It was unheard of for any witch to cast two spells at once. The standard procedure was to cast one spell at a time. You can layer spells on top of one another, but not cast them at the same time.
Zara felt slightly more confident knowing her magic could layer itself for her protection. That was something that will come in handy as the prophecy approaches. She would need every advantage she came across to ensure the safety of her people.
“Let us get you back. I am going to call the Coven into a meeting. We need to re-strengthen your crystals. I am nervous that your magic will be reaching its peak sooner than expected.”
“Should I be concerned?”
Raven thought about it. “No, I do not think so. If Cyrus hasn’t found you yet, then I am sure even with this little breakthrough he will still be thinking that you are dead.”
Raven flicked her wrist and opened a portal. Her navy-blue magic slid across the grass and climbed upward until a hole big enough for them to step through appeared. Within the hole, Zara saw the back of her home where she lived with Xander and Sophia. The three-story home was painted light blue with sapphire blue trimmings around the windows and doors. In the window on the bottom floor, Zara saw the top of Sophia’s dark brown hair bobbing around in the kitchen. “Thank you, Raven. Today I finally feel like I will one day get a handle on my magic.” Before she could say anything more, Zara stepped through the portal.
Chapter Four: Atara
In her midnight black wolf form, Atara ran through the woods next to the castle. The woods were thick with pine, oak, and maple trees as well as apple and crabapple trees. There were thickets of vines with needles off the path and she could smell various small animals that lived within them as she ran past. The feeling of the ground under her paws brought a bit of calm to her mind. Marcus stating that her father might be lying had her in a state of confusion. Cyrus does not lie to me… I am his daughter! She thought to herself repeatedly as she ran. The scent of deer had her slowing down. It was recent and getting stronger. The deer was nearby, and she had not hunted for quite some time due to all her training. She followed it to a small pond and watched it drink. Her wolf senses picked up the wind’s direction, so she changed her course so the deer would not smell her. Watching her step and ensuring she was being light on her feet, she managed to get within five yards of the deer without it noticing her presence. Atara hunched down and began to count down in her head before she leapt toward the deer to take it down. The deer turned to face her; eyes wide. Then a reddish-brown blur hit her from the side.
What the hell!
She collided with the ground with a thud and had a pair of gold eyes meet her white ones, long teeth baring at her. She growled and kicked her legs to push the wolf off her. The wolf gave her a wolfish grin and stepped back. He jerked his head toward the direction of the castle and trotted off. Atara huffed at him and growled again, then trotted off after him.
Once they got back to the castle, the wolf shifted. Atara watched as bones bent in directions it should not, fur disappeared, and skin took its place. Marcus stood in the wolf’s place and he was chuckling at her. “If you weren’t so focused on running off your temper, you would have heard me coming.” Atara shifted back, taking less time than Marcus. Cyrus told her that because she was born in werewolf from two very dominant wolves, her shift took mere seconds compared to everyone else’s. Once in her human form, she met Marcus’s eyes with her own steel gray ones, glaring at him. She was angry and felt a ripple of power around her. Marcus’s eyes widened a little and then returned the glare. Almost as though he did not want to show Atara the surprise he felt when she let loose that ripple of power. “Enough” he said as he sent a flood of his own power at her. Her wolf did not back down, and a growl escaped her throat.
Since when does my wolf have this power? She never behaves this way. Especially toward Marcus!
She reached within and reigned in her wolf. Atara felt her wolf’s annoyance but it obeyed. “Sorry about that. I do not know what’s gotten into her today.” Marcus cast a quick glance at Atara’s ring, so fleeting, if she had not been looking at Marcus, she would have missed it. She looked down at her hand in confusion. She was only wearing her ordinary black band with the orange gem. Why did he look at her ring? Marcus cleared his throat and her attention snapped back to him. “Yes?” Marcus glared at her once more, clearly annoyed with her attitude.
“We have an assignment for you.”
“Why isn’t dear old Dad telling me about this assignment himself?”
“He’s out of town.”
“He’s always out of town.”
“He is King. He can do whatever he wants.”
“How is he governing our people if he is always out of town? Where does he go anyway?”
“Classified.”
“I am his daughter! Future heir to the throne! Why am I not included in any of this? How can I govern our realm when I have only seen the inside the castle grounds? I have trained for as long as I can remember! I am stronger than any wolf in this pack. Why the hell am I still treated like a little girl?!”
Marcus sighed. “So impatient.” Then he walked away from her.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean? When will I get the chance to prove I am not a fragile little wolf?” She screamed, stomping after him.
Marcus looked at her over his shoulder shaking his head. “Just follow me.”
