The Warrior King's Mate

Chapter 17

Flora P.O.V.

Well, I've slept in less comfortable places.

The dungeons at River Moon were better than expected - for shifters, I'd imagine the thick silver bars and silver-plated floors and walls were torturous, but for me the cell was just a wee bit chilly.

Nova still hadn't regained consciousness. Margot had me thrown in the dungeons before I'd left the room where Nova cut her wrists - supposedly for my own protection. Twice she had visited, her pretty face all puffed up from crying but she wasn't listening to anything I had to say. Every few hours, someone came down with food and water, graciously letting me use a communal shower once a day. If only they knew I could leave this cell at any time, but out of respect for their laws (and out of a deep-seated desire to keep my head on my shoulders) I waited. They had to listen to me soon though. If there was any chance I could undo Nova's curse, save her, then I'd teleport right out of this cell and to her side in seconds. She should never have been left so weakened and defenseless in the first place. Guilt gnawed at me, keeping me restless. Witches and werewolves mixed like oil and water, so the fact that I was this much caught up in the mess between two werewolf kingdoms was almost laughable. Poor wee Nova...with the King dead, she had no idea who - or what - would be hunting her. I needed her blood in order to protect her, but of course, Margot hadn't let me keep the phial I'd collected three nights ago. I had one more day until the full moon - it would be better to perform the ritual then, but it needed to be prepared. I had to leave the cell today, either with or without the Luna's permission.

The heavy door that led down stairs to the cells opened, and before I could see her, I knew it was the Luna. Her likeness to Grace was striking, just a wee bit softer in the face, and a good deal more suited to her title, I'd imagine. Bloody wolves. All about the hierarchy - all about the men. I knew about Margot. Eldest daughter to her Alpha and Luna parents, she was never going to inherit the pack. She was nearly two years older than Grace, and four years older than her brother, Jacob. He was to be Alpha. He died though, Grace told me he was dead before his 20th birthday, leaving behind a human mate and a small baby who fled the country. Margot had to take the title Luna rather than Alpha of River Moon - what was then rightfully hers, Grace having gone and found herself as Beta female at that little pack on the coast. From what she'd told me about her sister, Margot's done the work. She had the birth right, she had the training, but she never got the title. And yet here she was, doing what should have been an Alpha's job and coming to interrogate me. Again. Thankfully, Margot was the kind to forgo the torture the dogs were so fond of.

This time I'd cut the crap and make her listen to me. She hadn't even started descending the stairs when I called out.

"Luna, Nova will die if you do not listen to me, if you do not let me assist her. You are not a foolish woman, Margot. You need to take me to Nova."

Margot's soft footfalls echoed sadly in the quiet dungeon. I had assumed these cells were always full, with barbaric things happening in the darkness below the packhouses. What a sweet relief it was to find myself alone here.

"Why? Why, when you yourself confess to having harmed my niece should I let you loose to do...what? Are you so desperate to finish the job? Does Grace's money really mean so much to you, Ms Bell?"

"Pfft", I scoffed. "Money? No. What Grace paid me was infinitely more valuable than money."

Margot ran her fingers through her long blonde hair. Her eyes looked more blue today, the whites red raw from staying awake, or crying. Or both.

"And what is exactly is it that my sister paid you, Ms Bell?"

She wasn't opening to me. I could hear it in her detached tone. She was only here because she felt she had to be. She was a woman lost in the wrong stage grief for me. I needed anger, I needed bargaining - denial did me no good. It was time for some theatrics.

