Star-Crossed Mates by Scarlet Hyacinth

Wolf.
    “Please rise, my children,” a female voice said, echoing through the large room in a thousand cadences, both warm and strong.
    As one, the spirit wolves obeyed. Clay dared to look at her, and to his shock, noticed her staring right back. It almost made him avert his gaze, but he simply could not move.
    “Do not fear me, my children,” she said. “I would never hurt those I love so dearly.”
    She turned to Wolfram. “Hello, Magistrate Wolfram Rozenstadt. I trust you don’t mind me intruding like this.”
    “You honor these halls, My Lady,” Wolfram replied.
    The wolf chuckled, her tinkling laughter sweeping over them like the delicate touch of a snowdrop. “Oh, Wolfram… Always so formal.
    How long have we known each other now?”
    For the first time in his life, Wolfram looked completely lost for words and unable to hide it. After a moment of hesitation, he asked,
    “My Lady?”
    The White Wolf shook her head. “No matter. There has been so much pain in the past centuries, but at last, it will come to an end.
    Klaus’s sacrifice will not be in vain, I assure you.”
    Clay didn’t know what made him speak out. It just seemed to him that everyone used Klaus, from the Magistrate, to The Spirit Mother.

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    Angrily, he glared at the deity he worshipped. “But why him?
    Why did he have to be sacrificed? And for what? It’s not fair. Surely, you could have found another way.”
    His father’s voice reached out to him in a whisper. “Clay, what are you doing?” Grant asked.
    “Don’t worry,” the White Wolf answered. “You are in your right to question me. He was chosen for a reason. His heart held enough affection to support an entire nation, just like Wolfram’s holds strength. As for why… This war has gone on for long enough. Dead and living, all must understand the weight of what you have done.”
    Wolfram looked more puzzled than ever. “My Lady… I don’t understand. Have I wronged you?”
    The White Wolf shook her head. “You have done as your predecessors decided, although in your heart you always hated the killings, the losses, and you doubted yourself. But no longer. There is another solution, and one which can finally be set into motion. Doctor Blunt?”
    From the crowd, Andrew’s voice piped up, “Yes, My Lady.”
    “Expect a visit from me, and your son, too.”
    Paul Blunt made an unintelligent noise that sounded a lot like an
    “eep,” but the White Wolf changed the topic. “But the reason I am here is different, and I will not delay it any longer.”
    The bright glow around the Spirit Mother grew even more, until Clay could no longer see anything. When at last, it began to dwindle, Clay saw a figure standing next to the White Wolf. It was there for a mere moment, but even so, Clay identified it as Klaus.
    He reached out, desperate to touch his mate, one last time. But Klaus’s silhouette disappeared before Clay could reach it.
    Clay just stood there, frozen, wondering at the cruelty of the White Wolf, when all of a sudden he heard a moan and a gasp. He instantly recognized the tonality of the voice uttering them. From behind the Spirit Mother, Klaus got off the pedestal, beautiful and alive.

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    Scarlet Hyacinth

    * * * *

    Klaus did not understand much about dying. He recalled Clay and Ross’s faces, the pain twisting their exquisite features, the tears he ached to dry, but could not. But after that, it all turned into a blur, a world of dim shadows, flights of black, white and gray, confusing, some warm, some chilly. In the void of souls he lingered for what seemed to be an eternity, until at last, something pulled him out. He heard a strong, familiar voice calling out to him, the same voice that sometimes sounded in his dreams.
    “You’ve done your duty, Klaus,” the Spirit Mother said.
    “Everything will be all right now.”
    Klaus followed the sound. “The balance is finally set,” she continued. “There is no one to exploit the evil in