Chapter 34 The Water Elemental Wolf
Lulu
“I just had a dream.”
I told Caspian about it after a silence that had gone on far too long to feel normal.
We were standing in the room Niobe usually used for private talks. The crystal lamps along the walls glowed dimly, casting long shadows across the floor. The night air was still cool, yet my palms felt warm and slightly damp.
I started from the beginning. The calm lake. The moonlight that was far too bright. Morpheus calling my name as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
I told him how safe I felt when I saw him. How that feeling came before the fear. Then how his body changed. Bone. Fur. Water and shadow folding into one around him.
I didn’t stop myself. If I hesitated, I knew Caspian would either fill the gaps with his own assumptions or brush it off as nothing more than a dream.
When I finished, I realised something.
Caspian hadn’t moved.
He stood there, shoulders stiff, his gaze not fully on me, as if he were locking part of his thoughts away and refusing to let me dig any deeper.
I swallowed.
“I actually wanted to ask Niobe to help interpret the dream,” I said at last. “She’d know more—she has magic, after all. Or should I ask Seer Esthenel instead? What do you think, Alpha?”
Caspian let out a slow breath. Too controlled. His hand clenched briefly, then relaxed.
“There’s no need,” he said.
His voice was calm, but his body didn’t match it.
I frowned. “Why not?”
“Dreams don’t always need interpreting,” he replied. “Sometimes they’re just a response to an exhausted mind.”
“You don’t believe that,” I said quietly.
He turned to look at me.
Our eyes met. There was something there. Something he wasn’t ready to share.
“You know who Morpheus is,” I said. “Or at least… you know what he is.”
Caspian didn’t deny it. That alone told me I’d already reached the limit of what he was willing to answer. He was slipping back into that infuriating, mysterious Alpha mode, even though he’d promised to help me. Typical. Completely inconsistent.
“I want to meet him,” I said next. “I’m certain he’s the key to the Dark Sorcerer’s ritual. And I’m certain he’s being hunted too.”
He closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, his decision was clear.
“I’ll help you,” he said. “But there are conditions.”
I nodded, bracing myself.
“You’re pregnant,” he continued. “Your energy isn’t stable. If I sense even the smallest sign of danger, we stop.”
Without thinking, I lowered my gaze to my stomach. There was a small movement inside. Gentle. A quiet reminder that I wasn’t alone.
“Alright,” I said.
“Get some rest,” he added. “We’ll start tomorrow.”
I felt a little embarrassed. He really was worried about me, and here I was accusing him of being an overbearing Alpha again.
Morning came faster than I expected. After breakfast, Caspian took me to his study to talk more about my dream.
“You might be right,” he said. “Morpheus could be the key. We’ll start from there—and from what you found yesterday. Morpheus, the water-elemental wolf, and Luminara Coast.”
The decision was made with very little debate. Those two things became the starting point of our investigation.
The name lingered in my mind. A city of water and elemental sorcerers. A city that had been attacked by a Dark Sorcerer five years ago—and had lost someone important.
Caspian summoned Beta Rohan to the strategy room. I sat off to the side, listening without interrupting.
“One healer,” Caspian said. “Someone experienced.”
Rohan nodded. “Alright. I’ll bring Healer Sandra. She specialises in potion-making.”
“Two Gammas,” Caspian continued. “And several warriors. Not too obvious, but strong enough.”
“Understood. Gamma Oliver and Gamma Timothy—they’re good with terrain control. And Sapphire Water?” Rohan asked.
“You’re in charge while I’m gone,” Caspian replied without hesitation. “I trust you.”
Rohan bowed. He was always efficient, always composed. I’d almost never seen him show emotion, as if his life revolved solely around following Caspian.
Before we left, Caspian took me to see Seer Esthenel.
That place always unsettled me.
Esthenel’s pavilion stood apart from the main pack house. There were barely any guards. I doubted anyone dared disturb him—after all, he possessed the Seventh Sight. As soon as my foot touched the steps, all I felt was silence and a faint pressure in the air.
Seer Esthenel was already waiting. He must have known we were coming.
He stood at the centre of a stone circle, dressed simply, his face calm. His gaze stared blankly into space—he had no pupils.
“You carry more than one soul,” he said.
Instinctively, I placed a hand over my stomach. He didn’t smile, and my heart seemed to drop straight into my gut.
“Sit,” he said.
I sat on the flat stone before him. Caspian stood behind me, close enough to make me feel safe, far enough not to interfere.
Esthenel looked at me with his white eyes, and my skin prickled.
The change happened without drama. No loud sounds. His body shifted and strengthened with a long, steady breath. Within seconds, a small white wolf stood before me.
It lay down.
Silence.
Time seemed to slow. I could hear my own heartbeat. My breathing. The small movement inside my womb.
Caspian lifted his head slightly. I knew he was receiving something through the mind-link.
“He sees water,” Caspian said quietly. “A long waterway. And something moving beneath it.”
I held my breath. Caspian was clearly communicating with him.
“He says… Luminara Coast holds the clue we’re looking for.”
I turned to Caspian. “Just a clue?”
“Not the full answer,” he replied. “Not yet.”
I swallowed. “And then?”
“He says we’ll remain there until the third full moon.”
My heart began to race.
“There’s one more thing,” Caspian added.
I waited.
“On the third full moon, the fire-elemental wolf will find his Second Chance mate.”
The words hung heavily in the air. I didn’t react straight away. I just sat there, letting the meaning sink in.
“Me?” I asked at last.
Caspian didn’t look at me. “Who else would it be?”
I rolled my eyes, resisting the urge to growl at him. The second time Esthenel had said it meant it was bound to happen.
Calm down, Lulu. You don’t have to think about that now.
Esthenel returned to his human form. He opened his eyes and studied me for a long moment.
“This journey will change you,” he said. “And not every change feels like progress.”
I nodded, even though I didn’t fully understand. It didn’t matter. Caspian would be with me if anything happened.
I spent the rest of the day preparing.
I packed my things slowly. Dalila helped me, folding clothes and slipping potions into my bag without much comment.
“You’re nervous, miss?” she asked eventually.
“A little,” I admitted.
She glanced at my stomach. “And you’re still going.”
“I have to,” I said. “If I don’t look for the answers now, I don’t know what will happen later.”
Dalila nodded. There wasn’t much else she could do but follow my orders.
That night, I barely slept.
And the next morning, as the sun rose slowly, we left Sapphire Water for Luminara Coast—carrying far more questions than answers, and with the third full moon drawing steadily closer.