Ultima Trials

The Menai

Cam’s POV

I looked at the Shaman. Someone that I hadn’t seen in many years.

Back then he was my ‘uncle’. He and my father were quite close, but then one day he was just gone. I remember asking about him, but Mom just ignored the question. Gloria never spoke of him, and Dad just pretended he never existed. It took weeks to even find where he had landed.

“Uncle Eli.” I said.

“You said her wolf was dying, not that she was already half gone.” He pulled himself from the chair he sat on.

I could hear the bones creaking as he stood. Instead of the long black hair he used to have, his hair had turned stark white. His deep brown eyes were turning milky, and his sun-tanned skin had turned leathery from the years of living near the salty air of the lake.

“Cam, where are we?” Hayden whispered; her grip tightened on my hand.

“He’s the strongest Shaman, I know or have ever heard of.” I kissed her forehead. “He won’t hurt you. I promise.”

She simply nodded.

Eli led us into the cabin. Of course, it wasn’t as small and rundown as it looked on the outside. Inside it looked brand new. It kind of reminded me of the old packhouse back at Silver Star. The white marble tile, with silver grout and a large Silver Star in the middle. Sleek gray staircase that was lead up to the second floor that wasn’t seen from the outside. Eli was going down the stairs that would have originally led to the prison cells. A place Eli had spent a lot of time in.

Instead of it being cells it was one large room, covered in artifacts that represented magic in some form. There were statues of Gods and Goddess of all religions. A large Statue of the Moon Goddess, Selene, and her consort, Endymion. It was said that Moon Goddess gave birth to fifty children for Endymion. Those fifty children, the Menai, were the first werewolves to ever be created. The Menai were supposedly reborn, and each death made them stronger. Until they gave into their deaths and fell into a deathless sleep beside their father.

“Do you know that twins are symbols of hope in some religions?” Eli said pulling Hayden to sit in the middle of a circle of black dust. “They symbolize opposites, you know, man and women, war and peace, strength and weakness.”

Hayden looked to me.

“In your case dear, it’s much more than that.” Eli pulled a small piece of sharp white wood. “Do you know who the Menai are?”

I nodded. “The fifty daughters of our Moon Goddess and her consort Endymion. They were hunted and killed by Zeus’ children after he decided he loved Selene and wanted her for himself. He gave her consort a choice, death or a dreamless sleep. One where he wouldn’t die or age. It took centuries but all fifty Menai decided to lay with their father instead of building lives and watching it burn.”

Hayden smiled at me. She loved to think I was just like every other Alpha. I loved history in high school.

“The one thing that most don’t know is, of all the Menai, only two were twins. They were powerful. More powerful than any other of their siblings. One was violent. He loved the war being chased caused. He enjoyed watching villages burn and more than anything he loved the battle. His twin sister was the opposite. Where her brother enjoyed war, she loved the peace. She found herself many times in a peaceful state. Each of her lives were spent either in a deep sleep where she could be with her father in her own mind, or in calming valleys.”

Eli found a jug of foul-smelling water and began to pour it on the black dust on the ground. He grabbed sharp knife and Jersey couldn’t help but release the growl as Eli held it a little too close to our mate. Eli just smiled and began whispering something while rubbing the knife against the white wood. It fell into dust on Hayden. Her cute little sneeze had the knife even closer.

Jersey snarled, but Eli didn’t stop. Hayden continued to sneeze until her sneeze turned into a cough. She gripped her chest and began to hyperventilate. She tried to scream but no sound came out. My own heart started to pound as I watched my mate suffer. Oddly, I felt nothing from our bond. It was as if it didn’t exist. Jersey was howling not being able to talk to his mate, and I felt the first cracks of the shift. I gave into it. Faster than I ever had before, I stood as a wolf, walking the border of the circle. Both too afraid to know what would happen if I dared cross and knowing Eli would beat me with that stick if he wanted to.

It felt like hours watching Hayden clutch her chest. Her eyes pleaded with me. I wanted to help, in some way. I had promised that he wouldn’t hurt her, but that was the first thing he had done. Jersey laid on his belly, keeping his eyes glued to Hayden. He focused on her breathing, much like one did during a panic attack. I prayed that keeping my breath even would give her some semblance of peace.

Finally Eli broke the spell that had Hayden clutching her chest. Jersey took no time wrapping her body around ours, sniffing every inch of her to make sure she was okay. She kissed the tip of my nose and buried her face in my scruff.

“I’m okay, Jersey. He didn’t hurt me, much.” She glared.

“I did what the boy asked of me. Now I need you to give me what I asked.” Eli held his hand out.

Jersey snorted. Is he serious? He was serious?

We stared at him, hoping he really wasn’t serious about what he had asked for.

I’m not doing that. I’m a wolf, not a f*****g dog. Jersey snarled.

Eli smirked, “I can reverse the spell if you would like.”

Hayden gripped my fur tighter, almost causing pain.

Jersey, it’s just pee. I tried to reason with him. For Mira you can’t give the guy a few drops of pee.

I don’t piss on command, human. I am an Alpha wolf, if I don’t have to piss, I can’t!

“There’s a basin of water behind you. It’s fresh. Had a feeling you would need some help.”

Jersey snarled again, pushing Hayden off to his side. He looked at Eli then back to Hayden. I could feel how much stronger she was. Mira wasn’t 100 percent, but she was better than she had been over the last few weeks. Hayden nuzzled closer into my fur, her body sending fireworks through mine. Jersey couldn’t help but give into it. He loved the feeling of Mira’s Alpha aura. Dominating, strong, pure, and peaceful.

Jersey kept Hayden out of view of Eli as he walked towards the basin of water. It tasted fresh. We drank the entire basin, which was nearly five gallons before we gave Eli what he wanted. Why the hell it was pee, I didn’t know. I didn’t ask.

“Over the next three days, your mate will get stronger. If she is truly bound to the lost wolf, then her strength will become his. He will wake up, and she will become all she was meant to be.” Eli said popping the lid on another jug.

Jersey grunted, keeping Hayden out of view.

“It would be best to get her home now, instead of whatever else you had planned.” Eli suggested. “She will need to be close to the lost wolf. It could help speed up the healing process.”

Hayden walked with me up the stairs. Originally, I had planned to stay a few days, let her enjoy the beach. It was beautiful. I wanted to give Hayden a vacation. I had asked around and found she hadn’t taken one since she was a pup with her parents. Even I had taken some breaks after I became Alpha. Just one or two days but still. Hayden hadn’t taken any. I swore in that moment, that when this was over, no matter what I would find time for just Hayden and me.

I shifted back and got dressed. Hayden was already half asleep by the time we got on the road. I didn’t try to obey the speed limit. Weaving in and out of traffic, only stopping to fill for gas. Hayden slept through it all. I knew she was a hard sleeper, but I couldn’t help but think this was more to the spell than Eli told me. It didn’t matter though.

She wasn’t dying. We could figure it all out from there.