The Alpha’s Goddess

Chapter 14: Guardian

“I am not letting you do this for me” Niovi says, struggling a little to get out of her chair as she is heavily pregnant, her mother; Kairos helps her up. They are in Niovi’s room and Kairos leads her to the bed. “We are not doing it for you, it has to be done” Kairos says “do you not understand the gravity of this situation?” she continues “you are about to birth the most powerful aetherius to ever live, and Calix will stop at nothing till he gets her”. Niovi lays in bed and turns away from her mother, Kairos sighs and sits on the bed “the more of us he claims, the more powerful he gets. when the time comes I will send her away and hide her” Kairos gets up and heads towards the door “Where?” Niovi asks as soon as Kairos reaches the door. Kairos doesn’t answer she just looks at her daughter and then she leaves”

************

Five minutes fly by with my gaze darting between Shaia, Alpha Nereus and the man I am assuming is his beta because they appear to be around the same age. “Hello” Nereus finally says putting an end to the awkward silence “Shaia” I say while keeping my eyes on the Alpha and his beta “what’s going on?” I ask then Nereus and his beta get up. Nereus really is easy on the eyes, he doesn’t look like a spectacular Greek god with incredibly chiselled facial structures but he does look like he knows the way to a gym and visits it often. He is lean, about six feet three inches tall with hazel eyes and wavy hair. His beta is taller I’m guessing six feet five inches with short brown hair and he is really good looking, he also has glasses on but they have no lenses. “Hello Celeste” the beta says “I am Lare Beta of the Lycius pack” confirming that I was right “we are here to take you” he adds. “Take what?” is my response.

This time Alpha Nereus speaks “you will be returning with us to the Lycius pack and that is where you will be residing from now till your moon ceremony so we can take care of you” I look at Shaia and she’s is just sitting down and enjoying her tea, after all her “the less people know about you the better” warnings how is she onboard with this? “First of all” I begin “I explode things without even thinking about it”, “I am aware” Nereus says looking somewhat amused “good so you know I have no need of protection” I add, “that is untrue” Shaia says before I can even continue “show her” she’s clearly giving the instruction to Nereus who reaches into his shirt and takes out a necklace that has a crystal pendant which looks a lot like my bracelet. As soon as he shows it to me both the pendant and my bracelet begin to glow and so does Shaia’s rock, the black one with the rune carving. “Well that settles it then” Shaia says “would you prefer to wait till morning?” she adds “no we leave tonight” Nereus says, I am just standing there shocked at how eager Shaia is to get rid of me. “Shaia if this is about all the crystals I exploded, I am really sorry” I say to her, then she gets up and holds my hands in hers “domine mi” she starts “I have showed you all I know, I believe being with your guardian will help the blockage in your heart”, “you could be wrong” I respond to her “that is true, but I know that your way path forward doesn’t lie here”.

I get my things together, Lare collects my bag then Shaia asks that we have some privacy. Nereus goes to wait outside the door then I yell “I know you can still hear us, go wait it the car” he grunts then he leaves. Shaia gives me a book and says the words “by blood and by the moon” then she kisses my forehead and bids me farewell. I leave the cottage and make my way to the car, hugging the book to my chest.

“What kind of guardian are you anyway?” I say cheekily as I step into the car “you didn’t even open the door for me” I add “I am not your bodyguard, child” Nereus responds, I roll my eyes I knew he was only playing nice in front of Shaia. “My uncle is Alpha Eques and soon enough he-” Nereus cuts me off “If you want to go around and announce to the whole world what you are, be my guest. Put yourself and your family in danger” I am shocked, this person is supposed to be my guardian? I knew leaving Shaia was a bad idea “okay you know what? Please take me back I-” I gasp and I am unable to complete my sentence, I feel a surge like electricity within my body, as though a volcano is erupting in my brain. The world starts to go dark and the last thing I see is a crescent moon scar on my right thumb.

************

a hooded figure makes its way into the cottage, Shaia has her blindfold on and she smiles. “Give me what I have come for” the figure says “I can not give what has already been given” Shaia responds. The figure moves in swift motion and stabs Shaia in the heart in a crystal dagger. Shaia falls to the ground and the figure sees there is a cut on her right palm and her crescent moon scar is gone. The black rock crumbles to dust and the figure lets out a frustrated shriek

The Alpha’s Goddess

Chapter 13: Aetherius

“you already took everything from me, did you have to take her too?” Calix says accosting Athanasios and Laos who are making their way to the Armory. Laos looks at Athanasios and silently asks if he should take care of Calix, Athanasios shakes his head and both of them move on ignoring the former. Calix runs up and stands in front of Athanasios “You can’t-” he doesn’t finish his sentence as Laos strikes his face “that’s enough insolence from you” Laos says then he and Athanasios continue on their way. Athanasios stops and walks back to Calix who is still on the ground “you know, I came this close to killing you when Niovi told me what you did. She asked me to spare your life” Athanasios says looking Calix dead in the eye ready to snap his neck “If you ever come near her again, I will kill you”

