the Northern part, where it’s meant to be winter majority of the seasons.

The Great Dire has a unique land of architectural buildings that merges with country and city. Towering buildings and homes all are surrounded by green spaces, and all were solar-powered. The roads have many pedestrians and cyclists roaming around. To Zeus this land looked very futuristic.

The only thing that looked traditional was a large gold Royal palace that was afar on top of a very high hill distancing itself from the rest of the lively land.

He stood there for a moment to simply appreciate the landscape around him.

Maxwell led the way to the underground path where the river here is a ribbon-like body of water that flows downhill from the force of gravity. It was not frozen like the previous ones but the water was not clear like the rest. Instead, this river changed colours from bloody red to gold. It was compelling and called on Zeus to come closer.

“DON'T GO NEAR THE WATER!” Maxwell shouted, instantly breaking the spell the river had on Zeus.

“Never go near the waters.”

Zeus wanted to know why but instead just nodded and followed Maxwell. He turns back to look at the river one last time only to see the colour has now changed to clear. Zeus notes this and places it amongst some of the questions he will ask later.

They approached a wide and long cobblestone bridge that stretched over a tickling stream, that led to a modest manor surrounded by dogwood trees and a perfectly curated garden of flowers. Zeus stops and looks around as if he’s been here before, like a déjà vu. The place manifested a space filled with a warm inviting aura. The house was a stunning old rustic stone that features a long glass corner which gives the property a visually stunning look. Maxwell gives back control to Aaron, his human form and Zeus does the same.

After dressing, Zion gazes at Aaron. Aaron's handsome physique features look like all pure dire werewolves. His powder white hair is long reaching down to his waist with soft grey eyes that had gold rings on the inside of both the irises. His eyes were a-dazzle with wonder over a cosmic smile with a glowing deep complexion mahogany shade.

Aaron possesses this latent, brio power as he walks to Zion with purpose and authority. They had striking resemblance almost as if they were biological brothers.

“Zion.” Aaron said with an accent not as thick as his wolf’s accent. They both hug, making up for the years of being apart. The only brother Zion ever had a close bond with is his cousin/adoptive brother Zachary. The rest showed no sign or interest in treating him as their own sibling. The constant years of beef had all started ever since Zion was named to be the Alpha of the pack instead of Zariah, the eldest of them all. The connection that he felt from Aaron was different than the connection he shared with Zachary.

He wondered if it could have been what Aaron had said about the energy their mother shared for them two. They break apart from the hug.

“You’re wondering why our connection is stronger than the siblings you have?” Aaron asked Zion.

Zion was curious as to how Aaron would know what he was thinking. “Can you read minds?”

Aaron chuckles, “No not really. To answer your other question it’s because being adopted and being imprinted is different. Being adopted is simply to be included as a part of a family, but to imprint it's more powerful. This includes a mother’s and father's energy passed to their child. Our mother transfer the last of hers and our father’s energy to me. Hence why I imprinted on them, with no living mother’s or father’s energy around me for protection. My wolf accepted hers. Which technically makes me your biological older brother in a way.”

“If your parents had died wouldn’t they leave something for you?”

“It only works with a dire she-wolf. Since she carries the child. I am half like you, my father was a dire wolf who was killed and my mother was a regular wolf but unknown.” His voice was gloomy as he said this.

Zion followed him inside the house. Zion is a residential and interior design architect. He took great interest in the interior of the house. The house has interior stone walls, wood flooring, wood ceiling and beams that provide an ultimate rustic experience in the countryside.

“You live here?”

“Yes, this our main residential area of the Heights.” Aaron came back with a glass of whiskey.

“Wait WHAT!” Zion yelled.

Aaron sat down on the couch and took a deep breath.

“Mom was the first to accept dad as her true mate. This didn’t go so well with some. Dad wasn’t a dire and because of this he was banned from the mainland. Since mom was a Royal with money and influence, they decided to create their own residential area. Welcoming those who choose to stay with their true mates that are not pure dire. This of course pissed off many royals especially the Alpha but he allowed it as long as the non dire wolf were not seen in the mainland.”

“So we can’t go out?” Zion asks while sitting down.

“The dire wolf genetics are dominant, which is why we look like pure dire wolves but are actually hybrids if you can call it that.” Aaron shrugs as he sips a bit of his whiskey.

“This whole area is called Heights, named after dad?”

“Yeah he built not just this house but every other house on this side of the land. Of course with the help of others. Both mom and dad used whatever money they had and build this place. Kinda helped with the fact that they both came from a wealthy family. Money wasn’t an issue for them from what I heard.”

Zion sipped his drink in silence. Aaron broke the silence by asking. “Do you have a child?”

Zion almost choked on his drink, surprised by Aaron’s boldness. “No do you?” He instantly regretted asking that question. Of course he doesn’t have a child, they are cursed. No dire werewolves can breed any children.

Aaron twirled his glass cup for a second before chugging it down. “I have a mate but she rejected me.”

A flick of memory of how it felt when Zion had thought Azah wasn’t her mate at first. He couldn’t and didn’t want to even imagine the pain Aaron is going through from such rejection. Mates are scarce.

“It’s because I’m half and she’s afraid of what her family would think. She wants me. You know, I can tell she wants to give in and accept the mate bond but of course the stupid fucked up rules has her going back and forth.”

Zion didn’t say anything to this, he knew Aaron didn’t need someone to feel sorry for him but was looking for someone to sit and just listen. Aaron got up, “I’ll get the bottle. Wanna join or are you taking the day off?”

“Bring the bottle.”

It was strange for Zion to feel this comfortable around Aaron. This bond reminded of him and Zachary. When Zachary would visit, the very first thing they would do together is sit down at Zion’s porch and drink the most expensive whiskey. Talking about whatever there is to talk about while drowning themselves with alcohol. It was strange but felt nice for Zion.

The whole day they drank, finishing off almost ten whiskey bottles including one homemade whiskey that was specifically strong for dire wolves. Both brothers bond about their childhood stories to their adult life. They laughed and reminisced about the old days as if they were always with each other from the start.