He walked her to Cyrus’s personal war quarters. Atara always thought the name for the room was immature. It should have been called an armory since all types of weapons, of different shapes and sizes were plastered on the walls. There was a table in the middle of the room, with a map of the realm. Small figures of single wolves and groups were placed in different sections. Atara studied the map and figures. The groups were labeled. It named which pack lived in what section and their Alpha next to it. One group always stood out to her. The Midwest Pack. She did not know why. Xander was one of Cyrus’s favorite wolves. Cyrus boasted about how Xander would take the problematic wolves and whip them into shape. It may have had something to do with his mate being an Omega, but Cyrus said it was because of Xander’s no nonsense attitude. Then she noticed at least ten single wolf figurines scattered throughout the realm.
“How are there ten rogues? I thought Dad made it so it would always be under five?”
“We aren’t sure. At least, that is what your father continues to say. I think something is going on and he does not want to say anything.”
“Like what?”
“I am not sure yet.” He rubbed his face. This was not a good sign. He only rubbed his face when he had a bad feeling about something.
“You mentioned that I have an assignment?”
“Your father would like you to bring in the leader of these rogues. Apparently, he thinks changing humans are allowed. He is wreaking havoc on a small town around the Midwest pack.”
“Why aren’t you contacting Xander? That’s his territory.”
“It is not on his territory. This wolf knows the territory lines. He is right in between two large territories. That is why no one has caught on. Our safety is at risk. Granted, this is our realm to rule. That does not mean humans or other supernaturals would not overthrow us if we got careless. Last thing we want is the Hunters getting involved.”
“How did father figure it out?”
“Newspapers. He has every single town’s newspaper delivered to him. Then I have to sift through it all.”
“Why aren’t you running our pack?”
Marcus moved his head so fast to look at Atara that she swore she heard his neck pop. Then smiled at her. “Be careful with what you say. Someone may think you do not like your father very much.”
Atara scoffed at him and he smiled.
“When do I go on this fearless journey?”
“Immediately.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The mission was to camp out on the outskirts of the two towns where the rogues were last known to h
ave struck. Atara decided not to bring camping gear, but instead ran as her wolf. She thought setting up a campsite would only draw unneeded attention to herself.
While she walked around, she found a cavity at the base of a tree where she could hide her backpack. It contained some extra clothes and other necessities. The tree stood tall and curved off to the side a few feet above. When she investigated the cavity, there were many rings in the trunk; telling her it was hundreds of years old. She sniffed around to ensure that the area was secluded. She could only smell a few squirrels and chipmunks, so she felt safe.
Atara stripped off her black ripped jeans, black tank black, panties, and bra, and stuffed them into her bag. Then she reached into her mind and woke up her wolf. Her wolf’s silver-gray eyes peered back at her, ready to shift. Once she was in wolf form, she stretched like she had just woken up from a long nap. Let us search for this criminal wolf! She told her wolf. And off they went.
Over the next couple of days, Atara walked through every inch of the surrounding woods between the two cities but got nowhere in finding the rogues. She should have smelled something by now.
Marcus had informed her that this wolf knew how to cover his tracks, but she could not grasp how he was able to cover his scent as well. There was not a trace of werewolf musk in these woods at all, which Atara found interesting considering there were two packs hunting in these woods. And yet, there was still no scent of the wolves. She began to wonder if the wolf was working with a Coven or a rogue witch to help mask his scent.
On the fifth day, she finally caught the scent of a wolf on the outskirts of the Midwest Pack’s territory. The wolf’s scent had hints of pine mixed with the normal werewolf musk. She followed it to the spot she’d chosen to set up camp, just a few yards away from her tree.
Atara’s wolf growled. She scolded her wolf telepathically and told her to remember that the wolf could not know that they were coming. Atara mentally thought of all her hunting training with Marcus. She pointed her nose in the air to determine which direction the wind was blowing. After a slight breeze blew over her, she knew she was in a perfect position. She moved silently, making sure not to step on anything that could give her away. After following the scent for about twenty minutes she came upon a clearing. There was a fire burning and four human silhouettes standing around it. She found some underbrush and hid, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
As she waited, she kept her breathing low so she could listen to their voices.
“How many have we Changed?” a gravelly voice said.
“One, sir. The one you Changed.” A deep voice answered.
“One?! How many have died during the process?” Gravelly said.
“Ten.” The deep voice said.
Ten people have died!? Atara thought.
“This is unacceptable. Find stronger candidates. He won’t be happy to hear these numbers.” They grunted in response.
“Now I am going to canvas the area for another potential. You three will canvas as well. If you find a potential, bring them to me. I guess I am going to have to start the process AND finish it if I want these numbers to meet the quota we were given. Otherwise, it is all our asses!”
The rogue then shifted into wolf form and bolted into the woods.
