Selena POV:
Weighing the alternatives in my head, about ordering a banishment and letting her stay here, I needed to know more of the reality of the situation. If Ruth was thrown out, where would she go, exactly? How would she support herself? Could she support herself?
“Does she have any family living outside pack land?” I asked.
“Yes. She has an older brother. He lives with his mate in her pack. Once a wolf is asked to leave, it is usually a permanent situation. You are not allowed to contact that person. She would be considered a threat to another pack and would not be welcome. A wolf is on their own in that case,” he explained.
“I see,” I said, going into my thoughts. I remembered what it was like to be alone in the wilderness, knowing that I had no one to protect me. To be cut off from everything that I knew. The security that a family brings or the pack had in a twisted way was taken away. I had gotten lucky fin
Selena POV:“For purposely using your knowledge against a member of your pack and for refusing to give your oath to the Alpha female. The suggested punishment is banishment,” Neo stated formally. Ruth flinched at the word, as did her mother, who stood next to her husband not far behind their daughter. “Alpha Selena, your decision, please,” Neo prompted me. “Ruth,” I began, feeling my voice weaken lightly. I steeled myself to not show my anxiety to the room. “It has been decided that you will not be banished,” I said, making sure that my voice was clear to all the people in the room. Her head jerked up in surprise as her eyes widened in shock. Her mother burst into happy tears and came forward to hug her daughter. She looked up at me and thanked me. Her father looked relieved, losing the pinched look he had been wearing throughout the meeting. “Good job, Duncan. I knew you could talk he
Selena POV:Duncan and I must have been extremely tired, as we woke in the same position as we fell asleep the night before. I tried to untangle myself from Duncan’s sleeping body but inadvertently woken him the moment our fingers unclasped. Half-asleep, Duncan jerked his head up from the pillow as I felt a wave of distress come from him. He grabbed my hand back in some inherent gesture of reassurance as his eyes took a moment to focus on me. “Selena?” his morning voice croaked. His emotions calmed to an even level as he saw I was still next to him. Glancing over at the clock, I could see it was ten. “We slept late, there is a lot to do today. I need to go talk to Meredith,” I told him slowly, pulling away and off the bed to stand beside it. He watched me for a few seconds. “Do you want me to go with you?” he asked softly.I knew he wasn’t offering out of politeness, he wanted to support me.
Selena POV:“But you don’t know that for certain. Why not just tell me?”He spread his hands out in front of him in a gesture of defeat. I was shaking and tried to stop it by clenching my teeth and twisting the material of my shirt in my fist. This was not what I hoped to hear. I didn’t know if I could trust them after this. The lack of answers between us was not helping me feel like I could turn to them for anything going forward.Ever since the mating, so much had changed that I wasn’t sure how to fix this situation.“How am I supposed to trust you?” I asked, my throat clenching with tears. “Don’t say that.” He stood up and placed his hands on my shoulder. “Please don’t think either of us did this to harm you. We just made the wrong decisions.”He was pleading with me to understand his side in this, but I couldn’t. I was just too confused.
Selena POV:Arriving at the house, I took a moment to wash my face and comb my hair. I heard the phone ring but didn’t make a move to answer it. Duncan came into the bathroom a minute later, stopping just inside the door frame to lean against it, and watched me comb my hair. The connection between us was calm and relaxed after the conversation we had on the way back from Meredith’s house. “That was the Sentinels. They want to know if we would like to join them for lunch,” he said. “Who’s going to be there?” I asked cautiously. “Neo, Caleb, Sylvie, Quill… and my distant relatives… the ones from last night,” he hesitated a little at the end. His emotions swirled to include uneasiness at the mention of these family members of his. I too felt it within me, but I knew that staying here might look bad like we were hiding. If members of his family and all of his sentinels were there, th
Selena POV:I was saved from the stand-off with Duncan’s uncle later by Neo who wished that everyone enjoy the meal. I turned my attention to helping to pass the dishes around the table and fell into a conversation about my training with Caleb. The rest of the meal remained civil as everyone paired off with the person next to them for more intimate conversations. I peeked over at Duncan occasionally to find him attentive to whoever he was holding a conversation with. He would catch my eye every so often and give me a reassuring smile that I felt was both for me and himself. As soon as the meal was over, I turned to Lamont, who nodded at me, saying that he was ready to talk to me. I glanced back at Duncan as the two of us excused ourselves from the table and walked out of the house and into the thin vegetation.My nerves returned to the fore as my thoughts centered on what happened this morning with Meredith and Argon. Or should I say… what didn&rsq
Selena POV:We were at a stalemate and neither of us seemed to know what to say to clear it up. Work and time would be the only method that I would be able to build trust with everyone involved.Lamont saw me as a tool that needed to survive for the better of his coven, but I was hesitant. “Now, if I may, I need to go back to the lunch. It is rude for a guest to be missing for so long,” he said, moving towards the living quarters. I was not completely satisfied with the answers he gave me. Between Meredith, Argon, and him, it was becoming clear that I may not get all the information that I sought. But that didn’t mean that I would stop asking questions. What I did know was that I was here at the Blue Moon Pack to stay. If this area was in danger, I would need to focus my attention on my magic studies. I needed to add to the protection present here. A slight chill ran through me as I thought of the people I liked and the
