Rise of the Dark Alpha

Chapter 436 Time to Move

~ LHARS ~

"Thank you," Sasha said, her eyes warm for her people. "Your Alphas remain your Alphas. Your seconds remain your seconds. Listen to them. They've been a great support to Zev and me in determining how to do this as safely as possible. Please... please, everyone, this is a time for coming together. We have met an enemy that seeks to destroy us. They lie and cheat and steal from the Chimera. And I refuse to give them one more opportunity to do so again.

"You will never have your families removed. You will never have your offspring harmed. You will not be experimented on, or used as a resource. You are a people. And you are loved. Love each other. Support each other. And us. Let's all make it to the new world and finally find our peace!"

A roar rose from the crowd, cheering and calling, some even shifted in their excitement. Sasha wasn't smiling, but under the circumstances, Lhars wasn't surprised.

His heart went out to Sasha and Zev, seeing the new weight on their shoulders—not because of their people, but because of their desire to protect their own.

"Nick will be freed," Sasha said suddenly and the Chimera went still—then began to rumble with growls and snarls of protests. "He'll be freed to take our message back to the humans after our males have saved our females. We won't allow them to have any questions in their minds, except that we have taken our own back—and we will not return.

"Without their knowledge, they have provided us our means of escape. Let that soothe your hearts as you step into the Gateway, friends. Remember that the humans brought us to this place—and now we use their own against them."

Another cheer rose and Sasha looked relieved.

"Thank you. Thank you for understanding. And for your belief in us. I am certain, brothers and sisters, this is a new day for the Chimera. We will look back on this day that is just dawning and we will know it was the moment the Creator brought us to a new destiny!"

"You are Alpha and Mother!" a thin, high voice called from behind Lhars. "We honor you!"

Suddenly a chorus of voices rose—a high-pitched hum with a wavering howl and the putter of growls. The sound was strangely resonant and eerie, raising the hair on Lhars' arms. He turned to find the females, all of them, with their heads tipped towards the sky, keening in a chorus of tones.

"We honor you and your offspring, Sasha-don!" Mae called, her voice strong and clear—and Lhars was touched to see Chet standing, as he did, just feet ahead of the females. And Mae was within arm's reach of him. "We honor you! You carry our hearts and our prayers! Go quickly! Return quickly! We honor you!"

As the female voices slowly undulated, then faded, Sasha clasped her hands in front of her mouth, her eyes shining with tears as she nodded. Zev clasped a fist to his chest in a salute to them. There was a frozen moment when everyone realized that this was happening, then Sasha took a deep breath and clapped her hands.

"Everyone, please stay together and walk as calmly as you can until your leaders reach you. Alphas! I need to speak with you and the team before you go. Quickly!"

Lhars' heart sank. He and Kyelle had only moments left. And that time would be taken with the logistics of leading the people.

As the crowd began to murmur and shift, everyone starting towards the trail in a relatively orderly way, Lhars looked at Kyelle, pinning her arm to his side as she hugged his.

"Not yet," he whispered.

She shook her head and they walked forward, towards their Alphas, together.

*****

"I'm sorry to throw this change at you at the last minute, but we truly can't risk being separated ourselves, or sending someone else to save our son. We don't know what exactly will be involved in bringing him out—and we'll be relying on the Gateway to take us to the right time. So, please... take care. All of you."

Sasha spoke quietly, thought the crowd was still close enough that if they were listening they could likely hear her.

Then she turned to Kyelle, gripped at Lhars' side.

"Kyelle, I'm going to ask you to go through first—for exactly the reason I was going to do it. You're needed there to make certain there is someone to greet them and make the decisions. We don't know if the Gateway will drop everyone out at the same place. So just... please... be careful. And... thank you, both of you," she said quietly, her eyes drifting back and forth between her and Lhars. "I know what this is costing you—we've been in this position. I hope you are certain that if I saw any way around it, I wouldn't ask it of you."

Lhars' mouth tightened, but he nodded. Kyelle did as well. But both of them gripped each other even tighter.

"Okay," Sasha said, and she suddenly sounded so weary.

Zev must have noticed too because he put a hand on her back and looked at her in concern, but she ignored it.

"Nothing else changes," she said quickly. "We'll put each of you through in the same order, with the exception of Kyelle. Space yourselves between the people. Make sure your clans are correctly focused before they step in. And as soon as you arrive, make it your priority to find your own people and bring them together."

She looked down for a moment with a small smile on her face. "I keep reminding myself," she said quietly, "that this is only a matter of hours. Our separation from each other, our pain, our travel... it's all very short. I pray for the safety of each and every one of you. Every one of them!" she said, gesturing towards the crowd that was slowly filing away.

"I meant what I said: We are a people and we are finally, finally going to be free!"

The Alphas nodded. Even Lhars heart lifted. But then Sasha blessed them and turned to Zev before catching eyes with Skhal, Jhon, and Lhars.

"I'll need to speak with each of you quickly, but the others can go."

Lhars' stomach twisted. That meant it was time for him to say goodbye to Kyelle.

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