Chapter 60: Wolfsbane and Nightingale

Wolfgang

“The final diagnosis of the doctor was that the concoction the witches threw was a brewery of wolfsbane and nightingale,” Remus explained.

“He said the wolfsbane was not a strong dose, so it wasn’t harmful, but the pack members affected might be debilitated for a couple of days,” he continued.

We sat in my office, assessing the situation that had taken place last night. He and I had sustained less damage than the rest of the pack.

Max had been badly wounded, because he’d taken most of the blows targeted to his newly found mate, who just happened to be Aurora’s best friend.

What were the odds?

“So far there haven’t been many casualties reported?” I asked my gamma, inspecting the papers the pack doctor had sent me.

“Very few, alpha. Just the seekers and warriors who were on guard, and Tallulah Wilhelm,” he answered.

He hesitated. “We still haven’t been able to contact the Blue Moon pack. My guess is that they were terminated when Tallulah failed in her task.”

I was also sure that was the case. So far, our attempts to contact Alpha Wilhelm and his members had been futile.

“We were very lucky.” I sighed, leaning back in my chair. My body was drained, but I had still come to my office to receive the report about the events of last night.

“Indeed we were. You said that Lady Aurora was the one who defended the entire pack, and got the hunters to retreat?” My gamma asked.

He still sounded unconvinced that Aurora had done everything I claimed she had done.

“Yes, Cronnos said she broke him out of the trance we were in and caused havoc on the hunters, burning them alive. If it weren’t for her, the entire pack would have been annihilated last night.”

I rubbed my temple as I remembered everything Wendell had said and done.

His main target had been Aurora. If I hadn’t shown up, he would’ve gotten her.

I still couldn’t believe Tallulah had betrayed us, had put the entire village in danger, just out of petty vengeance.

I didn’t regret not saving her sorry ass. She deserved it, and more, for endangering Aurora and the pack.

Cronnos huffed in agreement, but said nothing. He hadn’t spoken to me since last night, and then he’d only said that he’d had a chat with Aurora’s wolf.

Rhea had told him that I’d screwed things up yet again with our mate, and that I was a royal asshole.

Aurora did seem distant again. I thought we had gotten over giving one another the cold shoulder before I left, but she continued to push me away.

The worst part was I had no idea what I’d done wrong this time.

~“You’re a fucking jerk. That’s what you did wrong,”~ Cronnos retorted.

~“But if you tell me what Rhea said to you, maybe I can make it up to my mate,”~ I growled at the old bag of fleas.

~“I won’t tell you. Rhea made me promise not to,”~ he said. With that, he turned his back on me and slumped down.

“Alpha. We have no doubt now, do we?” Remus said, cutting off my argument with Cronnos.

“Doubt about what?” I asked. I had no idea what he was talking about, thanks to the old bag of fleas.

“That Lady Aurora might really be of direct descent of the Moon Goddess. I mean, what you described there was surreal,” Remus said.

“It was surreal. I wouldn’t have believed it either, but then Cronnos showed me his memories of it all. She was magnificent,” I said, my voice tinged with awe.

My mate was amazing, and I had almost lost her because of my stubbornness.

“Where is Lady Aurora? I didn’t see her in the healers ward,” Remus asked.

“She’s…being distant again. I thought we had made progress, but she’s blocking me out again,” I answered.

“Did you two have an argument before you left?” Remus asked as he adjusted his glasses.

I knew what he was up to. He was assessing the situation. But I needed his advice now more than ever.

I may have been the strong and scary alpha, but I had no idea how to be in a relationship, much less court a woman.

Sure I’d carried out a relationship with Tallulah but that had been easy, cause she’d literally been all over me.

I didn’t have to do anything with Tallulah. She had been ready to fling herself in my arms.

But not Aurora. She despised my very existence.

~“Oh believe me, it’s worse than that,”~ Cronnos huffed.

“Remus, I need to ask you something. Not as your alpha, but as a friend. We’ve known each other for years.”

I paused, feeling uncertain. “You helped in my training, before I was announced the official alpha of the pack. Now, I need your help with something else.”

