To Destroy a Stone

To Destroy a Stone
"Aurelia, Aurelia!" I slowly began to feel the coldness of the floor on my legs, and the weight of the crystal in my hands as I began to adjust to my surroundings. I heard Malachi calling my name and opened my eyes.

"Oh thank god, you began wiggling around and we thought something was wrong!" Amora exclaimed as I blinked a few times.

"Give her a moment, she's coming from a deep meditative state and needs to ground herself." I heard Tarquin's voice say softly as I smiled.

The room felt silent for a few minutes, and I was grateful for the time to wake up again even though I knew that everyone would hammer me with questions the first chance they got.

"I met Selene, Elowyn and Artemis." I whispered and everyone's eyes fell from their heads.

"What did they say?" Grace breathed softly, and I noticed Braydon's hand was turning white from the grip she had on it.

"We need to destroy the stone." I breathed, not willing to talk any louder as I hung on to the deep peace that I still felt.

Tarquin smiled at me while the rest of the room broke into an uproar with everyone looking at me as if I'd grown two heads.

"You knew, didn't you?" I turned to ask Tarquin and he smiled at me again.

"Yes, I knew it was time, however you needed to hear it yourself." He said softly and the room fell quiet again.

I launched into telling everyone what the women had told me, and I could see that everything was clicking into place for them.

"So, how do we destroy it then?" Malachi asked, walking over to me and sitting down beside me on the floor.

"We need to take it back with us to Shadowfen - where the first wolf was born." I stated and everyone's jaws hit the floor.

"Wait, the first wolf was born at Shadowfen?!" Malachi finally managed to squeak out and I nodded.

"Grace and I will need to perform a ritual, in the small clearing in the Orchard." I said and Malachi cocked his head in confusion.

"Have you ever wondered why no tree's ever seem to grow there, or how they're placed in a perfect circle?" I repeated the words that Artemis had told me.

"That was where the first wolf was born." Malachi breathed in amazement, and I nodded my head again.

"I'll stay behind here to keep things in order, Braydon and Grace can return with you both." Amora suggested and we all agreed.

"I'd like to stay another night and see what you've done with the place. Tarquin, would you do the honours of guarding the crystal for one more night?" I asked, and he nodded eagerly.

"Yes, of course Aurelia, then if you don't mind - I'd like to come with you." He asked softly, and I could see a hint of sadness in his eyes. What was a new beginning for us, was an ending for him.

"Absolutely, I'd be honoured." I smiled gratefully at him.

"None of this leaves this room, we should go and do some planning." Braydon piped up as we all stood up, ready to head back up the stairs.

Tarquin followed us to the door, smiling at us proudly before closing the door behind us. We made our way back up the stoney staircase and returned into the office, falling into chairs with a mental exhaustion I hadn't felt before.

I burst into manical laughter after a few minutes, breaking the silence of our little group deep in their own thoughts and they all cocked their heads in confusion. I know that this was the point where they probably thought I'd officially lost my mind, but their concern was lost on me.

"Usually in stories and fairy tales, they know the prophecy and then go and fulfill it. We've just fulfilled one without even knowing about it." I gasped through my laughter and they instantly relaxed, chuckling with me.

"Well, none of us are here because we've done anything how we're supposed to." Malachi chuckled and I knew his mind was flicking back to the beginning of us finding out that we were mates.

"So how are we going to do this then? We don't exactly know who knows what at this point?" Braydon piped up, and I knew that he was concerned about Grace's role in this.

"I think we have two options at this point, do it on the down low and send minimal extra people back so that there's no reason for suspicion... however that could leave you open for an attack if there are people here who know about it. Or we could send some extra warriors with you all and say that they're accompanying Grace and Braydon.. although we can't be 100% sure who we're actually sending back, since we're still getting to know the pack and who we can and can't trust." Amora stated and the room fell back into silence again.

"I think we need to keep it on the down low and keep it in our circle. We could always have Cora and Sawyer meet us halfway, just in case." Braydon suggested and we all nodded our heads in agreement.

"Are you ok Grace?" I asked gently, noticing how quiet she had been and she had been sinking further and further back into her seat beside Braydon since we'd walked back into the room.

"Yeah, it's just a lot to process." She whispered with a sad smile.

"Well we'll leave tomorrow after lunch as if everything is normal, Amora can show you guys around if you'd like and we'll meet up with you for dinner." Braydon interrupted before anything more could be said. Grace gave him a grateful smile, even though I knew that none of us would push her to talk if she didn't want to right now. She was one of us.

Braydon got up first and helped Grace up to say goodbye and I jumped out of my seat to give her a hug.

"You've got this." I whispered as we began to pull away and she nodded at me subtly with tears in her eyes before Braydon led her out of the room.

"Sooo... is life ever not going to be batshit crazy?" Amora chuckled and we all burst into a fit of laughter.

No, no it wasn't and I wasn't quite sure to expect over the next couple of days.