Two Halves of a Whole

Chapter 18

If Sattira was going to avenge her birth parents then she needed to find out how to use her magic. She had felt it surge through her when she had questioned Shelly. She refused to think of the daughter of that monster her cousin. She sat in her room trying to remember the way it felt as it built up within her, waiting for her to give it direction.

“Do you feel it?” Her mother waited for her answer. When Sattira mentioned learning to use her magic her mother had offered to help her.

They sat in Sattira’s room inside a circle on the floor that her mother said would protect everything in case her magic got away from her. They had eaten their last meal of the day and although Lugos wanted to be there her mother thought it might be too distracting for her until she understood what she was doing.

“Yes,” she was surprised how easy it was to find the it. It felt like an old friend that had always been there but that hadn’t had her full attention before.

“Good, now imagine what you want you magic to do. It could be anything from growing a flower in your hand to making an orb of light. The trick is to imagine it in your mind then visualize it happening. Imagine ever detail as if it is already in your hand, what it feels like, the color, the way the light would hit it to create shadows.” Her mother was quiet for a moment. “Now open your eyes and look at your hand.”

Sattira opened her eyes and saw the tiny diamond sitting in her palm. She had always liked the one her mother had sitting on her desk. When she was a child she would pretend it was real. It was the loot she would find when she played pirate or pretended to be a jewel thief. Her mother would always scold her for taking it but she would be right back the very next day plundering her mother’s home office for it.

“I should have known you would form that,” her mother told her, a smile on her face as she remembered her daughter’s antics from her childhood.

“Is there anything we can’t create?” Sattira was honestly interested.

“Living creatures. Mages cannot give life, we only give form,” she explained.

“But you said I could create a flower?” She was confused by this.

“You can create the form of a plant or flower but it would never change from the form you gave it. I know mages will beautiful lawns that never have to be mowed because they created every blade of grass with magic.” Her mother was watching to see if she understood. “You could create the husk of a living thing but there would be no life within it. It would be like making a stuffed bear. No matter how real you made the bear look it would never walk through the forest with the other bears and have a normal life.”

Sattira got a look of understanding. She was glad her mother had warned her before she attempted it. It would have been weird to have a husk of any living thing just sitting around.

“You can manipulate things that are alive though,” her mother suddenly changed her rich brown hair to a golden blonde color.

“Wow, could you make yourself look like anyone in the world?” She wondered if mages did that.

“I could but most mythical beings can tell. You only change your appearance. Your smell and aura are always going to be your own. Besides, they would feel the magic you were using.” She explained as she changed her hair color back to brown.

“You said it took two people to do a binding spell, if you just visualize the effects into being why couldn’t my birth mother do it alone?” She was curious now that she was starting to understand how it worked.

“A binding spell has two parts. One person imagines a container around the source of a person’s magic while the other gathers any magic that has already seeped out and imagines it being put back into the container. Then the person in charge of the container closes it and holds it closed because the magic will try to get out. This frees up the other person to put a time sensitive lock on the container. It is always important to give the lock a time in case something happens to the person casting the spell. It can be near impossible to remove another person’s spell.” Her mother seemed happy to share what she knew.

“I know you said mage power was passed down like an alpha aura. Did you have siblings? You always acted as though you were an only child and I realized that there was a lot of things you never actually told me but let me believe.” She felt awkward trying to explain.

“Part of that is our fault. We used a spell to help protect us and hide what we were but in order for it to not be broken we had to be careful with what we actually told you. Now that the house has been attacked and we know who our enemy is there is no longer a need for the spell.” She paused and Sattira thought at first she was going to dodge the question. “I am actually the youngest of three. I was kind of grateful when I was injured and the doctors said I would never have children. My parents had an atrocious man picked out for me before I even hit high school. When I was no longer able to have children I was allowed to choose my own future. It was very liberating. Though my parents didn’t want much to do with me until I managed to get a spot on the council. My brother and sister live far enough away that I rarely get to see them but we don’t have much in common so,” she just shrugged as if it explained everything.

Sattira yawned then realized it was getting late. They had a lot to do as the rest of the Council would be arriving the next day to help with the investigation.

“I think I should probably get to sleep,” she told her mother.

“Yes, I will put a protective spell on your room so no one will be able to enter if they want to harm you.” She gave Sattira a hug and a kiss good night then cast the spell before leaving for her own room.

Her mother had not been gone long when there was a little tap on her door. She got up and walked over to open it. Lugos was standing in the hallway waiting nervously for her to allow him into her room. Once she had motioned for him to enter he seemed to visibly relax. She closed the door and he turned to pull her into his arms.

“I didn’t think your mother was ever going to leave,” he said as he buried his nose in her neck so he could lose himself in her sweet scent.

