Chapter 3
A L D R I C
"Beta Aldric. There's a problem." It was Lucius, my second in command.
"I have to go back to see Ella. You can tell me later."
Ella's weak form comes to my mind. My little sister had nearly died. She had been captured and tortured and I wasn't able to stop it. I tried to ignore the boulder that sat on my chest. I promised myself that I wouldn't let a witch ever get her hands on the people I loved. I had failed but I was going to make sure I never fail again.
The witches of the village were going to have a storm come after them. Every single one of them was going to beg forgiveness. Ella's back was sliced and she had been crying and screaming for what felt like days. I had finally left the infirmary. If I heard her in pain again, I was going to end up setting the whole village on fire. But the wolves say she's live. She'll be okay. They told me to be patient.
I wanted to laugh in their faces. When have I ever been patient?
The witches bought a war to their home. They will never be forgiven.
"Beta. There's a witch in our woods," Lucius said. His voice was shaking, almost as if he was terrified. But Lucius wasn't a coward. Normally, he knew the drill. If a witch was stupid enough to come into this deep in the Woods, she would be dead.
"Kill her. It's not that hard, Lucius," I answered.
"Beta - I would have. But her scent is the same as the cloak Ella came back in."
Cloak. Ella was wearing a burgundy velvet cloak around her body when the wolves saw her. She had been in her wolf form and it was obvious she had run a long distance. But the second she saw me, she fell back and transformed back into the human form. To see that she was alive - to know that she was breathing - For the first time in my life, I felt my rage rest back into my body.
But that cloak. Everything on that cloak smelled wrong. The second I had its scent, my wolf thought - mate. Except that was impossible. That burgundy cloak belonged to a witch. There was magic coated on every inch of that cloak. I could smell the magic. But I could smell the strange scent that almost brought me to my knees. The witch must have charmed it. She must have hexed the cloak.
"Bring her to me right now."
_
Mate.
If it was possible for my breathing to stop, I think for a second, it did.
Control.
Control.
The second I meet her eyes, the dark brown eyes, my wolf cried out inside. I couldn't stop staring at her. She had an angular face, brown skin, large brown eyes, full lips. Her hair was a mess and she was shivering uncontrollably. I could feel her body shaking. To me, she was the most beautiful woman to walk the realm.
But her body looked so weak. The color was out of her eyes. Her dress was soaked and stuck to her body, showing every curve. I could see the fear in her eyes. At the same time, I could see her strength. With each step, she was trying to escape. She had been yelling and screaming. Lucius held her roughly and I had every intention of pushing him away before I caught her scent.
She was a witch.
That was impossible.
She wasn't supposed to be real.
This was some magic trick.
"Let me go!" she hissed at Lucius. "I'm not going to hurt anyone!"
Lucius pulled her harder and I saw her arm turn red. A couple of other wolves followed Lucius. They stared at the witch and then back at me for instruction. They were patrol wolves: Janice, Leo, Evangeline, Jaxon, and Mardin; they were in charge of watching our territory and secure the boundaries of the Woods. I nodded to them in acknowledgement and turned my attention back to the witch. I almost crushed my fingers in an attempt to keep myself still.
She wasn't my mate.
I was not kind to witches. I was not soft with witches. I was not forgiving. Lucius threw her in my direction.
"Don't worry, I already put the Maji necklace on her. She can't use any magic."
I saw the red ruby on her necklace. Werewolves had their own ways to control witches. If we didn't, we would have lost this war a long time ago. The necklace on her neck - made from the ruby stone and coaxed in the moon's magic - stopped a witch from performing any magic she wanted to. When she looked back up, I couldn't move.
Mate. My wolf yelled.
Mate.
No. That's not possible.
She wasn't supposed to exist.
Mate.
I smelt the magic in her blood. It was alluring, it was pulling.
Magic. That wrench was doing magic to me. But she can't?
The ruby wasn't working, I decided.
I don't have a mate.
I'm not supposed to have a mate.
"Get the truth potion," I told Lucius immediately.
I watched his eyebrows scrunched together but he nodded. He knew better than to question my authority. Then, without stopping, I pulled her off the ground. The very moment I touched her, I knew it was true.
She was my mate. She was mine. The touch was so powerful, I felt the electrification. I could feel my hand seeping into her arm.
My wolf called out to her.
No.
It's not possible.
It's a trick.
"Please. Let me go! I don't mean any harm!" She cried. Even her voice called out to my heart. "Please."
I pulled her along anyway. The wolves in my pack watched the interaction. They could smell the magic in her blood but they could also sense her anger. I had to take her to a private place. The only thing that came to my mind was the prisons in the Dungeon my father built for witches years ago.
