She was quickly becoming frustrated and felt like this should be coming to her much easier than this. Her mother was a witch. Her aunt is the High Priestess of the most powerful coven in the realms. Her grandmother was the most powerful Seer that any witch has seen. Why was it so hard for her to find her own magic?!
Then Atara calmed herself with a few more deep breaths. She could feel Raven’s presence around her, but she was too deep within the meditation. Atara could not pull herself out of it until she found her magic. I am thinking about this the wrong way. Zara’s wolf was able to cast her magic. I need to find my wolf.
With that in mind, she focused on her wolf. Gray eyes stared back at her own. Her midnight black fur came into focus. Then her wolf disappeared and Atara saw a black cord. Then she saw bolts of gold shining through it. My magic!
Atara pulled herself out of the meditation and looked up at Raven. Atara’s aura flared around her like an obsidian flame. A dark grayish silver mixed within her eyes like silver was mixed within Zara’s. Her magic and power were on full display. Raven’s radiating smile was from ear to ear. However, the sun was beginning to set behind her.
“How long was I doing this? It’s almost dark!” Atara exclaimed as she pushed herself to her feet.
“You’ve never drawn out your magic before. It takes time. Therefore, witches begin training at a young age. The reason why it took Zara until she was sixteen was because she’s also a wolf. Otherwise, I would have begun training with her as soon as she arrived here.”
“So, I will have access to it now?”
“I am not sure. You and your sister are rare cases and there are no instruction manuals for wolf and witch hybrids.”
“Well, when all of this is over, we should write one. This shit is hard.”
Raven chuckled at her. “Witchcraft is not easy. Over the next few days, we will explore your magic. I think this was enough for today.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next day, Raven brought her to the same spot. Atara was to meditate and bring out her magic again. This time, Atara knew exactly where to look. It still took her around an hour before she managed to bring forth her magic. Raven considered that major progress since it had taken her eight hours yesterday.
Raven explained that a simple spell that most witches learn is manipulating their own energy. She then lifted her hand in the air and curved it as if she were holding a cup. Her navy-blue magic flared in her palm. “This is your magical energy. The more you practice with this energy, the easier your magic will be to do other spells. This is the one spell that does not require you to use an incantation.”
“Is this why Zara does it so easily?”
“Yes, actually. Zara loved the idea of manipulating her own magic. This was the first thing she mastered and is one of the most skilled at this. She even surpassed me.”
“Do you fear Zara?”
Raven looked alarmed at Atara’s question. “No, why I?”
“When she did that spell to break the ring, I noticed her magic look sickly black and had this neon red within it. Not her usual white and blue. Afterwards, it felt like there was this dark presence. Then it disappeared as quickly as it came. For a moment, I feared her. Feared that she would go dark.”
“Your sister would kill herself before she became a Black Witch.”
Raven tossed aside the idea far too quickly for Atara’s liking. However, she did know Zara better than she did. Atara thought about that for a second. Maybe I should take a day to get to know Zara. We are sisters after all, and we know nothing of one another.
Raven instructed her to stand with her feet shoulder width apart, then center herself with breathing. “Once you feel centered, I want you to imagine your magic in the palm of your hands. Then cast it out as a ball toward me.” Atara did what Raven asked. She closed her eyes and centered herself. Then she pictured her magic in the center of her palms, then into a ball. She opened her eyes to see that her magic complied with her request. Raven was on the other side of the field, a good fifty feet away from her. Atara channeled her focus then threw the ball towards Raven. Her magic exploded on a barrier. “Nicely done. Again.” It felt like she was back at the castle being trained, but at the same time it felt different. Raven was not yelling or degrading her the way Cyrus did. Her tone was lighter, and she praised Atara in an excited way when she completed the tasks.
Raven asked her to complete bigger and bigger manipulations of her magical energy. Within a few hours, Atara was sending walls of magic toward Raven, just like Zara. Before she knew it, she began to lose control. Her magic became wild and sent out her magical energy like she was being attacked and needed protection. Raven tried to get near Atara to bring her back to a relaxed state so her magic would stop, but her magic would not allow her to come near Atara. It began to swirl into a cyclone around her.