************

Almost everything I know and have ever been taught about the aetherius has been a big lie… according to Shaia. In the past one and half years that I have spent with her, everything she has said has turned out to be true and all the old books she’s shown me seem to make a lot of sense. So it’s either I have been on one very long high or it’s the truth. Shaia is an aetherius not a moon shaman as my parents refer to her and she’s apparently been alive for more than five hundred years. She is being preserved by the magic of my birth mother; Niovi, who was the strongest aetherius ever (also according to Shaia) not because of her powers, she was apparently a very skilled swordsman. However, it is not my mother’s power alone that has extended Shaia’s life thus far.

Nyctimus did not have a child with Selene, he did have a daughter that he absolutely cherished and that was the child that Lycaon killed and served up to Zeus. When Selene reversed Zeus’ curse, she brought the child back to life and infused her with powers; that was the first aetherius. The ability to channel the moon goddess powers was only passed down to the women of that bloodline, descendants of the first aetherius and yes they were marked with crescent moon scars. So Shaia is a distant cousin-ish of mine (many times removed). “Argh!” I scream as yet another ball explodes. My lesson for today is telekinesis but all the balls keep exploding instead of lifting into the air. Shaia says my unresolved emotional issues are blocking my powers, but I have no idea what she is talking about. “Well done” she calls out to me as she is making her way back into the cottage, I am still unable to wrap my head around the fact that she always genuinely means what she says and she is never sarcastic at all.

An Aetherius comes of age at 21, that’s when we discover our dominant power. There are many abilities an aetherius can possess but at our moon ceremony one ability becomes dominant and that is what the aetherius is then associated with. So it would appear my dominant ability is exploding things not that I have some unresolved trauma. I am getting frustrated so I take off my bracelet and I try again, the bracelet was specially crafted by the sacredos that helped hide me. Shaia describes it as a regulator; since I am not emotionally stable enough to control my powers it helps me. Honestly, this thing is a restraint and no one can tell me otherwise. I focus on another ball and this time it begins to rise, I feel excitement rush all over me, the ball at least two feet off the ground now then suddenly it explodes and all the remaining balls explode along with it. I am about to scream in frustration then I remember that would lead to a major explosion so I put my bracelet back on before I scream. I am done for the day so I begin to make my way back to the cottage.

As I walk back to the cottage I try to think of my birth mother; Niovi. I had asked Shaia to tell me about her one day, she must have really been something if about 30 women were willing to sacrifice themselves for her. The person my adoptive mother calls “The bastard” was a childhood friend of my birth mother, maybe even her first love but he was so obsessed with power and the only reason he got close to her was to use her. Something happened though and he left my mum, then she met my dad, they fell in love and she got pregnant then Calix (the bastard) came back and ruined everything. Shaia promised to tell me the full story soon but right now, I wonder what my mother would say if she could see me, I was only supposed to be with shaia for a few months to figure out my powers but it’s been more than a year now and I am still as clueless as when I first came. Would she tell me “oh it’s fine sweetie, you’ll get a hang of it eventually” or would she tell me to do better to focus more. I am almost at the cottage then I look up and I see a black escalade parked close by and I have my guard up immediately, I hasten my steps and when I get into the cottage there are two men sitting with Shaia drinking tea, I recognize one of them;Alpha Nereus of the Lycius pack. All three of them pause and look at me as I come in, then Shaia says “Domine mi, your guardian is here”.

The Alpha’s Goddess

Chapter 12: I Don’t Know Where To Go From Here

Parenting is a tricky thing; one must always know how to care for and protect their offspring and the care and protection must always be in the right quantity. However, in between their daughter’s grief and the words of the shaman echoing in their heads Leah and Malcoy are at a loss of what to do. They arrived home three days ago having to leave the Aegaeon territory immediately they got the news of Gerald’s death because Celeste came really close to exposing herself as her screams in grief shook the very foundation of the palace. Leah and Malcoy couldn’t deny it any longer but she had just been separated from her first love, hadn’t left her room since they returned and also wasn’t eating. How could they bring themselves to tell her she had to be separated from her family also?

************

“I feel bad for you, kinda” I say, Gerald raises an eyebrow “pray tell, why?” he says “well” I continue “you could have fallen in love with any other person in the world but you chose a she-wolf with three overprotective brothers” he walks up to me and hugs me from behind “you’re forgetting Mr and Mrs Eques” he whispers in my ear. I giggle then turn around to face him, Gerald plants a kiss on my forehead “I wouldn’t have it any other way” he says.

