Fated
Chapter 13

Eve

I should be afraid. I should be terrified! Lupines and witches are an unholy mix that always results in one losing control and hurting or killing the other. It is never from anger, generally it happens as a result of unbridled passion…and Dante is not just a werewolf, but a god as well. I could not live with myself if I were to hurt Dante and something tells me he feels the same. I feel myself flinch as his hand brushes across my cheek to slide a strand of hair behind my ear. The look of hurt on his face from my reaction is heartbreaking, but what can I do? I don’t know if I can let myself get close to him if there is even a chance of me hurting him. His wolf, Faros, thinks me his mate…but how? I saw my mother rip out her beating heart so how can Faros think their mate is only lost? Perhaps Dante was right about us needing to meet with the elder of the council.

“Did you contact the elder?” I decide to ask to help break the silence.

“Yes. she will arrive at dusk. I gave her my word that it will be a civil meeting and her safety has been guaranteed.

“Ok.” I practically whisper my response. We sit in silence for a while longer before rising up and heading back to the house.

As soon as we are through the large wooden doors I hurry to my room to shower and prepare for my audience with the elder. I pull my curly black hair into a messy bun with a few shorter strands falling around my face. I choose to keep my look simple as I choose a white sundress with black roses embroidered along the neckline and the trim that falls just below my knees. I put my white flat dress shoes on and stare at myself in the mirror as I play through my head several scenarios of how this meeting may go. I am unsure of how long I was lost in my thoughts, but am snapped back by a soft knock on the door.

“Miss Eve? You have a visitor.” Martha speaks through the door with her voice sounding less upbeat than normal.

“I will be right down Martha.” I take one last look in the mirror…time to get some answers.

As I reach the first step I can feel the energy in the room shift causing me to pause momentarily. I can smell the scent of sage, rosemary and…what is that? Such a strange smell. It hits me like a ton of bricks…monkshood…more popularly known as wolfsbane. Had the elder known of Dante’s origins? She must. Why else would she be so prepared? I continue down the steps where I see Martha standing to the left gesturing to the room just past her. I walk in as I try to steady my nerves. This room is new to me. The doors have always remained closed during my stay here. Bookcases line the walls from floor to ceiling and a large wooden desk sits in the back of the room with a large leather chair seated behind it and 2 wooden chairs with dark green leather sit in front of it. My gaze is pulled toward the large window where I see a thin figure with gray hair pulled into a braid that falls down her back and ends just above her knees. Her white dress is the same one I remember from my childhood. So many years have come and gone and yet nearly nothing about her has changed.

“Eve.” The woman’s voice purrs my name as she turns to stare at me with her white eyes .

“Elder Glora.” I attempt to mimic her tone, but I am pretty sure I fell short.

“By the request of my presence I must assume it has begun.” I find her words as utterly infuriating as that of the goddess. Why does wisdom come with the need to be vague?

“What has begun?” I wait for what feels like an eternity before she finally chooses to respond. She gestures for me to sit in one of the chairs in front of the desk. I take my seat with her taking the one beside me.

“The future we are about to face has been more than 100 years in the making. Your mother was a young witch with dreams of great power. Her needs drove her to be ruthless even as a child. I did my best to guide her and direct her, but all my effort only caused her hunger to grow. When she had slain the lycan gods mate I knew something must be done. She planned to use his mate’s heart in a spell that would go against everything our coven stands for. Blood magic is…very unholy. I used this as a chance to intervene. I had hoped that my efforts would help to pull her back to us. When she cast the spell, she was unaware that I had one of my own in place as somewhat of a failsafe. The power she drew from the spell did not flow to her because the power did not belong to her. I honestly did not know what happened to that power at the time. It was not until I learned that she was with child that it all made sense. The goddess’s plan began unfolding before my eyes. That power lay dormant until the moment of your birth. Your power grew so quickly and made itself known at such a young age. Your mother was terrified of the power you possessed. Do you remember the night she brought you to me in the temple?” She pauses waiting to see if I actually did remember any of the events that took place. I only respond by nodding. “She brought you to me and asked that I bind you. She wanted to ensure that your powers would never exceed those of your peers…or her own. I begged her to reconsider this request, but she was adamant that if I refused her, she would ensure it was done with, or without my help. I reluctantly agreed. During the preparation for your binding I added some…personal touches to the spell. Eve, I did not strip you of your magic. I made it lie dormant. I could sense it awakening at your birthday celebration and that is why I convinced your mother that she must follow through with the arrangements that she had made with Dante immediately. I knew her need for what Dante possessed was greater than even her love for you. She played into the ploy flawlessly. What do you know of your father?” she pauses again looking at me as she awaits my answer.

