Fated | The Heir of the She-Wolf

Chapter 29

Chapter 29

[Eleanor]

“Hey, Carla, you going back to the Tower?”, I shouted as Carla was getting in her car while I was exiting the hotel after saying goodbye to Jia.

Carla turned around and waved at me, her perfect strawberry blonde hair waving in the air behind her as November had brought nothing but strong winds.

“I am. You need a ride?”, she asked and I nodded.

“Yes, please. I could use a girls-only ride.”, I chuckled and she opened the door to the backseat where I threw my luggage bag and my purse.

“Hop in. How are you feeling?”, she asked while I sat in the passenger seat.

“Good. I’m feeling alright. Even better than before, but that is something else I wanted to ask you.”

Carla started the car and drove off, leaving the settlement behind. Finally, I thought to myself and exhaled while making myself comfortable.

“But before anything, I wanted to thank you. For everything you did for me yesterday. Like really, thank you. I owe you.”, I said to Carla and she smiled in response.

“No need to thank me. There is no way I would leave anyone if I have some chance to help them.”, she replied and I could not help but wonder if the ice cold arrogant Clara I saw every day in the Tower was just a façade.

To add to her nasty attitude which I disliked her for, I also knew she was Valerio’s mistress. I had found out that one evening a little over a month ago when I saw her going up to his chambers in the middle of the night. And (I was embarrassed to admit that even to myself) I was feeling jealous.

But now I saw Clara in a different light. Or maybe she was not who I thought she was altogether?

“Can I ask you something? You don’t have to answer me if it’s inappropriate.”, I said while realizing that regardless of what she had done for the previous night, she was still the freaking leader of the Magi clan and I was obliged to show her respect.

“Ask ahead. And I’ll see if I can answer.”, she said and waited for me to continue.

“When I see you in the Tower after the High Council meetings, you seem… different.”, I started but paused as I was unsure how to tell her she looked like a complete b***h without actually insulting her. “You seem… um, never mind, forget it.”

“I seem cold and arrogant and with an attitude that can bring the world down?”, Clara finished my thought for me and laughed.

“Yeah, exactly.”, I said and burst into laughter too.

“Well, thanks for trying to be polite.”, Clara smiled and took in a deep breath. “I know you are new into our whole world even though you knew you were a sorcerer for a long time. But it is important to know that the peace between the different clans is something we did not have for a very long time. And for us, the leaders of the Clans, is important to look… powerful. To look like we are the kind of people you can trust and rely to take care of every mess before it becomes another war we cannot afford to have.”

I stayed silent while tons of questions formed in my head.

“How long have you been the leader of the Magi?”, I asked.

“About seventy years now. From long before Valerio became the King of Clans.”, Clara replied and I found myself shocked. I still found it confusing how everyone seemed so young but were yet so old.

“I am actually a relatively young Leader, you see. And Valerio is an even younger King although you would never tell by the way he rules. Anyway, our abilities and our strength have been tested so many times for so long that the mask we put on to look intimidating and untouchable at some point just sticks to us like a skin. We might forget who we were before we became Leaders because we had to act like Leaders every single day.”

“I see. And it makes sense, too. I guess I just never looked at it that way.”, I responded and could not help but wonder if Valerio was a d**k just because he was used to acting like one every minute of every day. But then again I had seen glimpses of him acting normal, somewhat approachable… and kind.

I shook the thoughts away and reminded myself that for the majority of the time since we knew each other, Valerio either acted like a possessive psycho, or ignored me completely, or kissed me without permission.

“My turn now. And you don’t have to reply if you don’t want to, either.”, Carla said and I looked at her confused. “What’s up between you and Valerio?”

I blushed and turned uncomfortably in my seat.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Apart from the fact that I have seen mainly the bad sides of his personality, I am nothing more but a guest in the Tower until I am able to transform fully.”, I responded but saw Carla drawing a tiny smile as if she knew I was lying.

“If you say so. Just remind him that the next time he offers you to feed on him.”

“What do you mean?”, I raised my body in the seat as I felt that something big was kept from me and I had no idea what it was.

“I keep forgetting just how new you are to all of this.”, Carla turned to me and sighed. “Feeding on another Ferus or another Triad is… deeply intimate.”

I gasped and urged her to continue.

“You really didn’t know! Wow!”, Carla tried her best to not laugh out loud. “It is more intimate than… you know, being intimate.”

“You have to be kidding, right? So I had something more than s*x without knowing it?! How could he do something like this, how could he not tell me?”, I said with my voice raising higher and higher with every word.

“Ah, this I don’t know. You will have to ask Valerio. But I guess it has something to do with the prophecy.”, Carla continued but her expression froze as she saw the shock in my face. “Which is again something you didn’t know about.”, she murmured.

“What prophecy are you talking about? Are these even real?”, I asked.

“There are very few people in the entire world that can deliver prophecies. They are a special type of Magi and are called Readers. I don’t know the details about the prophecy Valerio has received, it is just that Lorenzo mentioned something while you were asleep.”

“At this point, I just prefer not to know.”, I mumbled and placed the tips of my fingers on the sides of my forehead.

I felt like I was going to explode.

“Can you put me in a sleeping spell again and never wake me up?”, I growled under my breath causing Clara to laugh again.

“Eleanor.”, she called my name and I looked at her. “You are a strong young woman. In less than twenty three years you have endured more than many Triads have endured in decades. Give yourself some more credit, after all, apart from all the bad news you received lately, you have a reason to celebrate.”

“Yeah, and what is that?”, I asked unconvinced.

“You found your wolf! And now all you have to do is transform in order to fully claim her!”, Clara exclaimed which reminded me of something else I wanted to ask her.

“By the way, I found my she-wolf while I was under the sleeping spell. Is that something we can try on Vanessa as well?”

“Hm… we could try. But I wouldn’t get my hopes up. At this point, we are all preparing for the worst.”

I did not say anything in response. Instead, I leaned back in the car seat and stared outside the window where beautiful forests were laying in an endless ocean of green.

Before I knew it, I fell asleep and dreamed of unspeakable terrors I did not remember when I woke up.