Chapter 27 Chapter 27
“Suki?” Everett questioned, tilting his head. “Stand down,” he snarled, “do you not know who this is?” He held a hand out for Suki. She took it and stood slowly. “She was my fiancée before I found my mate. More importantly, she is a friend. You will give her the respect she deserves, and that includes her escorts, too.”
The guards released Reynard, stood straight and bowed, speaking in sync, “Yes, sir.” Then they dispersed back to their regular guarding posts.
“What the hell are you doing here, Suki?” Everett asked, brushing a bit of dirt off her face with his thumb, scanning her face, confused.
Rey speedily walked towards the two of them.
Sensing his protective jealousy, Suki turned around quickly and placed a hand on his chest and locked her eyes with him to settle him. ‘It’s okay. He’s mated to another. He’s just a friend.’
His face relaxed, but he kept himself tall, staying on guard.
Suki turned back to Everett, who was examining Reynard questioningly. “Everett, we need your help. I think my pack is in danger.”
Everett led the Suki and Reynard inside his home. Suki stayed close by Rey, who was still feeling jealous and protective of his mate.
‘You never told me how effortlessly you fight. You barely broke a sweat fighting those 3 guards. Looked like you weren’t even trying.’ Suki said through the bond.
Rey fought a smirk that was trying to break free. ‘I wasn’t trying.’
‘You train too much.’
Though Rey stayed silent, Suki could feel that he was laughing down the bond. She smiled, finding it both cute and warming to feel his joy and emotions.
The pair were amazed by the beauty of the manor; the size was one great thing, but the obvious history inside it was even greater.
The Rieka bloodline was the only Alpha bloodline of the original werewolves, created by the Moon Goddess, to still exist in leadership, and the power they possessed was apparent.
“You know I’m always happy to help you out, Suki, but this might not be the best time,” Everett exhaled, leading them to the lounge. He grabbed the attention of one of the maids, “Could you bring our guests some tea and snacks?”
“Yes, sir,” she bowed her head and hastened to the kitchen.
“Oh, that’s not necessary–” the sound of something breaking made Suki stop talking.
Everett smiled, “Sorry for the chaos outside, the guards were just doing their jobs. We’re still trying to get the pack to adjust to a female Alpha leader and ensure no traitors are lurking within the pack, not to mention Amelia is still trying to adjust to her wolf, being an Alpha, and this extra power none of us realised she had.”
Another crashing sound of something shattering apart.
“That’s not her practising,” Everett reassured them, “she’s just… letting out some rage.” Another smash followed after his words. He sighed, “Let’s just say, she’s been dealing with some family issues recently.” As the maid walked in with refreshments, Everett changed the subject, “Amelia will be thrilled to see you; she truly saw you as a good friend.”
Suki smiled, “That means a lot to me.”
“Make yourself comfortable, have some refreshments, please, your journey must have been a very long one. I’ll let Amelia know you’re here, and then we can discuss whatever is troubling you.”
✧ ✧ ✧
After some time, Suki and Rey managed to settle comfortably and enjoy the refreshments provided by the helpers of the Alpha’s home. Then, when the time was right, Everett led them to the meeting room used for council meetings.
“Suki!” Amelia leapt from her chair, which appeared somewhat throne-like in comparison to all the others, and rushed to hug Suki.
Yelping at her tight hug, she tittered, “So good to see you again, Alpha Amaris.”
“I told you, call me Amelia,” she said, taking her hands and squeezing them. “I know we’ve only spoken the one time, during my Ascension Ceremony, but something tells me that we’re going to be great friends.”
Everett huffed a sigh and leaned against the wall, “Are the spirits talking to you again, Amelia darling?”
She darted a glare at him, likely scolding him through their bond, then smiled at Suki again. “Please, sit.”
Everyone slowly chose their seats, relaxing as Amelia settled in hers.
Amelia sat tall; the essence of being a newly appointed Alpha radiated off her so naturally. “I know I’m still fairly new to all this, but I’ve been doing all the research and working with the best of the best in all areas to improve my knowledge. Plus, my amazing mate knows a thing or two, being the book nerd he is.”
