23 hours later...Budapest, Hungary
Aurora
The early morning chill crept quietly as dawn broke over the city, bathing its sky and the river below in a lovely orange. The still-sleeping city was peaceful, save for the few early risers that had already begun their day. I glanced over at the Danube as the car drove past, the gentle waves appearing serene and calm, unlike my mind that remained troubled by the events that transpired in Portland.
After centuries of chasing so-called promising leads, countless hours spent on mapping search areas and tracking spells that repeatedly let us down... we had finally struck gold.
Mia Sutherland... My find was unexpected as much as it was triumphant.
When rumours had first begun to circulate that a human had been blessed with a mate bond, our coven had taken a keen interest. Such a thing was unheard-of, as the last recorded human-shifter pairing died centuries ago and such a gift was never bestowed upon another human ever since. So why now? And why her?
Such questions had at first piqued my curiosity in the human but unlike the rest of my coven, I was cautious about feeling too optimistic given the number of failures that we had faced throughout the centuries.
But for once, the rumours had proven true.
My hands shook slightly as the enormity of this find began to sink in. Who would have thought that out of all the other members in our coven, spanning over centuries of tireless searching, that I would be the one to succeed. That I would be the one to fulfill the blood oath; one that our great ancestor swore upon hundreds of years ago and the pursuit of which had irrevocably changed the course of history for humans, witches and shifters alike.
Such a feat would...should be celebrated but the glorious sense of victory was now replaced with a feeling of unease. It did seem extremely odd that the person marked by the dark forces of fate as the vessel, was also the same person touched by the hand of the Moon Goddess.
Coincidence or design? Was there something more to this?
I almost scoffed out loud at the absurdity of that question. Everything about this was unchartered territory and the sheer magnitude of the consequences was a big unknown. And yet, here we all were, proceeding blindly with the hope that everything would turn out alright in the end.
Suppressing a tired sigh, I looked outside the window once again and watched as the number of buildings began to dwindle as we made our way out of the city. Thoughts churned away inside my mind, keeping me occupied as the hours passed and our destination finally came into view. Tugging the coat closer to my body, I took a deep breath just as the car pulled to a stop.
The chauffeur stepped out before making his way to my door and holding it open. Shaking off the last remnants of uncertainty, I adjusted the scarf around my neck and stepped out.
"Köszönöm" (thank you).
The chauffeur bowed his head in response before moving to retrieve my bags out of the trunk. Leaving him to it, I glanced at the massive house, taking it all in. The place was ancient, its structural integrity questionable with its peeling paint, broken walls and the invasive ivy that had gone unchecked. But nonetheless, it was still home. And after having spent an interminable amount of time on the road, hopping between continents, the sight of the decrepit building was a welcome one.
Making my way to the front door, I felt the slight tingle of the protection spell as I crossed it, the large door swinging open immediately to allow me through. I turned in the direction of the study, my pulse racing as I set a brisk pace towards it. The house remained deathly silent except for the echoing sound of my hurried footsteps which bounced off the walls in an oddly eerie way.
I slowed down as I neared the study. The door was wide open, the room haloed by the glow of the morning light which streamed in through the tall windows on the far side of the room. Our coven leader and my mother - Sabine von Abendroth sat at her desk, her pen sliding gracefully along the page as she wrote something in her book. I stilled for a moment, the sense of unease returning to my gut as I second-guessed my decision.
But before I could announce myself, her soft voice carried across the room like a breeze. "Well? Don't just stand there... Come in..."
She continued to write, never once glancing in my direction as I hesitated in the doorway. Being one of the most powerful witches of our time, our leader had a reputation for being relentless when it came to something she wanted. She let nothing stand in her way and I wasn't one bit surprised that it was under her reign that our coven would finally find its feet.
"Was the trip worth our time or were we led astray once again?"
I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. "Yes, it was...I've found her."
The scratching sound of the pen stopped for a heartbeat before picking up again. "Are you certain?"
