Heart of the Unknown Alpha (13 page)

              They came to the end of the grand room and the Reanult opened another door, this one led to a small circular chamber in the chamber stood three stands. Each contained a book, only two were able to be read. The third lay closed. Sealed by the most primal of magic, it was said only the prophesied heir could open and read from it. Darian shouldered his way through the door and into the space. He watched silently as his father and Reanult approached the book containing the History of his people.

              “Lluna said this has not happened for over a millennia right?” Reanult asked looking at Samuel. Seeing the man nod he continued “I am a millennia old and I have not seen this happen. If it has it was before my time and I am thinking my father’s time as well. I am sure if it had happened during my grandfather’s time he would have told my father about it. Which mean we have to go farther back.” Turning back to the book he leafed through it, he came to the section where all the races had come to agreements to end hostilities.

              Reanult quickly scanned through the section, he turned back a bit more towards the front of the book and read some more. Finally he found what he was looking for. He stilled his face becoming more set as he reread several times the passage. Nodding his head he turned away from the book and looked at the two people waiting for him. “We have to summon the Alpha.”

              Two Pair of green eyes widened at this announcement. Summoning an Alpha was NOT something one did lightly. If one Summoned an Alpha and pissed it off the consequences would be horrific. Father and son stood silently and stared at the man before them. Finally Samuel broke the silence. “Are you sure we have to do that?” Fear and caution laced his voice.

              Reanult frowned at his Beta. Usually the wolf knew his place and knew not to question his decisions. “Do you want your son back or not?”

              “Well yes but…”

              “Then we summon the Alpha. Stop whimpering.” Renault turned back towards the door. He stepped up and looked Darian in the eye, as if trying to get a read on him. Apparently he found what he was looking for because he turned away. Stepping back up to the book he removed a silver dagger from a recess in the stand. On one side of the hilt was a wolfs head the other the moon. He sliced the edge of the blade across the open pages of the book.

              As the droplets fell onto the open pages he intoned “Svetlok, Supreme Alpha in a troubled time. Your people need you once more. The blood of your descendent Reanult last of the Supreme Alpha line commands you to appear.”

              The drops absorbed into the pages and disappeared. Soon the book started to glow. A mist filled the floor at their feet to the right of the book silver and blue dust started to form. It shimmered and glowed as more and more of it appeared it took on the shape of a man. Soon the spirit of the ancient Supreme Alpha was fully formed and the golden light of the book washed over him turning him from monochromatic blue to real life Technicolor.

              Darian and his father watched in awe at the events. Never had any other living wolf seen anything like it. As the fully formed and very REAL ancient Supreme Alpha stepped into the room his father bowed his head and dropped to one knee as was custom for showing the Alpha superiority. Darian, unable to follow his father example due to his twisted form, could only bow his head.

              Svetlok was larger than Reanult in size and build but his eyes were no less intense of a blue. The elder Alpha looked at Reanult then at the two men behind him. His deep baritone voice rang clear and strong as he spoke. “I see why you have called me from my rest. Am I right in saying you have never encountered this before?” he strode over to Samuel and Darian and began inspecting them.

              “You would be correct. Nothing like this has happened in the time I or my father or grandfather were Supreme Alpha. We need to cure him if it is possible or to find a way to keep it from spreading and destroying the rest of the pack.” Renaults voice was flat and straightforward.  It gave away none of the worry he felt internally.

              Svetlok made a prolonged study of Darian. “do you know what has happened to him? Any clue as to why this has happened?”

              Reanult narrowed his eyes at the other Alpha. He was getting annoyed with the delay. He had a pack to protect and no time to waste in doing so. Breaking his stance he walked over to join the others as he spoke. “If I knew I wouldn’t have bothered to summon you.”

              Svetlok turned his head enough to look at the younger alpha his eyes held an amused glint in them. “I see patience and calm was not passed down to my heirs. Pity.” He turned and walked out of the room and into the grand hall that made up the majority of the Vault. “Ah! My favorite chair. I have missed it” He quickly crossed over to an antique throne like chair, heavy with carving and furs. Jewels adorned the carvings in strategic places. He observed the three men as they followed trailing behind trying to figure out what to do.

