Chapter 51: Storms Aplenty

AXEL

~Storms make trees take deeper roots.~

“You know, you’re actually a pretty strong witch,” Mom gasped as she clambered up from the ground.

I smirked on the sidelines, watching my mother take on my mate.

Storm smiled, sweat covering her brow. “Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet. Watch this.” She swirled her hands around, a purple haze floating around them, twining around her fingers.

She clapped her hands together and a purple force field erupted from the ground, running up toward the sky until it met in the middle, creating a dome around our home.

“Holy shit.” Mom shielded her eyes with her hand, looking up. “I can do a force field, but nothing that strong.”

Storm shrugged her shoulders. “Sure you can. You’re a powerful witch. You just need practice.” She lowered the force field.

I thought the witches in my family were strong, but we clearly don’t make a dent compared to Storm.

When she came back the other night, she was shaken. It made me nervous. A big threat is clearly looming, and I’m not entirely sure we can beat it.

All of us kids are still green compared to our parents, and they still talk about their last big fight with tears in their eyes. What happened to Mom really shook them.

Who knows what they’ll do if that were to happen again.

We’d all been training nonstop ever since Storm told us they were coming. Whoever they were, they were coming for the throne.

Pops isn’t as young anymore. Would he still be able to fight them off? Could Grams hold them?

“Storm?” She turned to face me. “I think maybe we should call a meeting with everyone, so we know what we’re actually up against.”

~She looks nervous.~

~What is she not telling us?~

~What are we facing here?~

She slowly nodded. Biting her lip, she looked away. The wind caught her hair, blowing it across her face. We hadn’t known each other long, but she was my mate. I would always protect her, or at least die trying.

Mom took a few steps closer, gently clasping Storm’s arm.

“We do need to know what we’re going up against, Storm. My entire family is at risk here. Whoever or whatever this is, we need to defeat it together.”

“Okay, I’ll tell you guys, but you’re not gonna like it. Better call everyone. This is gonna be big.” She wandered off toward the main building of the castle.

I looked at Mom. She just shrugged her shoulders and set off following Storm back to the building.

We all gathered in Pops’s study. Seated around his long table, we all looked at Storm expectantly. She shuffled nervously in her seat.

~Why is she so nervous?~

~Does she think we will lose?~

~Does she not think we are strong enough?~

“When I was traveling with my parents, we stayed with some witches in Blood Moon Pack territory.

“We found most packs to be welcoming to wandering witches like us because most of the time, we came with new spells and medicine that their covens hadn’t heard of yet.”

She shuffled again nervously, playing with her hair. She wouldn’t make eye contact with anyone.

“But this pack, they had their troubles with the witches, some kind of turf war. Apparently the wolves came along and claimed a lot of land that originally belonged to the witches.

“They drove them out of the town toward the river where they built camps and set up homes. This happened hundreds of years ago, but that hatred still runs deep.

“There were some witches that would help the wolves, but that was usually because a wolf had mated with them, so they felt obligated to help. It was for love.”

She readjusted herself in her seat. “This usually caused trouble between the two parties.

“The witches believed that the wolves were tricking their young girls into being with them under false pretenses, claiming that they had mated with them.

“The council of elders urged the young witches to resist, to fight against whatever supernatural force they were feeling. They feared the wolves getting more power than what they already had.”

Grams let out a scoff, which caught our attention. Mom gave a sly smirk. “The council of elders isn’t so popular here—”

“They tend to fear a lot of things and then throw their power around making demands because they are oh-so-important, never mind the barbaric nature of their actions.

“Everything they do goes against the laws of nature—” Grams cut across Mom, rolling her eyes, fixing her dress angrily.

Mom smiled gently, clutching Gram’s hand, squeezing it tenderly. “The council of elders is still a sensitive subject around here.”

Storm smiled, finally looking up from her hair. She looked around the room for the first time.

“There was one witch—or warlock, if you want to get technical—who believed that if he gained enough power, he would be able to overthrow the throne and control the wolves to do his bidding.

“His name is Keir, and ~he~ is who attacked your home last night.”

“So you’re telling me that one witch managed to practically paralyze all of us last night?”

