The Broken Wolf: The Magic Within

-Andrew- It’s late, but it’s the only time I’ve ever been able to sneak out, especially with this many people in the palace. It’s not like I’m out doing anything bad, and I never leave the territory. Sometimes, I like to go outside and sit under the moonlight. I swear, absorbing it makes me feel stronger, and I could use all the help I can, so I can finally shift. I follow the path Grandma Cora showed me months ago to the wolfsbane grove. The flowers were cut back when I was younger to make sure no one could reach over the territory line and collect the poisonous flowers, but the grove was still here. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Grandma Cora so happy as she saw it while wearing something she called a teapot crown. My grandmother may be a little crazy, but I don’t think she’s as crazy as everyone else thinks. I did think she was a crackpot nut when she made me strip down and drag a shovel through the poisonous flowers. It was a bit humiliating, but she was right, and I didn’t get sick from it. The flowers are poisonous, but not the rest of the plant, so as long as you don’t knock the pollen, it’s fine. Everyone keeps forgetting that she was the only one who knew that, and they’re acting like everything she says is crazy. I mean, I thought she was right. I didn’t get sick, but I’m beginning to worry that the fact that I keep going back to that grove and lying in the center is what’s making my wolf slow to come. He’s barely been talking to me, and with a full moon tomorrow, I’m sure it’ll be another night where I fail at shifting. I’m supposed to be the king, and I can’t even shift. I reach the grove and quickly realize that my special place is occupied. “Grandma Cora?” I ask, calling across the flowers at a body lying where I usually go. I exhale a sigh of relief as she sits up, because I was worried she was dead. It’s short-lived, though, because she’s completely naked. “Hi, Andrew,” she calls back as she grabs a blanket from beside her and wraps it around her body. “Join me.” This is so awkward now. I take my clothes off and begin to crawl, but not before I grab my pants and throw them into the middle of the grove. I don’t want to be around my grandmother naked. We’re wolves, but that would still be so weird. I reach the center and quickly pull my jeans back on. “Are you alright?” “Of course,” she smiles up at me. “Why wouldn’t I be?” “You’re on the ground in the middle of a wolfsbane grove.” She can’t be serious. This seems like a crazy place to relax, which is why I come here. No one would look for me here. Grandma pats the ground beside her, and I sit. She turns to me and giggles. “I ran away once. I didn’t want to be the queen. There were… other things, but when I ran away, I knew I couldn’t cross the territory lines without it being felt. I hid in here.” “Really?” I ask. “I started coming here after you showed me. It’s easy to pretend I’m not the prince here.” Grandma Cora arches an eyebrow. “You’re more than the prince, Andrew. You’re the future King.” I look down at the grass between my legs. Grandma’s crazy, so I think I can tell her anything. “I’m not sure I’ll be the king. Cora was born first.” “That doesn’t matter,” she scoffs, patting my leg. “You’re the king. We can all feel it. Just like we can feel that Ada’s daughter will take their pack and not their son.” I shake my head. “No one is sure of that.” “I am. I’m sure your father feels that, but he doesn’t want to hurt anyone,” she shrugs. “I’ll bet you can feel it, but you’re young. You’re not supposed to know what it means yet.” I furrow my brow, trying to figure out if what she said actually makes any sense. “The only reason that Aunt Ada is an alpha is because her father had the line changed. That doesn’t extend to Katya. I think there’s more to that story that they don’t tell us kids, though.” “Why do you think that?” she says with a small laugh. I shrug. “I know that her father has an identical twin, and they’re still in the dungeon. I think they need them for something, because they’ve been there like, my whole life.” “Sounds like there is some kind of value there,” she says with a nod. “Whatever happened, I am sure that pack will go to the girl. Someday, you’ll think back and know I was right. Just like I was always right about Benny.” She’s starting to act crazy again. “Benny?” She nods once. “Your grandfather, Benjamin. I knew him when he was a little boy. We tried to catch frogs together once, and he saved my life.” “What?” I ask. If that had happened, I’m sure he would have told us. He always tells wild and crazy stories, the kind where you’re sure he made half of it up. Saving the queen’s life while… frog hunting? He definitely would have mentioned that. No one ever, ever calls him Benny. “I always knew there was something special about him. Joseph thought it was something bad, but it wasn’t,” she says with a smile as she looks up at the moon. “The feeling finally went away when I found out his daughter was mated to my grandson. It’s so wonderful how that worked out.” I sigh. This is what everyone is talking about. She fully knows and understands how the lineage works and is clear-headed about that kind of thing. But before saying that, she was talking about going frog hunting. “What’s it like to have magic?” she asks me, pulling me from my thoughts. “It’s… I… I don’t know. No one has ever asked me before.” Geez. Who even thinks like Grandma Cora does? “It’s frustrating, really, like how I accidentally saw your thoughts when you moved back. I didn’t mean to. I can’t touch people, or it may happen. It’s why I can’t go to training.” “Alpha Training is bullshit. Well, it was. I assume it still is,” she says. I don’t even know how to respond because I never know what she will say next. “I saw some of the research. Dad took it from me and told me I needed to be older,” I admit. “But I know you were worried about wolves weakening.” She frowns. “I didn’t realize your dad was such a fuddy-duddy. My son, Peter, I would expect that from, but I thought Seth would be cool about it.” I turn my head away and bring my arm to cover my mouth as I try not to laugh. Dad would be pissed if he knew she called him a fuddy-duddy and said he’s like Grandpa. “You know it’s true,” she laughs. “It wasn’t my research, though. I thought Peter would have recognized the writing, but I guess it’s been so many years. Those two were always so alike; their handwriting was, too. “Dad and Grandpa?” I ask, suddenly confused. Their writing isn’t that similar. Grandma Cora shakes her head. “No, child. Keep up. My mate, Joseph, and my son, Lucas.” My heart skips at the name. I don’t know much about him, but I know we don’t talk about Lucas in this house. Sometimes, Grandpa will tell us a story and mention him, and it always makes my parents act weird. No one will tell me why, but I do know something happened when I was small, and he’s dead now. “He wasn’t always bad, and I still don’t know if I think he killed Joseph.” I blink a few times, too afraid to say anything. Lucas killed his father? Grandpa always told us he inherited the throne when his father died. My dad wasn’t born then, and my parents had met Lucas, so that doesn’t match up. Are they hiding more from me? “Joseph wasn’t all bad either. He loved me, but he didn’t want anyone to see it.” “Why?” I ask her. “What’s so wrong with loving your mate?” She sighs. “He thought it made him look weak. Our bond was already so damaged, and things were hard. He loved me, though.” I have so many questions, and I’m afraid to ask them, because Grandma doesn’t seem to have a filter. It’s good to know in case I need to learn of any deep family secrets, but I’m also worried about what she’ll say that I don’t want to hear. “Why was your bond damaged?” I ask. She waves her arm around, pointing to the flowers surrounding us. “That’s why this is here. The royals used the wolfsbane to destroy their bonds so they wouldn’t have a weakness. Joseph’s father snuck it to him after he marked me. Our bond was damaged, but it was still there.” I nod, trying to understand, but I don’t think that I do. “A bond can be damaged? “Yes,” she sighs, looking back up at the moon. “We had to have s*x all the time to keep it there, or it made me lose my mind. We had s*x in this very grove quite a few times.” Well, that’s it. Grandma Cora is, in fact, completely batshit crazy and has possibly ruined my new favorite place.