Hi Lovelies,

Chapter 21 is here and it is dedicated to @LynnMorden :D

Pic on the side is of>>> (I love Djimon Hounsou :D)

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"Arriving at each new city, the traveler finds again a past of his that he did not know he had: the foreignness of what you no longer are or no longer possess lies in wait for you in foreign, unpossessed places."
― ,

EVERETT P.O.V

I furrowed my brows wondering how he knew I was Templar's mate, but then I remembered that he had been waiting for me to come to him for years.

"If you know who I am, then I suspect you know why I am here?" I probed doubtfully.

"I don't" Adio informed coolly. "I only know you need my help" he said and then added, "Just like I need yours."

My wolf started pacing wondering what he needed my help for. However, at the moment, I was ready to help this man with anything he needed, only, if he saved my mate.

"Shall we talk about this, Mr...?" I trialed off unsurely.

"Zachir" Adio supplied.

"Mr. Zachir" I said.

"We will talk about this after breakfast" he declared smoothly and I let out a low growl. Why couldn't we do this now?

"As you wish" I said painfully.

While I returned, I found out that Dalila had made arrangement for our accommodation in Rómvos. It was a villa, a few yards away from Adio's house. Every one of us had our own room. While I had come here, I had expected these people to be like the standard description of tribal people. Living in huts and hunting food, but the Khepri's were nowhere close to being that primitive. They have adapted well to modern lifestyle. In fact, they look like rich business class people. Only who knew the truth, could tell otherwise.

Breakfast was served to us in the terrace of the villa.

After breakfast, I went to take a shower in my room and then called Templar, only to find out that she was about to drop Theo to his school. I was astounded to hear it because from the last few days, she had left the house only after my repeated persistence.

However I didn't mention it because I didn't want to dampen her mood. She seemed happy and I wanted her to be that way.

Myron and Genessa were already in the living room, along with Keith when I went downstairs at around ten in the morning.

Adio had already told me that he would talk to me after I have finally settled in. Now that I felt settled in, I was waiting for him. But he was no show.

"I am going to their temple. Who is coming with me?" Genessa asked abruptly, standing up.

Myron raised his hand as a reply along with Keith.

"Fine let's go" I said standing up too because I was getting bored out of my mind.

"Go where?" Terence demanded joining us.

"To their temple. Come on" Genessa said already making her way towards the door.

Our temples were built of granite stones and theirs was built of mud rocks. It was huge. I had to crane my neck to see the top.

There were two obelisks in front of their temple, which were about ninety to hundred feet in height. Sighing, I stepped into the sun temple for the first time in my life.

The temple had a hypostyle hall. They were columns and columns of pillars and the roof of the temple, rested on the top of these pillars. The large hall was lit by sunlight passing through the large windows in the roof. The walls of the temple were carved with what I suspect was the stories of their God.

But I was surprised when I didn't find any statue in the large hall. I looked around but still couldn't find any statue.

"I thought they practice idol worship like us" Genessa mumbled confused when she too couldn't spot the statue.

"No" I heard Adio's voice behind me and so I turned to face him. He was still wearing the same clothes as earlier. "The sunlight represents Ra" he said and my eyes widened. "We worship the sunlight" Adio added.

I nodded in understanding and stared at the large windows cut on the roof, which made way for the sunlight to brighten the hall.

"You have a beautiful temple" I said to him. It was true. The temple was very beautiful and well planned.

"Thank-you Mr. Green" Adio said and I nodded.

"Is it okay to discuss the reason why I am here now?" I probed. Adio, whose face was expressionless, stared at Terence, Keith, Myron and his mate. "I trust them" I wanted him to know that.

"I don't" he said and everyone growled.

"Why not?" I asked in exasperation.

"I have nothing to do with them" Adio replied calmly. Yet his words had a certain weightage in them. "They are not the ones who came here asking for my help" he said and I nodded. I could see his point.

I turned to look at Myron and others.

'We will leave' Terence said through the link.

'Okay' I muttered and then they all made their way towards the entrance of the temple.

"What is it you wanted my help for Mr. Green?" Adio inquired.

"I want you to help my mate, the White Wolf" I said staring at him. He was standing on the side of the hall, with his hands behind his back. I stood facing him, with my hands inside the pocket of my jeans.

"In what way?" he queried.

