The North Star Chronicles

Chapter 3:

Andy

It had been two days aboard the bus, and even with frequent rest stops and the changing of passengers, I was growing increasingly restless. I meditated frequently, my breathing exercises nearly constant. I took my medication like clockwork, sometimes counting down the minutes until I could take my next dose in hopes to keep what felt like an impending episode at bay. Proctor had warned me that my anxiety was bound to pique with all of the new world experiences. Sites and smells bombarded my senses. The world was all colorful and new beyond the walls of Proctor's facility. I didn't quite know why the stars had pulled me to the coast, but deep in my gut I knew I needed to make my way out from the southern heat and into the northern mists of the coastal states. The further we creeped northwest, the more restless I became.

It was midday and I was starving, our driver, whom I now know to be Ben, pulled up to the curb and threw the bus into park. "You've got forty five minutes for this one, next stop is Seattle, be back at 5 sharp please!" He announced before opening the doors and allowing the few passengers to stretch and make their way out to the street.

The act of measuring my breaths was intentional. I felt nauseous and lightheaded for a majority of the trip, and though we were still several hours from Seattle and the coast, I thought I could smell the ocean spray. It was pleasant, and I pulled as much comfort as I could from that smell, and just as much from the stars whenever possible. I enjoyed a simple gas station sandwich, waiting to board the bus and watching the bustling world around me.

It was amazing to me how busy everyone was. So many people moving simultaneously to different destinations, traveling to and from with a sense of aloof purpose. Much like stars, they were on a charted path, in their own orbit within their monotonous daily lives. But a monotonous life is still more than whatever this is. Ten years in what most would call a mental asylum with no memory of my life prior to Proctor's wasn't much in the way of a normal life. But somehow, I felt like whatever I was approaching is exactly where I needed to be, as if I was being drawn into an entirely new orbit of my own.

Gale

"I'm calling this meeting to discuss a matter of the utmost importance." Gale addressed the council members, all seated and anxious to hear what their Alpha could possibly gather them for on such short notice.

"As of two nights ago, Kaito has identified the first strand of his truemate bond. We've scented her and that scent is growing stronger by the hour."

The council gasped and applauded for several moments before breaking out into a low hum of chatter. Gale motioned with his palms down, easing the council into silence before continuing.

"I've not brought you here for that reason alone, since that alone would be cause for celebration, but Kaito and I still can't place our mate's location even though her scent continues to grow stronger. And as Kaito identified only moments after we called this meeting, we sense that magic may be the culprit of why we aren't able to locate her. I'm calling on the council members to help this pack, help me find her. This is our Luna, our most beloved, and she needs us." Gale allowed his words to sink in with the council before detailing all of the events, feelings, and discoveries of the last two days.

When Gale has finished recounting the details of the last two days, the council roared into life, anxiousness, excitement, concern and fear riddling the voices of the council members as they all fought to speak at once.

Out of the corner of his eye, Gale saw his mother overwhelmed with her own emotions as she sat waiting for the council to deliver what information they could must for their alpha.

Gale motioned for one of the most senior members of the council to stand as all others were ushered into silence.

"Riordan, thank you." Gale said with a curt nod. He said with his elbows on his knees, rubbing his hands as he awaited any information anxiously.

"Alpha, though it may go against what we've known to be true. From all of my readings of our previous connections to local clans of witches, I would venture to say it may be possible that your truemate may be under some sort of binding spell. I've read that in great instances where someone's identity was to be concealed, the great clans would perform binding rituals that would not only bind one's powers, but wipe any trace of magic or memory from one's mind. If we can venture so far as to believe this is possible-"

"That's not possible, the witches were all wiped out decades ago." someone amongst the council interrupted.

Gale shot a glare in the direction of the voice before urging Riordan to continue.

"In fairness alpha, we don't know that for certain. Binding and concealment were both occasional happenings with witches, so it's not out of the question to think that during the wars, the witches spelled concealment amongst themselves to prevent any injury to themselves.

"So you're suggesting that they've managed to conceal their entire race?" the voice scoffed. Gale identified the interruption to be coming from the mouth of Morgan Strife, one of the most critical of council members as well as one of the fiercest.

"I'm suggesting that anything is possible. Our alpha has sensed his truemate but can't make out the threads of who she is while she's shrouded in this binding magic. It's likely that this binding magic hasn't just bound her powers, but everything else. She may not have any of her memories, or have any idea who or what she is. What I'm saying is, she may not know that she has a wolf, much less that she has a truemate calling for her soul to meet his. She likely doesn't even know that our kind exists, much less any other kind apart from humans. And if that's so, though this magic must be great, it must also be weakening for our alpha to be able to sense her now."

Gale did his best to shield any emotion from his pack, his anxiety and concern for his mate tucked away the best that he could. "Ten years we've been barren, are you suggesting it's possible that she's been bound for that long? Would that be hurting her? How are we able to break it."

Riordans truemate, Matilde, raised a gentle hand next to his side. Riordan and Matilde had dedicated their lives to the study of the packs history prior to the wars, when we still had close connections to the witches of the northwest and other races that were thought to have been wiped out of existence several of decades before. The wars had happened hundreds of years even before the barrenness began. Gale opened his mind to his pack so they could process these thoughts as their own instead of relaying the thoughts aloud.

Matilde nodded in understanding. "Yes, that is what we're suggesting, Alpha. And if she's been bound for that long, and in estimating that she is similar in age to you, then she's likely had a severed link with her wolf for the past two years. That likely has been very painful for her unfortunately, and no doubt difficult on her wolf as well. Her wolf has likely been struggling against the magic binding for years, fighting to get to her mate. With everything that you've told us, it leads me to believe that Kaito's mate bond, though dampened, is strong enough to pull her to you, but she still doesn't know enough about herself to recognize either the bond to her wolf or to you. Breaking it won't come easy, and though I'm sorry to say alpha, I don't believe there is anything that you can do unfortunately. Your mate needs to break these bindings alone to find herself. Only then can she find you, or you, her.

The meeting adjourned and the pack was dismissed, Gale remained seated for several minutes, his hands on his jaw as he considered his next move. He retreated into himself, and resolved to follow where his soul was leading him in hopes that it led to her.

"I'm heading to the mainland." Gale sent on the pack link. Gale was being pulled to the mainland and didn't dare ignore it. He could almost make out the first thread of the bond that tied their souls together, and could now clearly see the magic cracking and flaking away.

He took the first ferry out of town, which left in only a few minutes. Bainbridge was made up almost exclusively of wolves, so it wasn't an unfamiliar site to see unnaturally large wolves roaming around town. Gale jogged past members of his pack sparring in wolf form near the docks, he gave them a curt nod as he made his way through the small throng of onlookers. The human tourists that came and went were never any trouble. Hundreds of years ago when witches were still prominent, they'd assisted in erecting an amnesia barrier that wiped the memories of humans as they crossed through Elliot Bay. Boarding the ferry Gale slid his ticket through the window to one of the ferrymen and made his way to the front of the vessel. He closed his eyes, letting his minds sight take over in hopes it would lead him to his Luna.