“You know I need to learn to control my magic so it doesn’t get out of control and hurt anyone. I can’t imagine anyone wanting me around if I am a danger to others,” she tried to help him understand her reasoning.

A small growl escaped him at the thought of them not wanting her around. “If they tried to banish you from the pack they would have to go through me,” he said in a deadly tone.

She rubbed his arms in an attempt to soothe him as she said, “if I have control over my magic it should never have to come to that.”

She felt him relax before he lifted her up in his arms and carried her towards the bed. “Can I stay with you tonight? Not for s*x, just to cuddle. I know with everything going on you are not ready yet to complete the mating bond.”

His eyes were pleading with her to say yes and she could feel her wolf was calmer with him around. She figured at least she would sleep better if she wasn’t pacing nervous inside her head.

“Ok, just to sleep,” she finally answered him just as he thought she would send him away.

She went to shower and change into clean night clothes. By the time she was ready for bed, she left the bathroom to find Lugos sleeping peacefully curled up to one of the pillows she used the most. She felt a pull on her heart as she noticed how young and handsome he looked when he wasn’t dealing with pack business or worrying.

She climbed into bed, careful not to wake up her sleeping mate. Her breath warmed his skin as her lips gently brushed his forehead in a light good night kiss.

“Sweet dreams,” she whispered softly so as not to wake him. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the scent of the sleeping form next to her as she drifted off to sleep.

She awoke in the warm embrace of her mate, her wolf sighing with contentment in her mind. She had to admit that she had never slept better, even with everything she had recently learned but there was a part of her that felt guilty knowing that the monsters where still out there, alive and free, that had tortured her parents so badly and here she was sleeping blissfully with her mate as if everything was right with the world.

Our birth parents would feel better about everything knowing we were happy, her wolf told her. They loved us, it was written all over their faces in the pictures from the articles we saw. If we suffer when we could be happy those monsters win.

How did I get blessed with such a wise and wonderful wolf? Sattira was grateful for her wolf and all the wisdom being shared.

Selene really loves us because she blessed us with each other. Her wolf sent warm affectionate feelings through their link. Even if you did think we were just going crazy when we first met. The warm teasing laughter of her wolf surged over her.

I am just happy to have found out what we really were before I told some human doctor and ended up medicated. Her conversation came to an end as she noticed a pair of steel blue eyes studying her.

“Talking with your wolf?” It was more of a statement than a question.

“How did you know?” She was indeed curious as she had been around werewolves her whole life and never noticed anything that ever made her question them.

“I know what to look for,” he teased her. Then a bit more seriously he added, “people get really still when they talk to their wolf and their eyes get a kind of far away look almost like when they talk on the phone but they don’t move their mouths.”

Sattira told her wolf that they would have to watch for the look he was speaking of. Her wolf nodded in agreement.

“You want to train with us after breakfast? I have been taking a break to spend time with you but it might do you and your wolf some good so you will know what to expect if you ever face a rogue or any wolf that might mean you harm. If your cousin was right there might be others…” She interrupted him angrily.

“That monster is no cousin of mine!” The force behind what she said betrayed how angry she was but she didn’t release her aura, something that relieved Lugos as it meant that her anger was not directed at him in anyway.

“I apologize, I should have said Shelly,” he said. “I just wanted to invite you to train with me after breakfast.”

His face looked truly apologetic and Sattira immediately felt guilty for snapping at him as she knew her anger was not directed at him and she was being unfair for snapping at him like that.

“No, I owe you an apology. That was wrong of me, I should have just asked you not to call her that. You have been nothing but kind to me.” He could tell by the sound of her voice she was ashamed of herself for snapping at him and it appeased his alpha wolf.

“You know a kiss would make it all better,” he teased her, not expecting her to actually kiss him.

“Oh, would it,” she said, happy for the change in mood he was allowing her.

“Maybe, wouldn’t hurt to try,” he pretended to be considering it.

She shocked him by leaning in for a slow hesitant kiss. Her obvious lack of experience only adding to his joy at knowing she had saved herself for him.

“Did that make everything better?” Her kiss had distracted him from his teasing and it took him a moment to realize what she was asking.

“Maybe one more just to make sure,” he said as he pretended to consider it.

She pulled a pillow free from beneath them and batted him with it playfully as she giggled. “I think you are being greedy now. Besides, we need to eat so we are not late for my first day of training.”

He knew she was right. They both got up and he went to his room to shower and change. By the time she had finished showering and changing into clothes that were comfortable enough to fight in but easy enough to take off so she could shift he was standing just inside the bathroom door watching her put up her hair. Once she was done she impulsively gave him a quick peck on the cheek as she walked around him to head for the dining hall, where she was starting to become accustomed to eating all her meals with his pack. How was she ever going to deal with going back to school in the fall when it would take her so far away from him?