Chapter twenty.

Maggie's Pov
"What the hell has come over you Clara?" Greyson asked, moving abruptly to her front. Clara's eyes immediately turned glassy and because I was too familiar with the shifting processes, I quickly jumped into their middle to stop their feud before they both shifted into their wolf form and started destroying things.?
"I'm sorry for coming into your lives and causing so much trouble. I'm not sure if Alpha Julian is in this condition because of me but one is sure, I'll never wish him bad." My gaze unconsciously turned to Julian's figure laying on the bed. "If my presence is causing so much trouble then I must leave" Ryder wanted to protest but I cut him off. "But please, let me stay until he wakes or at least find a solution to his illness. He has done too much good for me to leave him at this point. And also because I have nowhere else to go, I need time to plan. So please, instead of fighting because of a low life like me, let's think of ways to revive him. We are all he's got… please Clara"
"Just pray you to have no involvement in what is happening to him. Because if you do…"?
"Clara, that's your future Luna, you better talk to her with some respect!" Ryder thundered aggressively.?
"Yours, not mine… undoubtedly, the goddess made a blunder by matching them," Clara said bitterly with a burst of humorless laughter dancing on her lips.?
I scrunch my nose and nodded repeatedly with my arms folded.?
"Is this how you want to act? Julian is lying down on his bed, unconscious because of reasons we don't know and the best you'd do is act so crazy?" Greyson wiped off invincible sweat from his face. "In case no one had told you, Maggie didn't come here on her own accord. She was forced… no, I kidnapped her and brought her here on the Alpha's demand! Julian wants her here! Hell, he likes her and if you have any respect for Julian you'll show Maggie some respect" Greyson concluded.
I stepped into their middle and raised my hands up at both of them. "The doctor said Julian is fine but he isn't waking up. What do we do next? How do we fix this?" I asked, trying to by-cut the ongoing topic, and thankfully Clara, Ryder, and Greyson caught up to my intentions.
"Why don't we call the priest? He'll definitely know what to do" Ryder offered another idea and it sounded like a really good solution. Back then at the Brown moss pack, Alpha Kane constantly used the priest and witches to settle issues that seemed to have no solution.?
"Yeah, the priest or the witches. They are good consultants, back at home—the Brown moss pack, Alpha Kane consulted them all the time for issues that seemed to have no solutions or answers. If you don't have any in your pack, I can…"
"Oh, thank you future Luna but no, we don't entertain witches in our pack. Thank you" Clara said disdainfully.
"Doesn't change the fact that the witches are good seers," Ryder said, sliding next to me. "And yes, we do consult witches… little Miss Zeta" Ryder said and I fought the urge to laugh. More than the whole thing unfolding being funny, it also made my heart melt. Having people fight for me was a luxury that ended when my parents died.?
"If the witches see out of our options can we at least try the priest?" I asked almost pleadingly.
"We'll call the priest then" Greyson agreed and turned to a guard that was standing outside Julian's door "call the priest and tell him he's needed by the Alpha immediately. Bring him over yourself, tell him it's really urgent" Greyson ordered.
"As you commanded Beta," the guard said as he bowed reverentially to us before he?immediately ran off to where the priest was. Ryder, Greyson, and Clara soon began a conversation where they were whispering to each other. I took the clue and excused myself back to Julian's room, giving them privacy and room to talk properly.?
Shortly afterward, the door creaked open and all three of Julian's cabinet members walked back into the room.? "Will the priest be here soon?" I asked Greyson?and he nodded
?"Yeah, he'll be here in no time" he replied to me and walked into the inner room to wait along with the others for the priest. Reluctantly, I trotted behind him into the room, taking my seat at the farthest corner of the room. Minutes later, the priest arrived and as commanded by Greyson, the guards from earlier led him to Alpha Julian's chamber where he met us waiting for him.?
Greyson stood up immediately he saw him and waited for him to get to Julian's bed where he would check him. "Good day Greyson, Ryder, Clara, and…" he stopped when he got to me because he didn't know me but I was quick to smile at him.?
"Maggie," I?said and stretched my hand forward for a handshake, the man mid-forties-looking man smiled at me gingerly.?
"Good day Maggie," The priest said smiling. I felt his grip on my palm tighten and he closed his eyes briefly only for him to open them shortly to reveal mischief dancing in them and a glint of something ideal too. "Ah, the alpha's mate I see" he added with a knowing look as he slowly let go of my hand. His smile widened as he subtly took me in. He nodded in approval and a slight blush crept up my cheek. We shared a knowing look and he smiled again. I could only stare at him puzzled. How the hell did he know all these things about me? He leaned closer and whisper something into my ears that made me look even more surprised.
Who the hell is this man?
