Forgotten Magick

Chapter 5: Actions, Pt 1.

Part 1: The Alpha’s Protection.

Seth was getting up from his hiding place to catch Celeste before her body could touch the ground, but as he rose he saw five hunters emerge from the opposite side of them. They were all so caught up in the awe and majesty of Celeste to have picked up their scent, Seth immediately shifted into his wolf form and stood protectively over Celeste’s body. “s**t!” Seth heard the masked woman say, Seth then linked Missy and Arys “Arys! You and me bud, we can take these cowards.. Missy, you get Celeste inside and protect them! Co-operate with their guardians completely! Understood?!” Seth got his answer as Arys transformed into his wolf form and stood beside him while Missy didn’t and got Celeste out from under him. 

Seth could see the look of confusion and fear from the tired bunch of guardians that were out in the yard with them, Seth nodded his head towards Missy while keeping his eyes trained on them. The guardians looked over and saw Missy dragging Celeste inside the Coven House, they nodded confidently at Seth, one approached him and said “I don’t know who you are, but thank you. More men will be here soon, we just need to keep them back until then!” Arys and Seth exchanged a quick look of amusement before lunging forward towards their enemies.

In total there were five that they could see and another five that they could smell, Seth went right for the one who lunged at his mate while Arys went for the tall blond man to the right. Missy was locked in hand-to-hand combat with one who had gotten close to the house, while four of the guardians who were with them paired into teams of two to deal with the other ones. Seth had noticed one man had run into the house after the baby had been blessed, Seth assumed that he was the father and didn’t blame him for not sticking around to fight. There was no need for a new father to fight, not when his Alpha Guardian was present. 

It didn’t take very long for backup to arrive, it only took five minutes for additional guardians to arrive and go after the hidden hunters. Seth noticed how the Guardians worked with their familiars most of them were either birds, ferrets, or other small creatures. Their fighting was a total contrast to the wolves; he, Arys, and Missy could brawl but these people flowed like light on water. It seemed like blows never truly hit them, instead, the energy and momentum were shifted and turned back onto the attacker. He was impressed with how well they were handling themselves, their familiars nipped and scratched while they exhausted their target. It looked almost effortless, but there was also so much risk. 

In order for the Guardians to be any level of effective they needed to get up close and personal, it took not only a great deal of skill but also courage. Though he couldn’t help but notice some areas that they could improve on, especially when it came to physical power and striking. Regardless of the fact that he rarely saw any of them actually strike, Seth trusted them to be able to stand their own while he took care of their leader. 

So Seth turned his attention to the girl in front of him. Nothing about her was special, nothing stood out. She was of average height, her build looked like she went to the gym every day, with dull black hair and desperate eyes. These infuriated him. How could someone so mundane, so unextraordinary dare even think of harming someone so special? It was the first time in his life he had felt that angry, the thought that this human would even glare at his Luna was an infuriating insult. Seth made a mental note to thank both Missy and Regal for having convinced him to see the birthing ritual, his blood ran cold thinking about what would have happened had he not been there. This was their sacred duty, to protect the sanctity of the welcoming of new life from those with such hubris that they would take advantage of it.

More so Seth had noticed the types of weapons the hunters had brought, they planned to have this assassination look like it was a wolf's doing but the girl was shaking. She had the resolve to kill a weakened witch, but not him. There was fear, hesitation even, and now it was Seth’s turn to take full advantage of their weakness. He ran at and swung his large paw at the girl's head, she dodged him with a quick tuck and roll. The girl was nimble and agile, he had to give her props for that, but he was faster and stronger. Again he lunged at her, his giant jaw trained for her throat but again she dodged. Tucking and rolling under Seth while he was mid lunge to kick his soft underbelly, sending him flying onto the ground on his back. 

The masked figure took the chance and went for him, but it wasn’t like any other wolf she had seen before. Its fur glowed bright blue and green, starting at the eyes past the ears and down its back. The glowing fur made swirling patterns and runic patterns all over, this wolf was imbued with powerful and ancient magick. Still, she went in for the kill, taking her wolf claw gloves and going for the throat. Seth rolled out of the way, biting down on her arm and rolling over onto her. Seth was sure he had given her a pretty damning concussion as her head hit the ground, but he continued forward. Seth was not afraid to kill. He had killed many rogues, his own kind, who threatened his pack. Now he was faced with an enemy that, in his eyes, committed the most egregious sin of all and there was no forgiveness in his heart. 