She began to panic, and her breathing became irregular. Atara could feel the magic within her getting out of control. She could hear Raven screaming on the other side but could not make out what she was saying. The cyclone shifted and started to grow bigger. She could see the gold within her magic reflecting in the cyclone. “RAVEN! HOW DO I MAKE THIS STOP?” She screamed as loud as she could, but it appeared to be futile. The cyclone was too loud with the wind whipping around. Atara could hear her heart beating within her ears. Atara! You must relax. Focus on your breathing! Raven’s voice was in Atara’s mind. I forgot that she was telepathic. Atara reached within and focused on her breathing. Her wolf’s eyes looked at hers. Her wolf poured strength and encouragement through their bond. Between her wolf and taking in deep breaths, Atara began to relax. It took a few moments, but the cyclone began to dissipate. Once everything calmed down, Atara collapsed and everything went black.
Atara woke up in her bedroom, in Xander’s home. She looked around to find Zara sitting in a chair on her right, asleep. Sophia was sitting on her bed, applying a cool cloth to her head. Raven was pacing at the end of her bed. “Well, you gave us quite a scare, little wolf.” Sophia said in a caring tone. Raven stopped pacing and looked at her. She felt Zara stirring awake. “How are you feeling, Atara?” She sat up with Sophia’s help. “Like I was hit by a truck.” Zara chuckled. “Now you know how I felt while training with my magic.” Atara stared at Raven. “What happened?”
“Your magic is remarkably similar to Zara’s. Wild and powerful. Since it was the first time you used it, it did not know what was going on. It knew you were throwing energy at me and felt like you were under attack. So, it defended you.”
“Did you seriously conjure a cyclone of magical energy?” Zara asked, sounding excited.
“Looks like it.”
“Badass! I want to do that.”
“Zara, no. Your magic does not need another way of going wild.”
“Aw! Aunt Raven! But I love manipulating my magical energy!”
“How about when you have full control of it?”
Zara stuck her tongue out at Raven. Atara looked around the room. This was completely different than when she was at the castle. The only one who would visit her in the infirmary was Marcus. Cyrus would say he was disappointed in her for getting hurt. Here? She was being pampered by the female Alpha, her aunt was pacing with worry at the foot of her bed and her sister was trying to make her laugh. Atara understood that her Mother did what she did for the best interest of her children. However, she wished she could have grown up here with Zara, surrounded by love and encouragement to grow instead of the threats and disapproval she got from Cyrus.
Chapter Nineteen: Zara
After Atara’s cyclone debacle and her recovery, she told Zara that she would like a day to themselves to get to know one another. Zara agreed that it was needed and was excited to have a chance to get to know her sister. The next day, Atara took Zara out for an adventure. It turned out, there was a waterfall that Atara had known about that she would need Raven’s help to get to. Atara gave Raven coordinates that were not too far away from the waterfall, an
d then they were to walk the rest of the way. Zara had asked why Raven could not just portal them to the waterfall and Atara’s response was that they needed to walk there to experience the journey. Zara did not press the matter any further.
Zara ended up agreeing. The walk to the waterfall added to the ambiance. There were flowers she had never seen before growing up alongside the pathway. She even saw the flower that Tobias had sent her. I wonder if we are close to the Elemental realm, she thought when she saw it. All the flora around the area were more vibrant than Zara had ever seen.
She could hear the pounding of the falls when they were a half a mile away. Zara could smell the water in the breeze as it blew through the trees. Once they arrived at the waterfall, it was even more spectacular compared to the forest leading up to it. The path ended at one of many pools that the waterfall created on what seemed to be the third level of the rock formations. Below them was the deepest end, where even boats could move easily. Along the platform they were standing on, there were a few more pools that the second tier of the falls emptied into. The highest level of the mountainous falls poured into the middle of everything. The colors of the water were shades of blue and teal, and the grass was the brightest tint of green, like sour apple candy. It was as though someone turned the saturation levels in her brain for her eyes to perceive this gorgeous area that the Goddess had created. Zara was not sure if they had crossed the veil into the Elemental Realm, because she would be shocked that this gorgeous place was still within their beloved Werewolf Realm.
