Black Moon Curse

Chapter 8: Conjurlas

Calvin’s P.O.V

The very large brown wolf with the golden eyes waited while I transformed into my wolf form and picked up the robe I had been given with my own strong fangs. I loped over to him in three long strides, the wolf bowed his head as if asking me if I was ready and I bowed my head in return. No sooner had my wolf Spirit given the nod that I was ready, then the other wolf spun on his hind legs and raced off. Spirit rushed forward to keep up, the pace was easy, we dashed through the forest and bounded over downed tree limbs and swiftly turned to go around trees and very large boulders in our path. The other wolf and I soon came up on a large embankment with a very steep slope. He continued to lead me along the base of the slope and it eventually curved around into what looked more like a road. There was a short stone wall built to indicate where the side of the pathway was. We followed this path until I could see the small settlement with a very large grand house behind. I still did not know the other wolf's name, but he shifted in the blink of an eye and put the robe on that he had been carrying in his mouth. I quickly followed suit and shifted into human form just as quickly and pulled the robe over myself, covering my nakedness. Even though nudity was pretty standard for werewolves when we were of age, we still maintained some modesty for the younger wolves.

The guardian werewolf beside me was not much of a talker. We walked in silence the rest of the way through the small settlement. The skies were getting darker as the sun was going down and I felt the chill in the air with no sun on my skin to warm it anymore. The homes we passed were mostly quiet, small children could be heard in a few of them. I was led right up the center of a stone path with large trees on each side. This very wide stone path led up to the grand entrance of the house, which had a split staircase that circled up to an upper landing to the double entry doors. The guardian wolf gestured for me to ascend the stairs.

“Right this way, Calvin, The Alpha is waiting for you,” his voice gruff and low.

I ascended the stairs to the large landing overlooking the small settlement we had just passed through. Following the guardian wolf that had led me here. Standing in front of the large double wooden doors to the house was Declan Moore, Alpha to the Harvest Moon Pack. Declan was a broad man with large shoulders and a round belly, he had rust-coloured hair and a beard to match. I could see he had a huge grin on his face as I approached him, he came to me with arms outstretched and pulled me into a hug. After a moment, he pushed me away with a hand on each shoulder, then turned me with his left arm, patting me on the back before resting his arm on my shoulders. I was happy to see him too. It had been a long time since I last saw him.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Calvin Quinn, welcome to Moore Manor, old friend, it is nice to see you again. What brings you to the Harvest Moon Territory this evening? Declan asked me as we walked into the grand house through the large wooden doors that were easily twice as tall as me.

“I've come for help concerning my daughter.” I told him.

“She can’t be that old. When did you and Amelia have a pup?”

“Three days ago,” I said.

“Well, congratulations my friend,” he said with a smile.

"But on the night she was born we had an intruder that cursed her.” I continued.

“ Oh, I see.” Declan said as his smile fell into a concerned frown.

I entered the foyer through the door with Declan. Straight ahead there was a double staircase that led to the second floor and an open balcony overlooking the huge dining hall to my right. If we had gone left around the stairs and down the hall there was a grand kitchen where the cooks prepared the meals and feasts. I followed Declan into the dining hall where there was a polished and shiny massive wooden table with luxurious chairs.

“I’ll have the kitchens bring us some ham and mead, and you can tell me all about it.” he said to me as we sat down together at the table. I told him all about the past three days and the curse.

“So, I’ve come to find out if you have any wolves with powers in your pack or know any trusted witches or wizards.”

“You mean a Conjurla?” he asked me.

“What's a Conjurla?” I asked in return.

“It's the name or designation of a werewolf with powers in a pack. Alpha is your designation; Luna is the designation for the Alpha’s mate and co-pack leader; Beta is the second in command; Conjurla is the magic wolf, and so on till you get to the omegas.” Declan explained.

“Oh, I didn’t realize there was a name for them.” I said in surprise.

Just then, the cooks brought out a plate of food for Declan and I with some mead, and sat it in front of us. I looked up at my server and thanked her, and Declan did the same. The saltiness of the ham with the sweetness of the mead was really good. I savoured the combination of flavours.

“Most don’t know, because they are so rare. I don’t think I’ve ever even met one in my lifetime. I know of them because my great grandfather told me about them. Magic wolves were not as rare a thousand years ago. It wasn't till later, when there was the culling of Conjurlas, that many wolves just saw them as a threat that needed to be removed. A wolf with powers could be dangerous. Not long after that, they were hunted by other werewolves thinking that they would somehow get powers by drinking the blood of a Conjurla. Not surprisingly, if a wolf discovered they were a Conjurla, they didn’t tell anyone.” Declan said.