Seth stood on top of the dazed girl who was still reeling from the impact of colliding with the solid earth, his paw on the center of her chest as he pressed down his whole weight on that one point. As he was going in for the kill he heard Ary yelp loudly and Missy shouting after him, he turned his head as saw the blood of his best friend pouring from his gut. Then he felt his body slam into the ground, the tall blond man had tackled him off of her. Their retreat had started. Both the guardians and Seth let them go, they had bigger priorities. As the hunters ran and they were still within hearing range, Seth turned back into his human form and shouted at the top of his lungs;

 “THIS COVEN IS UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE ALPHA OF THIS FOREST! I SETH LYCAGRUS AM THE ALPHA GUARDIAN! NEVER RETURN!” 

The declaration was a powerful one, even his pack would have heard it as he used his Alpha command to make it. There was no turning back from this point, no more trying to do things delicately. Everyone would know the return of the Alpha Guardian and the Supreme Luna, but come what may he was determined to do what it took to keep his mate and her people safe. He wasn’t going to go after them, he didn’t have the time or patience for a chase and his main man was hurt. Seth jogged over to Arys who was still in his human form, Missy was with him and was keeping pressure on the wound. “How bad is it? Any wolfsbane?” asked Seth calmly, Missy shook her head and replied “the cut itself isn’t bad, im worried about the bleeding. It’s not stopping. I don’t think there was wolfsbane. They weren’t geared to fight us, but still Seth why hasn’t the bleeding stopped?” 

Missy was starting to panic, and Seth grew worried but it soon fell away to relief as he felt the strong reassuring hand of his mother-in-law on his shoulder. She handed him some clothes and looked at Missy “don’t worry, I’m the best healer we’ve got.” Missy nodded sheepishly and lifted her hands, revealing the wound. Raven assessed the wound quickly before saying “Amanda! Go to my house, get me some gauze, echinesea, and chamomile. Also get me my suture kit. Until then…” Raven then reached down to the hem of her dress and ripped off a large strip, bundled it up, and handed it to Missy. “Keep pressure on the wound, I’ll go get some warm water and a blanket.” 

Raven then stood up and turned but Missy cried out before she could leave “thank you! Thank you!” was all she could say, Raven simply smiled kindly to the young she-wolf and bowed her head respectfully before heading into the house. Missy looked over at Seth she was taking big deep breaths, keeping herself calm, as she said “go to Celeste, she’s going to need you. Just like how Arys needs me right now. I’m pretty sure we’re in good hands…” Seth chuckled and placed a hand on her shoulder “you are, my mother-in-law is going to fix up Arys just right. Even if she wasn’t going to heal him, Arys wouldn’t go down to something like this.” Missy chuckled as she said “yeah! No, you’re right! Stubborn asshole..” As she smiled lovingly down at Arys who was keeping his eyes on his mate.

Seth stood and put on the clothes that Raven had given him, they were a little big for him but at least the pants weren’t sagging down to his knees. Seth headed into the Coven House, at first taken aback by the refinery inside but he shook his head and started walking around trying to find Celeste. People were giving him weird and suspicious looks, the men held their women a little closer, and some children hid behind their parents. Seth’s heart broke a little, he didn’t blame them for their reactions. If Celeste were in his position in his Pack House, it would be a similar if not more aggressive reaction. Seth continued to wander around, he had no idea where he was going and there were so many different scents. He tried to follow the lavender scent trail only to be brought to a back room where herbs were being hung to dry. 

Seth was about to admit defeat and leave until a little girl approached him and asked “sir are you a werewolf?” Seth smiled softly at the little girl and answered “yes I am, and you’re a witch right?” the little girl nodded enthusiastically which made him chuckle and say “that’s nice, and what kind of magick were you blessed with?” the little girl smiled nice and wide as she raised her hands and cupped them together, then all of a sudden water started to pool and overflow. Seth watched in bewilderment and fascination, he sat down on the stairs behind him and watched as the water started to freeze and became light powdery snow. 