I swallowed anxiously, part from excitement and part from dread. "Yes"
She looked up then, her eyes studying me curiously as she placed her pen down on the table and gracefully stood up. "Show me"
Reflexively, I raised my arms and held them out. The binding spell that I had placed on Mia glowed a bright blue within my palms, connecting me to the human that was now hundreds of miles away from here. I watched nervously as our coven leader made her way towards me, her eyes fixed on the glowing light in my arms. Her face held no emotion, something I had grown used to over the years even though as a child I had longed to see her smile or offer a friendly glance in my direction. But our leader...my mother...wasn't one to indulge in emotions.
Shaking that feeling away, I braced myself as her soft hands slipped into mine and held firmly. The electricity surged between us immediately, linking our minds to allow the thoughts and memories to flow freely. Flashes of my interaction with Mia came charging forward; her sadness, confusion and fear, her desperate look of hope when she thought I could help... I winced internally at that particular memory. That look on her face had been hard to see...
I grit my teeth as our coven leader sifted through my memories. No witch or warlock would willingly subject themselves to such a process. It was not only painful but a powerful witch like my mother could permanently warp memories or destroy the mind altogether. I winced as she found what she was looking for and honed in.
Quickly, the memories shifted... Mia being kidnapped and brought into the Portland pack... her horror at learning about the shifter world and her fated mates... Mia being subjected to their sadistic cruelty...I felt the anger rise within myself on her behalf. How could these dogs call themselves her mate and treat her with such vindictive callousness?!
But these memories soon faded and gave away to other events and people in her adult life. Her job, her friends, lovers and others she had left behind. Her hopes and dreams and all her struggles that had made her into the woman she was today... A sadness descended in my heart as I watched her life flash before my eyes. There wasn't a lot of happiness there...just regrets and heartbreak...
The memories morphed once again and moved onto a little girl with big green eyes and an even bigger heart. Mia as a young child appeared gentle and kind.
This time however, I had to clench my hands tightly in order not to rip them away. These memories were grotesque, horror-inducing and downright sickening.
Her stepfather beating her senseless, calling her names and locking the little girl in a cupboard when she wouldn't stop crying...That very same man leaning on top of her and violating her small body while she screamed and begged for him to stop...Mia running to her stepmother for help and comfort but only for the wretched woman to call her a liar and a whore...
I felt physically ill by the things I was seeing but before I could wrench my hands away to stop the disgusting images from replaying in my mind, they shifted once again. But instead of skimming the surface, the spell now pulled us both deeper... into her very soul.
At first, there was an indescribable feeling of being weightless, almost euphoric, as we felt the bright glow of the mate bond entwined within Mia's soul itself. Covens across the world had tried to replicate the effects of the bond since time unknown but failed repeatedly. At best, we witches could manipulate it but never destroy or create it. This....this was the ultimate work of the divine. Something that was beyond the grasp of mere mortals, both man and witches alike.
As we dove deeper, the glow began to recede. The light grew dimmer as a darkness took hold. And just as I sensed it, my body went instantly rigid and unbelievably cold.
A foreboding darkness lay in her depths, devoid of light, warmth and life. It felt suffocating, like my life force was slowly being drained out of my body in one long breath. Our conjoined hands shook, the blue light that held us together slowly turned bright red. The very air around us changed, the smell of rot and burning flesh grew thick in my nostrils as we finally felt the creature stir.
It was unlike any wolf that we had seen. Broken, twisted and corrupted by dark magic, this creature was death itself. It opened its eyes; a deep scarlet red and stared back at us. In that moment, it felt like the world was set ablaze, all the life sapped from it in a heartbeat, leaving behind nothing but an eternal dark oblivion.
A scream erupted from my throat as we were both blasted off our feet and propelled backwards, away from each other. My whole body felt like it was on fire, the smell of burnt flesh permeating the room as whisps of black smoke rose from the spot that we had been standing only a moment ago.
I gasped in pain, my body screaming in agony as I writhed helplessly on the floor. But above the sound of my own voice, I heard our coven leader whisper an incantation, her own groans of pain clearly audible in her voice.
The pain suddenly stopped, my senses returning all at once as I lay panting on the floor.
"Aurora...are you alright?"
Unable to coax my lungs to give a response, I continued lying there, staring at the ceiling blankly as the feeling of dread descended. My gut screamed that something wasn't right. That what we thought we were dealing with was much more...so much more.
