Wolf Bound

Chapter 34: Black Magic

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I want to start by thanking you for joining me today." Alpha Merrick's voice projected off the walls. "I called for all of you to meet with me in light of recent issues arising concerning the safety of our packs."

There on the projector screen, was what looked to be an Erebus wolf. If I knew anything about Erebus wolves though, I knew that one wasn't normal. In fact, it resembled the wolf I saw the day Vincent and I were attacked—as well as the Erebus wolf Odin described at their last meeting. A red-eyed wolf with darkness around it. I knew that look.

It was about to be devoured by the shadow.

"This is one of the few Erebus wolves that have been witnessed in multiple different pack locations in the past month." Alpha Merrick pointed to the picture before clicking over to the next slide. "What you see here is the Erebus wolf being absorbed by something."

A few gasps could be heard around the room. From all of the shifters who had yet to witness the Erebus wolves and the shadows for themselves, I presumed. Vincent remained still beside me, his eyes zeroing in on the screen as if he'd see something he hadn't before.

"As you all may know, these Erebus wolf sightings have been on the rise lately"—Alpha Merrick continued to yet another slide—"and that is a close-up of what's responsible"

"Do you know what they are?" I recognized Alpha Kai's voice the minute he spoke up.

"Shadows conjured up from black magic." Alpha Merrick's only response. Whispers ensued throughout the room. Beside me, Vincent tensed. I shifted in my seat. We had just discussed the possibilities of magic being involved with Amaury. But black magic? Amaury never said anything about that. That seemed like it was out of our playing field.

That's when I remembered something. At one point, Amaury and I had thought about the possibility of someone conjuring the shadows up. By the sounds of it, that's exactly what Alpha Merrick was confirming. But that left the question of who and why. It made no sense to me.

"I'm sorry, I'm not following. . ." Alpha Kai said, a sliver of caution in his tone.

"My apologies. Allow me to start from the beginning," Alpha Merrick responded, folding his hands behind his back, "how many of you are familiar with old magic?"

"Old magic was wiped out centuries ago, was it not?" Beta Odin chimed in.

"Precisely," said Alpha Merrick. If old magic was wiped out centuries ago, then what the hell was Amaury doing with five spell books of his own? And how did he get a hold of them? As if my thoughts were projecting, Alpha Merrick went on to say, "Or so that's what's been said."

I leaned forward the slightest bit, curling my fingers into my palms. Vincent and I exchanged knowing glances, both of us wondering where the hell he was going with this. And it didn't take long to find out. Alpha Merrick paced the floor in hauntingly slow steps. His gaze was to the ground and his lips were pressed tightly together in a firm line.

Finally, he spoke, "It was believed that magic was harmful and should only be handled by those strong enough and pure enough to control it. It was eventually forbidden in the majority of packs around the globe. But it never fully went off the grid.

"There are still very few alpha's who practice it because it was never banned universally. However, what we're dealing with now . . . is black magic. It took me a bit to figure out, but I realized we were dealing with black magic when I noticed the shadow's habits."

"Could you please elaborate on that, Alpha Merrick?" Vincent, surprisingly, spoke up. His tone held just as much urgency as my thoughts.

Alpha Merrick nodded. "It is very rare for these shadows to be reported in their original forms. They are usually caught latching onto another life source. That leads me to believe that the shadows cannot survive on their own for long periods of time.