Chapter 5: Shamaness

Elias

The she-wolf moved fast, evading my two Betas. However, she couldn’t get away as she was completely surrounded by us. I watched them impatiently, growling. My limbs and were already missing Avabella. Then Sascha turned his head to me, opening his mouth like he mocked the she-wolf fighting for her freedom and her life. The rest of the pack was also watching expectantly at the scene in front of us.

‘Ah, merde!’ I let out an expletive in my head, which they all heard since our mind links were still on. I prowled as the she-wolf bit Yanick in the leg. Yanick twisted his fawn-colored body and bit her neck, while Thibault got her hind leg. The she-wolf was threatened and didn’t move. Or else, her flesh or limb would be torn away from her body. Painfully.

They were heaving fast. It took minutes to capture her like this. Like in a cue, she shifted in her human form. She had flaming red hair and pale body. She had freckles on her pretty face. I guessed she was in her few hundred years but looked in mid-twenties, just like any adult werewolf. I didn’t look at her other lady assets. I left that opportunity to my pack. There was only one female I was interested to watch naked, and she was right there in the castle.

“Yanick, Sascha, ensure that you bring her to the Supreme Castle. Put her in the dungeon,” I ordered.

“Will do, Alpha Elias,” they answered.

A couple of my pack members who didn’t shift tied her with a rope and gave her a shirt to be a bit decent.

“Andreas, go ahead and tell Iago about this,” I told my Omega.

“Aren’t you coming back with us, Alpha Elias?” Andreas inquired. He seemed confused. We were supposed to all go back to the castle.

I did want to go back to the castle right away. But something was holding me out here. I had no idea why. I had to check if my gut was right.

I watched as one of my Betas and my Gamma left with a couple of shifters who held the captive securely. I was sure she couldn’t get away this time.

“I’ll be right behind you. If I’m not back in half an hour, alert Iago,” I said to Andreas.

The black back and agouti-colored wolf looked at me with concern before he slightly nodded and followed the others. Now most of my pack members were gathered before me, waiting for my next word.

I touched Sangye’s mind, calling her. She was currently in my pack mansion in Jura Mountains. It was cloaked so that no one could find it. The rogues though knew the territory but had never been able to attack the pack mansion directly. They were just lurking around and outside my territory as the cloak also served as a shield from both supernatural and mortal strays and trespassers.

“Yes, Alpha Elias?” Sangye immediately responded in a quiet but sing-sang feminine voice. Her Tibetan accent was still rich even though she had been with us for a couple of centuries. She joined us when she was yet eleven years old. I took her in out of pity since she lost her parents to some disease in Tibet.

I happened to be there to gather more members in my pack, as I wanted to grow it in number. At first, none of us knew of her abilities until they were developed when she turned thirteen. It was both interesting and luck for us to have her in my pack.

Sangye isn’t a shifter but is merely a healer, with witchy powers. She could communicate with both good and evil spirits. Aside from that, she has access to and influence in their world. Pretty frightening but she is one little brave and powerful girl. Until now, I considered her as a girl, not a woman. I even treat her like a daughter. Our bond and her magic both gave us the advantage of having a mind link, like she was a real part of my pack. Pretty awesome and convenient, really.

“My gut is telling me there’s something more than we can see here right now in Versailles. I need you right here, right now. I need your powers to be sure—”

A transparent reflection of Sangye smiling up at me suddenly appeared in front of me. If I weren’t used to her doing this, I would’ve been startled and cursed at her. Still, it was a bit disconcerting to look at her supernatural reflection like a ghost, which was only seen by me and my pack members.

She was dressed in a green Tibetan robe for females, with a black-and-white mandala design. Her feet were protected by Tibetan boots, which had a red color from the soles to the ankles, and I caught the black color from the ankles up to the legs. She let her straight black hair hung loose, which was past her shoulders. She wore a flower tiara. Every other day, it was of different kind. Today, it was made from purple aster. Ever since I gave her a daffodil tiara on her twelfth birthday, she always wore one until now.

Sangye’s small cat-like eyes were black as night, framed by thick and straight black lashes. Her nose was small and low-bridged. I thought it was kind of cute. And her lips were a bit plump and pinkish. Even though she was over two hundred years old, she looked twenty because of her powers and the secret concoction she always drinks before sleeping.

“Yes! On it!” she said with a wide grin, showing her even white teeth.

I snarled at her, and she giggled. The rest of my pack softly whined, looking at her with sharp looks.

“You’re acting like a hussy!” Thibault warned and scolded her. He shook his brindle tawny thick fur.

“Nope. She’s still acting like a child in front of us,” another said. It was Matthias, who had chocolate fur.

She glared at the two. “I’m just happy, you bitter and unfortunate shifters!

“What?” Both Thibault and Matthias looked at her sharply and growled. They stepped closer to her.

She put her hands on her waist, throwing her nose up in the air. “I should say losers! Alpha Elias is going to mate soon. How about you two?

If I were in my human form, I would’ve facepalmed. “Wait, how do you know that?

