Two Halves of a Whole

Chapter 30

Lugos was shocked by what his father had just told him. He could see the horrified look on his mate’s face at the thought of a child having to suffer for it’s parent’s mistakes. She might hate her cousin after the way Shelly had spoken to her about her mother, but the idea that her time in the cells surrounded by silver might have harmed the pup no one knew she was carrying really bothered his soft hearted mate.

After a brief discussion it was decided that Shelly would stay in a special cell used in rare instances to hold magic users that had been reinforced by mage spells to keep anyone in it from being able to escape. One of the pack doctors would make regular visits to check on her. It was not as secure where as it didn’t break the link with her wolf like being in the regular cells but any information she was able to pass on from inside the cells wouldn’t be much help to their enemies with as well shielded as she was from everything going on outside her cell.

There was a couple of skylights in the roof of the room to let in sunlight but the room was designed so that even if the furniture could be moved and stacked she would never reach the large windows as they were spelled to always remain out of reach from the inside.

Although there was a door on the room it was magic that kept the prisoner inside. Alpha Stephan used the opportunity to show his son and future daughter in law how it worked as he took a crystal hanging from his office and walked to meet with Shelly. He pressed the crystal to her forehead and the crystal seemed to shine brighter for just a moment.

They walked her to her new cell. Sattira was surprised how quiet the she wolf was as they moved her to the room on the top floor of the prison. The room seemed like any other bedroom except it was plain. There was a room with a toilet but there was no door on it so it was only slightly more private than the cell Shelly had been in. When they walked out without closing or locking the door Shelly seemed hopeful.

It was only when she tried to walk out the door that she was met with an invisible barrier. That was when she realized that though she wasn’t locked up in silver she was still very much a prisoner. Her only hope was that someone would rescue her.

“Father, are you there?” She wasn’t sure if the invisible barrier kept her from reaching those outside her cell.

“Did you manage to escape,” he responded almost immediately. She was disappointed by his flat dismissive tone.

“No, they moved me to a room. I think it’s on the top floor because there are skylights in the ceiling. I believe it uses magic to keep me inside. There is no door, just an invisible barrier that I can’t cross.” She was hoping he would tell her he had an escape plan but he was eerily quiet.

“Did you see the witch,” he used the derogatory term to hide his true intentions towards Sattira.

Shelly couldn’t believe it. Here she was a prisoner in a cell and all he cared about was the witch.

“They are talking about killing my mate and I, is that truly all you can say?”

She was really regretting that she had involved herself in this. She had thought that maybe her father would finally show her affection if she helped him. But she was disappointed yet again.

Despite all of her bravado she had been terrified when she met her cousin for the first time. She could feel the aura rolling off her and had to keep remembering that everything the witch had should have been hers.

The more she dealt with her father the more she wondered if he had told her the truth. She had been sworn to secrecy about who they were after. Her father didn’t seem to want to tell anyone who this witch was in relation to the pack. His orders had been to take Sattira alive at all cost.

If he was really trying to end a curse couldn’t he kill her and get a mage to remove the curse? It wasn’t like a newborn could place a curse so it wasn’t like the witch was the one to place it.

“Did you see her or not?” Her father broke through her thoughts.

“Why do you care? She was not happy to see me. How does seeing her help me to get out of here?” Her anger was seeping through.

There was a long pause. Just when she thought he wasn’t going to answer her his voice entered her thoughts.

“I sent for more warriors to help. I need to know everything you know about the witch before they get here,” he finally answered.

Something in his tone made her feel like a small child he was trying to pacify. She didn’t like it at all but what else could she do? Shelly told her father everything that happened from her being captured to the failed rescue attempt.

When she told him that they moved her because she was pregnant she expected some kind of reaction. She wasn’t sure what she just thought he would at least acknowledge the possibility she was carrying a heir to his alpha title.

His lack of a response felt wrong. The only reason she could imagine was if he already had plans for the alpha title that didn’t involve her or any child she might bare. But if that were the case who would it be. She was relatively confident that she was his only child. If he had cheated her mother would have known from the pain through the mate bond as a mate feels when their other half cheats.

No, something was definitely off and she suspected her mother would have a better chance of finding out than she could. She would have to contact her mother. At least bonds between family were strong enough to reach any distance.

Alpha Stephan was in his office with the other ranked members of the pack and Sattira’s parents when Lugos and Sattira entered. Sattira loved her mate but she missed how simple her life had been before she shifted. It had only been a few days since she had been in this office for a meeting.