“You’re very talented, that was beautiful.” Seth complimented the young girl, soon the girl's mother turned the corner and approached them cautiously “I’m so sorry Alpha sir, my daughter wont bother you any more!” and she reached for her daughter's arm. Seth raised his hands and quickly added “she’s not bothering me, I promise, it’s alright. She was just kind enough to show me her maigck, and it was beautiful. She’s very talented.” The mother let go of her daughter’s arm and bowed her head respectfully. Seth took the opportunity and asked “Um.. Do you know where I could find my mate? I mean, Celeste? I’m worried and I’ve been wandering trying to find her and I just can’t… I just.. I need to know she’s ok..” He hung his head in shame. 

The young witch took hold of Seth's hand and said “mommy, can I show him?! You have to help Miss Olivia right?” Seth looked up hopefully at the older witch who then took pity on the dejected Alpha and nodded while saying “take him to Miss Elvira and come right back to me alright? She can decide if he can see the Prime, understood young lady?” to which her daughter nodded enthusiastically again. Seth stood right up and took hold of the witch's hand “thank you! Thank you so much! Bless your soul ma’am!” her face went from uncertainty to a soft understanding expression. Nothing else was said as she turned away and left them. The little girl then tugged on his arm and said “this way mister!” and lead him up the staircase. 

As they climbed the staircase the little girl talked to him about how she saw him fighting the bad people and how cool she thought he looked, Seth was amused with her enthusiasm and charisma. “And then, and then, your fur was all glowy! It was blue and green!” said the little girl with her eyes big and wide with fascination. “Glowy?” Seth inquired, the little girl started “YEAH! Around your eyes and back and tail! It was so cool! Miss Elvira!!!” shouted the little girl as a tall woman dressed in the same manner Celeste did. 

“Hello little Cordelia, and who is this you’ve found?” said the woman who was crouched down to the little girl's level. “Mister was looking Prime Celeste, he called her his mate and was super worried. Mommy said to bring him to you and go right back to her!” Elvira looked up at Seth who stood back nervously and unsure. “Alright then, good job Cordelia. Go see your mother now and tell her you found me, thank you for your help.” Elvira spoke kindly to the little girl, Cordelia turned and smiled widely at Seth and said “bye Mister!” Seth kneeled down and shook the little girl's hand and said “thank you for your help Cordelia, and thank you for showing me your magick. It’s an honor to meet you” 

“Okay!” was the last thing the little girl said before running off, Seth stood up feeling relaxed as he looked over to the woman named Elvira. Seth reached out and shook her hand as he introduced himself “hello, my name is Seth. I’m the Alpha of the Frost Fang pack, and Celeste’s mate.” Elvira nodded and said “my name is Elvira, I am the Primes Personal Adviser. Please, while you’re here for the time being, refer to yourself as her consort. You may spare yourself the suspicious glances if you speak the part.” Seth nodded in understanding “right.. Her consort.. Um, can I see her now? I don’t know how much you guys know about the mate bond but I can help her recover, please let me see her..”

 Elvira looked him up and down, eyes narrowed. Seth knew she was only doing her job, in his mind comparing her role to Arys’, but the longer they kept him away from Celeste the more he could feel his overly protective instincts coming forward. He didn’t want to lash out at anyone, he didn’t want to be rude, but he wasn’t used to battling his wolf instincts like this and it was proving to be a struggle. He was so close to his mate, he could feel the bond pulling him towards her, and fighting the mate bond was just completely unnatural to his people. “What are your intentions Alpha? Truly. It looks like you’ve accepted Celeste despite her titles and witch blood, but before anything else in this world she is a witch, then Supreme, then her own woman, and only then is she Luna. Just because you have a special claim to her, does not mean that you get to strip everything that has built her up to be the woman she is today.” 

Seth sighed heavily, battling the irrational rising rage inside him. He remembered how poised and considerate Celeste was when Arys had interrogated her at the river, he wanted to be just like her in that regard. A cool and level-headed leader who could talk his way out of any situation, even with the battle against the beast inside he tried “I don’t have nefarious intentions like that, I don’t know her very well I mean we’ve only met earlier today. My intentions are just that, to get to know her. To know what parts of her she values most, to know what parts of her she needs help and support. I recognize her leadership, her peoples need for her to be present just as she was today. I mean she was simply amazing out there! Why would I want to strip her of that?!” Seth then chuckled to himself, he had just realized he had been clenching and unclenching his fists. “Apparently she has a lot to teach me too, like how to keep my emotions in check.. I’m sorry but this is really hard for me, in my culture we don’t keep people away from their injured mates or consorts or what ever. It drives the wolfs inside us crazy and is bad for the health, but I understand why we’re having this conversation.” 