“Whatever it is, alpha, you know I will always be willing to help,” my gamma said, determination in his eyes as he waited for me to speak.

I was ashamed of what I was about to ask him, but I had no other choice. This was for my mate.

“Will you teach me how to be more romantic?”

Remus’ face went pale and his eyes bulged. I was sure that wasn’t what he’d been expecting.

But desperate times called for desperate measures.

Aurora

~“Rory,”~ Rhea whispered in my ear, ~“I know you’re not asleep. Talk to me,”~ she insisted.

After being checked out by the pack doctor last night, and making sure that Emma and the rest of the pack were okay, I’d come straight home and gone to bed.

My body felt sore and heavy, as if I’ve been lifting heavy weights.

Wolfgang had pestered me, insisting that I stay at the mansion, but I’d refused.

I wanted to be alone, to get some rest, but somehow my mind wouldn’t shut off.

Something was nagging at me, and it wasn’t Rhea. I’d blocked her out since I’d found out she’d spoken with Cronnos.

I knew there was no reason for her not to communicate with him. They were fated mates, and they loved each other unconditionally.

They wanted to be together. It was Wolfgang and I who just couldn’t make things work.

But something else was keeping me up. A constant feeling of a new arrival. Could it be that I was still nervous about the hunter’s attack last night?

We had been very vulnerable last night. If it hadn’t been for my powers, we’d all be dead.

~“Rory…”~ Rhea whined.

“What is it?” I asked, sighing as I sat up in my bed.

~“I need to go out for a run,”~ she said.

“Really? Now?” I asked, exasperated. We’d had a major duel last night, and I felt completely drained, but she wanted to run around?

~“I’ve been locked up for too long, and I didn’t really get a piece of the action last night. You had dominance most of the time,”~ she whined.

~“Lets go! There’s no danger, now that we scared Wendell off,”~ she added.

Rhea was right. She’d been locked up since we’d come back from our trip.

“Fine. But we won’t take long. I really need some sleep,” I said. I got out of bed and looked for a sweater.

It’s only ten in the morning, but the weather was chilly and even my abnormally high temperature wasn’t enough to keep the cold at bay.

I walked out the door and headed down to the park, heading past the swings and into the thick forest.

I took my clothes off and hid them in a tree before letting Rhea take over and shift into my great white wolf.

I fell back into her subconscious, watching as she dug her paws into the dirt before dashing off into the thick trees.

She ran and jumped around aimlessly, like a little puppy having fun. When we caught the scent of a deer she ran after it, quickly catching it and killing it.

Rhea ate her fill, then we headed to the lake where I’d first seen my white wolf’s reflection.

After all that running and hunting, I was very thirsty, plus Rhea’s fur was coated in blood, so a wash sounded like a great idea.

We padded over to the water. But I was on guard as soon as we sniffed another being nearby.

~“Does it smell familiar to you? Is it someone from the pack?”~ I asked Rhea.

~“No. It’s not a wolf. This is another being,”~ Rhea said. She cautiously crept toward the source of the smell, which was coming from the direction of the lake.

~“Could it be another hunter?”~ I asked her.

~“No. It isn’t human either,”~ Rhea said as we came closer. I could see a figure standing just a few steps from the lake.

It was a woman.

Rhea paused behind some bushes on the edge of the lake, taking cover in the shadows of the trees.

The woman was perhaps in her thirties, with long blue hair that flowed in the gentle breeze.

She wore a soft pink shoulderless dress that fell to the ground. She was barefoot, even though the day was chilly.

I couldn’t make out her face.

“There is no need to hide, my child. I am not here to harm you, or your kind,” the woman said, making me jolt with shock.

How had she known I was here?

I walked out of the bushes. There was no need to hide anymore if I was already caught, plus, something about this woman’s aura felt safe.

“There are many questions that need to be answered, but first, let me introduce myself to you, Aurora.” She turned and faced me.

When her piercing grey eyes met mine, my mouth fell open.

~“Eleanora,”~ Rhea murmured in my mind.