Chapter 54 - Finding another way.

“Look, there is more at stake here than just you doing magic. I had to promise the council I would make sure you didn’t practice blood magic, and believe me when I tell you that I do actually understand why you did what you did, but they are scared that …” Alaric sighed when he saw Lena just getting angrier. It didn’t matter what he said right now, it wasn’t going to make things better. “I’m sorry, Lena.” She crossed her arms over her chest, looked at him for a moment longer and stormed off.

Alaric really didn’t know what to do. The only reason he reacted the way he did was because he knew what the council was going to demand. There was no compromise on this. Too many people were hurt by what the blood witches did, and sadly, Lena and now Ben and Rebecca are the ones paying the price. All the others weren’t there to live lives where they couldn’t practice their magic.

Alaric sighed as he made his way to Ben’s room. He knew he would find Lena and Rebecca there and he also knew they weren’t going to be the friendliest of beasts at the moment, but he wasn’t going to avoid his son because the women in his life were angry at him. He could have stood up for them, but the council really weren’t going to budge.

Over the next couple of days, Lena’s fury slowly started to simmer down. They couldn’t exactly continue with Rebecca’s training under the circumstances. It wasn’t like they were banned from doing all the magic. They were just banned from doing blood magic, and unfortunately that was the only kind of magic Lena knew how to do. They were sitting in Lena’s office reading when Alaric walked in with a brand-new laptop in hand.

“I thought you ladies might like to do some research.” He grinned as he put it down on the desk.

“What for?” Lena sighed and she didn’t even look up, but Rebecca was behind the desk opening the laptop faster than you could blink.

“Magic. I thought you could do some research on other types of magic. You know, something other than blood magic.” Alaric knew he had to tread lightly and he was right when Lena glared at him for a moment before returning her attention to her book. She hadn’t moved from her seat and showed no interest in the computer.

“If there is one thing my parents taught me that I will never forget, it's that the internet gives the worst advice. In anything. None of those spells you find there are real and some of them would probably land us in bigger trouble than blood magic ever would. No thanks. I think we will stick to reading romance novels and dreaming about prince charming saving us from the beast in our lives.” She glared at him again for a moment then continued reading.

“Lena, please. I’m trying here. Is there really nothing on the internet? Have you ever even looked?” Alaric waved his arms around in frustration. He thought his idea was brilliant. He thought he was giving them something that would make them happy.

“It won’t work because real magic is handed down from generation to generation, Alaric.” Lena got up from her chair. “Each witch has her own grimoire, remember? Each coven has their own spells that they use because they know the price of the spell, or did you forget about the price, huh?” She joined Rebecca and told her to search for a specific word. As soon as the definition came up, Lena read it out loud and raised a brow when she finished. She was still glaring at Alaric when he threw his hands in the air and left.

What else could he do to help the girls? He just wanted them to be happy! Why was Lena being so damn difficult about it?

LENA BURST OUT LAUGHING the moment she knew he would be out of earshot and she gave Rebecca a couple of things to search for. There would be no harm in just checking them out. The spells she was thinking about were pretty harmless and they would give Rebecca something to practice with.

They were the kind of spells Lena learned in school that weren’t specifically considered blood magic. They were simple spells that any idiot, even without any magical power, could do. Once Rebecca found the spells, Lena sent her on a quest to find the ingredients near the coven grounds while she spent some time playing Lego with Ben.

She couldn’t help but feel a little betrayed by Alaric. Not as much as she did in the beginning, but she had hoped that he would stand up for her rights and it seemed he didn’t. He was enforcing the orders from the council. She could always ask him if he was a man or a mouse, since he let the councilor walk all over him in his own pack, but that would probably just make him feel even worse than he already did, and she knew he was feeling awful. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have bought the laptop.

She wasn’t sure if he truly understood where she was coming from, but it seemed as if he did. Wondering again why they were destined mates. She turned her attention to her son and tried to get her mind off all the depressing stuff. Ben was an absolute delight. He loved living with the pack and they loved him. Soon, he would be old enough to join his new friends at the pack school, and Lena had no idea what the hell she would be doing with herself once that happened.

For the past couple of years, her entire life had revolved around the little guy, and taking care of him. She would never admit it out loud, especially not where Alaric could hear, but there might just be something to his idea. She could teach Rebecca how to write her own spells where the price wasn’t as high.

“Look at my tower, mommy!” Ben’s voice interrupted her thoughts and she grinned at her beautiful boy. She was grateful to the pack for all the toys they gave him for his birthday. He had absolutely enjoyed every single one. If Alaric had never found them, Ben would never have had any of what he had now.

“Oh, wow! It’s so high!” She beamed as she stroked his hair. Lena loved Alaric, but her little boy was the love of her life. She couldn’t imagine living her life without him and if she went against the orders of the council, she would be thrown in jail. That much she knew already. This time there would be no leaving it up to Alaric to decide what her fate would be. They might even go as far as throwing Alaric into jail.

Lena thought back to her parents and some of the stories they told her about the council. Back then, she didn’t understand the reach the council had. She thought the stories were just old wives’ tales. The kind parents used to scare their children into listening. Now she knew better. If she was going to keep her family safe, she would have to listen to what Alaric said. She couldn’t do blood magic. She couldn’t use death magic to protect her family.

That made her wonder if there was another way. Could she use white magic to protect them? There had to be some kind of protection spell in white magic. She couldn’t imagine white witches not using some kind of protection. Lena left Ben to continue playing and she went back to her office to do some research of her own. She needed the kind of magic that would stop an attack but wouldn’t harm her attacker.

She knew it was going to be a difficult thing to find, but she had to try. It was going to be the only way she would be able to prove herself to Alaric and the council. It was probably also going to be the only way she could do her bit when they were attacked, and that was a fact. They were always going to be attacked. It was just a part of life in the supernatural world.

She was the Luna, surely that would grant her some power to protect her family and her pack. She wanted to stand beside Alaric. She wanted to be his equal. She didn’t want to hide in the pack house with all the other females. She wanted to feel as though she was also contributing. Not just to Rebecca’s education, but also to the pack.