“Do you want my help or not?” Everett sneered.
She held back a smile and shook her head to focus on her guests. “Whenever you’re ready, let’s discuss why you’re here.”
They explained everything to them about the last 24 hours, how a member of their pack couldn’t shift, but there were no traces of wolfsbane or magical elements to indicate foul play from a witch, and how he seemed to be on the journey to full recovery before their venture to the Silver Moon pack.
Amelia and Everett sat there for a moment, digesting everything they had just been told. They looked at each other briefly, then back at their guests. A conversation through their mate bond was happening; Suki was almost certain about it, but they were good at concealing it.
She wondered how good she was at concealing it when she spoke to either of her mates.
“Curses that take away the magic of lyancanthropy can only be done by an immense power source - Mother Nature, the Moon Goddess, some other deity perhaps, but the witch and doctor you spoke to this morning were right, no witch is powerful enough to do that.” Amelia leaned back in her seat, scanning her mind in the hopes that something she had learnt recently could be of any use.
Everett hummed, “Even a coven of witches would struggle to conduct enough power to cast a curse. The most they can do is–”
“A blocking spell, we know,” Suki interrupted. She blushed, realising that, even though she was in the same age bracket as Amelia and Everett, she was in the presence of the Alpha leaders. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she uttered as she lowered her head.
“Don’t apologise,” Amelia insisted. “The only thing I can be certain of is that it’s not magic at work here, at least not everyday magic. I’m just sorry we can’t be any more help.”
With her head still lowered, Suki sighed, “It’s okay,” she looked up and faked a smile, “It just means it’s something else. We’ll get to the bottom of it.”
Amelia’s eyes narrowed, “That’s not all you’re here for, is it?”
Rey, who was silently observing, looked at Suki, confused.
“W-What makes you think that?” Suki questioned, shifting in her seat.
“You had the same look in your eyes during my Acension Ceremony, like something was bothering you,” Amelia admitted, giving her a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, you can tell us.”
Suki cleared her throat and breathed slowly, “I’ve… um, I’ve come to understand that your pack has the power to connect to the spirits?”
Everett leaned forward, resting his arms on the chair. His silver eyes were beaming with his usual intimidating power. “Well, not the entire pack. It’s such a great power that it was centralised around the Alpha bloodline – specifically, the original Alpha bloodline of Silver Moon: the Rieka bloodline. It was thought to be lost forever until…” he looked at his mate.
Amelia smiled awkwardly. “That’s why I could connect and settle in the spirit world so easily. It allowed me to get the truth about my family and my past.”
“So you can access and speak to those in the spirit world, even the Moon Goddess, is that right?”
Furrowing her brows, Amelia uttered, “In theory, yes. Practically… not really, no. The only reason I could before was that I was on the brink of death. My family witch, Sybil, used my dying body to create a bridge between the spirit world and the real world. It allowed me to connect and communicate with the Moon Goddess.”
“Have you tried again?”
“Once, it took a lot of power and focus,” Amelia held her crystal, “this amulet used to be charmed to protect me, but when I became Alpha, its power became redundant. Sybil charmed it to help me train to channel my power to connect with the spirits better, but it’s taking me a while.”
“I see…” Suki exhaled in defeat.
“Why so interested in communicating with the spirit world?”
Suki’s eyes flickered wider. “I, uh, I have an important question for the Moon Goddess.”
Leaning forward, intrigued. “Oh? What is it?” Amelia pushed for more information.
Yet Suki stayed silent and looked away.
Amelia kept her eyes on Suki – even as she clearly wanted to avoid any eye contact with the Alpha – and spoke softly, “I promise you, you can trust us.”
But how could she? Yes, Amelia suggested that they are friends and could be great friends, but how does one simply share such information? It could only go one of two ways: they see it as blasphemous and demand that they leave immediately, or they hear them out and consider helping.
Of all people, they would understand… right?