Chapter 27 - Magical mysteries.

LENA TOOK A DEEP BREATH and closed her eyes. She could feel the movement of the earth around her. She could feel the magic flow in the air around her. Alaric had agreed to bring her back to her old village to release some of the magic into the earth. The spirits of her ancestors flowed through the air around her and her heart ached.

Her mother and father weren’t part of the realm and wouldn’t be until she was able to bury them. She wasn’t even sure if she could remember where her mother’s bones were anymore. Besides, she couldn’t imagine Alaric ever allowing her to have proper funerals for her people. Focusing on her core, she felt the bright energy flow up her body, past her shoulders and down her arms. It filled her hands and as soon as she turned her hands palms down, she could feel the energy draining from her body.

Since she wasn’t sure when she would be able to shed extra magic again, she let the magic drip out to the very last drop. The world around her started to spin and a pair of strong arms caught her right before she fell.

“What have you done?” Alaric’s voice sounded alarmed as Lena smiled at him, but she was just too tired to speak. With all her magic drained completely at the moment, all she wanted to do was sleep. He put her down on the ground and as soon as she shifted, he lay down beside her. Lena pushed her fingers through his soft fur and pulled herself up onto his back and she felt him get up and slowly start to walk. The scent of the forest was different to that of the pack house and she missed it terribly.

Yawning, she couldn’t stay awake any longer and she drifted off to sleep.

ALARIC DIDN’T WANT TO BRING HER HERE at first, but Lena convinced him that it was for the best. It almost seemed as though she had made peace with her new circumstances, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up just yet. The one thing that was crystal clear was that her magic was out of hand and he had to do something to help her.

The last thing he needed was the witch burning down their pack house! He would never be able to look his people in the eye if that happened! Rebecca, as usual, told him he had to do it and, after speaking to Lena himself, he believed it would be for the best, but he never imagined she would completely drain herself! They arrived back at the pack house and Max rushed out to help Alaric take the young witch back to her room.

The memory of her standing in the middle of the forest with that bright light shooting from her hands haunted his mind. The only magic he had ever seen from blood witches was death. He never in his wildest dreams would have imagined that their magic created such a beautiful and pure light. He shook his head as he closed her door and Max was quick to ask what happened.

“Honestly, I don’t know.” Alaric frowned. He told Max everything as they walked back to his office where Rebecca was waiting for them. Argus had returned to the council for a couple of days and little Rebecca almost seemed relieved. That made Alaric wonder again what she might be hiding in that library. What was it that she didn’t want Argus to see, and why was she so adamant about keeping an eye on him? Max gave them some time alone and Alaric studied Rebecca.

“What?” She shrugged. “Is Lena, okay?” He nodded. How was he going to ask his little sister what she was hiding? “WHAT?!” She got impatient and frowned, making him laugh.

“It’s not nice, huh?” He poured himself a drink. “When people hide things from you.” He sighed and he could just see her rolling her eyes behind his back. “Rebecca, I need you to be honest. What are you hiding in the library?” He turned around and studied her carefully.

“Nothing.” She shrugged and from her body language he couldn’t tell if she was telling the truth or not. He could usually figure it out pretty quickly, but not this time.

“Rebecca?” He glared at her and she sighed, putting her book beside her on the couch.

“How did things go with Lena? Is she okay now? Will her magic burn down the house?” She frowned and Alaric sighed. Rebecca was hiding something and from her reaction he could only guess that it was huge. She never changed the subject unless she knew he would be furious once he found out what she had done.

“It was pretty amazing. You would have liked to have been there.” He smiled as an idea started to form. “Maybe, if you tell me your little secret, I might take you with us when we go next time.” He tried his best to sound as if it didn’t matter to him. Rebecca instantly crossed her arms over her chest and her little cheeks puffed up as if she was fighting to keep her secret inside her mouth.

“I told you. I’m not hiding anything in the library.” She sighed, rolling her eyes, but then he caught the meaning behind her words and how she was playing him.

“Okay, where are you hiding it then?” Alaric crossed his arms as he sat down beside her. She was quiet for a moment, as if mulling it over.

“It’s somewhere safe and it’s personal.” He could see that she was fighting the urge to tell him. It had to be huge for his little sister to cling to it this tightly. Why wouldn’t she tell him anything?

“Okay,” He sighed. “If you don’t tell me, I’m not going to take you with us next time.” He tried one last time to convince her, but she wasn’t budging. After she left his office, he called her omega and told the girl to keep a close eye on Rebecca and to report all her movements back to him. He would find out what she was hiding if it was the last damn thing he did. He hated it when Rebecca hid things from him and usually, he could get it out of her, but this time, things seemed different.

LENA WAS WOKEN by her door slamming shut. She yawned and stretched and was instantly reminded of the wounds on her wrists and ankles as she looked at little Rebecca pacing back and forth. The little girl looked absolutely enraged and Lena wondered what Alaric did to upset her this time.

“What happened?” Lena sighed and Rebecca stopped pacing and glared at her for a moment before continuing. She was mumbling something to herself that Lena couldn’t figure out and then suddenly came to a complete halt as her arms dropped to her sides.

“What would happen to Alaric if our people found out what we are?” The sudden tears in Rebecca’s eyes made Lena hold her arms out to the girl. Up to that moment, Lena didn’t even think of what might happen to them if people found out. Before, she would have been blinded by her coven’s traditions and she would probably have thought that people would be happy for them. Now she knew better. Much better. If his people … If anybody found out, it could very well mean the end of Alaric and Rebecca.

Their pack could shun them or worse, take them prisoner. What would happen to Lena then? The little girl was sobbing in her arms as Lena tried to console her. She couldn’t imagine what had brought this on and all she could do was just to hold on to the crying girl until her tears finally dried up. Rebecca sat down on the bed beside Lena and she told her what happened with Alaric and that he suspected something.

“Do you think he knows about your mother and her magic?” Lena frowned and Rebecca sighed, shaking her head. It seemed that Alaric only had a suspicion that something was going on, but he had no idea what. Lena and Rebecca would have to make sure he never found out. He was just too honest and the idiot would tell his people and then it would be all over for the three of them.

No, Lena had to help Rebecca to hide the truth from Alaric and anybody else who suspected anything. For the moment, they agreed that the diaries were safe, tucked under the floor board in Lena’s room, but Lena was scared someone might walk in while they were reading, so she suggested that Rebecca bring one or two books from her room.

That way they could cover what they were reading just in case. They had to be careful, now more than ever before. Nobody, not even Alaric, could know his true lineage!