              Svetlok waggled his fingers and 2 chairs and what looked like a bed on stilts moved over in front of him. “Sit and I shall explain what you are dealing with. Then I shall tell you how to fix it.” He waited till Samuel and Reanult had taken the chairs and Darian was settled on the bed. “What has happened to the young pup is that he has reached a full primal state. This only happens when a wolf has found his Pure Mate.”

              “Pure Mate?! That cannot be! She is HUMAN, it is against pack law!” Samuel sputtered jumping up he began to pace back and forth. “He is heir to the Supreme Alpha, he cannot have a human mate. His mate MUST be pack! It is the only way the change in leadership will be accepted. The pack will never accept a human mate to a non-bloodline heir, NEVER!” Three pairs of eyes watched his pacing for a few more moments.

              “SIT DOWN!” came the thunderous voice of Svetlok. It filled the chamber with its power and authority. “He has found his Pure Mate, human or no. When a Lycans wolf is pushed beyond the brink the wolf and man become one entire being. The only way this can happen is if he has found his Pure Mate. It will only happen once and after that he will be as he was before. We were a small pack once and finding Pure Mates became an issue. We had Lycans getting caught in the half transformed state left and right. It really was the MOST annoying thing and I was tempted to put down most of the Pack just from sheer frustration.”

The three men in front of him inhaled sharply at the news. It had never been recorded that Svetlok had nearly put down the Pack. “Lucky for me there was a cure and I could stop chasing around after half transformed werewolves all the damn time. It was a bloody nuisance I tell you, mainly because I was soon to be mated, and during a full moon no less… back to the point in hand. There is an easy cure. You need moonlit water, Moon tear flowers, and sun essence. Combine the first two in the special bottle over there on that shelf” He pointed to a glass and silver bottle that was on a shelf behind them. “Set that in the morning rays of the sun. At noon the young pup must drink it. Not a minute before or after. It will set the animal and man back into balance. Unfortunately the transformation will leave his wolf side weakened for a while.  Given the extent of him I would say for at least a fortnight plus seven days his wolf will be compromised. He will not have the strength or stamina he usually would, he will be as if he was human for the first few days to two weeks.”

Svetlok nodded that both Darian and his father could go as it was apparent they wanted to get the cure made right away. Both Alphas watched the two men hurry out of the vault. Svetlok was still watching after them when he spoke again. “Why did you lie when you summoned me?”

Reanult snapped his head towards the other Alpha startled. ” I did not lie. I am the last Supreme Alpha of our bloodline.”

Svetlok slowly turned his head and gazed at the younger Alpha. His eyes made it clear he would not tolerate deceit. “You have a child. There is an heir of our bloodline. Why do you deny it?”

Reanult looked down in shame. Tears clouded his eyes. “I do not speak of my child. I broke pack law in taking a human wife, in breeding with her. The child was not meant to inherit the Supreme Alpha ship. The signs did not come upon his birth. I had my duty to my pack so I left them behind when I returned. To bring them, to speak of them to anyone was a death sentence for them and for myself.”

Svetlok looked at him. Sympathy and understand shone from his eyes. “You produced a child, that child is now dead. So is your mate. But the child you produced also produced a child. The signs missing at your son’s birth came back three fold at that child’s birth.  Your son was never meant to inherit from you. His pup was. Darian is not the next Supreme Alpha. Your grandchild is. I suggest you get looking because time is running out. And given your grandchild has two supernatural parentage on both sides of the family and has already experienced death and rebirth I think you will find that heir is going to be stronger than any of us have ever been before.”

Reanult looked at the older Alpha, hope starting to glimmer in his eyes. ”My beloved son had a son that will inherit from me? Will the Pack allow it though? The human involvement could still spell death.”

“The pack does not have a choice, your grandchild is the one able to open and read the third book. From you comes the prophesied one the Pack has waited for.”

Reanult sat there in stunned silence. It wasn’t until Svetlok as in the circular room and getting ready to return to his afterlife that he came out of his stupor. “WAIT! How will I find my grandson? How will I know him when I find him?”

Svetlok smiled and replied as he placed his hand on the book ready to return to his afterlife. “You will know your grandchild on sight. The face will be as familiar to you as your own.”