I open my eyes and I am back in my room. In my bed, my lunch tray is untouched and tears begin to fill in my eyes again. It’s been six days since the incidence at Aegaeon pack’s territory, I have screamed, I have broken things and now I just stare at my ceiling wishing it would cave in and bury me, I’m numb. I have been living inside my memories, mostly my memories with Gerald, I don’t know what hurts more; knowing that he was torn apart limb from limb or knowing that I maybe could have stopped it. I had heard Greg tell Anthony they couldn’t even find his entire body. I don’t know if it’s possible to move on from here.

************

“If what you’re saying is true, you have to find that girl” Alpha Zander says to his son; Nereus. “Eques isn’t just going to let me walk into his territory and take away the most valuable werewolf asset ever” Nereus responds “don’t talk about her like that Nereus, she is not a thing. She is a person this family is sworn to protect” Zander scolds his son and Nereus Apologizes. There is a long pause then finally Zander asks “you’re certain it glowed?” Nereus nods “and you’re certain she had the bracelet on?” Nereus sighed “it really looked like it”. “You can’t make a decision based on it looked like it son, you have to be sure” Nereus sits and looks at his father “so what do you suggest I do?” he asks, Zander grabs a glass and pours some wine in it then he responds to his son “send someone we trust to make sure it is really her”.

************

I can hear my parents arguing again, they have been going at it for days and it is something about sending me off to some mysterious place to protect me. They’ve tried to avoid me hearing them but they are doing a really terrible job, I sit up from my bed and for the first time since we got home I leave my room. There is silence as I make my way down to the living room; Anthony is with my parents and they are all looking at me like I am going to break any second. I sit on one of the kitchen stools and pop a grape into my mouth “what’s going on?” I ask.

There’s a long pause then finally my mother speaks up “sweetheart, your father and I, we saw someone and-” she pauses and looks at my father who nods for her to go on, “we think you might be an aetherius”. I look at Anthony almost like I am silently asking “did I just hear what I just heard?” I chuckle a little “I’m sorry what?” I ask. “It’s a lot to take in, we know” my father says, I let out another dry laughter and shake my head “we are still struggling with it ourselves” he adds “you think that I might be a mythical creature with the ability to channel the powers of the moon goddess” I respond “If the aetherius legend is even true, the last one died like a thousand years ago” I continue “actually like 500 years ago and she supposedly had time powers” Anthony chimes in, I look at him in shock; he believes this too?

My parents go on to tell me that there are so many things they haven’t been able to explain

“Honey your dreams and your sleepwalking” my mother says

“You said it was a normal werewolf symptom for the full moon ceremony” I respond “well, you’ve had the dreams since you were a child” Anthony adds

“Your crescent moon scar” my dad points out

“That happened after I bumped my head sleepwalking” I respond “no it didn’t, it disappears and reappears on a different part of your body” my mother says “that’s ridiculous” I respond and Anthony immediately hands me a mirror, I check my head and the scar is gone. I am still struggling with that information while my mother recounts a few other things, she mentions the incidents at the palace, the day Plankton exploded and how she had found me asleep outside with a wolf cub when I was four years old.

“You know when you lie, you rub your thumb in the middle of your palm?” my dad finally says as he takes my hand and places it in his, I nod in response to his question already knowing where he is going with it. “When Alyssa asked about the blast at the palace the day the rogues attacked, you lied” he adds and I feel tears in my eyes again “please don’t send me away” I say to my parents as I begin to sob. After I calm down, my parents and Anthony explain how important it is that nobody finds out about me and in order for me to have a full understanding of what is going on, I have to go to the moon shaman. I have to be with her until at least after my full moon ceremony. There are more tears and finally I get up and head into my room to pack a bag; I leave in the morning.

************

Calix hurries into the cave, he takes out from his pocket a shard of the theca that Athanasios had broken earlier which his right hand had retrieved for him. He looks down at his clothes still covered in Niovi’s blood and lets out a wail. then he calls out and a young boy walks up to him “you have to find the child” Calix says to the boy “this will help” he points to the theca, and when you find her you will be able to resurrect me. do you understand boy?” the boy nods and Calix presses the shard into his heart.

The Alpha’s Goddess

Chapter 11: Loss

“That doesn’t make any sense” Leah says as she paces the cottage trying to calm herself “Yeah if that were true, that would mean you are at least 500 years old” Malcoy adds he looks slightly calmer than his wife “when we found Celeste she was barely a week old, her umbilical cord stump was still attached to her body” he continues. The old lady sighs “did I not just tell you her mother was a time aetherius?” Leah and Malcoy remain silent “well if she truly wanted to hide her child from danger, where would she send her?”

