Fated | The Heir of the She-Wolf

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

|VALERIO|

I woke up on the next morning with tightness in my chest I could not explain. Turning to look at the clock on the nightstand next to my bed, I saw it was six thirty in the morning. I was usually expected dressed and ready for the High Council at eight, which left me with an hour and a half to myself.

I got out of bed and went to the living room. Matilda had already prepared a hot pot of coffee and left it on the dining table. Sometimes I wondered if this woman ever slept.

I knew Matilda for almost fifty years now. I was not yet crowned King, when I was doing a round of visitations around the different settlements of the Clans. Matilda was a Lupus, but after the tragic loss of her son and daughter she had lost connection to her wolf spirit and was unable to transform. She was treated poorly by the other Lupi in her settlement, and I had invited her to join me in the castle as a caretaker.

In our world it was extremely rare to lose this link, and I wondered if this is what happened to Eleanor and it was the reason she had not yet fully evolved and reached maturity.

Lupi, Feri and Magi would begin their transformations around the age of twelve, when the first signs of their supernatural nature would show. For Lupi, it was the rapid physical growth and strength, for Feri it was the speed and the first signs of thirst for blood, and for Magi – the connection with nature and the surrounding mists of energy. All three kinds would age normally until their twenty third year, when the aging would rapidly slow and eventually stop.

Triads, on the other hand, were meant to unlock all three sides of their supernatural potential. In early teenage years, a Triad child would start revealing their Magi and Feri sides.

But if consuming blood was essential for the survival and power of a Ferus, it was not for a Triad. Releasing the wolf spirit was what would finalize the transition into a Triad and if it was not completed by the twenty third year, the Triad would die. Usually Triads were able to unlock their wolf before reaching their twentieth year and this is when their Magi side would start being suppressed. It would never cease to exist, but it would not have the ability to further develop and grow.

A jolt of worry passed through my body as I realized Eleanor must have been born about twenty two years ago, and she had not yet released and merged with her wolf side.

After taking a quick shower, I went out in the vast garden surrounding the Tower and the courtyard in the hopes that a run would clear my head.

The chilly September air was brushing against my skin as I was running as fast I could through the garden alleys. My senses were more heightened than usual and I could see every orange and red leaf fallen on the ground as autumn was already here. I could hear the morning songs of the birds in the trees above me and smell the freshness of the grass.

But none of that managed to scare away the fear that Eleanor was going to die in a few months, unless she fully transformed into a Triad.

…..

Stepping into the High Council room on the eighteenth floor of the Tower, I took my central place at the long oval table. All nine council members, three of each clan, were already seated.

“You are late, sir.”, Augustine said while I was taking my seat.

By tradition, the king of Clans was a Triad – the first born coming from the mythical first Triad line. History had seen many kings come and fall, and while all clans were blessed with immortality, they were not immune to destruction, especially in times of war.

“I can see that, Augustine. But I believe one minute past eight is still a good time to start today’s High Council meeting. Report.”, I said to Augustine, the leader of the Lupi.

Augustine licked his lips and started.

“There have been reports of pressure between two settlements in the North – Lupi and Magi are having… disagreements.”

“What for?”, I asked.

“A piece of free land. The Magi claim it’s theirs by birth right.”

“And is that so?”

“They are unable to provide proof of this. The Lupi have started building on the land after getting permissions from the human authorities.”

“Carla, do you have more information about this?”, I turned to Carla Ducray, the leader of the Magi clan.

“I know from the Magi in the settlement the free land has been passed from generation to generation in the clan. But the last member of the bloodline was killed during a spell, leaving no heirs.”, she explained.

“Interesting.”, I said under my breath while thinking.

A conflict between Magi and Lupi was the last thing we needed. It had been over twenty years since the last war between clans and our existence was almost revealed to the humans then. We couldn’t afford to risk the fragile peace between the fractions.