"What is it you know about witchcraft, Luna?" I asked her, not needing a reply. "My magic is very old. My magic was forged by strong winds, harsh seas, thunder rolling around mountains, sharp teeth and volcanoes." I let my voice drop to a whisper, naturally drawing her in. I had kept my gifts secret since that last gasp of winter 19 years ago, but now it was time to tell this poor woman the truth. "Nature magic is such a rare gift that my family were prized above all others - until my ancestor Agnes Sampson was burned at the stake over 400 hundred years ago. She could control the skies and the sea to create storms great enough to kill a King." I paused, remembering the stories my father told me about his mother, and her mother, and hers as we sat, peeling potatoes and scaling freshly caught haddock in his little fish van. He had always wanted a proper shop, a normal life. I wish now, that I had paid more attention, that I had settled for the boring life he always dreamed of. I sighed softly, and continued. "She failed, and paid the ultimate price. After that, we were too feared and we left those lands. And, what? Twenty generations later? Your sister seeks me out, tracks me down to Port George right on the outskirts of Lunar Kingdom - finds me at a very difficult time in my life, and asks me to use my pain, to do what Auntie Agnes couldn't. The price for which is steep, Margot. Very steep."

As I spoke, I allowed the smallest tendrils of my magic to spread in to the space between Margot and I and, like a tether, slowly pull her closer to the silver bars that held me in. Soon, her perfect porcelain skin was a breath away from touching the silver and I knew she could see nothing but me. I felt my muscles tense as time and space moved between us and I knew, just like me, she could see nothing but the face of the woman in front of her, the rest of the world melting away.

"But I was so angry, Margot. I'd just been wronged by the very same man who has wronged so many, and here comes a poor woman begging me to let her pay me for something I was already desperate to do. I told her my terms, and she agreed without hesitation - isn't that so strange? She didn't pause for even a second thought before she signed away what wasn't hers."

I watched Margot swallow the way children do when they're queasy. She could probably feel herself glued to the earth, spinning and spinning in space while I took my energy from the world around us, fed it in to my consciousness, and bent it to my will.

"What did she give you, Ms Bell?" Good ol' Margot. Even when she was exhausted and emotionally drained, her voice sounded strong. That moon goddess of theirs got it wrong, letting Margot sit in second place to a man.

"She gave me a soul, Luna. It should have been hers, of course, but there was an option that better suited us both at the time, so I made a deal. I've seen what Grace Blackwell has done with my kindness, Luna, and so, yes, she gave me a soul. But I think it's high time that I gave it back."

With that, I stepped back from the bars of the cell. I pulled my magic back towards me, slightly tired from having used too much of myself with no direct connection to the earth to draw upon. Slightly dizzy, I watched Margot anxiously as the full effect of my casting was made clear to her. The slow dawn of comprehension on her face would have amused the old me. Now I was older, I was less angry with the world, with him, the man that started this whole mess...I felt the short lived throb of guilt watching Margot realize that she was now, somehow, trapped inside a silver cell and I was stepping further and further back form her, towards the staircase that led to the packhouse. Panic splashed across her face and - as it always does - the yelling started. I mouthed my apologies, then turned and ran up the stone stairs, closing the heavy dungeon doors on the woman screaming below. She would have realized by now that the silver stopped her calling out to her guards with her mind, but even I knew that they would be looking for her very quickly.

I had to be fast.

Once out in the open, the sunlight landed on me like a blanket, and I immediately felt the comfort of my magic being recharged. Truth be told, since the deal with Grace was struck, I had cast less and less magic, returning to the more basic principles of my gifts and working with herbs and medicines as opposed to draining myself on such showy parlor tricks. Nature magic was a dwindling art and there was no way a woman such as the Luna would know anything about molecular manipulation or else she would have known no prison can hold a witch like me. But I was polite, I gave her a few days to adjust. Hopefully, she'll understand once I've done what needs to be done.

I began walking, checking doors to see where would lead me to Nova. From having lived in a pack much larger than this one for a time during my youth, I knew a hospital wing was nearby. I couldn't risk exhausting myself by teleporting now that I was on my way to find Nova. Just by luck, a young girl around 16 came up a set of wide marble stairs carrying a basket of neatly folded fluffy white towels, whistling happily to herself.

"Excuse me!" I called out, and the girl's head snapped towards me, her eyes widening in surprise. "I've been summoned to meet Luna Margot in the hospital wing, but as it's my first trip to River Moon I'm afraid I've been a wee bit turned around - could you please point me in the right direction?" I asked, feigning embarrassment. "I don't want to be late."

The girl softened slightly and nodded her head towards a stained glass door behind me.