************

I run into the palace to go find my parents, the rogues that aren’t dead yet are retreating. When I get inside the palace walls I take off the helmet that’s part of my pack warrior uniform, I throw it on the floor and I bump into someone who is running towards the west gate. I apologize to him and continue running, I need to find my parents. I make my way to the courtroom and there are twenty guards by the door about five of them point their guns at me and immediately I scream “I’m Celeste Eques, I’m looking for my parents” one of the guards recognizes me and says “Oh that’s Gregory’s little sister, let her in” the guards lower their guns and let me in. As soon as I get into the room I spot my parents with Mirena and Alyssa “where the hell were you?” my mother says as soon as she sees me, I hug her and my dad “I was with the guards at the west gate” I say “You were what?!” the entire group screams “I’m here now and I’m fine so lets focus on that” I add, my dad gives me a look that tells me we will circle back to this discussion later but he doesn’t say anything else. “Do you have any idea where that blast came from?” Mirena asks, I rub my right thumb in the middle of my left palm and hope to the goddess that my parents don’t notice what I just did, I respond to everyone saying that I have no clue where the blast came from. Technically, it’s not a lie, I have no idea how that blast came out of me and I am sure if I say it out loud as soon as this rogue situation is over I might find myself in a nice institution with a lovely jacket on. The courtroom doors open again and the guard who recognised me earlier walks in to announce that we are safe now and the teams are returning.

Everyone is rushing out trying to find their loved ones. I am outside with my parents, Alyssa and Mirena anxiously looking out for my brothers and Gerald. The cars arrive at the palace and all the different uniform colours are mixing together. It’s chaotic but at least everyone is safe. I begin to feel panic rise in my chest then I hear Mirena say “praise gaia” I turn and I see Anthony and Greg walking in and just behind them Noah is helping someone in blue all three of them are fine there’s not a single scratch on them. My relief is dashed when I see that the person Noah is helping isn’t Gerald. They get to us and there’s hugs all round then I start looking around again, my entire family is standing behind me now, my mother rubs my back “don’t worry honey, he is going to show anytime now”. It feels like we are all holding our breath now, I am digging my nails into my palms, then I see someone in blue walking up to me. I smile as Hunter stands in front of me “Gerald?” I ask and he swallows then opens his palm revealing a blue tassel that has the initial “G” on it, the tassel I gave to Gerald in the morning.

************

the hooded figure stands in front of a cave, all the rogues return and stop in their tracks when they see it. “Did you get it?” it asks when the final rogue returns, the rogue lowers its head to the ground admitting that it has in fact disappointed his master. The hooded figure walks up to the rogue and breaks its neck causing the others to flinch in fear. “Pathetic” it says as it walks away from the dead body and the other rogues

The Alpha’s Goddess

Chapter 10: Rabid

This is the one subject I did not pay full attention to when my mother was narrating it but I think it goes something like this. About 400 years ago a group of werewolves hunted down the last aetherius she is said to have possessed the power of time. This group included wolves from all seven packs and they were led by a Beta from the Lycius pack who was convinced that he was the rightful Alpha and he wanted to create new werewolves so he’d have his own pack. An aetherius has to give her blessing willingly; well she has to recite a chant in the old tongue bestowing her blessing on whomever she chooses, over time the aetheria were kidnapped and tortured into doing the chant and that’s how many of them died. This last one however, when she was caught by the Bastard (that’s not me insulting the man, that’s the name my mum called him when she was telling the story) she recited a chant in the ancient tongue that reversed Selene’s blessing and put the wolves in the original state of Zeus’ curse. They all went mad and killed their families.

I know you’ve heard stories of werewolves attacking humans and eating their flesh, well that’s not completely accurate. Trust me, we like our meals cooked just as much as you do, only a rabid wolf would attack a person or another werewolf and eat them; we refer to them as rogues. I don’t know how it spreads and I don’t know how many rogues there are, what I do know in this moment as I run down the palace steps and make my way to the armoury pushing past a lot of pack warriors who are too focused on gearing up to face the imminent threat to notice me and I begin to load a vehicle with as many guns and bullets as I can find is that two of my brothers and the love of my life is in danger. “You’re insane if you think I am going to let you go out there” I hear Greg growl behind me “you can’t stop me Greg, Anthony, Gerald and Noah-” he grabs a gun out of my hand as I am speaking “putting yourself in danger is not how we save them” Greg starts to walk away from me towards the other warriors preparing to go out into the woods “Greg!” I scream “look at me Greg” he turns around and looks at me “I don’t know how, but I know you can feel it too, you need me”. Greg walks back to me and leans his forehead against mine “I will bring them back I promise, but you need to stay here for Mum and Dad” and with that he leaves with the team of pack warriors going into the woods and I stay back with the warriors guarding the palace.

All the guests are led into the palace and the gates are closed as soon as Greg and his team leaves. I am standing outside the west gate with a group of warriors and there is an eerie silence. There is no scent or sound and we can’t see anything. I feel a shiver down my spine, they are here and I can sense it “Aim” I say, the soldiers look at me confused “do it now” one of the soldiers at the front responds “at what? There’s nothin-” he is immediately cut short by his throat being slit and then we see the rogue, They were cloaked.

