Chapter 113

Chapter 113
“I thought…you were…pregnant…”

I raised my eyebrow at Lor as she breathed heavily as we stopped near the edge of the forest. “I am. I mean, I’m mostly wearing Finn’s shirts right now.”

“Well, I’m not werewolf fast. You need to…give me a minute.”

Chuckling, I shook my head as she plopped down on the rock. “I thought you needed to get this done all in one go.”

“I do! I didn’t realize it was this much territory!”

Lor was something else entirely. There was an unsettling aura about her, but I knew that was just the magic. Werewolves and magic tended not to get along well. Really, it was Wren who was on guard the whole time. His fur fluffed up as if he were a cat.

‘I am not a cat.’

‘You sure are acting like one. She’s here to help.’

He huffed. ‘It’s like being too close to electricity. You know it can hurt you, burn you, and raises your hair when you get close. Plus, she is very powerful. That makes it worse.’

‘She’s on our side, Wren.’

Snorting, Wren shook out his fur. ‘A witch isn’t on anyone’s side but their own. Do not let them deceive you, or you will pay the price.’

Rolling my eyes, I moved my backpack and set it down on a nearby rock. Pulling out a water bottle, I tossed it to her. She took it and drank as if she hadn’t had water in days. Next, I took out the glasses that were in a special wooden case. Taking them out, I put the delicate-feeling glasses on my nose.

Suddenly, the surrounding trees lit up, blue lights emanating from their core. It was invisible to the naked eye, but apparently, some fae were able to see it. Councilor Morel explained I was looking at the heart of the tree. Each heart would grow depending on how old the tree was and how much magic it took in.

Untouched areas like this, with the national forest on most sides, meant that the trees were much older and the land still flowed with magic. Maybe not as much after being cut off by the road, but it was definitely impressive. The brightness of the hearts was too much to keep the glasses on all the time.

“Where did we want to put the next anchor?”

Lor hummed, reaching up into the air. “I would say, another few yards to the east would be best. Can you find a tree that would be good enough? Since apparently you have so much damn energy.”

Laughing, I chose not to talk back as I wandered through the trees. We were choosing specifically old and heavy-hearted trees to use as kind of fence posts. Lor was casting magic. Instead of around the entire territory, she was extending it. It used the forest and the natural magic that raced through the forest to keep the spell up. If she had tried to cast it herself, Lor could have died, even with how powerful she was.

So we chose this method. Marking trees with little talismans in the branches, Lor then continued from the last strong tree. Using her own magic to wrangle the wild magic into the spell she wanted. In this case, it was one that would turn around humans that were not supernaturally inclined.

My eyes widened as I spotted an enormous tree, right in the line we were walking around the territory. The heart was so bright, I almost had to squint to look at it. Pulling out a little wood-carved talisman from my pocket, courtesy of the kids’ lovely work, I tied it on one of the lower-hanging branches.

“I found one. This one is actually pretty incredible.” I put my hand on the tree.

While I couldn’t feel anything, apparently Lor could. She skipped over and put her hand next to mine. Her eyes widened, and she whistled.

“Well, this one is an old one. How yummy.” I stepped back as she put both her hands on the trunk. “Those glasses come in handy. I wish I had a pair of those.”

I nodded, pulling them up onto my head as she worked her magic. “I didn’t even know something like this existed. We were always taught that magic flowed everywhere, but I didn’t realize trees had hearts like this. Not to mention that you could harvest them.”

“I mean, it’s not common knowledge.” She took a deep breath, pausing for a moment. “They really saved your ass. I don’t know what you offered them in return, but the knowledge they gave you and the tools to use that knowledge are soul-selling worthy.”

My nose wrinkled as she focused on the magic she was casting. Lor wasn’t wrong. The Council of Elders came to me, wanting to speak. I thought it was going to be something formal, but it wasn’t. They came with tea and cakes and told me the issue that Solaris came to them about. She, like me, had concluded that there wasn’t anything we could do to make money for the pack. Not yet, anyway. We needed a source of income. Somehow, even Sol had thought that far ahead for me.

They came to me with a proposition. First was that they could set up a portal onto the territory and I would allow the fae free passage through my territory. I didn’t say that it was going to be a request that I wanted to make of them. That would be stupid as a negotiation tactic. If they wanted to give me something I wanted, then so be it.

Second, they asked that the Council be allowed to stay on the territory as well. Apparently, they wanted to treat my territory as a vacation spot. Which I was happy to oblige as well. In return for that one, they were willing to do some teaching at the school once I set it up. That alone was worth more than I could have possibly asked of them.

It was the last request that threw me for a loop. Once I passed over the title of Alpha, I was to serve out the rest of my time as a Councilor. After they dropped that request on me, they told me I had three days to decide if I wanted their help. So when Lor said the glasses alone were powerful enough to sell my soul for, I kind of had.