“NO!” Atara screamed in her head. Deciding that she could not wait anymore, she gave chase so she could deal with the rogue. She exploded out of the brush and dashed towards him. His three underlings now aware of her presence, howled as they turned into their wolf forms and started towards her. Both Atara and the three wolves started to close the gap. The clearing was lit with both the light of the moon and the orange glow from the embers of the fire. When they finally met the fastest wolf jumped into the air. Her first instinct was to jump and meet the wolf midair, but Atara waited and lunged at the first wolf's neck while his guard was down. Thrashing her head back and forth she tasted blood and heard a snap that ended the first foe’s life.
She looked up and saw the remaining two underlings, fur on the back of their necks standing up and their tails puffed up and standing in the air. She saw one dead, two remaining, but the Rogue leader got away. He will have to wait for another day. For now, her survival depended on defeating these two snarling wolves circling around her. One wolf snapped at her and she quickly jumped to the side to avoid the attacker’s jowls. As she landed a sharp shooting pain went up her ankle.
STUPID! She thought.
In avoiding the initial bite, she entirely lost track of the other wolf. Quickly turning around, she bit her opponent in the ear. The tearing sound of sinew and a blood curdling yelp was heard as Atara peeled the wolf’s ear off. Finally, the wolf relented and released her ankle. She rammed the wolf in the side as soon as it released her ankle and immediately went into the attacker’s underbelly, tearing open the skin. Two down. One more to go.
She looked around but she could not find the last wolf.
One more to go she repeated in her head scanning the clearing. Nothing.
Five minutes of snarls, snaps, yelps, and screams. Five minutes of battle lit by only a dying fire and the moon. Five minutes of fear, wrath, and inhumane behavior have now ebbed and given way to a tranquil night where only the sound of a crackling fire and the taste of blood were left behind.
She did not even notice anything about her attackers. She did not know what they looked like, what gender they were, their hair color, not even the clothes they were wearing. She saw her prey and an opportunity and acted on impulse like an animal. That bothered her. What if she’d jumped on a supposed opportunity and killed an innocent? What if she’d fought more on instinct rather than using her skills and was killed? What if the rogue kills Someone tonight and she could have stopped him?
Chapter Five: Zara
It was a week after her training session with Xander and with each passing day the sessions became more difficult. Xander recruited the Coven to hide him and his scent, sometimes making him invisible. Forcing Zara to use her magic to locate him. The hand-to-hand combat was something she used to enjoy, but now Xander has left her with bruises and even broken bones. She appreciated being a werewolf more lately because of the added benefits of fast healing, which came in handy now.
She walked to a local cafe to meet her best friend, Lucus. He had asked her before she left to train with Xander if she could meet him afterwards to wind down and catch up. She agreed because she felt like all she did anymore was train and she needed some time to herself and with her friends. Lucus was the perfect person to wind down with. He was one of the very few wolves in the pack that knew of her secret and would let her rant for hours, if that’s what she needed. It helped that he was an Empath. Having an ability like this as a werewolf was rare. An Empath has the ability to read and control other’s emotions. No one knows how the abilities show up in wolves. Some speculate that it was due to being a wolf/witch hybrid descendant, some speculate the Moon Goddess just blessed a wolf every now and then with an ability to help the werewolves thrive as a species.
As Zara walked into the diner, the smell of burnt coffee, fried food, and stale pastries hit her. She also smelled a few humans sitting at the counter, and one wolf. His scent of bitter coffee beans mixed with expensive cologne hit her nostrils and she chuckled to herself. Lucus had a coffee addiction and Zara would joke that he only drank it to pass off as human because coffee had no effect on wolves due to their high metabolism. Zara tells him that coffee is a “creature comfort” because it is a good way to show humans that we have not lost any of our humanity when we can have discussions while drinking coffee, just like them.
The diner was recently renovated and was more modern. The wood floor was polished, and Zara could smell the wax they used to buff it. There were brown and gray marble countertops, dark wood tables and chairs, and big windows to allow in natural light any time of day. The waitresses wore jeans and black t-shirts as a uniform. The one behind the counter looked up as Zara walked through the door. She was a young
brunette whose name Zara could never remember. She worked a few afternoons a week after school. She motioned her head off to the right when her eyes connected with Zara’s, signaling her to where Lucus was sitting.
He chose a booth in the furthest right corner, away from everyone. This was something he would do when he wanted to have discussions that he did not want to be overheard. Zara sat down across from him, taking a few seconds to look over her best friend. Lucus’s brown hair was lighter than usual given the sun shined directly on him. It laid against his ears and over his right eye. His aqua blue eyes sparkled while his smile spread across his clean-shaven face. His boyish looks are since he was a young wolf. Zara smiled back at him. “Well, well, well. The Princess has graced me with her presence.” Zara narrowed her eyes at him. Lucus’ square face narrowed to a pointy chin, which he lifted in the air to show his sarcastic attitude. “Just because my name means Princess does not mean I am one.” She retorted. He chuckled at her comment and leaned back into the booth.
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