She was going to tell me what kind of magic she was doing to me. She was going to tell me how she was able to trick my wolf into believing she was my mate.
"Beta Aldric. Should we come along? Do you need anything else?" Jaxon, one of the wolves who came with Lucius asked.
"No. Go back into the woods. See if there are any other witches around. Keep the patrols going. Meanwhile, she is going to tell me what they did to Ella."
"Yes." Jaxon and the other patrol wolves nodded. They placed a fist on their chests at the same time - the sign of respect and order of our pack.
It didn't take me long to reach the dungeon. I pulled her down the stairs. Physically, this girl had no power. I could lift her easily. Magic was probably the only reason she was alive. I almost feared that if I pulled her too hard she would break.
But I knew she was stronger than she led down. Her eyes were like coal. There was a fire burning deep within them. I could sense it. I ignored every urge in my body to be nicer to her. I fought against the need to keep her warm. I fought against the need to kiss her, to make her mine this very moment.
Don't you ever forget what they did to this pack.
Don't you ever forget what they did to your mother.
Don't you ever forget what they did to Ella.
Don't you ever forget what they did to you.
My blood was pumping again; I could feel the anger rise. Who did she think she was? What kind of trick did she want to play? Was this another version of torture by the witches? I despised every single one of them and each mistake they made, each crime was more unforgivable than the one before.
"Let. Me. Go!" She screamed again. This time, I felt her leg rise until it pushed against my spine.
I turned back furiously.
"Stop struggling. It won't do anything. You walked into wolf territory. You walked into my land."
"I didn't mean to! I was trying to find someplace -" Her voice entered my ears like a melody. She was hexing me this very moment. I stared at the Maji necklace on her neck. It stopped magic for all witches. It worked on the High Priestesses, High Witches, every single witch.
She must be the most powerful, I decided. She's only pretending to be weak and innocent. Only the Moon Goddess creates mates and this witch was able to convince me that she was mine. I wanted to laugh. What kind of cruel trick was this?
"Stop talking," I demanded.
"No. You're taking me to a prison and you're asking me to not defend myself!"
It took every single bit of my strength to not strangle her. I stared at her in frustration and she stared right into my eyes.
Mate. My wolf called. She's our mate.
No. She's a witch.
I pulled her until we had reached the prison. She struggled again and cried out in pain when I shoved her inside. I watched her lose her balance as she was standing up and collapse on the ground. She was shivering in the cold.
I imagined hugging her to give her warmth. I wanted to look away so I couldn't see her body shaking in the cold. I wanted to ignore the way she took deep breaths when she got too scared. I managed enough strength to lock the prison door instead.
"The truth is son - I don't know how to tell you this - but when you were born - you were cursed. A witch named Heera - The High Priestess of all witches, I should say - cursed you the moment you were born. She burst through the Woods and arrived before your mother could even hold you in her arms. The curse hit you before the moonlight did." My father's voice echoed in my ears.
"How did the witch curse me, father?" I asked.
"She took away everything the moment the spell hit you as a baby."
"Can you just tell me what she did?" I snapped.
"Son, you're fated without a mate. You will never have a mate. You will never have a real Luna by your side."
"What do you mean? Every wolf in the universe that has ever lived has had a mate!" I had yelled.
"Except you."
When my father looked down, I knew it was true.
Then, I stare back at her.
Mate.
"Why do you keep looking at me like that? I'm not a monster!" she asked between her quivering teeth.
"What magic are you performing right now?" I hissed.
"What - what are you talking about? I can't do magic." She managed between her quivering teeth. She then pointed to the red ruby around her neck. "You put me under Maji."
I stared at her again, trying to control my wolf. She's using a trick. Don't fall for it.
"Are you going to kill me?" She finally asked. Her voice had become a whisper and for once, she was looking down.
"Yes," I answered.
"Can you make it quick then?" This time, her eyes did meet mine and I could see the water in them. I suddenly realized she wasn't afraid. She was terrified; she was just awfully good at showing she wasn't.
"No. I will give you the slowest, most painful death. I will give you a death that will make you regret being alive."
I watched her as she pushed herself further back into the wall. The fear in her eyes truly escalated. She wasn't hiding it anymore. At the same moment, Lucius walked straight into the Dungeon and before me. He handed me the tiny bottle. It was the truth potion and no matter what she did, she couldn't resist speaking the truth.
"The wolves of the pack want to know what's going on. They want to know who she is."
"We'll find out," I answered.
I opened the prison door and walked toward her. Almost out of instinct, she seemed to step back. That was until she fell back down again. When I look down, I see her boots, untied and the bottom of her dress ripped and torn to shreds.
If I did have a mate, I had one that couldn't walk properly.