After two days, I agreed to their demands. It had been something I needed to think about. At first glance, it was a nice retirement job that meant I got to deal with all kinds of unique challenges and meet different races. It was a high honor to be a Councilor, but at the same time, it was lonely.

Most Councilors had their mates with them if they were to ascend into the position. I didn’t have a mate, not a good one anyway, and they didn’t seem inclined to add him to the Council always. Right now, I only had my kids and this pack, which was all that remained of Solaris for me. Two things I would have to leave behind.

I’d get to see them, but it would be rare. Basically, a vacation now and again. I wouldn’t be able to help them with the pack if something were wrong. Once I passed the title, that would be it. Finn and Noah would be here, but I wouldn’t be allowed to stay. That was the hurdle I had to come to grips with over the two days.

Ultimately, I agreed. A pack where my kids could inherit and grow up in, that was what I wanted. A legacy, not just mine but Solaris’ as well. She poured her heart and soul into this, a dream that she wanted to allow me to continue. If it meant that I had to give up a retirement under my kids, then so be it.

Councilor Erissa and Councilor Daeva visited me the next day. They offered way more than they had explained the night before. Some of it had come directly from the fae as a token of gratitude for the portal. There were few places they could trust to have a portal without it being stumbled upon or attacked. This would be one of the few places that would be taken care of, and they were appreciative of it.

The knowledge they gave me was passed down the royal family. Not of the fae, or the vampires, but of the spirits. Originally, I hadn’t realized that Daeva was a spirit and not a fae, but it made sense. Apparently, she was willing to impart this knowledge to me. I felt Solaris might have paid part of that price as well, but I wasn’t going to complain.

Not when I was given the ability not just to see the hearts of the trees, but to harvest their hearts. According to Daeva, I could harvest on the full moon. The hearts were just condensed magic that had crystalized into a solid form. When done correctly, you could extract the crystal without harming the tree. It would continue to grow, and a new magic crystal would form; however, it would take at least a couple of years to grow back to a usable size.

It also meant that if I tried harvesting the ones in this part of the forest, they would be so big that there would be nearly no one on the planet that could afford them. So either we would break them into small pieces, or work out trades with others for the use of them. The entire operation would be a juggling act of supply and demand. Not creating too much supply as to drop demand, but also allowed the amount of money coming in to sustain the pack.

Which it could. This alone would be enough to fund just about anything we wanted to do with the pack. There were so many trees that even if we could go through twenty a night, which we didn’t have the ability to get that many, it would take years for us to need to go back around again. Not to mention that we could technically take from the national forest. It wouldn’t be killing them, and so few fae knew of the technique that the number of trees far outweighed anything they could harvest.

Sighing, I rubbed my face. “Are you sure you’re okay with reaching out to the covens?”

“Of course! They are going to go crazy! Especially if you say that you will allow them to use that massive crystal you got your hands on, but only if they keep it on the territory. That’s going to blow their minds!”

I chuckled and nodded. “Well, I’d like some of them to teach as well.”

Her eyebrows rose as she turned around, obviously done with her spell. “Teach? Like…teach kids? Why would you want them to teach?”

“I think it would be good, even if you’re not a witch, to have knowledge in both magic and the history of it. Really, I want to be able to have every race as a teacher. Give an all-around education to our kids. Maybe start our kind down the path of understanding and accepting, rather than just hating each other.”

“Some have good reason to hate each other.”

Nodding, I picked up my bag and headed east, the arch we were making around the territory. “Anything within the past one hundred years?”

She hummed, following behind me. “Not that I can think of.”

“Exactly. We should unite against the Hunters, if anything. Other than that, we all have our quirks. We all are supernatural. We aren’t human; we possess talents we can use, and everyone would benefit from understanding how we can use those talents for others.”

There was a long pause behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder to check that she was following. Lor had a cheesy smile on her face, shaking her head.

“You really are her mate, aren’t you?”

“Solaris?”

She nodded. 

“I was. In the next life, hopefully longer.”

“You are something else, Alpha Nathaniel.”

Wincing, I wrinkled my nose. “Goddess, don’t call me that.”

“Why not? It’s true! That’s what all this is!”

“I know. It just sounds weird.”

Lor laughed, running ahead of me and turning around to walk backwards. “Alpha Nate? Maybe Alpha White?”

Shaking my head, I rolled my eyes at her. “How about just Nate?”

“How about Rogue King?”

My eyes narrowed. “Don’t even joke about that. I’ve got enough on my hands. I don’t even have a pack that’s fully functional yet.”

“Alright, alright. Still. Solaris was the Rogue King.”

“It’s not passed down like that, Lor.”

She shrugged. “I don’t know about that. Compassion and strength go hand in hand. They also come in pairs.”

“Shut up, Lor, and focus on your magic. I’m not adding more work to my plate.”

Her cackle echoed in the forest, but she bounded ahead of me. That was the last thing I wanted. I was sure it was the last thing the rogues wanted as well. An Alpha of a pack as the Rogue King. Solaris made sense. I didn’t.