Raised Among Alphas

69 - Valerie

Valerie POV 

Magic comes with a price. 

I cannot take life without paying for it. The same way in which I cannot give life without a price. 

Magic is all about balance. 

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I've been alive long enough to remember the dread of war.  I had fought silent battles against the evils that threatened the peace. I had faced demons now long forgotten. I have yielded magic for so long that it speaks to me. 

Two generations ago the balance that had been carefully maintained was disturbed. I haven't discovered yet who caused it, whoever or whatever it was, was powerful enough to hide from me. 

To amend this, magic responded by breaking the barriers of breeding, that had been long established to maintain the peace. 

I couldn't believe it when I first heard that a powerful forest wolf with pure blood had somehow been mated with a Desert wolf. Not any wolf, but a powerful Beta. I sensed his strength the day he crossed the border into the forest. We were miles apart from each other, but the Forest shivered under the fierce presence of such a creature. 

It wasn't just my coven who felt it. We all knew something was brewing in the depths of magic. Something big. But was it coming from the light or the darkness? That was the real question.

Losing Mahala to her mate cost the Forest its strongest warrior.  It was wrong to exile her. It was wrong to deny her the protection of the Forest. It was wrong to ask her to choose to ignore her mate bond. But decisions were made and actions were taken. 

And then from her union came Alora... Gods Light. 

That day the earth grumbled. All witches knew of her birth before anyone else. We had to act fast. We had to reach Mahala to warn her about the life of her newborn pup. She came from the light, she came here to restore the balance. She was the vessel of power. If dark magic reached her, the world as we know it would fade away. And if the light witches felt her birth, then so the darkness. 

The Mother of my coven gathered with the others and they came up with one solution. They must hide the babe. Make her unreachable, and allow her to grow into herself with the right guidance. She had to know about her destiny. She had to be prepared to fulfill her mission. After all, she would be the one leading our next war against an enemy we are yet to unveil. 

The Mothers traveled to the Desert, where they met with Mahala. The magic of the Mothers faded once they crossed the border into the Desert, so any hiding spell had to be done outside their borders. 

I heard the Silver Dread was always skeptical of the Mothers. He wasn't willing to let his newborn pup out of his sight. Wolves are always so headstrong. 

Mahala knew witches, she grew up with them. She trusted the Mothers. She knew they must be telling the truth. She trusted it was important enough to make them cross the border and risk their lives. So to protect her pup, she went off with the Mothers against the will of her mate. 

She crossed the border only three days after giving birth, knowing the urgency of the matter. It was a night of thunder. The Mothers used the strength of the storm to conduct the spell. They had to hide the pup's blood. They had to make the darkness believe the pup had died. They had to hide her from his eyes. And to do that blood must be drawn. The pup's blood. Enough blood to conduct the spell, enough blood to make it seem she had died. But not enough to kill her. 

But then... the Silver Dread found them. He saw the cluster of Mothers finishing the spell. He saw his mate allowing them to drain the blood from his little pup. And rage took the best of him. No time for explanations.