“Nothing really. She told me that he left the moment he found out she was pregnant. She never wanted to talk about him and always got angry when I would ask.” My reply is clearly what she had expected to hear.

“Your father…he was a lycan. She only found out after you had been conceived. She had been too blinded by her own wants to even sense his wolf. Her plan was to get pregnant and vanish so she could fulfill her part of the agreement with Dante. Once she found out about your father’s true nature, she took his life. She did not want to give him the opportunity to find out about you and possibly void her arrangement. My child, your power is great. Greater than even my own I must say. Your mother’s witch blood combined with the fierce blood of your lycan alpha father…it has created the most unnaturally beautiful magic that I have ever seen. You must feel how connected you are to everything around you. Can you not feel the earth’s pull? You do not FEEL the energy of the world around you as the rest of us do…you ARE the energy.” She can see how my posture changes the more her words sink in.

“Alpha? My father was an alpha?” The words spilling out in disbelief as if the rest of what she has said is nothing more than a casual conversation.

“Yes Eve. He was the alpha of the Orion pack to the north.” her head tilting slightly as she feels the energy crackling around her.

“And me…am I a wolf too?” I feel that I needed this answer more than anything and hoped she could give it, but things are never that easy, are they?

“I-I really don’t know my child. A being such as yourself has not existed in my time on this earth. You are, in every way, a miracle. Your very existence is both impossible and fascinating.” She seems almost excited as though I were a new species she is studying.

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“Impossible?” The word slips out as her words race through my head.

“Yes. The goddess has never allowed such a being to come into this world. I can try to reach out to the Orion pack on your behalf and see if one of their elders can help shed light on your.condition. I must warn you though,the more people who know about you, the less safe you will be. People can be curious, but they can also be evil…consumed by greed as your mother is. I have never wished to see you come to harm.” Her words are haunting and weighted with sadness.

“I need to think. Can I get back to you if I decide I want to meet with them?” I hope she understands how confused this has left me.

“Of course.” She rises from her chair in the most graceful motion. “I must return to the coven. I am so glad I was finally able to tell you the truth. Carrying it with me has been quite the burden.” She gives me a warm smile before turning and walking out the door.

I cannot believe how much my life has been uprooted in only a few days time. It seems my whole life was a lie. My father is a lycan…my mother tried to strip me of my powers out of fear that they would exceed her own…and my powers…they came from Dante’s mate. Is this what Faros meant by her not being dead, but rather she was lost? Is it because part of her lives within me? I can’t be her though. I cannot replace what my mother stole from him. They may be her powers, but this is my body, soul and mind. How can I ever tell Dante what my mother had done? This was all too much to bear. I can feel my emotions spiraling out of control and without a thought I run out of the room, through the large wooden doors and into the forest. I hear the sound of Dante’s night guard calling to me, but I cannot stop…I won’t. My feet carry me at an inhuman pace and clouds swallow the sky with thunder crashing in every direction. My mind is raging like the ocean’s waves in a storm. Flashes of lightning year through the sky as I feel trees, brush and rocks scraping across my legs. I push further into the dark forest until I finally collapse on my hands and knees. A sound erupts from deep with in me, bursting past my lips, shaking me to the core. The roar that escapes me is animalistic and primal in every way.

‘Steady. Find your resolve.’ a voice echoes all around me.

“What? Who..who’s there?!” I cry out.

‘I am you…and you are me. We are one. I have been chained for so long. Thank you for freeing me.’ The voice flows over me like a gentle rain.

I look all around me and see only darkness. “Freeing you?”

“Yes. I am free now because of you.” The voice seems closer now.

I close my eyes to fight back tears, but as I open them I see before me an animal so majestic that I am sure it cannot be real. Before me stands a large silver wolf with fur that appears to glow in moonlight as it approaches me slowly.

‘We are strong my lady, but even our strength could not break the chains that bound me. Not until you were ready. The truth was the key to my freedom and oh how long I have waited.’ I know it is impossible, but this creature most certainly is the voice I am hearing.

I reach out my hand to touch the beast that stands before me and as my hand makes contract withtit’s silky fur I am swallowed by light as the creature and all its energy is absorbed into me in a radiant flash of light. As fast as it appeared, it is now gone…and I sit alone in the darkness…only I no longer feel alone.

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