Diego looked disgusted with himself. Matt and Alex let out low whistles. Milly growled in annoyance.

Storm nodded. “Yes, and he would have done much worse if we hadn’t gotten away—”

“How did you get away? I’m assuming you fought him alone?” Grams stared at Storm intently, almost like she already knew the answer.

Reign’s eyes darted from Gram’s to Storm. She looked nervous again now that all eyes were back on her. Her mouth opened and closed like a gaping fish fresh out of water, gasping for air.

She sat up straight, a fresh determination on her face, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“I got away because…because I taught him everything he knows.” She looked down, playing with her robes, shame on her expression. “I didn’t know what he was going to use the magic for.

“I thought he just wanted to learn more, like the others. To help the elders in healing and keeping the coven safe. If I’d known his real intentions, I never would have taught him so much.”

Grams reached across the table, gently clutching Storm’s hand. “We all make mistakes, darling. I did the same thing many years ago with my sister.

“Then, before the children were born, she trapped Gianna in limbo and almost tore us apart in the process. The thing is, you learn from it and tell us how we can make him go away.”

“That’s the thing. I don’t know how to make him go away. It almost took everything I had to fight him last night. He’s gotten so much stronger. I am not the only wanderer he has come in contact with.”

Pops was pinching the bridge of his nose, deep in thought. In the corner, my uncles Levi and Lucas were whispering frantically to each other.

Reign wiggled in her seat.

Milly looked like she was about to murder someone. “So we’re just going to sit here and what? Let some madman come along and take over our pack? Take our home?

“Hell no! Come on! We’re meant to be the royal wolves! We’re meant to be the strongest. We’re meant to lead by example!

“If we run away hiding just because we’re scared, what kind of message does that send to our pack? How are Uncle Kol and Axel meant to lead a pack that doesn’t have faith in its royal family?”

She stood up, pounding her fists onto the table.

“I say we gather the pack together, get them pumped and ready for battle, anyone who is willing and able to fight. We get our best trackers out there to find this son of a bitch, and we take him down.

“We are the Blue Moon pack, and I suggest we start acting like that actually means something to us!”

Uncle Diego beamed with pride. Letting out an ear-splitting roar, he stood up. “Let’s kill this son of a bitch!”

Everyone followed him out of the room, heading toward the pack house. Storm smiled tightly, following behind without saying a word. She left the room, leaving only my parents and me there.

“How are you doing, sweetie?” Mom spoke gently, softness in her eyes. I shrugged, looking out the window.

Dad clasped my shoulder. “War isn’t for the faint-hearted, Son. How you handle it shows the pack what you’ll do to protect them. It is our job as alpha.

“They look up to us to keep them safe, to lead them, to protect them at all costs, and you are next in line. This will be one of many fights to protect our people.

“You’re not just an alpha-to-be; you are royalty. Because of this, there will always be people who will want to challenge you and the pack. Stand tall, keep your head high, and don’t ever back down.”

He patted my shoulder, shaking me gently. I smiled tightly at him. Together we left for the pack house.

The journey was a silent one. Truth be told, I didn’t even know if I really had what it took to be alpha. I wasn’t a leader; I was a kid.

A prince, I scoffed, rolling my eyes to myself. That’s exactly how the pack will see me: a precious little prince. I’ve never been to guard training, or warrior training, or any training, actually.

Instead, I spent all of my free time with my grandmother, learning ancient spells and practicing. Was I a wolf or a witch?

Yeah, I could shift, and yeah, I had all the skills of a wolf, but was I really connected to it? Could I trust myself to do the right thing?

I hadn’t been to the pack house since I was a kid! I knew who Dad’s Beta was, but that’s because he was my best friend’s dad!

We got out of the car, and there he stood on the steps to the pack house. Beta Jordan. He nodded to us. “Welcome back, Alpha, Luna, Prince.” We nodded in response, following him into the house.

Whatever happened, I just had to do my best.

Storms were on their way, and I laughed at the irony: my mate was called Storm, and here we were, preparing for a big one to protect our pack, for the first time since before I was born.

It’s almost like it followed her here.

Wait…