Elvira nodded in approval before saying “we know quite a bit about you werewolves, our libraries remember? When Celeste had advised me she believed her consort to be a wolf I did my own research on the bond, your ability to not go berserk in this situation is commendable. Congratulation, you passed your first test and placed your first tally. Supreme Zena already advised me to let you in if you showed up, follow me.” Seth was slightly irritated by the fact he was just tested, that this woman would use Celeste’s health and their bond as a test, but the comment about the tallies reminded him of Celeste again. Her words rang in his mind ‘Every decision you make will be added to a tally, that tally will eventually show whether or not one truly honored the commitment of leadership.’ She was being constantly tested, it would only make sense that he would be too. 

Elvira walked him up another flight of stairs, Seth chuckled to himself as he thought about how it felt like she was a princess locked away in a tower. Though as they reached the top there was a door that Elvira opened and lead him through, “this is Celeste’s room” she stated as they walked over to her rather large bed where Celeste layed unconscious. Seth rushed over past Elvira, she was breathing fine and her heartbeat was steady and strong. Seth sighed in relief as he knelled by her bedside his forehead resting on the back of her hand. Elvira went over to the fire burning in the fireplace and stoked it a little, adding small pieces of wood to feed it. 

“She’s resting right now, she may not wake up for a day or two. Please be respectful.” Elvira stated flatly, Seth nodded as he stood up he asked “what happened out there? Why is she like this? Please help me understand..” Elvira gestured to him to sit beside Celeste on the bed, which Seth happily obliged. He not only sat next to her but slipped under the blanket and gently brought her onto his lap, Seth rested her head against his chest and tucked the blanket around her body. He made sure she was comfortable, and already color had started to return to Celeste’s face. Seth hugged his mate close to his chest as he turned his attention back to Elvira who had taken a chair and placed herself at the bedside, he nodded seriously indicating she had his full attention. 

“Supreme Zena advised me that you hold an ancient wolf as your counterpart, yes?” asked Elvira, Seth simply nodded and she continued “I assume then that it would have shown you or advised you of the original ritual, correct?” again all Seth did was nod again. “Alright, good starting point. Now you may be asking your self, what happened? Why numbers have dwindled and the ritual itself changed. The answer is simple, only witches with 3 or more blessings may take part in the ritual. The reasoning being that those with 3 or more blessings have the capability to resist the magickal pressure, however over the years the rate of those with multiple blessings have greatly diminished. This child is the first one since Celeste. The rate has diminished because well, as you saw, we leave ourselves rather vulnerable during the ritual.” 

Seth nodded as he finally spoke up “yeah, Regal had basically spelled that out for us earlier. He called it our sacred duty. But that doesn’t explain why Celeste is like this, why she’ll be out for the next couple of days.” Elvira nodded before continuing “of course, I wanted to make sure the basics were covered. The original ritual was designed the way it was under the idea of distribution of mass. Like laying on a bed of nails, When there's plenty of nails, the pressure any single nail exerts on the skin is quite small, resulting in no pain and no cuts. Resting an entire body on a single nail, however, would be a different story. For the purposes of our ritual, the ten witches holding hands are the needles. The distribution of mass gives a physical and magickal break for them, so the first aspect as to why Celeste is like this comes down to that; she was out there dancing under a crazy amount of physical and magickal pressure for three hours straight. She’s exhausted. Not to mention the fact she did not get any sleep last night and had been awake for over twenty-four hours at that point.” 

Seth nodded as he started to understand but Elvira continued “that being said, if it was simply exhaustion we’d expect her to wake up late afternoon tomorrow. The second aspect to her condition comes down to the last aspect of the ritual, the possession. She welcomed three different divine spirits into her body, mind, and soul all at once. That damages the soul and the magickal circuit that flows through the body, and before you ask, the magickal circuit is like ones nervous system but for magick. In fact their basically identical, and the magickal circuit lays right on top of the nervous system. She is healing in every sense of the word. In the past if there were multiple blessings only the strongest of the group would welcome a single spirit into themselves, minimizing the damage but well you know the rest.” 

