The Elemental Huntress

Chapter Nineteen - Wolves of Ancient History

RHYDIAN POV

The earth was a little damp this morning as I stepped out onto the warriors' training grounds. A layer of fog floated above the ground, creating a feeling of mystery as I waited for my trainers to join me. I had agreed to be trained by Beta Sloane and Gamma Tate for the next two months until I was at a decent level to be trained with the rest of the group by Zeta John. I was used to the early mornings, and I understood the language of physical training as I was usually the sparring partner for Elira, but being the trainee, on the other hand, was new to me. The physical act of moving my body in a way I wasn’t used to was something my wolf, Griffin, seemed to enjoy, unlike me.

It had been two days since the three of us went on our run and the girls had returned to school the day after. They had Thursday and Friday back at school, hoping to spend the weekend catching up on everything they had missed. Today they were hauled up in Willa’s room to finish off their school work. Not the way they wanted to spend their Saturday, but it had to be done.

I had spent my last couple of mornings training before meeting different pack members. This afternoon I have a meeting with Alpha Killian which I am a little nervous about. He seems nice enough to me, but there is a darkness that lingers beneath the surface. We all know his reputation for being ruthless during the first few years he was Alpha. His older sister died at the hands of werewolf hunters right before he was made Alpha. He struggled with her death for a long time, and no one really knows what changed him. I had no idea what to expect.

During my training sessions I had learned a lot about the dynamics of the pack and realised that Sloane and Tate were close, like brothers. Tate was younger than both Killian and Sloane. So, they treated him like a younger brother. Apparently, Killian had three other siblings, twin younger brothers around Tate’s age and a younger sister. It was a bit for me to wrap my head around at first.

Killian and Sloane were both twenty-eight years old, which meant they were ten years older than their mates. Tate was twenty-five, which meant the twins would be as well. The youngest of the Weylyn family was his sister, Nesrin. She was twenty-three. The twins were Noah and Liam Weylyn. They were currently on their way back from a trip to Ireland. The place their pack originated from. Nesrin was away for her final year of college where she was studying to be a lawyer, which I feel is a strange choice for a werewolf to make. Although they do have their own doctors, so I guess it’s not that surprising.

After finishing up my early training session, I headed back to my room for a shower. I decided to do some more research on Elemental werewolves and hoped that the online access I had to ancient texts and Moonlight Tech could help me. I wanted to help Elira adjust as much as possible. If she does possess powers, she was going to need to harness them and learn about them. A few hours went by with my stomach growling at me. I had come up empty once again and felt disappointed. I decided to stop for today and grab some lunch from the dining hall as it was around the time Joffrey would be serving up his midday special. I had an hour to kill for lunch before I was due to meet with Killian, so that gave me plenty of time to eat and freshen up.

In the short time I had been at Blue Midnight I had learned a bit about some of the pack members. Chef Joffrey was a tall, dark-haired man in his fifties with soft blue eyes and a smile that made you feel warm inside. His mate had passed five years before and so he was now on his own.

I sauntered into the dining area, eager for Joffrey’s pasta special – Spaghetti meatballs. It was exactly what I needed after a morning of training and research. I wolfed it down and enjoyed a bowl of seconds before washing up.

I was heading in the direction of Killian’s office when the most mouth-watering scent hit my nostrils. With every breath I took I was worried the scent would fade. I followed the scent all the way to Killian’s office and realised that it drifted further down the hallway. “What the hell was that?” I asked Griffin. He was leaping for joy and yipping in my mind, too excited for me to get an answer from him. I shook my head trying to clear my senses. Part of me was tempted to ditch the meeting with Killian and investigate the scent, but I decided against it.

I gently knocked on the office door and waited for him to let me in. “Come in.” boomed his Alpha voice, taking me a little by surprise. I entered the office as Killian stood to shake my hand. “Thank you for meeting with me this afternoon Rhydian.” He said, his voice still carrying power with each word he spoke. “No problem at all.” I responded as he gestured for me to take a seat.

Killian’s office wasn’t the size of your ordinary office. It was rather large with his desk positioned on one side of the room, a floor-to-ceiling gothic-style window sat behind his desk. He had two ancient rugs that were spread between the two halves of the room. On the walls on either side of the window and his desk were books. The walls were their own bookshelves, and I was now in love. Somehow, I hadn’t noticed much about his office the first time I was here. Comfortable single person chairs surrounded his desk, which made up one half of the room. As you walk in the door, it is situated to your left. Directly across from the door was another floor-to-ceiling window which showcased a beautiful garden outside.

A stunning chandelier hung from the ceiling which matched the décor of the room. As I look more towards the right of the room, I see a couch facing a fireplace in the wall. Between the door and the couch is also a piano, one that looked hundreds of years old. I had a sudden image of Elira playing it. She used to play piano as a child when she wanted to escape from the rest of us. Between the couch and the fireplace was a coffee table decorated with a couple of ancient artistic pieces.

The room felt warm, comforting and gave me a sense of history.