“Well, that answers that question, so I'm looking for Conjurlas that could help, but most are in hiding, which is not so helpful.” I stated.

“I can send out my beta and a few guardians to search the territory and surrounding area for any hideaways, but I'm pretty sure we don’t have any Conjurlas around here. As for the witches and wizards and the likes of them, I myself don’t trust em.” Declan said to me.

“Thank you for doing a search, I understand about not trusting the magical entities, coming across evil and dark magic does not instill a sense of trust for them.” I acknowledged.

“In the meantime, Calvin, I had the housemaids prepare the guest room for you. You can stay as long as you need,” Declan told me.

“I can't stay long; I don’t want to be away from my family too long and I'll need to keep searching until I find someone with magic to help reverse the effects of the curse.” I said to Declan.

“I completely understand, I'll let you know the report from my beta in the morning,” said Declan. “I’ll show you to your room.”

I followed Declan up the double-wide staircase, and turned left to go down the hallway balcony. I could look over the railing to the dining hall. It was a great view. The doorway at the very end of the hallway was my room.

“See you in the morning Declan,” I said to my old friend before opening the door and heading into my room.

“Sure thing, Calvin,” I heard him respond back before I shut the door.

I was tired from travelling and climbed right into bed and fell asleep.

I woke the next morning and hurried down to the dining hall to see if the Gurdians or the Beta had discovered anything in the Harvest Moon territory.

“Goodmorning, Declan,” I greeted Declen who was sitting at the head of the massive table in the dining room. “Have you heard anything?” I asked him as I sat down at the table with him.

“Yes, unfortunately, we have no one here that can help you. My guardians searched for any signs of Conjurlas but didn’t see any. My Beta questioned all pack members and no one had any information that would be of use to your search. I’m sorry friend, I had hoped to give you better news.” Declan answered my question.

“Thank you for all you have done.” I ate my breakfast and got ready to leave.

“Don’t stay away so long before your next visit, Calvin. You are welcome here anytime.” Declan said to me, as I was getting ready to go out the door.

“I'll do my best,” I said in return, and smiled at him before going out. When I had walked far enough out of the Harvest Moon settlement, I shifted into wolf form, leaving the robe hanging on a tree branch for the guardians to collect and clean. I started to wonder if Sinead knew anything. Being 700 years old, she should know something, and if so, why hadn’t she said anything? I thought more about it as I bounded through the forest back to my own territory.

Amelia’s P.O.V

Calvin would be home soon and I was feeling much better after having our pup. The healing rates were much faster for werewolves than for humans. I would probably still be pretty sore for at least another week, but that was better than it could be. I looked at myself in the mirror on my vanity stand and made sure I looked nice when Calvin got back. My long blond hair was smooth and straight and tied back so it fell nicely to my waist behind my shoulders. I had to keep it back so Adeline wouldn’t get her fingers all tangled in my hair. It had only been two days, but I already missed Calvin. Hopefully he had some good news from the Harvest Moon Pack.

I put Adeline in her longclothes and grabbed a burping cloth and took her down to the great hall to wait for Calvin. I hoped he would be home in time for the evening meal. The kitchens had prepared a nice meal for the pack members that lived in the castle with us. Orla was already in the hall preparing the dining tables with some nice centerpieces.

“Good evening Amelia, it’s nice to see you joining us for the evening meal. I take it you are feeling better?” Orla asked when she saw me.

“Yes, thank you Orla, I’m hoping Calvin will be back soon with good news.” I replied.

Just as the kitchens were bringing out the food to put on the tables, the guardians announced through the mind link that Calvin had returned to the territory. It was great to hear Calvin would be here within the hour.

“I think we should wait to serve the food until he gets here, I said to the kitchen servers.” They nodded and turned to take the food back to the kitchen, most likely to keep it warm until Calvin's arrival. We would normally have eaten sooner but it wouldn’t hurt to wait a little longer.

The hall started to fill with pack members ready to eat. Among them were our betas and their families, some protectors and two guardians, the others had to stay and patrol the perimeter and eat later, and the healers Maggie and Phillip. The youngest in the crowd were starting to get fussy about not having any food yet, but it wouldn’t be long. Just then, Calvin came in through the large front doors of the great hall and I notified the kitchens that they could bring the food out for everyone. I ran to Calvin and gathered him in a hug that I didn’t want to end. Being separate from a mate for anyone for any amount of time was torturous. I kissed him all over his face, and breathed in his scent on his neck, I didn’t care who was looking.