I bend down slightly and took her chin in my hands. The feeling was indescribable. I wonder if Lucius could tell how hard it for me. Each touch felt a thousand volts of electricity straight to my chest.
Could she feel it? In her eyes, I saw nothing. This time, just fear. Did she know whatever she was doing to me, it was beyond cruel?
Focus. Put yourself in control. My wolf didn't agree. In the back of my head, he craved her so much. It took all of my strength to push him back.
"Is that poison?" She asked slowly.
"Yes." I lied.
"I don't want to die."
"You want those to be your last words?"
Before she could respond, I had already pressed the potion bottle to her lips. She resisted immediately, crying out and her hands trying to push me away. But it was too late. The truth potion was already in her. I knew I gave her too much, far more than I should have. But I also didn't trust her. I knew she was powerful. How else could my wolf believe he was her mate? I didn't even believe it was possible for wolves to be mated to witches. It was a trick.
"Go - to hell!" she hissed in between the gulps of the potion.
I glared at her. She didn't know what those words truly meant.
"I wanted those to be my last words." The witch snapped at me.
I hated her. I despise her completely. She was impossible. She was a little girl lost if anything. Lucius stepped into the prison with me and stared at her. Then at me. He seemed confused and amused at the same time.
"What's your name?" He demanded.
"Elysia." She answered.
Elysia. Elysia. My mind repeated the name to what needed like a hundred times. Stop. Mate. Mate.
"How old are you?" Lucius asked.
"Truth potion." She said instead. "You didn't poison me."
"How old are you?" Lucius demanded.
"Nineteen."
"What do you want?" I snapped.
"I want to live." She said.
"What do you want with this pack?"
"Nothing. I just want to live."
"What magic are you performing right now?"
"I'm not."
"What magic have you performed against the wolves in this pack? On me?"
"No magic."
She's lying. She's lying. She has to be lying. She can't lie. There's a truth potion. I gave her more than necessary.
"Who am I to you?"
"I don't know you."
"Aldric - is there something wrong? Do you believe she did something?"
In the next moment, I see Nyra enter. Nyra was an older wolf from the back. She was in her mid-thirties and practically family. She's behind me and in her hands is the red, satin burgundy cloak. It's her cloak. I know it is the witch's cloak. The scent is the same. That means...what if she was the witch that hurt my sister? What if she was the one that hurt her with the sword?
"Is that your cloak?" I hissed.
"Yes."
Before I could stop myself I had pushed her against the wall. She cried out. "Stop!"
"What did you do to my sister?" I hissed. This time, my hands were around her throat. I didn't care about the electricity in my fingertips or the fear in her eyes. All I remembered was Ella's dying body in arms. Her crying. My little sister was thirteen and witches were cruel enough to torture her. I saw her back. I heard her scream. Ella was wearing her cloak. She was in my hands.
"Aldric - " Lucius called beside me.
"Did you torture her? Are you the witch that sliced half her body with a sword?" I yelled.
Against me, Elysia was struggling. "No!"
Her hands caught up to her throat and for a second they pressed against mine. I let go. Her touch was worse. It was so much worse. I wanted to hold those hands. I wanted to feel their warmth. I let go. She began to breathe calmly. Then she looked at me. Her body was shaking and I knew it wasn't just from the cold this time. She was beyond terrified.
"A little girl. She was hurt - That's your sister?" She cried, breathing heavily.
It took all of my self-control to strangle her again. "Tell me what happened to her or I swear to all the Gods, I will make you live a life where you wish you were dead every single second."
"I didn't harm her. She was under Svesta - I saved her from the Svesta curse!"
Svesta. The torture curse. The incurable torture curse. The one that gave the most painful, slow death to wolves.
"Who did that to her in the first place? Was it you?" I hissed. "Are you not a witch of the Mae Coven?"
"The witches of the Mae Coven." She answered. "And no - I'm not a Mae Coven witch. They never accepted me."
"I asked who, in specific."
Control yourself. Control. Stop it.
"I don't know who!"
"But you saw her tortured. And you did nothing. You saw them torture her. You saw them curse a little girl with Svesta and you did nothing!" I was yelling now. My voice was dangerously loud. It was dangerously fierce. This was the voice I used in war battles against enemies. I saw the tears stream down her face. I couldn't do it anymore. I stepped back.
I hated her.
"I didn't know!" she cried back.
"Lucius. I don't care if she rots her for the rest of her life. Let her die here!"
"Please. Listen to me! I undid Svesta -" She told me.
"You should've stopped it from happening in the first place!" I snapped and left the prison.
//
above is an image of how I picture aldric!! I don't know the name of the model so im just going to keep it like this. But thank u for reading!! And vote // comment!!