Soon rogues come charging at us from all directions, there’s hundreds of them. They are swarming the palace and I watch the soldiers around me fight for their lives, I find that I am frozen in fear and unable to move, my arms are trembling and I drop my gun. “Do something, Do something, move” I am saying to myself in my head then I look up and I see a rogue charging towards me,and in that moment it feels like something unlocks from inside my stomach building up into my heart like electricity. The energy explodes inside of me “prohibere!” I scream and a blast of energy shoots out of me and spreads throughout the entire palace every rogue is flung so high into the air that most of them don’t survive the landing and the one that was charging towards me is sliced in half.

************

Nereus is running towards the west gate of the palace, everyone felt that quake that reverberated throughout the entire palace and thankfully it was in their favour because it seems to have affected only the rogues. However that is an issue for later, right now his focus is getting to his gamma at the west gate. He is thinking all these when she runs into him, “I’m so sorry” she says and takes off without another word. Nereus watches her leave then notices his necklace is glowing again

The Alpha’s Goddess

Chapter 9: The Games

I am getting married. I am in a white dress walking down a white carpet in a garden. There is a bouquet of purple irises in my hand, my family is seated and smiling at me and Gerald is under a flower arch waiting for me. I am in front of Gerald, he takes my hand and then he isn’t in front of me anymore, my white dress is now covered in ash and I am alone in the garden. I look up and there is a hooded figure, it stretches out its hand almost like it is calling out to me. I take a step towards it and the guide appears. She looks really old this time “Cave!” she screams. The Figure is in front of me.

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REALITY

Good, well at least I know I should be wary of an ambiguous hooded figure, thanks guide. It is the morning after the opening ceremony, last night was amazing all the teams were presented to the current Sedes Lycaonis and Gerald was the flag bearer for his team he looked amazing in his Blue and gold uniform, Blue is Peraethus colour but all the houses have gold added to their colours this year. Aegaeon pack is white, Charisius pack is Grey, Eumon pack is purple, Heraeus pack is red , Lycius pack is black and Nyctimus pack is green and all their uniforms have gold included in it. Greg gave an amazing speech and the rest of the night was filled with dancing, eating and a lot of laughing. This morning all the teams leave to their designated campsites. Anthony volunteered to be a supervisor so he will be going into the woods too, his job is to give live updates to Greg’s team that would remain on the palace grounds. I am going to be stuck helping Alyssa prepare for the pageant along with Mirena. I get out of bed and I am careful not to wake Alyssa up. I pick up the tassels I made for my brothers and Gerald; it’s a mini tradition I started with my brothers when we attended the games for the first time. I make a tassel with their initials on it and give it to them before the games start, it’s my way of wishing them good luck.

At 08:00 all the teams begin to match into the woods, I wave goodbye to Gerald, Noah and Anthony and I join Greg and his monitoring team. The first task is for the teams to find and set up their camp as quickly as possible and hunt down a wild boar. Six boars have been released into the woods and the team that doesn’t catch one would be going without any dinner tonight. “This is so exciting” I say out loud and all the members of the monitoring team nod and agree with me. A gunshot is heard and soon we hear Anthony’s voice through our headphones. I look up at Greg and ask his permission to announce it, he passes the microphone to me and I speak “The hunt has begun” there is a loud cheer throughout the palace. The excitement is building up.

A few minutes pass and then we hear someone from the Charisius pack say they can smell the hog “looks like Charisius isn’t going hungry tonight” Greg announces and there is laughter everywhere as the laughter dies down a feeling of dread suddenly erupts inside me, before I can say something we hear Anthony’s voice he is saying that he can smell blood. Someone from the Nyctimus pack says they just found a dead wild boar soon the communication lines go silent. Greg is trying to reach Anthony and every other person on the monitoring team is pressing buttons and trying to figure out what is going on. There’s a scream and we hear Anthony’s voice over the comms before it goes dead and everyone is paralyzed with fear when we hear the word “Rogues!”

*************

“Where is she Niovi, where is the child?” Calix screams. He has clearly lost all his patience but the thing that has him really agitated is the feeling of defeat that he just can’t shake. Niovi is making it worse by giving him that look; it’s pity, how is she the one pitying him when she is bound? “Don’t make me do this please” Calix says looking at her, “give it to me” he holds out the dagger. “I can not give what has already been given” Niovi says and with that Calix cuts her with the dagger but nothing happens she looks at him with an expression that reads “you see”. Calix moves away from her but turns back and plunges the dagger into her heart and nothing happens still. Panic is evident on Calix’s face, he releases Niovi and holds on to her body

“No”

“Please Niovi, Please” he cries.

The Alpha’s Goddess

Chapter 8: Approval

“this has to be the place” Leah says to Malcoy as they near the entrance of a cottage. There are selenite crystals hanging around the house and each has the same symbol carved on it. After a month of searching for the moon shaman the both of them feel a surge of relief; they might be getting an answer soon. Then the door opens and a woman with a blindfold comes out “took you long enough” she says.