“Come Calvin, sit, eat. Everyone has been waiting for you,” I pulled him to the head of the table and sat next to him.

“Thanks everyone for waiting, let's eat” Calvin said. I'm sure he was hungry after his short journey.

“So do you have good news?” I asked him when everyone started to eat.

“Unfortunately, no, I will have to ask Sinead some more questions though. I’ll go visit her tomorrow to see if she knows anything else.”

“What else could she possibly know about?” I asked Calvin, curious about what the answer would be.

“Well, Declan told me about Conjurlas, which is the designation given to magic wolves. He told me they were more common years ago, and since Sinead is 700, I figured she should know more about them and wondered why she didn’t say anything in the first place.”

“Well then it’s a good idea for you to visit her tomorrow and get some answers to your questions.” I said to him.

We ate the rest of our dinner in silence and went to bed for the night.

Sinead’s P.O.V

It was early in the morning. The Alpha had returned last night. I was cleaning my kitchen and small table because I had learned he would be visiting me today. I wondered what it could be that he wanted to visit me for. Keon had shown him the way since he had escorted me home the other day. He was the only one in the pack that knew where my small cottage was. I heard a knock on the door and knew they had arrived. I walked a short distance to my door and opened it to see Alpha Calvin. He was a large man that filled the doorway.

“Come on in” I said as I backed away to make room for them to come into my home.

“Nice to see you again Sinead, I just have a few questions I'd like to ask you.” Calvin said as he came in.

I directed both of them to the small table where I had fresh baked scones ready. And had fresh butter and jelly to go with them.

“I hope you enjoy these scones. I baked them fresh this morning.” I told Calvin and Keon.

“They smell delicious,” Calvin said.

Calvin and I sat at the table, but Keon stood back against the wall after taking a scone. I only had two chairs in my small kitchen. It was all I had room for. I took a bite of one of my fresh scones, after putting butter and jelly in the center between the halves.

“So, I came because I thought you might have some information about Conjurlas,” Calvin started. I almost choked on my scone when he said it. I coughed a bit and tried to clear my throat. I tried to maintain my composure before he noticed my surprise at what he had said.

“Being that you have been around a while, I thought you would know something. What can you tell me about them?” He looked at me as if I had all the answers in the world.

“Most people don’t know about Conjurlas anymore,” Sinead said. “What exactly do you want to know?”

“Everything, and why you didn't tell me about them sooner.” he said in response.

“Alright, firstly, yes I know about Conjurlas, and yes, I knew some. To tell you everything I have to go way back and some of it I have been trying to forget for hundreds of years. When I was young, almost every pack had at least one Conjurla. Mind you, there weren't as many packs back then, but there were enough. Conjurla power was strong and different than witch or wizard magic, but similar in many ways. I had a friend who was a Conjurla. Her name was Niamh. She didn’t know she would be a Conjurla until she turned eighteen, when her wolf joined her and brought the powers that a Conjurla has. We were so excited about it; at that time, it was treasured. Many years went by and she grew older and we discovered her grand-daughter was a Conjurla too. They had helped so many other wolves. They were good ones. A couple of bad Conjurlas got into the mix and caused some problems in other packs and things soon turned bad. Eventually, there was an order from all the Alphas for all Conjurlas to be killed to reduce the danger of them using their powers for evil purposes. Niamh was 88 when they killed her and all she had ever done was help people her entire life. Her grand-daughter Oonagh was only 45 when they killed her. They killed Oonagh’s daughter, who wasn’t even a Conjurla. They were hoping to cut off the possibility of another one being born. What they didn’t know was that she had already had a baby and I had hidden her away. I raised her as my own. When she turned eighteen, we discovered that she too was a Conjurla. I taught her that she needed to hide her powers and not to tell anyone about them. We did good at hiding it and no one suspected her. She found her mate and had her own little boy and we thought the danger had passed. Conjurlas weren’t being killed anymore just to reduce the population of them, but we didn’t dare tell anyone anyway just in case.”

I stopped for a moment, thinking back to when it had happened. I had been blocking the memories out for so long and now I was reliving them.

“That is awful what happened, it’s hard to imagine how that must have been for you.” Calvin said to me.

I got up and walked over to the small window in my kitchen looking out into the distance, bracing myself to tell him the rest.

“It gets worse” I said.