Alora looked down at her feet and scratched her head with one finger. That was when some of her hair slid forward, and Alora noticed something that had her grabbing a handful of her hair to look at it. It looked like there were tiny stars embedded into the strands of her hair.
“I hope my hair isn’t like this when I wake up, because this is going to cause a lot of questions.” Alora said.
“I didn’t think of that.” Xena said, her fur still sparkling.
“I suppose it would be inconvenient if we looked like this all the time.” Selena said, “There is a glamor spell we could use, it will hide our regalia and the stars marking our lineage to the Moon Goddess.”
Alora looked at Selena excitedly. “Really?!”
Selena nodded. “Yes, but there is a limit to its power. our regalia and hair will be visible on several instances despite the spell.”
Xena looked at Selena. “What instances would those be?”
Selena turned to look at Xena before answering. “The full moon, especially during a blue moon. The blood moon, which is a lunar eclipse, and then during a solar eclipse as well. Also certain transformations will make them visible, like the Lycan form and our Okami Akuma form.”
“Okami Akuma?” Alora asked, confused.
“It means wolf demon, but you can call it our Yokai form. It is when we are all three combined.” Selena explained.
“Wouldn’t that make it a Kitsune?” Alora asked.
“We are not a fox.” Selena said feeling offended on their behalf, which felt strange to her since it was essentially herself asking herself this question. Selena put a hand to her head, it was starting to ache with that line of thought. “The term Kitsune is specific to a fox Yokai, or demon, apparition, spirit, or what have you.”
Alora was more confused. “So, Yokai is okay, but Kitsune is not?”
Selena nodded. “Yokai is a generalizing term for our two-legged demon form that is a combination of all three of us. It is something unique to vampire werewolf or vampire shifter hybrids.”
Before Alora or Xena could ask Selena more questions, they now had a million of them, the sound of a giant gong rang through their space. It was time for them to wake up.
Alora looked at Selena in a panic. “Quick, what’s the glamour spell?!”
****
Alora had been lying unconscious on the floor for five minutes when Brogden suddenly stood and threw a barrier around her. “Everyone stand back!” He growled.
The black chains surrounding Alora bulged outward and the sounds of metal stretching to the point of breaking could be heard.
“What is happening?!” Ember demanded.
“The bonds are about to break, and they are holding back more power than I could have ever guessed.” Brogden explained. Brogden was surprised at how much effort he was having to expend to contain the barrier around this little pup.
“That means there will be a rebound.” Alpha Andrew said grimly.
“Yes.” Brogden said, right before the chains exploded outward and Alora’s power broke free.
The power was strong enough it broke through Brogden’s barrier and had him stumbling back coughing up a mouthful of blood. Brogden grabbed the nearest chair and fell into it, grabbing a linen napkin he wiped the blood off his face.
“Are you all right?!” Serenity called out in concern.
Brogden coughed before answering. “I’m fine, the recoil from her power hurt when it hit me, but I am already healing. That and she should be waking up any second now that the binding spell is broken.”
Alpha Andrew and Luna Ember knelt down next to Alora on the floor. “Should we move her?” Ember asked.
Then a wind charged with power swirled around Alora. The wind caused Luna Ember and Alpha Andrew to momentarily close their eyes and hold up their hands protectively in front of their faces.
Just as quickly as it had started the wind dissipated. When the Alpha and Luna looked back down at Alora, there were bracers on her wrists and ankles and a crown across her forehead. In her braided hair it looked like the black strands were embedded with thousands of stars.
Brogden looked down at the pup in shock. “She is not just a descendant of the Heartsong’s original bloodline. She is a reincarnation of your first Alpha of Alpha’s. That pup is the reincarnated granddaughter of the Moon Goddess!”
Alpha Andrew turned his head in the blink of an eye and his gaze snapped to Brogden’s. “Are you sure?!”
Brogden nodded, his expression serious. “That regalia she’s sporting confirms it. The mark on her hip is just a blessing, that regalia is a clear mark of her identity and status as the Moon Goddess and Beast God’s granddaughter.”
A gasp came from the doorway. “Oh my goodness, Alora! Is she all right?!” The female's voice was frantic and full of concern.
Turning, everyone saw that Serenity’s parents Camille and Alfred Mountainmover had arrived with her brothers Kain and Galen and her cousin Jaxon. Camille rushed forward to kneel on the ground next to Luna Ember.
“Luna Ember what happened to Alora?” Camille asked with genuine concern, then she noticed the regalia on Alora and gasped again. “It can’t be.”
Ember turned to Camille in surprise. “You know what this means?”
Camille looked at Ember. “It was one of the lores I was raised on as a pup, and this regalia was originally worn by our first Alpha of Alphas. It’s in all the paintings of her.”
Alpha Andrew looked down and realized that Camille was right, he recognized the regalia on Alora being depicted in the painting he had of Luna Heartsong.
Then something happened, the bracers of the regalia were reduced to nothing more than vivid tattoos on her wrists and ankles, while the crown completely disappeared. Then Alora let out a moan and touched her head with one hand.
“Owwwww, my head.” Alora whined upon waking, then she sat up still holding her head. “Why do I feel like Darien ran me over with his car?”
Darien let out a startled laugh. “As tough as you are, it would just destroy my car if I ran you over with it!” He said accusingly with a pointed finger at Alora. “What the hell happened?!”
It was rare for Alora to see Darien this visibly upset. Then again, she had just dropped to the floor unconscious all of a sudden. Alora supposed that would give Darien reason to be upset.
“Bettina had a binding spell put on me when I was just a newborn, and I was never just a Werewolf either. I’m a Vampire Werewolf hybrid with a Sprite and all.” Alora said, then she stood up from the ground.
The pounding in Alora's head finally subsided. *“Selena? You still with me?”* She asked worried, scared she would not be able to communicate with her Sprite.
*“I am here with you and Xena. I am no longer alone in our space, Xena is by me now.”* Selena said soothingly, her voice calm and happy.
“You’re a Hybrid?” Darien asked almost dazedly, then snapped “You have a Sprite?!”
“Yes.” Alora nodded.
The rest of those in the room just watched the interaction between Darien and Alora. They were finding it amusing, and Werewolves and Supernaturals of all kinds loved to be entertained.
“I want to see.” Darien said excitedly, and Serenity nodded rapidly at his side, just as excited.
“Let me see if Selena is willing to show herself.” Alora told Darien, then she closed her eyes. *“Selena? Are you okay with coming out?”* Alora asked her.
Selena was quiet for a moment. *“I can, but their reaction may not be what you expect.”* she warned, her tone serious.
Alora frowned, *“What do you mean?”* she asked
Selena sighed *“It is easier for you to experience it than for me to explain. I will come out.”*
*“Okay, I’m ready when you are.”* Alora told her.
Then Alora felt the shift, she went from being up front, to being a spectator from their space with Xena. They were sitting on the shore of their pond, and their pond was a window outside their space. Like they were seeing what was happening around them from above.
After Alora transformed into Selena, Brogden let out a growl of protest. Horrified at what he was seeing on an otherwise beautiful Sprite. “The extreme abuse a youngling of your Pack has suffered, Alpha, is very evident with all the scarring this Sprite wears on her skin!”
Selena flinched in the face of such a reaction to her presence. She knew she should expect at least one to know what the silver marks on her skin were. Selena looked down at her arms and winced before crossing them over her waist. Closing her eyes, she hugged herself.
*“Stop!”* Alora told her, and Selena’s eyes popped open with surprise. *“You are beautiful and there is no reason for you to be ashamed of the marks on your skin. We never asked for the abuse that caused them.”