Selena POV:Icy cold winds surrounded me as I ran along a dark path. It was lined with tall, skeletal trees on both sides. Branches that looked like long, pale, spindly arms with clawed hands reached forward with the intent of capturing me as I tried to escape their grasp. I yelled for help, but my voice came out as a strangled, warbling noise that was quickly drowned out by the howling voices of the trees. All I could do was run. I thought that if I stayed on the path and did not allow the branches to touch me, I would make it to safety. Up ahead, along the path, a saw a tall figure with its back to me. It stood perfectly still as the trees thrashed in the wind, waving their arms around it, not even acknowledging the figure standing stoically. The light was so dim that it took me a moment to realize that it was Duncan.A glimmer of hope moved through me as I knew that if I reached him, I would be safe. “Duncan!” I attempted
Selena POV:He had been quiet in this meeting until that moment. His simple but firm answer sent another chill down my spine. I could feel Duncan’s worry as well, making my stomach turn with unease. “The Magic Eater will not be satisfied until it has devoured all the element energy that exists. It may be attacking more powerful packs now but it will keep going until everything is gone,” Argon continued. Murmurs of apprehension broke the silence following Argon’s explanation. My nerves kept rising, spurring on my fear for this Magic Eater. Would I have been sitting duck if I were still wandering? Or would my blocked magic have kept me safe? “What plan do you have in mind?” Duncan asked to explain. The talking stopped as Lamont and Argon turned their heads in our direction. “Our plan will need the wolves and the witches to work together,” Lamont started, exchanging the map of the world with
Warning: There is sexual content up ahead. Please beware.Selena POV:“Selena, thank god!” Meredith exclaimed into tears the moment I walked into the greenhouse. She ran over to me and hugged me tightly, sobbing into my shoulder. I hugged her with as much intensity, needing a moment with her after passing through the destruction. I felt nothing but gratitude to the powers that had allowed me to live and see the people I love alive. With everything that could have gone wrong, it was truly a miracle. We pulled away but kept our arms around each other. Meredith’s face was a contradiction in expressions. It held tears of released fears but it also showed absolute love for me. “We were so worried,” she started and then stopped to swallow down some of her tears. “When the ritual was over and we had all survived, I knew you had succeeded but we couldn’t find you. We tried everything but you… I mean&helli
Duncan POV:In Meredith’s greenhouse, we all felt the abrupt shift in the air. It seemed to be gone as suddenly as it had arrived. I looked over at Lamont with a questioning look. He looked stunned as well. I walked over to him and watched as he processed what was happening. “Is it gone?” I asked. “Yes. They succeeded,” he said quietly. But he didn’t look pleased. I arched my brow, feeling anger rise in me at his reaction. He looked up and then shook his head. “There is a shift in the air, but I can’t pinpoint what is wrong.” He sighed. “Call the witches.”I moved out of the greenhouse and looked outside. I could sense the destruction this thing had created, but it was farther off than the pack than I had realized. I dialed Argon and Meredith’s phone, but it just wouldn’t connect. I was sure that the magic eater had destroyed the power lines and it wouldn&rsquo
Selena POV:We were surrounded by the darkness.I was shaking with helplessness. I felt its ice-like fingers moving towards me and I frantically moved away from it. Looking over to my right, I saw that it was Meredith’s hand I was holding. She wore the same expression on her face that was flowing through me. On the opposite side of her, Argon was holding on her other hand. We had found ourselves in a small opening in the forest, trying to regroup, only to fall into its trap. The trees and bushes around us were alive with unnatural and pure gloom, foreshadowing what was about to befall us. “Everyone, get into position!” Argon shouted. The noise from the forest was loud enough that normal conversation was impossible to hear. As I looked at the others taking their position, for a brief moment Duncan’s face floated into my head. My own fear changed into warmth. His face—his person—everything, had become something
Selena POV:Duncan’s cellphone rang just as we acknowledged what was happening. He answered it quickly, practically yelling into the receiver over the noise being created by the wind and water outside. The humans were terrified. “Yes. I know. We think so too,” he said, his eyes boring into mine. There was chaotic fear and absolute certainty. The lights above us flickered a few times and then went dead. The emergency lights flashed on almost immediately as we emerged out to the main area. A waiter was crying to calm a crying girl afraid of storms when she noticed us. “I am sure the lights will be back on momentarily,” she said quickly, but I could see she was physically shaking. Duncan was trying trying to move us out the doors, but I stalled him to take a good look at the humans. Absolute fear. These people would be caught in between powers they didn’t know about. What would help them?