I felt arms reach around me gently and begin to lift me off the floor. My body sagged due to an acute lack of energy that I was suddenly feeling.
"Look at me..."
I struggled to focus my eyes for an instant but when I did, a broad smile greeted my vision. Our coven leader's eyes shone brightly, almost with a manic gleam while her lips stretched far into her cheeks as she vibrated with excitement.
"You've done it, Aurora! You've found the vessel... I cannot believe this!" A maniacal laugh left her lips as she shook my shoulders, trying to encourage the same reaction out of me. But all I could was stare.
Did she not witness the same thing I did?
She let go of me suddenly and turned towards her desk. She began to collect the paperwork and arrange them neatly all the while mumbling a to-do list under her breath in a feverish tone. "...we would need to contact the others...make sure they are ready...will need to look at the chart for the next celestial event...need to check the spell again...get the girl as well..."
I watched her talk to herself and laugh in between her sentences like she had lost her mind. My uncertainty only grew the more excited she got. "Coven leader....", I began tentatively to get her attention.
When she failed to acknowledge me, I tried again, but this time with a different tactic. "Mother..."
She stopped mid-way from searching her drawers and looked up. The crazed look was still present but when she made eye contact, she seemed to calm down. "I know you're worried my child but don't be. This is the greatest day of our lives! A day of celebration for our coven. And it's all because of you... I'm so proud of you...daughter..."
For the first time in my adult life, my mother looked at me with pride and approval in her eyes. Needless to say, I was stunned momentarily as she continued to talk.
"...this is what our coven has been searching for, for almost six centuries! And our names will go down in history...my daughter...Our coven will no longer be the outcasts... we will be all powerful and nothing will stop us then..."
She laughed hysterically, looking immensely pleased as she went back to riffling through pages in her book.
"Mother...I have a bad feeling about this. Do we even know what that creature is capable off? Or why it has remained silent for so long?..."
Now that I had finally found my voice, I felt a floodgate of questions burst through my mind. "...how come we could not track it? Or even sense it? Why was this particular human chosen to have a mate bond ...? There are just too many unknows here-"
"Shhh...shhh...shh... Calm down Aurora."
Leaving her frenzied search behind, she came towards me and took hold of my arms. "I know you're worried but you really don't have to be."
I did not feel convinced and I assumed that translated through my look as she gave a long sigh. "When our great ancestor, Agna, cast the spell to save the wolf of the shifter woman mated to the three Lycan brothers almost six hundred years ago, she knew she was directly going against the Moon Goddess. And the fact that this human that you've found possesses a mate bond and is also the vessel, proves that the Goddess still intends to win. Let's just say this is her one last ditch effort to claim that soul. Clever...but useless. That soul is completely claimed by the darkness...you sensed it...didn't you daughter?"
I gulped down the sick feeling that threatened to bubble up from my throat. "I don't know what I sensed. All I know is that whatever this is, it's far more than what we can handle."
She smiled kindly at my response. "You don't give yourself enough credit. That is your problem. How about this? We'll sit down in the coming days and discuss all these concerns you have because right now, you need to make the necessary arrangements. We shall not wait any longer."
But I felt like I wasn't finished with my questions. "Does that mean that Mia is a shifter? And...and what about her mates? She'll be marked by the time we get to her. The next celestial event is not for another ten months or so and if we-"
"This human woman is just that – human. She is merely the vessel; carrying a very precious cargo. One that will liberate us from our oath and bestow upon us the ultimate power of immortality. And as for her mates..."
She waved her hand dismissively. "Nothing we can't handle. Now, you must go at once and gather the coven. Organise our travel to Oslo and let the monastery know of our arrival-"
A strong feeling of frustration overcame me in that instant. "So we just leave her to her fate then?"
My mother took a moment to consider me before smiling with resigned understanding. "Her fate was sealed a long time ago. She is but a mere pawn in this game and such is the life of humans...." She paused for a second before turning back to her things once again. "...now you have a job to do daughter...let the coven know that we have found the girl...."
Looking back up, she stared at me, a look of set determination crossing her face. "...and that it is time to wake the three Lycan brothers from their spell and reunite them with their long-lost mate...."
End of Book 1....