"Through that door, ma'am. The Luna has been visiting the hospital this morning, it's just straight across the Dome from here. You'll see the sign as you approach it. I can mindlink the Luna, and let her know you're on your way?"

"That's so kind, but no thank you, she'll know why I'm there!" The girl nodded at me and continued up the stairs with the towels and her whistling. Waiting until she'd moved out of sight, I sprinted to the door and into an enormous and brightly lit walkway, covered by an incredibly high glass ceiling. I understood why the girl called it 'the Dome' - it was like the entire complex existed inside a giant bubble.

Walking purposefully, eyes trained directly in front of me, I could see a highly polished metal plaque on the far away wall opposute me. Next to it, a large arch of white glazed brick led to a glass door and what I hoped was the hospital. As I approached, two older woman wearing navy blue suits of obviously expensive material approached the door, talking urgently to each other in low voices. Worried they might be the Luna's guards, I slowed my pace and tuned in to them as best I could.

"...Beta agrees, we need to take this entire issue to the court officials immediately. We've done the right thing!" one was urging the other.

"It's not that I disagree! But you heard the Alpha, he won't change his mind regardless of the fact that the girl is gone! He's insisting on moving forward and we need to DO something Rhona!"

"We ARE doing something! The King himself has now officially been notified and we stay put until he confirms..." replied the older woman, Rhona.

I felt myself nearly stumble forward, and placed a steadying hand on to the brick. The girl was gone? Gone?! I was too late...

No.

Her blood. I just needed her blood. She can't be dead, she -

No. I can't use her blood now - to continue with the spell with Nova dead was no craft. It was necromancy.

I had to see her, I had to be sure!

Pushing myself off of the wall, I slipped into the hospital and was pleased to find the reception desk empty. A long, sterile corridor led from the entrance down to what looked like a large open waiting room. Several double doors fed off of the corridor, each with a little plaque above denoting where each door led. I looked in vain for the one labled "morgue" and was found wanting. Hearing approaching footsteps, I quickly ducked inside the room closest to me and found myself in a large room, where a bed, monitors, a squashy looking orange armchair and an uncomfortable looking wooden chair were housed - each of them seemingly recently vacated. A woman's coat was folded over the arm of the armchair, the bed unmade and the monitors still switched on. A familiar smell reached me and my heart skipped a beat. rushing forward, I inspected the coat. It smelled of Margot's perfume. My eyes snapping to the bed, I rested my hand against the exposed mattress and reached out with my mind. I felt the breath of life that existed in all things in this world as a soft tickle against my skin. I let my consciousness reach out, moving between the spaces of atoms, the building blocks of all things. With my other hand reaching as if to grab the sun streaming in from the massive window, I let the energy fill me as if I were an empty cup. This time, it was easier - I didn't want to change the space between myself and another living being, I just wanted the stored energy of the world to replay a memory for me. All things hold memory, air, dust, sheets, stone and bone. I wanted to see and hear what this room has recently.

I opened my eyes to the rhythmic beeping of the machine by the bed, hearing paper being turned over behind me. Nova, small, frail, bone faced was lying, sound asleep on the bed in front of me. I turned to look at the sun again. Morning. Nova was alive and in bed this morning.

"I don't like it," I heard Margot say and turned to watch her pace the room. "I don't like it Malcolm. They're going to arrest your father!"

"No, they won't." Malcolm, the young Alpha from the other day sat in the wooden chair, a folder full of papers in his hand, a pen nestled between his fingers. He was a good looking young man. A chisled jaw, prominent brow, grey-blue eyes like this mother. Blonde, like the rest of them, favouring some designer stuble and looking like he spent the majority of his life in the gym. Which, is probably about right. From memory, even in the other kingdom, the male wolves worked out endlessly - especially the ranked ones.

I watched Maclolm turn the page again and sign at the bottom. "They won't," he repeated. "I've read everything through twice. Father will accompany Nova with the royal Inquisition Team to Selinis Castle and make a case on her behalf. You and I will stay here, run the pack, continue assessing the warriors. Once the court has Dad's and Nova's statements - and providing he doesn't threaten the bloody King while he's there, he'll come back - on the condition that he steps down as Alpha."