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They say time flies when you are having fun and I believe that is the only logical explanation for how fast the three months leading up to the games flew. Alyssa signed up for the pageant and was chosen as one of the representatives for the Heraeus pack, each pack had to present two she-wolves and she was picked. I, on the other hand, spent a lot of time in training. Of course my brothers didn’t allow me train but with my parents gone to visit a relative I had to stay with my brothers and that meant being with their team while they were training. My dreams continued with the guide repeating the same word “cave” and I still hadn’t figured out exactly what I was supposed to beware of. The highlight of my three months however was Gerald. He had gotten a lot stronger and some people had even began to suggest he would be a prime option for the Beta of the Peraethus pack, of course he always made sure to silence such talks he was really loyal to Hunter.

“Well someone royally chopsticked up” I say holding up a sign for the Peraethus team that had a lot of mis-spellings on it. “Why do you do that? you just say a random kitchen utensil” Gerald asks me, he leans against the table and looks at me. “Well when I was four, Greg accidentally cussed in front of me and I thought he said fork” Gerald chuckles “hey don’t laugh, I was four” then we both start giggling “afterwards he and my dad tried to explain to me that he said it cos he was upset, so I thought I was supposed to say my favourite cutlery when I was upset, so I used to yell teaspoon” Gerald is laughing really hard now. I continue “I’m older now and know he didn’t say fork but I still call out the first cutlery or utensil that pops into my head” I put down the sign and Gerald reaches out to me, I take his hand and he pulls me into a hug. “You know we can wait till after the games” he whispers to me; Gerald asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes but I still haven’t told my brothers and I know it would be a smart thing to tell them as soon as possible so I can’t wait till after the games. Opening ceremony is tomorrow I plan on telling them after because my parents would be back by then and so the entire family will be updated all at once. As I am explaining this to Gerald the door bursts open I hear the words “Ah! I knew it” and in come my brothers.

“Explain yourself youngsters” Greg says to me and Gerald, the three of them are standing in front of us and have assumed a very intimidating posture. After about five minutes back and forth Anthony tells me to excuse them, I look at Gerald and then my brothers then I leave. A few minutes later my brothers call me back and Gerald is the one to excuse us now “Ursi are you sure about this?” Greg asks me and I nod. “Well He is a good man” Anthony says “and strong too, but if he tries anything” I laugh and hug my brothers “I promise I will tell you” I say to my brothers. “Look on the bright side though, he and I could give you really pretty nieces” I say, Noah raises an eyebrow “one for each of us? Cos I want my own personal niece” he says and we all laugh. Gerald returns to the hall immediately and we all turn to look at him “Your parents just arrived” he says.

************

the figure watches as the family is reunited and sees the mother hand over the bracelet back to the girl. It glows as soon as she puts it back on but no one else seems to notice. It turns back, it must report the new update.

The Alpha’s

Chapter 7 : Invitation

“Restraints exist for a reason young one” the guide says as she caresses my face like a mother. It’s soothing then she stops, moves away from me her eyes darting back and forth like she is looking for something “cave!” she says and begins disappear, I open my mouth to call out to her but no words come out

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REALITY

I come to and I am in my bed holding my favourite plushy. Sun rays are sneaking into my room through the little space in my curtains; it was all a dream again at least this time I did not end up in some weird place. “No” I hear my father’s voice, he is downstairs and he has company I take in a whiff to determine who it is and it is my brothers and Mirena (Anthony’s girlfriend) I jump out of bed to go out to meet my brothers and immediately my legs hit the floor I fall face down “Argh!” I scream and I hear footsteps running up to my room. “Just how many bones do you plan on breaking, young lady?” I hear my dad say and then I feel someone lift me and put me back in bed, it’s Greg. My mother sits on the bed beside me and puts the back of her hand against my head then my father says “that’s good to know” (okay show offs, we get it). I can sense that there’s a question hanging in the air and so I ask “what happened?” Noah is the first one to speak up “funny I was going to ask that, what did you do to Plankton?” the wooden dummy? It wasn’t a dream? It actually exploded? How is that even possible? I start hyper-ventilating as these questions start swimming in my mind. My mother tries to calm me down and Mirena walks into my room and whispers something to my dad and Anthony that makes them look even more surprised. What is it this time? My dad walks up to the opposite side of the bed and he holds me “it’s okay sweetie, it’s fine” he kisses my forehead and then my mother nods, great everyone is communicating with each other and no one is telling me anything.