"She is possessed by a vengeful spirit" I said weakly. I desperately wanted Adio to help her. I couldn't bear it if he refused.

"Strange. A God-child being possessed by an evil spirit" he said with a smirk and I frowned. "The only way it could have happened because your mate let it happen" I growled murderously at that, but Adio didn't even bat an eyelash.

"She lost control to her wolf. She didn't mean for it to happen" I snapped in anger.

"She and her wolf are the same individual Mr. Green. If they don't think alike it's only because she is not at peace" he declared. "Your wolf is not your inner conscience. You are your wolf. But your kind is used to thinking, your wolf as something else. Like your inner conscience or alter ego. Nevertheless, it is not that way. It is you who shift into your wolf, not someone else" he professed and I harshly looked away.

"Your kinds are cursed creatures Mr. Green" Adio imparted and I bared my fangs. Nobody calls us cursed creatures now.

Nobody!

"Your ancestors were cursed by nature to turn into an animal. Kill each other and then regret later because they have killed their own family. The moon was their weakness because they lost control during night. But they turned that very weakness into their greatest strength. They started worshipping the moon to provide peace and tranquility to them" he said and I gulped. My wolf retreated slowly.

"Their curse couldn't be taken back but they learned to live peacefully with it. They accepted they are part animals but they also learnt to maintain humanity because they were also part humans."

I nodded and lowered my head.

"The White Wolf, your mate, has supreme strength but even then she is weak. She has skill, but she doesn't know what to do out of it. She is a born leader, but she prefers to hide herself in a crowd" he said and I flinched because, whether I liked it or not, what Adio said was true.

One hundred percent true!

"That is wrong Mr. Green and none of you all told her it was wrong. That is why all of you are suffering" Adio announced and I closed my eyes. The whole pack was suffering because they encouraged Templar to keep her real identity a secret.

"You said your mate lost control to her wolf. Ask yourself Mr. Green, why it is so?" he said and I stared at him in bewilderment. "Ask yourself Mr. Green and when you find the answer, I will come to talk to you" with that said he turned to leave.

I fell on my knees and recalled Adio's words again and again.

Am I somehow the reason Templar loses control to her wolf? Am I?

Closing my eyes, I thought only about Templar. My thoughts started rewinding. Right from the moment, when I last saw Templar. We were talking about Zander. But that thought explained nothing. I started rewinding again and expected it to be the moment, I learnt she is possessed. That thought too didn't give any sort of explanation.

I kept rewinding but rejected one thought after the other. Nothing gave me an answer. I recalled the moment; I first realized she is my mate. I expected it to explain something to me but I was flabbergasted when that too didn't convince me the reason why Templar loses control.

I reeled back my thoughts to the memory I have of Templar. It was actually six years before I came to know Templar was my mate. I was fifteen about to be sixteen, while Templar was fourteen... no. No. Templar had turned fifteen that day. It was her birthday. I remember it not only because the very next day, she left the pack but also because I could never forget her birthday.

Templar, her cute self, was walking near a basketball court, where I was playing with my friends. She was dressed in a worn out jeans and a baggy top. She was actually in a hurry. I remember watching her walking a few steps and then running a few steps. Her hair was tied into a pony tail. Even though she was dressed like a tramp, she looked beautiful.

Like always, my gaze dropped on the beauty spot right beneath her lower lip. I loved the congenital spot because it only added to her beauty.

I was staring at her but like always, she wasn't even aware of it. It always hurt my ego that she wouldn't even spare me a glance.

"What are you planning on doing to her now?" Sam asked standing beside me with a smirk on his face. He loved irritating Templar.

"Nothing" I muttered because I knew it was her birthday. I was about to turn when Sam snatched the ball from my hand and then threw it at her. The ball hit Templar's arm and she fell on the ground by the sheer force of it.

Everyone started laughing around me. I sighed and then walked to pick up the ball, but secretly to see if she was fine.

The ball was near her feet while she was rubbing her bruised arm. She looked up at me once, with brown eyes and then, like always, quickly looked away. I don't know why she does that but it used to annoy me.

Am I not even worthy of her glance?

"Pass the ball" I ordered glaring at her. She picked up the ball and then harshly threw it at me. I caught it but was furious at her behavior. As I looked at her brown eyes, I realized that she thought I threw the ball at her.