Seth was grim and silent as he listened, he held Celeste even closer to himself. Thanks to the distrust and contempt werewolves have had for witches since the Great Division, his mate and Luna had to sacrifice so much of herself. Seth could feel himself tearing up, squeezing his eyes shut tight to try and keep them from falling. Elvira noticed this, her disposition towards him softened as she spoke up “Alpha, please do not pity us. Yes it is a shame that the Great Division has affected us in such a way, but tonight is not a night for sorrow and pity. New life has come into this world, a precious child that has made us one witch stronger and our Celeste prevailed. In part thanks to you. Thank you Seth. With that I will leave our precious Prime in your capable hands and take my leave. Good evening to you.”

Elvira stood up and started to walk away, before she reached the door Seth spoke up “I came here with two people! My beta and his mate, even if they aren’t allowed up here can you make sure they’re alright? I believe Celeste’s mom is treating Arys, he was wounded by the hunters. His mate is going to be with him, her name is Missy. At least just let them know where I am.” Elvira nodded and bowed her head respectfully to him “consider my services available to you Alpha, you are after all her consort.” Seth nodded “right.. Good evening to you too Elvira, thank you for your help.” Elvira then left, leaving them alone.

Seth sat up a little bit to take off his shirt, the mate bond was most effective when there was skin-to-skin contact. Once he discarded his shirt he went back to cradling Celeste against himself, he found himself admiring her as the moonlight poured into the room from the window. The light illuminated her skin, and from his point of view, she simply looked angelic. Seth moved away any hair that fell onto her face, there was so much more to this woman that enchanted him. Her leadership, her poise, her dedication to her people made her so much more beautiful than any of her physical features. “You could have died today, and you knew that.. But you still did it any way, you looked death in the face and dared it to come for you all on your own…” 

There were so many mixed emotions storming inside of him; pride, admiration, hurt, awe, betrayal, fear, and so many more. Seth shook as he squeezed her and spoke as softly as he could “Celeste.. You should have told me to come… You should have asked for my help, you knew what the ritual used to look like. You knew I was supposed to be here with you, all you had to do was say something and I would have showed up with fifty warriors if you just asked… you almost died today, before I even got a chance to take you out on a date… Please… never do this again. My goddess please… Never take on the weight of the world on your own again, I’m here now. I’m yours, say the word and I’ll be by your side and help you carry the burden…” a couple of tears escaped his eyes and fell onto her still face. 

Celeste flinched as one dropped on her cheek, she stirred ever so slightly, and when Seth caressed her cheek to wipe it away her eyes fluttered but stayed shut. Still, Celeste nuzzled her face into his chest and wrapped her arms around his body, Seth could feel the electric tingle of the mate bond every place where her skin met his. Seth settled into the warm and fuzzy feeling, ready to rest for the night alongside his mate when he heard her whisper “I’m sorry… I promise I won’t…” Seth couldn’t help but chuckle a little. He ran his fingers through her hair and said softly “you have nothing to apologize for Celeste… You did your job as Supreme or Prime or whatever your title is, you did good… but thank you for your promise.. Thank you…” After that, the two settled into the soft mattress together and called it a night.

In the morning Seth woke up to Raven's soft humming, she was sitting in a rocking chair by the bedside knitting something. Seth tried to sit up while not disturbing Celeste but Raven shook her head “it’s ok, don’t move too much or you’ll wake her. I’ll go get you some breakfast.” Raven stood but Seth had stopped her and asked “What about Arys and Missy? Where are they?” Raven smiled as she answered “Arys and Missy are at my home, Arys woke up completely healed an hour or so ago. He told me to tell you that he’s already reported back to your Gamma about the situation you’ve found yourselves in, and that you can just relax.” Seth nodded and smiled sheepishly at Raven as she left the room. 

Seth looked down at himself and saw that Celeste hadn’t moved at all throughout the night, and neither had he. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt that at peace with himself, even if Celeste was going to be out for the next little while she was safe and in his arms. It was all he could ever as for, and he would stay with her as long as it was needed. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, taking in a deep breath to appreciate her lavender scent. As he did there was a soft knock came from the door to the bedroom, it was Arys, Missy, and Elvira. 

Elvira showed his friends into the room where Arys would sit in the chair Raven had just vacated, and he then had Missy sit on his lap and he cradled his mate in turn. Arys and Seth gave each other a lazy fist bump and Missy rolled her eyes before peering over at Celeste. Missy smiled softly and chuckled to herself before saying “you and I are going to be good friends… I can feel it..” Everyone had joined in on the good feeling. It some how felt like their little group was finally complete.