This is another thing you most likely got wrong; how fast do werewolves heal? Well faster than humans but not at the hyper unrealistic rate that is usually projected by the media. If it’s a pureblood, a small scratch would heal in less than an hour, a deep cut wound would heal in a day and broken bones, give or take two to three days. A half blood would heal a broken bone in about seven days and it would take a regular descendant maybe two weeks. So faster than humans, but not that fast. By some miracle, I have no broken bones, however I did manage to sprain my ankle so I have about nineteen hours left to heal. I don’t want to be stuck in my room all day so Noah carries me downstairs to the living room where the rest of my family is discussing plans for the games; It seems like that’s all everyone can think about now. This year’s games are being hosted by the Aegaeon pack and my family has been specially invited because last year’s champion was the Heraeus pack led by Greg. As part of tradition, the opening ceremony for the games will have Greg returning the trophy and placing it on a white marble pedestal then he will give a speech encouraging the contesting groups to be courageous and fair (the whole shebang) and when he is done he lights the ceremonial torch and the games begin.

My family is now discussing transportation and housing arrangements for the games, it’s in three months but these people like to plan ahead and yet they wonder where I got my overachieving brain from. “Can I join you in training for the games?” I say to Noah and immediately Anthony and My dad say “No”. I look at my mum and Mirena, I am trying to convince them with my eyes to help me. My mum smiles while Mirena shakes her head at me, almost like she’s saying “you’re on your own kiddo”.

“You visited the academy one day and landed in the infirmary” Anthony says

“And then look at what you did to Plankton” Noah says.

I take in a deep breath then finally looking at everyone I say “you know if I can make my opponent explode merely by touching them, I think that makes me a valuable asset to have on your team” there’s a long pause and then Mirena starts laughing soon we all join her. “You little troublemaker” Greg says and he and Noah try to grab me, I bolt from the couch and run to the kitchen where my mother is. I am still giggling when I notice a shocked look on my parents face and soon realisation hits everyone else; it hasn’t even been up to two hours and my ankle is healed.

The Alpha’s Goddess

Chapter 6: Mates

The mating bond is one of my favourite topics mostly because it’s amusing how humans get it wrong all the time. I’ve read books that claim that when a wolf meets their mate there’s an instant surge between them like electricity but I think the one that really kills me is the theory of smell. That the male wolf smells something sweet like vanilla or lavender and the female smells sandalwood or the scent of an old book, that’s ridiculous. We don’t smell different scents, we do not have a mate ordained for us by the moon goddess, we don’t just meet and get mated five minutes later (do you not see how irrational that sounds?) we choose our mates. Sorry to disappoint you, but we are very human in that regard. A mating bond is only as strong as the marriage is; if it is a bad marriage nothing would grow, things will get toxic and eventually it would crash and burn if the two wolves involved don’t put in the work on time to fix it. On the other hand if it’s a good marriage, the connection between the two wolves can be so strong that their minds are literally linked. Yes that’s the only difference between us and humans, when two wolves are deeply connected and have a great healthy relationship they unlock a gift that further bonds them. For my parents that gift is telepathy.

Oh and one last thing, marking your mate is a deeply personal thing, it is a lot like making love. So we do not go around advertising our marks. It’s almost like going naked in a street just because you want to tell people you’re married.

Alyssa, gaia bless her is now fantasising about when she and Yuj Nereus Lycian become mates. I am looking at her and nodding but I zoned out of this conversation five minutes ago. Alpha Nereus has been the song on a lot of women’s lips since he assumed his new position as alpha at 28 years old and unmated a year ago. He is apparently a beauty to behold and is also really wise but at this moment I really couldn’t care less as my heart is now fixated on a beautiful wolf of my own. “Aren’t you supposed to be in orientation with the new first years” Greg suddenly says bringing me out of my daydream, Alyssa looks at her watch and gasps “oh my goodness I so sorry, I forgot” of course she did, one mention of Alpha Nereus and her brain stops functioning but of course I am not going to say that to her, I am just going to think it. “I’m headed there anyway so I will take her” Hunter says, I feel a pang of disappointment because that’s really not who I want to accompany me however, I try my best not to show it. I get up from the couch then I hear Hunter say “Gerald you coming?” and I can feel my heart doing a happy dance in my chest.

Gerald walks beside me while Hunter leads the way, I am looking at the ground and smiling like an idiot. Hunter then instructs Gerald to let the rest of the Peraethus pack know that they will be having a meeting soon to discuss this year’s games “The Peraethus pack?” I ask Gerald as he is sending out a text because I am confused “I thought you were Eumon” Gerald smiles “My mother was Eumon, My Dad is Peraethus” he says “I’m sorry about your mom” I tell him, he shrugs and tells me it fine. I find out that Hunter is a Beta in training while Gerald is a Gamma and not a third year like I originally assumed. They leave me at the entrance to the auditorium where a Praefectus (like a captain in the military) is addressing the first years, I join the first years and after the orientation I meet a few new people and the rest of the day goes by without me seeing Gerald again.