"Call me Anthony… priest Anthony. But Anthony is just fine with me" He said as though he'd read my mind.? Surprise filled my eyes and they automatically widened. "It's fine, I'm a priest so when I come in contact with people, I can read them. It just happens but I apologize if you weren't comfortable with it" priest Anthony said and I?quickly shook her head?
"No it's fine, I'm okay with it," I said truthfully and sat down to let the priest proceed with what he came here for. He looked at me as though he wanted to say something but flashed a small smile as he went over to the seat provided for him.?
Greyson went over to him and began to explain all that happened to priest Anthony the way he did to Doctor Noah.? All the while as Greyson continued to speak, priest Anthony nodded his head and I hoped he was already seeing the problem and taking notes of the solution.?
Once Greyson was done with his narration, priest Anthony turned and centered his attention on?Julian who lay unconscious on the bed. "I'll have to cast a special spell on him then, to know the cause and I'm sorry but I'll need some privacy please," he said to Greyson.
"Okay priest, we'll be outside waiting to hear from you," Greyson told him and led all of us out. Ryder was the one leading our assembly, followed by Clara, then Greyson, and lastly me. Greyson noticed me behind him and turned to look at me. He offered me his hand and I gratefully took it, giving me a little squeeze "he'll be fine" he told me before letting my hand go…?
"I hope so too" I mildly answered.
Greyson stood close to the door he said it was in case anything happened and there would be an emergency where the priest would need him. Ryder stood beside Clara opposite the room door in the passage while I?sat on the floor. My legs were crossed over each other as I fiddled with my fingers and the hem of my dress.?
Fear welled up inside of me as horrible thoughts occupied my heart. I couldn't help but think that Julian would remain in that situation no matter how I tried not to. And deep inside of me, I felt guilty. I was forced to direct my attention back to Greyson who suddenly pressed his ear to the door.?
"What can you hear?" I couldn't help but ask and he mouthed "whispers"?
?He motioned for me to join him and I did. Soon I began hearing whispers too, an obvious indication that Priest Anthony had started the spell…
Soon the whispers turned into something else… something but uncanny and inhuman.? I started to hear tiny howling in the room like it was getting breezy before I noticed the sounds of different voices also coming out of the room—screeching and whispering in chorus along with the gentle howling of the wind. It was frightening and sounded like a scene straight out of a horror movie. The noise became louder and Clara and Ryder came to eavesdrop too.??
?"What the hell is going on?" I whispered, directing my question to no one in particular.?
"Beats me," Greyson answered. As we were listening, a very deep animalistic growl erupted through the room and shook the wall. Priest Marcelo's voice once again came out in little whispers and for every time we heard him say something, the guttural sound came thicker after.
"That's Cypher…" Clara said and the guys hmm-ed in response.?
"Who… what's Cypher?" I asked.
"Julian's Wolf," Greyson answered. At that moment, I felt something in me kick. The more the voice from inside went high, the more intently the thing in me responded, seemingly.?
"I guess the priest had to summon his wolf since the body is immobile," Ryder said.
"I think so too," Greyson answered but I couldn't for the life of me, talk or figure out what was going on inside me.
"What is wrong with you?" Ryder asked after sending my discomfort.
"I don't know…it seems… it seems something in me is trying to get freed. I don't understand"?
"Uhh…" I gently dismissed the prying eyes of Ryder, Clara, and Greyson and paid more attention to the sounds inside the room after trying to relinquish the disturbing feeling in my head and stomach and the wandering thoughts in my head.
?The room suddenly turned quiet which was an indication that the priest was done with his spells and incantations.
?"Let's give the priest some space," Greyson said, and just as the words left his mouth and we compared backward, the door we were leaning on opened and priest Anthony appeared at the threshold staring at us all while we waited for him to speak. He came out of the room and let out a long sigh before he looked back at us?
"What is it priest Anthony?" Ryder asked impatiently and Clara groaned when he was still taking a while to reply. I was moving my weight from one leg to the other, enduring the wickedness of priest Anthony's silence.??
"We don't have all day priest, we need to know what's wrong with the Alpha" Clara said as a matter of urgency?and priest Anthony spoke
"The alpha had been spelled by alpha Kane. I tried reversing it and waking him up but it seemed high forces were at work so it didn't work. The only solution is to have the one that cast the spell revoke it, there's no other way for the alpha to wake" priest Anthony said and with that, he bowed to us before taking his leave. Nothing more other than that awful news! What the hell were we supposed to do?
And then just like he turned back to look at us.?
"Those sounds you heard—the guttural one was Alpha Julian's wolf and your thoughts were actually true" he turned to me "That feeling in your stomach is your wolf trying to break free upon hearing her mate's growl. Alpha Julian wants you! That was him trying to reach out to you because he heard you talking about leaving"?he paused to look at Greyson, Ryder and Clara in that order. "She must remain here, in this pack, and in this house or else our king might never wake from his sleep."