Atara took off her shirt, pants, shoes, and socks and dived into the pool below. When she surfaced, she encouraged Zara to do the same. Zara did not hesitate. She tossed her clothes into a pile, took a deep breath and dived in. The water was cool, but not cold enough to take her breath away. She swam under the water and let the tension melt away. Zara felt like the world was on her shoulders, but right now she was free of that responsibility. When she surfaced, Atara started splashing her as they waded in the pool. It was nice to see her sister laugh and smile.
When they started to get tired from swimming, they sat on the bank by the water and ate sandwiches, chips, and fruit followed by the water that they had packed. Zara watched her sister and noticed that Atara was still a little tense. Atara also continuously looked around as if she were listening for out of place noises, as if a threat would burst out of the trees at any moment. Then Atara looked at her.
“So, tell me, how was growing up in the Midwest Pack?” She asked.
“What do you mean exactly?”
“Well we came here to get to know one another. Tell me your life story from what you can remember when you showed up on Xander’s doorstep.”
“Oh, okay. It was nice. Thinking back to that, I do remember Xander and Sophia were clearly waiting for us to show up. I do remember them looking around. Back then, I thought they were looking for our parents. Especially since I was still a wolf when I showed up. I remember them smiling a lot and praising me. They were doing their best to make my life feel normal outside of all the training. When I was not training, I went to classes. Mostly with private tutors, but I also socialized with other kids in the city. When I was twelve, Derek started sniffing around me. It was creepy.”
“Was not he the Beta you killed?”
“Yeah. He perved on me all the time. When I turned eighteen, he really started trying to lay on the charm to convince me to be his mate. Never worked. I hated him.”
“Why did Xander keep him around?”
“He did not want to put him with another pack just for him to challenge him for Alpha and force me into a mate bond. Derek constantly said things like if he would be transferred, he would bring that pack back and challenge for this territory or challenge him for Alpha. Instead of dealing with something like that, he kept Derek under his nose to keep an eye on him. Deck watched out for me when he had time. Lucus also used his ability to keep me and Derek in check. Derek would spark my wolf instantly. She always wanted to kill him. The day that I finally snapped, he slapped me.”
“I would have done the same thing.”
“To really answer your question, I always felt loved and encouraged, like I still had Mom and Dad here. They may be like adoptive parents, but they did their best to make it like I still had a family. The pack, too. Deck and Lucus are like brothers to me. Other wolves in the pack played with me or helped with training. I also had Raven training me in magic. In a way, I always knew she was family. She treated me as such. How often do you hear about a High Priestess training a young witch?”
“True. That is unheard of for witches.”
“What about you? What was it like to grow up in a castle?”
“Horrible.”
Zara cocked an eyebrow at her. “Do tell.”
“I remember Marcus finding me. He made me shift back to human. When he noticed I was a little girl, he took me in. Cyrus was not happy about it, but Marcus told him that he would not cast me out to die. I am fairly sure Cyrus knew who I was, Marcus too. I remember training a lot too. But Cyrus never said a kind word to me. Just told me I was disappointing him if I was not progressing fast enough if someone landed a punch or managed to knock me out. He never visited me in the infirmary. I remember him hitting me a few times, too. When I was being a smartass and challenged him with words. He did not like that. Marcus, however, would smile whenever I accomplished a new move or managed to disarm and neutralize my opponent. He would sneak me ice cream and candies when I was younger, too.”