Selena POV:Following the success of the new ritual, practice continued daily for the next week. The tension I had thought was snuffed out returned in another form. Instead of flaring emotions, it was restlessness that gripped me. The unspoken question of when the magic eater would come hovered over everyone. There was no certainty about when the magic eater would arrive, but we were expected to carry on with our lives as if it were business as usual. It was starting to become too much to handle and we were feeling the drain outside of normal ritual work. I found myself nodding off a few times during wolf training. Duncan was exhausted too. Each time I practiced, the ritual chipped away at me, but Duncan bore the brunt of the emotions. His heart felt heavy as he couldn’t shoulder the load with me or offer anything that my stubborn pride would allow. On top of that, we were both frustrated that there never seemed to be a time when we were truly al
Selena POV:I walked out of the bathroom after my hot bath and found Duncan fully dressed and looking at the journal next to him. Lamont had handed him the book before we left with a request to bring it with us to tomorrow’s practice. He was dozing off and when I approached him, he started awake. “Sorry,” he mumbled, sitting up and rubbing a hand across his eyes.I laughed at how boyish he looked and perched on the edge of the bed next to him to rub his neck. “With you running around all day and emotionally supporting me, you are more tired than me. I am surprised you are still awake.”He smiled sleepily and leaned towards me to rest his chin on my shoulder. I reached my other hand and massaged the top of his head, enjoying the feel of his soft hair and the gentle waves of contentment radiating from him, relaxing me in return. “Nice,” he sighed, setting more against me, drifting back to sleep. I g
Selena POV:The home phone rang as I was cleaning the dishes. Knowing that it was most likely Duncan trying to contact me, I hastily wiped my wet hands on a dishtowel and managed to answer it by the fourth ring. “Hello?”“Selena, Lamont needs us to head over to the greenhouse to go over the new ritual. Should I come to pick you up now?” Duncan asked, getting straight to the point. “Sure, that’s fine,” I told him, feelings tingles of stress and strangely enough, eagerness when he said the word ‘ritual.’“Great. I will be home shortly,” he said before quickly disconnecting the call. Did that mean we could use this new ritual? I had transcribed the segment and felt unsure about it. But it was still worth a try. .The greenhouse was alive with activity when Duncan and I walked through the back door. My eyes landed on Argon, who was helping Lamont lift a large pot
Duncan POV:As soon as we were back from wolf training, I practically dove in to get the witch notes out. I placed the package on the table and carefully unwrapped it to find an old, beat-up, leather-bound book nestled within it. A frayed red ribbon was stuck between the pages and I gently opened it to the section marked. A crude ink drawing of a circle took up one side while scribbles of what looked like notes were on the other. The only thing that I could read with ease was the top note in larger scrip that said: “Negating dark energy.”“What did you find?” Selena asked quietly, taking a seat beside me and leaning over for a better look at the contents. I pushed the books towards her so that we could share, hoping she might be able to decipher some of the faded writing on the pages. We were both quiet for a few minutes as we studied the content. Selena broke the quiet with a sharp intake of breath and sat back. Her emotions had changed
Selena POV:“Duncan, I know that you have more experience in being the leader of the pack, but I am not dumb. And I am not without knowledge of being a witch. My instincts have helped me a lot and I haven’t been wrong when I listened to them. I trust your instincts as the alpha and want to approach Meredith for help. I know you thought it was the right thing to do, but please trust me,” I whispered. He stopped the movement of his hands and remained quiet for another second. His emotions revolved around us, but none of them were anger. “I know you are not dumb. You are a talented witch and alpha female. I just forget sometimes that you are capable of so much more. All I want to do is protect you…” he said sincerely and then spoke softer. “…because you are mine.”He pulled me along him so that we were lying chest to chest, my face above his. A wave of sweetness rolled inside me, seeping into my pores as that