Sangye giggled, glancing in my direction. She winked like it was a secret between us. I snarled at her. I didn’t say anything to anyone about Avabella. Only Thibault, Matthias and Yanick knew about her because I used to order them to follow her if I was not doing it myself. I didn’t even elaborate that I was imprinted on her. I just told them to follow her whenever she was on a trip.

“Do you really have to spread the word, Sangye?” I sounded irritated. I reminded myself that she must have used her powers to check on me. She always does that whenever I am not in our territory, to ensure my safety. She must have learned something from her spirit messengers or something. Right, I had an overprotective stalker in her person. Kind of creepy. No wonder all stalkers are creepy, and even more no wonder itself when Avabella learned about my stalking her. Can’t blame her really when she got pissed.

My pack members were all looking at me, awed. Oddly enough, all my pack members hadn’t mated yet. I had no idea if it was a curse or something. But maybe it was just a coincidence. It reminded me how lucky Iago was. He had his own family now. His Beta, Mihai, was married to his sister and had a kid, and so were most members of his main pack.

Sangye gave me a reluctant smile. “No, Alpha Elias. Okay! I’m going to sweep the place now.” She turned serious before she whirled to turn her back to me, avoiding the subject to get worse.

Sangye floated in the air while in a lotus position, eyes closed and back straight. We all looked up to watch her. Tendrils of colors kale, hazelwood and primrose yellow wormed out from all parts of her body, extending outward and spreading out fast, almost like in lightning speed. The colors burst as we followed them with our heightened eyesight.

Some of the pack members howled and jumped. Some pawed the ground.

“I used the energy print of the rogue you just captured earlier to trace those shifters she had a contact with. So the areas in red are where the enemies conceal themselves, Alpha Elias,” Sangye said to us, opening her black eyes.

I observed there was a huge concentration of red color in the west of Versailles.

“Go now!” I barked an order to the pack.

They howled and ran as fast as they could, in their assault formation. I turned to look at Sangye. “Get back to the pack mansion. I’ll call you if I need you again. Thank you, Sangye.

“I think you still need me, Alpha Elias,” she said in a serious tone, straightening up from her lotus position.

I shook my head. “I’ll just call you again, Sangye,” I told her firmly. “We both know you can’t be in this state for a long time. You’ll get tired and be drained. It’s better that you rest for now. Don’t argue with me on this.

She bowed her head, eyes downcast and had a faint smile. “Yes, Alpha Elias.” She faded for a moment until she was totally gone from my sight. There was no more trace of her presence.

I followed my pack in the direction of the Meudon Forest, one of the country’s national forests. It was the closest one to Paris, located on the territories of different municipalities— Chaville, Clamart, Sèvres, Meudon in the Hauts-de-Seine and Vélizy, and Viroflay in the Yvelines. From what I knew, it had over one thousand one hundred hectares, with a hundred and seventy-eight meters maximum altitude and a minimum of ninety-nine meters. The forest was the significant oxygen reserve for the capital. Of course, that was very important for the people living in the city, where trees were scarce. And I always preferred living in the mountains than in any city. I usually visit the cities to take care of some businesses—shipping and jewelry shops. But I did have a couple of trusted and able wolves taking care of them and dealing with humans on a daily basis.

The forest rested on sandstones and sands of Fontainebleau—a town that was located southeast of the capital city. The ground was capped by clays with millstone of Montmorency, which was covered in places with silts of the plateaus. I could see the snow topping the ground. The bare chestnuts, oaks, wild cherries, hornbeams and other trees stood immobile while the slight wind blew. Nonetheless, my kind was oblivious to the cold. Our wolf fur was thick to such a condition. The wind swept my thick midnight blue coat as I ran on top speed.

The battle was on when I got there. It was already dark but I could clearly see, feel and scent the enemies. Angry whining, yapping and growling filled the air. The scent of blood also rose up, as pieces of flesh was torn from some of my pack members’ and the rogues’ bodies. Thibault faced three rogues at the same time. He already had a bite in his right hind leg. However, he was still a fierce warrior. It didn’t hinder him to tackle down one of the three, tearing its head off.

At first assessment, it was obvious we were outnumbered. Merde! I didn’t expect it. I should’ve brought more enforcers in Paris. I quickly touched Yanick’s mind.

“Tell Iago I need assistance in Meudon Forest ASAP!

“What’s happening, Alpha Elias?” he asked in alarm.

I leaped into the air when an oncoming rogue pounced on me. He didn’t expect it, so I landed on his back and bit his head off, with a tearing sound of the flesh and breaking of the bone. I growled looking at the carcass.

“There are more rogues here. Is the captive in the dungeon yet?” I asked, snarling at my enemies.

“The red Alpha King has her secured there as we speak. We’ll come to you, Alpha Elias.

“Okay. Just let Iago know!” I instructed him, facing a couple more enemies.

“Sascha already did, Alpha Elias. The red Alpha King is coming with us!” he informed me.

I smirked. ‘Just like old times, Iago.

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