Atara looked off into the distance and Zara could tell that she was thinking about an unpleasant memory. She wrapped herself in a hug with her arms and her shoulders went close to her face. Zara could feel an emotional change in the air. “I remember when I was around fourteen. I was in the village that is within the Kingdom grounds, much like your little town. I befriended a boy that was my age. He was a human and was nice to me. Even though he knew I was the Werewolf Alpha’s daughter, he was not afraid of me. I felt normal when I was around him.” She gave a small smile at the thought of the boy.
“I started asking to see him every day. Even if it was an hour after all my training and classes just to see him. After a few weeks, my feelings for him grew. Marcus did not see anything wrong with letting me be a normal kid for an hour a day. Even encouraged the blossoming relationship. Cyrus on the other hand, he did not approve. Especially since it was a human that I was befriending. He ordered all the wolves of the pack to keep an eye out for me and not let me see him again. I was pissed. My wolf did not like being banished from our friend either. One night, I snuck out. I went to the village to see my friend. I climbed up to his window and knocked. He let me in. We talked, we laughed. I felt normal, again. I became addicted to this feeling.”
Zara could feel her sister’s heart twisting with heartache as she talked. She already knew that she was not going to like this ending. “Every night over the next few weeks, I managed to sneak out and go see him. He took me to a nearby waterfall one night and kissed me under the full moon. That was the last night I got to spend with him. Cyrus caught me as I snuck back in. He could smell his scent on me. Instead of getting angry like I thought he would, he told me to go to bed and we would discuss it in the morning. The next morning, he took me to my friend’s house. A man I did not recognize dragged my friend and his parents out of the house, pushed them onto the ground and made them kneel before Cyrus. I had to watch as the man slit each of their throats, my friend was last. As soon as he hit the ground, I went to run to him. Cyrus stopped me and told me if I moved another inch, I would receive the same fate. My friend reached out to me and tried to say something, but it was garbled. Then the man who killed them used magic to burn the house. The magic was black and red, it smelled of death. I stayed quiet and watched as my friend and his parents slowly bled out while their house was engulfed in flames. Once they stopped breathing, we went back home. He told me if I ever pulled a stunt like that again, he would kill me in a worse way than that unworthy
mortal.”
Zara realized that her and Atara’s life were opposites. Where she had love, Atara had hatred. “Do you think he knew all of this time who you were? Instead of killing you, he just tried to brainwash you.” Her sister looked up at her. “I do. He sent me here knowing I would find something. Probably knew I would find you and would try to uphold his rules, so I would kill you. Therefore, ending the prophecy.” Zara and Atara stared at each other for a moment. Then she noticed the emotions that Atara’s was trying to hide. Resentment toward her adoptive father, but relief that she was not under his rule anymore. “We will kill him, Atara.” Her sister looked up at her and for the first time she saw happiness behind the returned smile.
Chapter Twenty: Cyrus
Cyrus stood in his chambers looking out of a massive window into the distance. The sun was rising, and its light was beginning to shine over the vast fields and hills within his view. He took a deep breath and a long sigh. He was beginning to wonder why Atara had not come back.
The king put on his robe and began to pace in his quarters. He thought about where Atara could be and what challenges she was facing. He also wondered about the other groups of shifters that were under his banner and the holdouts that refused to serve and how he would deal with them.
With Atara gone he would have to send another trusted person in her stead, but who? Decebel was quiet and obedient but Cyrus could never get a read on what was going on in his head, and because Decebel remained a lethal mystery it was decided he should be on a tight leash as a praetorian. Marcus was a strong wolf, but his skills and dominance made him much too valuable to ever send into the field. Also, much like Decebel, Marcus remained a mystery too. Cyrus was afraid if he ever gave Marcus enough freedom, he would either run off or return with an army and destroy everything he had built. Perhaps it would be Axel. Axel seemed to be the most obedient to him and probably the easiest to sway away from Marcus’s influence should his suspicions be correct. Also, Axel seemed to have the right amount of speed and cunning to be able to fill the role of enforcer. He was a subject that appeared lethal enough to execute his will and loyal enough not to question it.
Wolf Unleashed (Hybrid Prophecies Book 1) Page 12