Greg returns me home; I have a conditional admission and overprotective parents so I am not allowed to stay on the academy’s campus for now. When I get in, I run upstairs to change into my workout clothes and then run into the yard so I can practice some moves before dinner. I am using a staff and trying out a mixture of Anthony’s and Samantha’s moves on a wooden dummy my brothers use for practice whenever they come home when I begin to feel pain in my arm leading up to my chest again. I know it is ridiculous, but I take off my bracelet and I drop it on the old tree stump in the yard and the pain ceases almost immediately. I am too excited to focus on that information “okay let’s try this again” I say to the dummy, then in a swift motion I turn around and hit my wooden opponent and immediately the dummy explodes, my staff snaps in two and the force from the explosion sends me flying and I hit the ground in a loud thud!

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Nereus; Alpha of the Lycius pack, is making his way to his chambers. He has just gotten back from a meeting with the remaining members of the Sedes Lycaonis; a meeting which should have been an email in his opinion. Suddenly it feels as though he has been hit by a gust of wind. He takes a quick look around and none of the windows are opened. He feels a tingle in his spine and then he sees that his family heirloom on his chest is glowing.

The Alpha’s Goddess

Chapter 5: Announcement

“Can you describe what happened to me?” the sweet looking nurse who had been talking to Anthony and Greg earlier asks me. She is sitting in front of me now and her name tag reads “Violet”. “Well I was up fighting, then my arms felt numb then i-I, I woke up here” I respond and I see Anthony smile and shake his head. She picks a sudden interest in my bracelet and starts to inspect it, then she asks “were you wearing this while you were sparring?” I nod and tell her I wear it all the time and Greg chimes in saying I only take it off when I sleep. She continues to look at it intensely and finally she puts my hand down and advises that I should take it off next time I have to spar. That’s ridiculous, is she really trying to insinuate that the heart wrenching pain I felt was because of a crystal bracelet? Of course I am not going to challenge her logic, I just nod and tell her I would do that. A guy with dirty blonde hair who looks around the same age as Anthony walks into the infirmary towards my bed where my three brothers are hovering over me and the nurse, he calls out for Anthony and when he sees us he says “The games have been announced”.

************

Violet watches the girl leave with her brothers, when she is alone, she picks up her phone and sends a message that reads “found it”

************

I hurry after my brothers Anthony and Greg, they are talking to Hunter; the guy who came in to tell us about the games. Alongside me is Alyssa who can barely contain her excitement. “The games” is an annual werewolf event that lasts for 14 days, for seven out of those days seven teams representing the seven packs are created and presented before the reigning Sedes Lycaonis, then participants are tested and pushed to incredible (and if I might add unnecessary) physical strain; every werewolf sense and ability is tested and at the finale the last two remaining teams each provide a champion for a final duel. The winner gets to keep a fancy gold trophy and also gets to dance with the winner of that year’s pageant. Oh yeah, while the games happen for the first seven days, the remaining seven days are filled with Galas and luncheons and a pageant but for a lot of people, the highlight of the event is the first seven days so that is why it is popularly referred to as “the games”. “Stupid games” I say everyone pauses and look at me, Hunter is about to say something when Anthony tells everyone “don’t mind her, she’s just upset because she doesn’t qualify for this year’s games” I look around and respond “It’s a stupid rule, why do I have to wait till next year?” my ceremony is in six months, I am practically eighteen “Didn’t you just pass out mid spar like two minutes ago” Alyssa says and everyone chuckles. I look at her “wow, thanks for the support sis” I say, Noah puts his arm on my shoulders and says “you could be twenty five sis, there is no way Mum and Dad” “or Us” Greg cuts in “will let you anywhere the games”. I look at them in disbelief and they all begin to laugh again.

We enter into an office and as my brothers are discussing with Hunter the details of this year’s games, I notice Alyssa in a corner excitedly texting someone. Gerald walks up to me and sits beside me “hey Princess” he says, I smile “I thought it was warrior Princess” I ask him, “still a princess regardless” he responds. “Can I ask you something?” he says, I nod then he says “why are you in such a hurry to do everything?” I find myself unable to answer the question then he continues “no matter how your ceremony turns out to be, you’ve already proven yourself to be exceptional, you have an amazing family” he points towards my brothers “so you will be fine, better than fine even”. There is a short pause between us then he breaks the silence “stop focusing on everything you aren’t allowed to do Celeste”. It’s probably because I am attracted to him but everything he just said makes a lot of sense, he gets up to go join my brothers in their conversation “Gerald” he stops and I have his attention again “am I allowed to have your number?” I say, he smiles at me and gives me his phone so I can put in my number. I am still smiling when Alyssa walks back to me and sits in the position that Gerald was in. Then excitedly she asks me “bless me gaia have you heard?” I have a puzzled expression then she squeals and says “The young alpha of Lycius apparently has plans to pick a mate from this year’s pageant”.

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a phone rings and it is answered by a hooded figure “keep a close eye on the girl” the person on the other end of the line says. The hooded figure nods and the call ends