~YULIA
“It all begins with a goddess,” Albus began.
I listened to the chancellor of Canis with deep rapt attention, afraid that if I got distracted once, I could miss some important part of his story.
“This goddess belonged to the wolfkind as their matron deity and they honoured and worshipped her, even going as far as to ask her for guidance. Every once in a while, to show her divine generosity, she bestowed her children with a special gift,” he paused and stared at me.
I frowned. Did this gift have anything to do with me?
“This goddess was of the Moon and she was called Lunaria. Her gift was that of eternal light. Whoever was bestowed this gift had the power of Light and if well trained could perform all sorts of feats. But this power was only given to the wolves.” Albus stopped again and downed his cup of tea before he continued.
Lunaria… I felt a deep connection to the name and a light force surged through me again.
“Lunaria bestowed her powers to the queen of Craven Grove Wolf Pack and it has been passed down their bloodline until it stopped on Helena’s blood.”
“Stopped?” I asked.
Albus nodded. “Helena could use her gift of light to do wonders, she could heal wounds and even see how magic worked without casting spells. I know this because I trained her.”
Issa did not make any reaction as he sat quietly beside me. It was almost as if I was the only one learning this story for the first time.
“You could imagine all the Alphas whose attention she drew with her powers. Everyone wanted her but in the end, it was Deucalion that claimed her when they were just teenagers in wolf years. Their union produced three offspring, a boy and two girls at the time. All was well for a while until Helena realised none of her children inherited the gift of light.” Albus paused to let what he said sink in.
And it dawned on me at that moment that it was no exaggeration when they claimed that Albus was really old.
“Helena Craven felt betrayed by the goddess and she began to seek answers. She became power hungry as she realised that the gift of Light was going to end with her. It sort of drove her insane. She could not accept it. She started wanting more, she wanted to glimpse the secret of the universe itself, she was no longer content with being a werewolf with access to a goddess given magic. Since she had seen how magic worked, she wanted to create her own brand of magic, hoping that she would be able to give it to her children.” Albus sighed.
It all started to make sense and in a way, I pitied Helena.
“They say power corrupts, well, absolute power absolutely corrupts. You see, when Lunaria bestowed her gift, there was a condition. Since the power of light is a magic of the Light, Helena had no business with Dark magic.”
“She used Dark magic,” I whispered.
“Yes, she did and in doing so, she incurred the wrath of the goddess. Lunaria took back what she bestowed and abandoned the house of Craven forever.” Albus answered.
“Where do my parents come in?” I asked, anxious about whether I would be able to bear the news.
“After losing her powers, Helena tried every means to get them back, she prayed, she begged…she killed but nothing happened. Every avenue to curry the favour of her goddess was met with a cold hollow silence. Then word got out that a family of werewolves from the Moonheart clan had given birth to a child of light.”
“This was the final thread that broke her mind. At that point, she had just come to give birth to her last child. A consultation through dark magic revealed to her that the only way to get back the power of light, was to sacrifice the new child of Light by draining her blood on the altar of the dark goddess of magic. Thus, Helena through lies and deceit rallied witches against the wolves, her own kind.”
“Fortunately for you, Frostwood and his sister saved you just in time. But your whole clan was wiped out during the war. You are the last living Moonheart.” Albus finished.
Goosebumps scattered across my skin as I felt an overwhelming emotion hit me. And it did not help that I was just finding out I was the last of my people.
Angry tears were trailing down my eyes and I sniffed. “What were their names?” I asked in a shaky voice.
It was at this point that Issa finally reacted. He held me close to him and I leaned gratefully into his body.
“Jace and Judith Moonheart.” Albus revealed.
I wiped my eyes and cleaned my nose.
“What really stopped the war?” I asked.
I had to know.
“Frostwood and I created the council. A group of chosen witches, humans and werewolves who would both come together and hold each other accountable for the sole purpose of law and order,” Albus replied.
“And now, Deucalion is using the council against me,” Issa said.
“For what purpose?” Albus asked.
“To keep me away from Yulia, so there will be no one to protect her when Helena finally comes for her.” Issa replied.
Albus smiled. “But you know that is not possible. She will always have protection from the people that care for her. The Detective, your pack and even her friends.”
“Even if the Council finds you guilty, they have no power to separate the two of you. No magic can break the bond of a wolf and his mate.”
We both went quiet after he said this. Almost no one was aware that Issa and I were mated.
“How did you know?” Issa asked.
Albus chuckled. “Perhaps you are right, Frostwood, I have not been giving myself the credit that I deserve. I can see the bond that binds you both. Literally, I am a wizard after all.”
“Wait, can other witches see our bond too?” I asked in alarm.
“Only if you want them to. And you have nothing to worry about. Helena can not take what does not belong to her. You can not defeat a goddess in her own game.”
“Would you happen to know where Helena is?” Issa asked.
“She will reveal herself in due time.”
“For a man who knows everything, could you not just drop her location?” Issa muttered under his breath.
“Because I know everything, does not mean I must say everything, Frostwood, it does not work that way. Some things must be allowed to play out the way they were meant to be,” Albus smiled as he replied.
“Thank you so much for telling me everything, Albus,” I said, relieved that a weight had been lifted off my shoulder.
“It was my pleasure, Ms. Moonheart, besides, I do not get that many visitors very often, if you have more questions, feel free to come by anytime.”
“One last thing,” Issa said. “Do you have a memory box?”
Albus just smiled.