Wolves Without Hearts

☙ Chapter 20 ❧

☙ C A L I X A ❧

After the so-called "date" Tyto had set up, I didn't see him until he finally walked into the Alpha's quarters later the next day. I was suspicious of him and what he had been doing but my wolf urged me to trust him and for once in my life I finally decided to listen to something she said.

Now I found myself roaming the forest that was part of Silver Blood territory and took in my surroundings carefully, noting anything I thought might come in handy later. One thing in particular was a single dead, black tree sitting among the live forest surrounding it. With a closer inspection I realized it had been burned. I wondered what caused a lone tree to be burnt to a crisp in such a blooming part of the woods.

It seems like someone knew what I was thinking because a voice answered my question, "That tree is used to make royal wolves."

I whipped around to see Yana standing behind me and I felt foolish for not sensing her approach.

"Oh, I see." I replied, turning back to face the tree.

She, however, had other plans and walked until she stood in front of me, "Calixa can I tell you something? You mustn't tell anyone, not even Tyto."

I thought for a moment before nodding, not bothering to care about how she informally addressed me, "You can confide anything to me. I vow not to betray your trust Yana."

"Well..." she began, nervousness evident in her voice, "I'm not sure where to start. I suppose the beginning is the best. This tree was like any other tree in this forest, you see. It grew leaves in the spring and dropped them in the winter like any normal plant would to to prepare for the cold season. Until one day something strange happened. Alistair Aitan, Tyto's father, was wandering the woods one day and noticed something strange about the bark. It was about the time of year when you would tap a tree for it's sap and this tree's sap was different... It was infused with silver."

"What!? That's impossible!" I exclaimed, shocked that such a phenomena could happen.

"Oh but it's true! Apparently he had been studying how to turn a wolf into a royal wolf because his mate was simply not strong enough to belong to him. One method of turning is to secure a wolf to a tree leaking silver sap and make large gashes with a silver knife along their arms. Once that was done, then you pour the blood of a royal down their throat and burn the tree with them on it."

I gulped some air, suddenly feeling suffocated, "You mean... he made his mate go through all that?"

"No, he did something much worse. He took an innocent she-wolf from a neighboring pack and made her the guinea pig." she spat, disgusted at the thought of what happened.

"Who was the she-wolf?" I wondered aloud.

"Me."

I shook my head, "Impossible! You are Tyto's blood sibling, how can this be?"

"I was taken from Raven Shadow Pack as a small child, actually I had been born not that long ago, and chained to this very tree. The former Alpha Aitan, and Tyto's biological father, then cut my arms with a silver night and fed me his own blood. Not to long after, the tree was set ablaze." she explained.

"YOU WERE A RAVEN SHADOW SHE-WOLF!!!" I shouted, my eyes widening to saucers.

Yana nodded, "Yes, my parents were the former Beta Visenic and the deceased pack warrior, Eleanora Wendego."

"How did you find all of this out? And more importantly, how do you remember so much of your infancy since you were born not long before the incident?" I questioned.

She shrugged, "I wondered this myself and did some research. I came to the conclusion that a wolf always remembers it's turning, not matter the age. It becomes engraved in their mind and that happens to be the first memory I ever had."

"Why didn't your parents try to find you?"

"Well," she sighed, "My mother had died from giving birth to me and my father didn't want anything to do with me after that, so he willingly offered me when Tyto's father wanted a test subject. When the Alpha took me, the pack believed I was truly the offspring of the Alpha and Luna since she was plump with a pup of her own. Sadly, she had a miscarriage so I was the replacement and perfect specimen to test the change with."

I felt pity for this female standing in front of me and asked"That's awful! Did you do all this research on your own?"

"Yes, I wanted to find out who I was with the horrific memory of the change still in my mind." she confessed, "I came to you because I know what Ulfric is doing and he wants to use the same ceremony performed on me to change himself. I overheard my biological father's phone calls with Ulfric while he was acting as Beta so I want to be of service to you."

I tilted my head for a moment, "But Tyto informed me that your biological father was the one currently mated to his mother, how is that incorrect?"

"Simply because Tyto's memories are confused. He has been beat for so long he only remembers so much of his family. His wolf may have restored all his memories of being Alpha but the memory loss he suffered from cannot be fully recovered so he just filled in the gaps. The truth is, I was there to experience how ruthless his father is and have come to love my adopted mother's second mate as if he were my biological father. I think Tyto just truly wanted to believe I was free from the cruelty he had to endure before I came along." Yana explained.

"So you are coming to me now, because?"

"I want to help you stop Ulfric. I've been through the change so I know what he needs and how to prevent the change. I also don't want my brother to go through anymore hardship than he has already endured, please let me help kill my former pack's Alpha." Yana begged, eyes watering with unshed tears.

I had to think for a moment and calculate the risks I would be getting Yana into by allowing her to help. I finally gave in and nodded, "Alright, but you must listen to everything I say when we are going through with this plan. Tyto has lost one sibling, he doesn't need to lose another, no matter how you are related."

Her eyes brightened and she shook her head yes, "Of course Luna Calixa!"

I chuckled, "Good, now come here. I don't normally do this but I want to... h-hug you."

Yana smiled brightly and quickly embraced me, "Thank you so much, I'll be forever grateful to you."

For once I was happy to have help. Maybe working with someone wouldn't be so bad after all.

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A/N: So how did you like this bombshell of a chapter!? I really like this it a lot, I feel like it makes Yana more of a character and an asset to the story. Tell me what you think and at what parts you were shocked, if any. I would like to know your opinions on these sorts of things! Anyways thanks for reading this chapter and please leave a vote if you liked it and want more.