"I don't like it! Deposing your father just because he's been RIGHT all these years!" Margot was whisper-yelling.

"Mum," Malcolm said, standing and walking to his mother, placing a large hand on each of the petite woman's shoulders. "Breathe. I was going to be named Alpha this year anyway, until the announcement came to prepare for a war. Dad has been and is a great Alpha - no one is deposing him, or tarnishing his reputation."

The woman signed and looked down at her feet.

"This is for the best. We told them everything we could but," he paused, looking towards Nova as she lay motionless in bed. "Elder Rhona was right, Nova needs to be in Selinis Castle. She needs to properly protected, questioned and rehabed."

"No." Margot said, looking at her son with teary eyes. "No, you're right but I just...we JUST got her and look what we did! We're no better than Grace and that, that witch in the dungeon."

"Speaking of - " said Malcolm, returning to the papers. "They want to take her too, we'll need to sedate her for them to take her back with them, we don't want her near Nova while she's awake."

"Right," Margot nodded absently. "When are they taking Nova?"

"Right now," I recognised the voice of the woman, Rhona, in her navy suit. "We'll be taking Nova right away. My colleague will be staying behind to escort Flora Bell."

I was ripped from the memory by a high pitched, whooping alarm.

For me, the sun suddenly shifted to the correct time of day, the sudden change of lighting startling me. Outside in the corridor, doctors and nurses were rushing. Great hulking men in black suits, petite women with strong arms flooded the corridor and began looking in all the rooms.

"FIND HER!" I heard the deep voice of River Moon's new Alpha Malcolm command. Understanding, I knew Margot will have been found in my cell, and this alarm was for me. I had precious few moments to gather myself - I only needed a wee pinch of the wolf's fang to get me out of pack territory. I plunged my hand into the hidden pocket of my dress and yanked out the cloth bag. It was almost completely empty. I'd arrived in River Moon with the entire list of ingredients for Nova's spell but they had to be left, there was no time to find them, and no wolf's fang to help aid a rescue mission AND an escape. There was always the next full moon...

Tipping the dregs of the fang dust into my hand, I bagan to chant "dicede, dicede, dicede..." when the door was flung open and Malcolm, tall and powerful Alpha of the River Moon pack, stormed in, running full speed towards me. As I vanished into the darkness, I laughed loudly imagining him hurling himself straight into the wall of Nova's hospital room, his arms grabbing at thin air where I once stood.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a warmly lit clearing in an otherwise dense forest. Underfoot, millions of tiny brown pine needles, twigs and small stones cushioned the forest floor. I could hear running water, the slapping sound of a wood pigeon taking off suddenly from a thickly branched tree, the far away twitter of birds and the hushing roar of my own blood pumping energetically around my body. The adrenaline was still busy inside me and, looking back, is probably how I knew to run. I hadn't heard them, couldn't smell them, but I knew they were there.

As soon as I took off running, the rogues appeared from the gloom beyond the trees. The sound of their large claws churning the earth as they ran at me was loud in my sensitive ears, my magic flying out in all directions like rope as it grabbed at trees, the earth, the birds - anything living to fuel my chubby, old body as I flew through the trees. As soon as a sharp stitch cut into my side, I stopped, turned, my breathing shallow and face scarlet with blood. As the black and brown eye of the first grey, thin wolf stared hungry at me, its maw dripping with drool, brown fangs exposed, snarling wetly at me - I yanked as hard as I could at those invisible ropes. I felt just a second of the sickening squeeze as I stopped the hearts of squirrels, deer, birds as well as the two dozen wolves running at me, the electricity of their brains and organs zapping painfully into my body like lightning. The raw power...it was enough to burn a hole in the sky. Oh, goddesses, how I've missed this!

I stepped over the bodies of the wolves, all of them already cold as stone. Without needing wolf fang or any other conduit this time, I was well juiced. I thought of Selinis Castle, having been there once before in my younger years. I pulled that great electric power in on myself, and - in less than a blink of an eye - I disappeared.