She was already overwhelmed with her training and learning about the secrets of the Dalton lineage. She really enjoyed her time with her Grandfather. She was having a hard time remembering all the names of his side of the family with all the cousins and her aunts and uncles she had never met. Alpha Todd didn’t seem to mind when she forgot who someone was but she couldn’t wait to finally meet them so she would actually know the people he was telling her off.

“I received a request from Beverly and her Coven to turn over her granddaughter.” Alpha Stephan got right to the point.

“I will not hand over my mate!” Lugos was angry and it radiated through the room.

“Yes, we didn’t plan on giving her back. The Coven has to go through the Council and they would never allow it. Besides, by rule of adoption she is Tilly and Fred’s child so I don’t see what she thinks to gain from this.” Alpha Stephan said.

“I would be careful about the Coven members who attend the Council meeting. This could be an attempt to get people inside to take her by force. Coven mages are never happy when they believe they lost to wolves.” Tilly advised them.

“Everyone keeps talking as if I have no say in this. Why can’t I just say no?” Sattira was confused and frustrated by what she was hearing from everyone.

“Unfortunately when it comes to the Covens a female mage has very few rights until she heads her own house. While females run the Coven families they spend most of their years being forced into unions that increase their family’s power.” Fred explained.

“But where she is more wolf than mage how can they hold her to such a standard?” Lugos was livid. How dare they ignore her rights as a werewolf.

“As the only heir descended from first daughters she would have gained her Coven’s gift. No Coven will give that up without a fight,” Tilly explained.

“But what of my rights as a werewolf?” Now Sattira was curious.

“Isn’t she the only heir of an Alpha Line? All it would take is for her to learn to control her aura and she could be running her own pack. Then what right would they have to steal her away?” Luna Lilly thought it the most obvious answer.

“That won’t matter to the Coven,” Sattira’s Dad chimed in. “They only care about pack affairs if they directly involve them.”

“So we push the fact I was adopted to try to over rule the Coven,” Sattira asked. She didn’t mind it but it irritated her that she didn’t have any say in her own life.

“Your mother fled her Coven and named me your godmother at the bonding. It is the strongest case we have.” Tilly seemed have decided on their course of action.

“What proof do you have to show the Council?” Alpha Stephan was all about the evidence.

“All spells leave a trace. All binding spells have a tracer in them. It was how I was able to find Sattira as her parents were passing. All mage children have this done to protect them. Otherwise godparents might not know they were needed until it was too late,” Fred answered as if it was common knowledge.

“So the only reason we have to worry is about keeping Beverly’s Coven away from being alone with Sattira to make sure they don’t attempt to abduct her. They must know they don’t have a leg to stand on,” Beta William spoke in agreement with those in the room.

Everyone was getting ready to leave when Alpha Stephan was alerted by a member of the patrol. He held up his hand to signal for everyone to pause, one finger held up asking for a moment more of their time.

“We have a visitor at the border. Apparently Vallorie Dire has begged a meeting with us. She is currently being escorted to the office as we speak,” Alpha Stephan filled them in on the unexpected arrival of Shelly’s mother.

Everyone was shocked by the arrival of the she wolf mated to the man responsible for the death of Sattira’s birth parents, her birth mother being best friends with her adoptive mother. No one was sure how involved she was in the deaths or what her plans were for showing up on their door step.

They waited for Vallorie as they talked about Sattira and how far her training was coming along. They hadn’t spoken long when their visitor arrived.

The door opened and a very fragile looking woman wearing torn clothes and covered in blood was delivered to the office. It took everyone a moment to realize that this battered woman was their visitor.

Vallorie stood shaking in the shocked silence. She was barely recognizable as the woman they had seen in pictures with Eric Dire announcing the birth of their child and then after he took over as Alpha when she was announced as the new Luna.

Alpha Stephan cleared his throat in a belated attempt to cover his shock. “What did you want to speak with us about?”

The woman swayed instead on her feet. “I want to make a deal for the life of my child and her mate.” Her voice was weak as if each word took great effort.

“Her mate is a traitor and your daughter was acting against my pack. Why should I spare their lives?” It was more of a statement than a question.

“Because they are as much victims of Eric’s lies as the rest of the pack.” Her voice was still weak but there was a look of determination on her face. “And I can tell you where he is hiding.”