“I will go North myself and settle this.”, I said finally.

|ELEANOR|

“Miss Grace, may I come in?”, I heard a female voice asking while knocking on the door. I growled as I had just woken up and was desperate to stay in bed all day.

“Who is it?”, I shouted in a sleepy voice.

“It’s Matilda, miss. Mister Valerio’s caretaker.”

“Come in.”, I said, standing up on my elbows and trying to wake up and focus my vision.

“Good morning, miss. You have classes starting in an hour. I have brought you some things you might need. Your tutor will be waiting for you at nine o’clock sharp by the back entrance of the garden.” Matilda spoke quickly while setting a few bags in front of my bed.

“Classes… What classes?”, I stuttered while looking at the woman. She looked about fifty years old, with her hair in a bun and a huge warm looking cardigan hugging her curvy body.

“Well, your Triad training, of course.”, she replied calmly.

“What Triad training?”, I exclaimed now fully awake. “I am not a Triad, I am a Magus and I wish to stay that way!”

I had no interest in experiencing blood thirst or turning into a f*****g wolf. No way my body was going to be covered in fur and my paws in mud like a freaking wild cattle!

“Miss, I am afraid you are not well familiar with your world. When is your twenty third birthday?”

“Fourth of April, why?”, I asked confused.

“You have to release your wolf in seven months or you will die.”

….

Striding across the garden my head was filled with thoughts and questions.

What the hell was Matilda talking about?! I was just now realizing just how much my parents did not teach me about our world.

When I was a child they left our settlement and isolated themselves in the human world. It was not until I was seventeen, four years after my parents disappeared, when I met another Magus girl and she told me about the existence of Lupi, Feri and Triads.

She also told me about the King of Clans – Valerio Aberra. In that moment I knew it was him my parents went to visit on the night of their disappearance and I spent the next years of my life planning his murder. Little did I know the Nerium poison had no effect on him as he was the strongest creature alive…

TUD!

A tennis ball hit me in the head and I lost balance, falling on the ground.

“What the hell?!”, I shouted in pain.

“You should have seen that one coming.”, a male voice said.

I opened my eyes, now tearing with pain, and saw a dark haired guy standing above me.

“Yeah, you think so? Do you want to be hit in the head with something heavier than a tennis ball?”, I grunted through my teeth as I was trying to stand up.

“I’m Austin. Your Trainer, by the way. Get up and move.”

Amazing. Another dude full of himself. Were all Triads like this? If so, I preferred dying in seven months.

I followed behind him as I didn’t have much of a choice and walked the pathway surrounded by autumn trees with now almost empty crowns. In a few minutes we reached a long but low building just by the gate surrounding the whole property.

We walked through an arched doorway made of red glanced wood and entered a wide, long hallway with several doors on the side. Our steps echoed in the silence interrupted only by a distant echo of a female voice speaking behind one of the doors.

“This way. Follow me.”, Austin commanded and I followed like a puppy behind him. We entered one of the rooms and I was surprised to see another girl already waiting inside. She turned to face us and I was surprised by how beautiful she was – she had tanned, flawless skin and long curly hair falling down to her waist. She big brown eyes widened in surprise as her gaze met mine.

“Good morning, Vanessa. On time as always.”, Austin said to the girl, Vanessa, and turned towards me. “Meet Eleanor, your training partner starting from today. She just arrived and has a wolf problem we have to solve.”

“Hi.”, Vanessa said. Her cheeks had turned red for some reason. “Nice to meet you.”

“Hi.”, I greeted as well, still not having even the slightest idea what these trainings were supposed to be about.

“This morning will be all about physical training. I have already instructed for theoretical books to be brought to your room on the nineteenth floor so you can catch up with Vanessa.”, Austin said in a steady, dominating voice. Gh, I didn’t like him already and I only knew him for ten minutes.

Vanessa shot me a surprised look I couldn’t quite figure out.

“Get changed and begin, we don’t have all day.”