That just made me all the more furious and so with a loud growl I threw the ball at her. The ball hit her shoulder and she winced in pain, while my friends laughed again. Growling in warning, I walked away from her.

But there was something else I had seen that day, but didn't pay any attention to it. It was her anger.

After I threw the ball at her, she was gritting her teeth and holding her hands in a tight fist. It was like she wanted to lash out at me, but she was preventing herself because she knew she wouldn't be able to stand against me.

After that, I kept winding back to one event after the other where I had bullied her.

At the end, I finally opened my eyes because I couldn't go any deeper. A humorless laugh escaped from my throat and then growling in anger, I slammed my hand on the temple floor, injuring my knuckles.

I finally knew the answer.

Initially when we used to bully her, Templar was utterly confused as to why we were doing it. But as time passed by, she started getting angry. She didn't like it when we used to bully her, but she knew she couldn't stop us either.

Fear spread all over my body in a rush and I felt my heart pounding in my chest. I felt sick.

Usually, when an individual is bullied, they lose confidence and start getting depressed. But there are certain cases, where the individual, who is bullied, turns violent.

And Templar belonged to the latter category.

The more we bullied her, the angrier she got, the more she despised us and the more she wanted to hurt us. But since she was unable to do so, she always kept that anger within herself.

However once she got her wolf, the anger she had in her, just burst out from her, like water from a broken dam. She started fighting back. The situation in which she first shifted wasn't helpful either.

Templar shifted into her wolf the very moment her friend, June, died. She shifted and then killed the person who was the reason for June's death. She tore him apart and also killed all those who had kept the WaterWave pack wolves in prison.

She knew what happened with them was wrong and thinking about it would make her furious. In that very fury, she would often let her wolf take over and vent it all out.

So now, I finally knew why Templar loses control to her wolf. It's not because she is different from us. It's because she was once made to feel different from us.

And I hate myself because I made Templar feel so.

I caused her to turn violent. I caused her into giving into her animal side.

I blamed her wolf for losing control. However the real reason was I, myself, who caused it to happen.

Lowering my head, I punched the floor again because I wanted to hurt myself. I kept punching the floor again and again but stopped when I heard a voice.

"I just told you a story about your ancestor Mr. Green" Adio said standing near the entrance and staring at me.

My vision was foggy and I blinked, repeatedly, to have a clear look at him. I found him standing at the same place, where he stood earlier, and staring at me with an impassive look.

"I just told you how they turned their weakness into their greatest strength" he reminded and I swallowed audibly. He marched towards me and then towered over me. "Hurting yourself will not help the situation Mr. Green. What you did was in the past and since you regret it, you have been given a chance to redeem yourself" he said and I looked at him with wide eyes.

Is it true?

Do I really have a chance to redeem the hurt I caused to Templar once?

"You have hurt your mate once Mr. Green, but now you have been given a chance to heal her" he said with a small smile.

"What can I do?" I asked standing up and looking at him hopefully. I would do anything to help Templar. "Tell me what I should do?" I demanded.

Adio, smirked and then said, "I will help your mate in getting her wolf back, Mr. Green." I heaved a sigh of relief. "In return, I want your word that whatever I ask at the end, as my fee, will be given to me without any hesitation" he demanded looking me in the eye.

My wolf growled because he found the part suspicious but I pushed him back. I will not let him bother me now. All I could see was that this man could help Templar.

So, raising my chin, I replied, "You have my word, Mr. Zachir. Anything you ask, I will give it to you."

Adio nodded once before saying, "Then I'll also give you my word, Mr. Green, that if I fail to help you bring the White Wolf back, then I will cut my head and lay it at your feet." I inhaled sharply just by hearing the supreme confidence in his words.

Hearing his words, even shocked my wolf and he didn't know how to react. I stared at Adio's eyes and just by looking at the sheer determination in his eyes, I knew, he would do anything to help Templar.

I gulped and nodded.

"Now tell me, what exactly happened to the White Wolf."

Ten minutes later, I was sitting in the stairs of the sun temple while Adio was sitting a little away from me.

"I have got only six more days. After that it'll take over her completely" I murmured running a hand through my hair. "Then there is no future for our kind." I looked at Adio, who was quiet during the entire time. "Can you do it?" I demanded rubbing my fingers on my now fully healed knuckles.