“There are a few things I’d like to discuss with you today, so I’ll cut to the chase. I am aware that both my Beta and Gamma have been helping you with combat training and wolf transformation training. I trust that you will do well and benefit from these early mornings.” Killian cutting to the chase, put me at ease. I gave him a nod as he continued. “You come from a powerful Alpha bloodline, so I see no reason for you not to live up to your heritage. While your bloodline is powerful, it’s the political agendas of your ancestors that I find much more concerning. I think one benefit to you not being raised by them is that you do not hold those same beliefs they do.” Killian spoke with such grace and power, I was mesmerised. I also didn’t fully understand what he meant. “What does that mean exactly?” I asked.

“Well, your ancestral pack has always been at war with the other packs, which isn’t out of the ordinary. Packs are generally territorial, but your ancestors were ruthless and brutal in all areas. They mistreat their own pack members and torture outsiders. They betray anyone they can whenever they can. I could go on, but I think you get my point. Red River is called that for a reason.” Killian was almost sympathetic as he spoke. “I get it.” I said, my face full of concern.

“You have a natural softness about you that I have never seen in anyone of Red River. I think if you can learn to be as physically powerful as your predecessors but carry the kindness in your heart that you’ve always had, you will be unstoppable. You might just be the key to finally achieving peace at Red River. For the first time in the history of Werewolves, Red River could be an ally instead of an enemy.” Killian smiled at me as he waited for me to respond.

“I had no idea. I hadn’t thought about my true home at all, even after it was revealed who I really am. But I can see how this is important. I’m not sure I’ll ever be an Alpha, but your faith in me makes me want to try.” I felt a sense of belief in myself that wasn’t there before. As Killian spoke about me being the key to peace at Red River, Griffin felt truly awake for the first time. I felt deep inside that this was exactly what I was meant to do. He had inspired me by believing in me and giving me a purpose, one I hadn’t had before.

“I think you could be the greatest Alpha Red River has ever seen. You are capable of so much more than supervised training sessions with werewolf hunters and being good at research.” Killian winked at me. “I mean when you put it like that… It is a lot more than it sounds though.” I said softly in my defence. Killian chuckled.

“Speaking of research, I wanted to introduce you to what I think is going to become one of your favourite places here at Blue Midnight.” Killian gestured for me to follow him. We left his office and continued down the main staircase. We took a sharp left and followed a hallway which opened into what appeared to be a library.

“Welcome to the pack library!” Killian said with a smile. I was in awe of the sight before me. “Wow!” Was all I could muster in return.

“There is a section back here that only approved personnel can access. I took the liberty of getting you an access card, so let me know what relevant research you uncover.” Killian handed me what appeared to be a swipe card with my photo I.D on the front. So many questions ran through my mind, but all I could do was stand there with my mouth open.

Killian smiled at me before continuing, “Elemental Werewolves are basically a myth and yet I am mated to one. I think we both know that Elira is capable of extreme power. We need to find out which powers she may possess and help her to harness them. I think this is a good place to start. Let’s make these meetings weekly, shall we?” I nodded, unable to answer verbally as my brain was trying to process the information. “I’ll see you next week.” He chuckles as he walks away, leaving me standing alone in the library.

I decided that I was going to find all the relevant books I needed to get to the bottom of Elira’s powers. I texted the girls to let them know I would be hauled up in the library and to notify me of when they would be eating dinner so I could take a break and join them. They both responded with amusement as they knew exactly what that meant.

Hours had gone by, and I had come up empty, mostly.

I had discovered a book titled ‘Wolves of Ancient History’ which told me the tale of Lycaon. How he was the leader of the Alpha Centauri and had protected the Moon Goddess throughout a millennium. He felt betrayed when she sent him and his best men down to earth to protect the shifters made in her image. Werewolves – ruled by Queen Narah, the first she-wolf.

He felt that it was not an honour but a punishment. He broke the rules and decided he was going to create his own kingdom on earth. This left a divide between what we now know as Lycans and Werewolves. As a punishment, the ancient gods put a curse on Lycaon for betraying his own Queen, his own Goddess. He was never going to be able to produce any progeny which would have eventually seen the end of his reign and his kingdom.

King Lycaon and Queen Narah were the first true mates in Werewolf/Lycan history. They shared a child together, a daughter. One which Lycaon never knew existed because he died before she was born. This child was known as Reika and she became what would eventually be called the first Elemental Werewolf.

It was an interesting read but not something I hadn’t already been told by Killian since arriving at Blue Midnight and finding out that Elira was also an Elemental. I browsed through more of the pages, reading about other Werewolves and Lycans of the past. Then I stumbled upon a page titled ‘The Missing Moon Princess’ which I thought a little strange. The image of the Moon Princess looked like Elira, exactly like Elira. But I knew it couldn’t be her, it wasn’t possible. I read through the pages trying to understand who the missing moon princess was.

There was not much about her, specifically just that her name was Amaris and the Elementals found her shortly before she disappeared again. No one had seen her since then. What was once true eventually became a myth. Feeling frustrated by what I had or had not found, I decided to take a break. I took the book back to my room and decided I was going to study it further later. Just as I was about to leave my room, I heard my phone ping. It was the girls letting me know they were heading to the dining hall for dinner. “Perfect timing!” I thought to myself. I left my room hastily, keen on some food and to see how the girl’s day went. I was eager to share with them what I found but I wanted to wait until I had all the information. Elira was only just coping with what she now knew about herself. I didn’t want to pile on something else without knowing what it really was.