Fall of the Luna (completed)

Blood Pact

Aldrnari’s POV

              I felt guilty for making a deal with the rogue Alpha but the future of all witches was at stake and I just couldn’t let this chance go. After I’ve made the blood pact, I’ve locked myself up in this tiny room where the rogue Alpha kept all of Martha’s things to make the spell and to avoid Thiago. The horror etched on his face when I agreed made me feel like the worse person in the world, not to mention how the air reeked of his disappointment. We’ve known each other for at least 15 years now and I’ve never seen him so disappointed in anything or anyone. My heart ached and the tears started to escape my eyes as I felt myself driving my fated mate further away from me. The first time that I had seen Thiago running in our forest, I knew that he was my fated mate. He was the only wolf, whose scent wasn’t repulsive to me, in fact, the first time he came to our forest, I smelled the most delicious citrus scent floating in the air. I couldn’t resist the pull of our bond and hid around the forest to steal glances of him every weekend. It was strange to me why he hadn’t found my scent yet or why he wasn’t feeling the bond when I was so close to him.

              One day, Granny caught me when I was sneaking around and before I could explain myself, she gave me a stern lecture. “Stop before it gets too far, Nari. I don’t want to see you get hurt and if you insist on taking him as your mate, you will get hurt. He will get hurt. The coven will never agree after everything that has happened with the werewolves in the last centuries, not to mention we have more pressing issues to take care of now. Our family has sworn to protect the High Priestess and when I pass, it’s your duty to find her, protect her and help her to fulfil her destiny.” My fist clenched and a myriad of emotions bombarded my heart. Ever since I was born, that was all that Granny has been teaching me, my duty to the High Priestess. My mother had failed because she left us to be with her fated mate and that ultimately killed her. Now the burden fell on me but a part of me also knew that Granny was just afraid of losing me like she did my mother. “Granny, if the High Priestess is all our myths and legends make her out to be, then why does she need me?” Alright, that was a cheap shot and I could see Granny didn’t find it amusing. Instead, she enlightened me on another of my questions.

              “You must be wondering why he doesn’t recognize you and why he doesn’t seem to be affected by the bond. It’s very rare for witches and werewolves to be fated mates, even back when things were different. From what was documented, I can only tell you that the bond works differently in your case. With your mother, she took a human for her chosen mate. After his death, she returned to the coven with you until that day when her fated mate showed up. He was a werewolf and the bond brought him to look for your mother. She, on the other hand, didn’t feel a thing except that his scent was not repulsive like the scent of other werewolves. I was sure that she would reject him not only because of her duty but also because she wasn’t affected by the bond. Then one day, the day right after the Blood Moon, she decided to leave with him and that was the last time that I’ve ever seen her.” Granny’s eyes were sad as she recounted my mother’s story. I was too young then to really remember much but I remember her clear blue eyes and the way they crinkled when she smiled at me. I’ve only ever seen Granny so upset when she talked about my mother and in that moment, I made up my mind not to break the heart of the only family that I’ve left, even if it means rejecting my mate.

              Unfortunately, the Moon Goddess seemed to have other plans. One weekend while I was gathering some four-leaf clovers for Granny, Thiago managed to surprise me without my noticing him at all. That meeting changed everything and made me believe even more firmly in the Goddess and her plans. Thiago turned out to be an easy-going werewolf and it was easy to be around him as long as I kept my feelings to myself. At first, I thought that I’d just be friends with him and one day, after my mission has been accomplished, I could think about something more. Then one fine day five years ago, he showed up at my door, completely drunk and wasted, and I found out from him about his mother’s pack. He told me that news came from the Werewolf Council that his mother’s pack had been decimated and survivors were under the Council’s protection. The cause of the tragedy was an attack from a witch named Martha. Our coven has been trying to track down Martha and put a stop to her mission to destroy our world for centuries. It all made sense then why we couldn’t find her. She was hiding within a werewolf pack and the aura of the pack coupled with her spells were enough to throw us off.

              Finally, a year earlier, Thiago told me his cousin, the former Alpha of his mother’s pack had survived. For me, things didn’t add up. If Martha was the one who had destroyed the pack, surely an Alpha who had survived would return to lead his pack. With the help of Granny, I was able to piece some of the puzzle together. Martha went missing from our coven during the Salem witch trials. It was at the same time that our coven had relocated to the West Coast in order to survive. At the same time, the Moon Lake pack started to prosper and grow right after Martha’s disappearance. My guess would be she might not have been hiding within that pack willingly after all. Judging from the turn of events, she was probably a captive, bidding her time for revenge and to carry out the plan that she was not able to convince our coven to stand behind. The puzzle still has many pieces missing and I was wary of whoever managed to take Martha down. After all, she was one of our most powerful sisters. When Thiago told me about his cousin’s strange request to prepare a surgery room, I immediately offered my help, partly because there was this feeling telling me that I’d find more answers. Indeed, I was positive that night when I first saw Kayla, that she had something to do with Martha’s death. Even in her weakened state, I could feel the energy radiating off her. All witches have a life force, it was like the roots of a plant, allowing us to draw on energy from the Moon if we were practicing light magic. Especially powerful witches have such strong life force, that other witches can feel it.

              How Kayla fit into the picture was still something that I needed to find out. From everything that I’ve put together through our conversations and what Thiago has told me, she was born and raised a werewolf, and never in any of our myths or legends was there a witch or werewolf who possessed the power of the other as well. As I put together the spell to fulfil my end of the deal, I couldn’t stop thinking about how at ease I felt around Kayla right from the start. Normally, our kind don’t take too well to werewolves but with her it was different. It was more than the suspicion that I had about her having the powers of a witch, however impossible that sounds, it was also just how natural it felt to spend time with her, like that was how it was meant to be. I looked at the wooden snowflake that I had carved and with a spell, I embedded a clear crystal in the middle of it. Taking a deep breath, I looked down at the snowflake and hoped that it’d help me to find the answers that I was looking for.

              “It’s done. Let Kayla wear this as a necklace and as long as she never takes it off, her wolf will be repressed. She would be like a human and she won’t remember anything from her past. That’s the best that I can do,“ I told the rogue Alpha as I handed the snowflake to him.  He nodded and left to go to Kayla’s room. As soon as he left, I could feel Thiago’s glare piercing holes into the back of my head. “How could you do this to her?” His voice carried so much pain that I wasn’t sure if it was because of my betrayal or because I was hurting someone he cared about. A pang of jealousy flared in my heart and I did my best not to think about what Thiago felt towards Kayla. Even if he cared for her more than in a friendly way, it wasn’t his fault. To him, he hasn’t met his fated mate and he could do anything that he wanted. “I know you feel like I made a deal with the devil, but you have to trust me this time. I know this sounds like bullshit but in time to come, you’ll understand.” I searched his eyes for understanding and there was nothing but disappointment. My heart hurt and I knew that I had to leave before I lost control. Quickly, I went back to the tiny room, packed up all of Martha’s things and returned to my coven.