Reanult sat there staring off into space. He had a grandchild that would inherit. His heart did flips, while it also mourned the passing of his wife and son. Oh if only he could have been there and watched his son grow! To have kissed his wife one more time was a dream he had had every day since he had left.  To have been a true father and husband, to have his every waking and sleeping dream from the past seven decades…..but now, now he had a grandson. One that would be a strapping young wolf. Handsome and charismatic, one the female pack members would swoon over. He smiled to himself. Yes his grandson would be a fine replacement for him. And maybe he could get the chance to be the family wolf he had so long denied himself with his grandson and his mate and their pups.

Chapter 17, Time apart

Two days later Aryana still couldn’t get Darian out of her mind. She hoped he was ok and had managed to get back to his old self. She had no idea what had happened to him but she knew it had terrified her. The puncture wounds on the back of her legs had mostly healed. If nothing else they were reminders that he was dangerous..

At least she hadn’t sat around and done nothing in that time she mused. She had managed to finish all three projects ahead of schedule. She had sent off two of them and had just finished delivering Stephen's to him.

She actually was beginning to like Stephen. He was pleasant and talking to him was easy. He seemed like he was interested in her as more then friends but wasn’t pushing, which was fine with her after her last attempt. Tony was out of town on assignment again so talking to him about Stephen and Darian was out. She would catch him up when he got back next week.

She was halfway through scrubbing down her entire kitchen when her cell rang. Picking it up she glanced at the small screen. Darian’s number flashed across it. Aryana froze. If he was calling it meant he was back to normal right? Her heart thumped loudly as  she stared at the small plastic device.  Did she want to talk to him? Did it even matter after what had happened? She should be smart, play it safe. Stay away. It was the smart thing to do and after everything with Scott she wanted safe, she wanted to be smart. Taking a deep breathe she pulled out the drawer closest to her and laid the phone inside on the linens. Pushing it shut she vowed that she wouldn’t cry and turned back to her cleaning.

Darian threw the phone in frustration. It clattered to the floor without any damage. He cursed at himself and his wolf. His wolf for scaring Aryana so badly she was now refusing his phone calls, himself for allowing it to happen in the first place.  He desperately needed to talk to her. To explain everything that had happened.  But he couldn’t. He was to exhausted from the last four days to do much. His strength was gone just like Svetlok said it would be. How long it would last he didn’t know. Hell he couldn’t even summon his wolf at that moment if his life depended on it.  He was as weak as a new pup and he hated it. He hated that it was keeping him from Aryana. The only thing giving him hope was what Svetlok had said caused it.

His Pure Mate. Aryana was his Pure Mate. When a wolf found his Pure Mate nothing kept them apart, not even death. Their hearts and souls were so entwined they were part of each other. No matter what happened in their lives they would forever be bound to each other. It was unheard of in the current times but in the very distant past it had been normal. Back then the pack had been much smaller so it had been easier to find your Pure Mate. As far as Darian and his father knew a wolf had not found his Pure Mate in over two thousand years.

Finding out she was his Pure Mate meant he COULDN’T let her go. Ever. It wasn’t an option. But what did that mean for them? For their future? Darian had never thought he would find his mate and yet here he had found his Pure Mate. Just the realization of it struck him with awe. Yet there was pack law. Aryana was human. Pack law forbid them to be together and to have pups. His father was demanding he succeed the Supreme Alpha and that meant he would be required to produce offspring.

Darian collapsed back against the sofa cushions and stared out the large windows of his living room. Maybe his wolf wouldn’t come back. It would solve a lot of problems. Hell it would make his life a lot easier. Yet, his wolf was a part of him. It made up a large part of who and what he was. He couldn’t see spending his life without his furry buddy.

At the thought of his wolf he smiled to himself. Aryana being his Pure Mate explained a lot of things about how his wolf had been acting. The anger when she had been talked ill of or threatened, the pacing, whining and whimpering and howling over the idea of not being able to see her ever again. The sudden intense attraction to her. His wolf had recognized her even when he hadn’t. It KNEW Aryana was their Pure Mate and refused to be parted from her. He frowned at that thought. His wolfs demanding to not be parted from Aryana would be a problem once he was fully recovered. Especially if she completely refused to ever speak to him again. It would make life very unbearable if she did so. Sighing heavily he sat and stared out the windows and watched as the sun set and the night came lost in his own thoughts.