"You have six days and that's more than enough Mr. Green" Adio stated calmly and I blinked. Was he serious?

As I looked at his blank face, I understood that- yes, he was indeed serious.

"You have done something like this before?" I queried and he shook his head, staring ahead. I followed his gaze and saw my friends, walking towards us.

"What took you so long?" Genessa queried. "We got worried..." she trailed off.

"I was just telling Mr. Zachir about Templar" I muttered and stared at Adio, who seemed unfazed.

"Can he help us?" Terence queried me and I nodded.

"Can you take that spirit out of Templar's body?" Keith asked Adio.

Adio was silent for few minutes before finally giving his reply, "I cannot do it."

I literally felt like I lost the ground beneath me. My wolf howled painfully while I glared at Adio in anger.

What the hell was that all about? Why did he tell me he will help Templar? Why give false hopes? I really, really thought he could help Templar. But now... Growling, I bared my fangs.

"Then why did you tell me you would help Templar or you would cut your head if you fail?" I launched furiously. My claws were out and I was a step away from attacking this man. There were loud gasps from the others as they heard my words.

"He said that?" Genessa asked in a whisper, totally shocked, just like I was a few minutes ago.

Adio slowly turned his head and looked at me, with his unique pair of golden eyes. He didn't growl, he didn't snarl but that look of his was very, very intimidating. My wolf retreated immediately and I blinked in surprise.

"Do not mock my words Mr. Green" he bit out acidly and I looked away. "I only told you that I will help you in getting your mate's wolf back. I never told you that I will take the spirit out of her body" he clarified and I blinked.

"So... does that mean the spirit is going to be inside Templar... forever?" Myron asked taken aback. I shivered and felt my hands trembling.

Was Randall right? I couldn't do anything to save her?

"No" Adio answered and I whirled to look at him. What?

Holy Goddess! This man is so confusing.

"No?" I questioned in a barely audible voice.

"The spirit is preventing her from shifting. She can shift only after it's out" Adio replied.

"Means... once the spirit is gone; Templar will be back to normal?" Keith queried and Adio nodded.

"But you told you cannot take the spirit out" I pointed weakly. "Then how can Templar get her wolf back?" I wanted to know.

Adio was so confident with his words that even I wanted to believe him but now, I was having second thoughts. How can he help Templar this way?

If he cannot give salvation to Drew's spirit, or even better kick it to deepest pit of hell, then what exactly is he going to do?

"The spirit will be taken out, but not by me" Adio said and I frowned. When I noticed the amusement in his golden eyes, I realized that he was enjoying talking in riddles with us. Or was he simply trying to sharpen our brain?

"Then who else?" Genessa queried in puzzlement.

"Another spirit" he replied and I growled lowly.

I don't know any spirit. Who the fuck talks to spirit?

"Just who is this spirit?" I roared. Who could take that thing out of her?

Adio cocked an eyebrow while I growled lowly. Boy, how I wish to shake him so that he can just tell me who could do it. Whose spirit will it be?

"Someone, if not stronger then, they should be just as strong as Templar" Adio replied, his golden eyes focused on me.

Just as strong as Templar? Strong in what way?

Physically, I am stronger than Templar. But when it comes to her powers of controlling water, I or no other wolf is a match to her.

"You?" Genessa grilled, shooting a curious look at Adio.

Adio laughed after hearing her words. It was the first time, I heard him laugh. He was always so damn serious. "I am not a spirit, Miss" he replied with a grin.

"A spirit?" Genessa repeated and then started raking her brain.

"June?" Keith probed. Judging by Adio's reaction of who-the-hell-is-she, I knew it wasn't her.

Stronger than Templar?

Who is stronger than Templar? Or even better who is just as strong as Templar?

As I drummed my fingers on my knuckles, I kept thinking until a name flashed in my head.

That person was definitely not alive, that person was strong as Templar, there were chances of that person being stronger than Templar and the most important thing... the person made a promise that- when someone truly calls her for help, she will come back.

I looked at Adio and he smirked, "Say the name Mr. Green" he encouraged.

"Patricia" I breathed out.

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I had to end the chapter here... Sorry!

Hope you like it and if anyone doesn't remember- PATRICIA WAS THE FORMER WHITE-WOLF.

Next update on 11th

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Thank-you.