Chapter 3 - Library

Esma’s pov.

"Will I get everything here?" I asked the old man in the glasses sitting on his desk reading a rom-com. Probably When Kattie Met Cassidy by Camellia Pierce He looked up from his book annoyingly, but soon it resolved into nervousness as soon as he sensed I was the Alpha.

"Ye... yes, Ms?" He stumbled on words, and I already knew I was intimidating him. I hardly intimidate anyone; if it weren’t for the alpha blood coercing in my veins, nobody would fear me.

"Rockwood," I said too curtly, much to my dislike. He nodded and bowed at the same time and finally closed his book, not before putting a bookmark in it. jeez. 

"What book exactly are you looking at, Ms. Rockwood?" He asked way too politely; his behavior was nothing like it was two minutes ago.

"Do you have, by any chance, a book on the Curses? Like the ancient folklores, myths, curses, and their cures?" I was still exploring the royal library. It has been the library since the time of King Lycaon. He was the one who built this when he reigned, which was technically thousands of years ago. Everything has changed since then.

"Umm… I don’t know if there has to be one as per my knowledge, but." He stopped midway.

I turned to look at him and raised one eyebrow, trying to intimidate him more.

"But?"

"There's nothing we need to be worried about; it’s just that nobody has asked for the books like them in ages, and I fear that with time they will be lost for good in the library." he said hesitatingly.

Shit. I should know it; the library was good for nothing except rom-coms.

"So, I have traveled exactly 300 miles for nothing?" My blood boiled, and the librarian shook visibly in fear. He took several steps backward before he remembered something.

"I could manage something. I can’t give you the exact book you are asking me right now, but I have something else." With that, he disappeared from my eyes, only to return with a much older book in his hands.

"Umm. Ms. Rockwood, I will find that book for you by the earliest; until then, you can issue this book from the library." He handed me the book, which was much heavier than it looked.

I turned the book over to read its title:

'How to Summon the Gods.'

I sighed, although I knew it was not of my use. I nodded, and the librarian visibly relaxed. Something about him didn’t click with me. I mean, he was fearing me and all, but he looked obvious about everything at the same time.

"Please lend us your number, and I will contact you as soon as I find the book you desire." he said it formally, and this time he smiled like the salesman who managed to break the deal. He quickly walked back towards his desk, and I sighed again. It was a whole day's journey by car to reach here; at least a look around would be worth it.

"What are you doing here?" I turned towards the owner of the voice. Diana was standing in the doorway, looking stunning, as she always did, flawlessly.

"Nothing," I replied, and I started reading the book again. Diana sighed, walked towards me, and stood a few inches apart. I looked at her from the corner of my eye and found her reading the same page I was reading.

Her face was straight, giving nothing away, and soon she walked before me. "Where did you get this?" she asked, her voice laced with curiosity. I can’t tell if she was asking out of curiosity or suspicion. She looked confused.

"Basement." I lied. Our pack was one of the oldest werewolf packs in the world, and being the alpha had its perks. My father had a huge library of all the books related to the supernatural, whether they were witches, warlocks, vampires, or even the gods.

Although it had nothing in comparison to the books in the library, it was still a valuable collection. At least in my father’s eyes.

"But why are you reading this book? Do you want to summon some gods?" she asked finally, and I knew she was trying to inquire if I was planning something.

"I don’t know; I was bored, so I picked something to read." I lied again, turning the page.

"I told you this wouldn’t help him. or you." she said, and this time there was a ping of disappointment on her face. I closed the book and threw it on the ground. The book was old, just like the information it promised to provide me.

Diana was right. I had been reading this book for the last five hours, and either I had understood nothing or nothing was relevant to me. It had all the information related to all the gods and their powers and how to summon them, but some of their pages were either too damaged or their ink got too light with time.

Also, it was like they were being updated from time to time because their inks were different, as were their handwritings. Some were written in Arabic, some in Greek, and the earliest was written in Latin.

"Where is August?" I asked, trying to change the topic. Diana was going to be a part of our pack with the upcoming full moon. It had been a month since August, and I got to know that she could be accepted into our pack by performing the blood ceremony.

The blood ceremony was the most crucial ritual when we talked about the strength and power of a pack. With the blood ceremony, alphas could bind themselves or any new member to their pack, making them part of our pack.

I remembered the meeting I attended in no man’s land. The blood ritual didn’t stop there. It was done as an alternative, More like a weapon. With the blood ritual, alphas not only could tie themselves, but they also shared the equal strength and vigor of their pack members. Alphas couldn’t die.

It was still hard to make me believe that.

"August had been keeping things from me." Diana pouted, and I knew I had been successful in diverting the spotlight from me to her.

"Why would you say that? As much as I know, that idiot can’t keep anything from anyone, and especially not from you." I shook my head and chuckled. Diana furrowed her eyes but didn’t say anything.

"He know; I can’t see his vision. I am telling you, Emmy, he is keeping things from me," she said, almost whining. I smiled and put my hands on her shoulders.

"Maybe he is just nervous about how the pack will react when they find out one sexy witch is their beta female."

Diana blushed and slapped my hands away from her. She is the best thing that could happen to my brother, seeing his bad taste in girls. We bonded fast in the short period when I visited her for the first time in Reed’s castle.

I was impressed by her; impressed would be an understatement; I was smitten by her. She is so young but exceptionally wise for her age. I have always seen her happy and smiling, and now with August, she is just as happy as I was with... My face fell, remembering that the man I found was my mate.

"Hey, what happened?" Diana asked slowly and pulled my face gently to make me look into her eyes. A single drop threatened to escape my eye. I wiped it before it could fall, but Diana had already seen it.

"What about Dumeny?" she asked. She was equally concerned about me. Dumeny was a family. A friend I could trust blindly. If I hadn’t found Reed, things could have been different. Maybe. And my father liked him. He was just like a second son to him.

"He had gone for some work in his pack. will return tomorrow only." I said and remembered what Dumeny said.

"You don’t have to say anything; I know you are confused. You have found your mate; whatever you are feeling is the mate-bond’s doing." I know this can’t be true; what I and Reed shared was much bigger and deeper than the mate-bond. or maybe that’s what I felt, at least.

"You are missing him, don’t you?" she asked, and I knew she was missing him too. I didn’t say anything and looked away from her, tackling her questioning gaze.

"I don’t know. I missed him, maybe more than I knew. After what he had done to me, I still missed him like hell. I think I like him; I hope I love him." Diana smiled knowingly, and I narrowed my eyes.

"Okay, coming to that. Tomorrow morning, I am going to his pack for—" Before I could say anything more, she cut me off mid-sentence.

"Don’t worry, I will be here before anyone notices I am missing." she said and smiled proudly. I shook my head, and soon we started laughing together.

"Let’s get back to the room before your idiot mate plans to start a quest to find you," I said and laughed some more.

Diana started walking back to the room and said, "Just don’t do something stupid, Emmy. You know I am watching."

I watched her gesture with her hands.

"I am also coming, but just let me put this book back on the shelf." I stretched to grab the book, but before I could close it, my eye caught a line.

'How to summon the moon goddess.'