Identical Alpha Twins and Silver Shackles

Chapter 8

Dr Witstock stood with his hand on the shoulder of the younger doctor and looked warningly at his boys as he introduced the man.
“This is one of my junior doctors, Doctor Coupson, he has requested to come and speak to his Alphas. He recently joined our pack after finding his Mate in one of our female guards. He has been helping me research possible solutions to this situation for the last two hours. I would like you to hear what he has to say”
He was looking at me but the tone of his voice seemed to be aimed at Rogan and Rio. The young doctor hadn’t looked up from the floor during the introduction and even now as he stepped forwards to speak to us he still stared straight down. There was a thin layer of sweat on his forehead and he seemed really nervous to be here with us all.
“Alpha Rio, Alpha Rogan”
Upon saying their titles the doctor was forced to the floor in a kneeling position, neck and wrists exposed. Rogan released him from the obligation with a word and an irritated facial expression, he hated the forced pleasantries that came with his title and made no secret in showing disdain towards them when yet another person was forced to bow to him or his
brother, father or mother. He gestured for the doctor to carry on talking while he huffed out his frustration.
“It is my understanding that in this pack it is against the law to with-hold information that relates to the safety or health of any pack member, Luna or Alpha. It is also equally illegal to openly discuss certain topics or subjects. I am concerned that by giving a suggestion that might help save the little Luna’s life that I would be breaking the law by talking about a taboo.”
The room hung on the end of his sentence, I wasn’t a Luna but I understood why he had chosen to phrase it that way. The twins were staring intently at him as he struggled to meet their eyes but there was a new emotion in the room, a tension that was palatable.
“Is your suggestion Magic?”
Rogans eyes lit up as he said Magic, the sudden swirl between chocolate brown and black showed the mixed up emotions he was experiencing. I couldn’t be certain but with the looks Rogan was now exchanging with Rio I strongly suspected that Magic was the conclusion
their research had led them to as well. I now understood why they had looked so concerned
and fearful. The use, discussion or practice of Magic within our pack was at its worst, punishable by death. Magic on our packlands had been banned a little more than 60 years ago when the twins' grandad had been Alpha. Anyone who might potentially receive
descendant magic was closely monitored and when they were old enough to understand consequences they were told why they must not learn, practice or use magic in any form. In the event that someone does use magic the punishments can range from pack banishment to death depending on what and how much magic was used and why it was used.
The event that caused the current magic ban still rocked our pack. It was an event and loss that many were still recovering from and we still held yearly memorials to remember those we lost. The events, sadly, are well documented and the story is taught to children as young as 5 to serve as a warning.
A wolf from our pack had been born from two magic carrying, wolf parents. The child, from birth, had been all together too strong. The family had tried to train him, contain him and magically castrate him but nothing had worked. By the time he was 16 he had already mastered his magical ability and was actively using it to hurt people, mainly his own family but other incidents had been reported. His family tried to brush things off, accidents or one-offs, they pretended to everyone and themselves that he was under control, that they had a handle on him but it was lies. The boy was growing noticeably stronger as his wolf developed within him and before the council could get a proper solution to the situation the boy experienced his first shift. The magic merged with the animalistic part of his brain, his desire to be larger and stronger thaneveryone else, to hold power over the pack. The magic obeyed his desire and his wolf grew, quadrupling in size, strength, ferocity and appetite in just over a day. He unleashed a reign of terror that lasted 5 days, 5 days of abject misery and Hell on Earth. His ramage saw the end to century old family names, whole bloodlines
gone. He ripped, ate and destroyed at will. He killed his own family without a backward glance. Some people tried to fight back but they were crushed. The Alpha guard took the Alpha family and hid them in the underground shelters, stories say they argued and tried to escape, they wanted to do their duty and protect their pack but it would have been useless, everyone was in hiding or dead. The guard warriors hid in the below ground watch shelters and tracked the boy monster as he rampaged the town, destroying entire buildings with one hand. For 5 days the pack hid and surrounding packs amplified their defences in fear. The
problem with magic is that it carries a cost, a price that must be paid. Those who were educated in sorcery knew that, they knew that no matter the size of the spell it must be equally compensated. Evidently no-one had told the boy monster about that. Over his 5 days
of destruction he racked up a massive magical cost. On the 5th day, as the warriors watched on, a fire began on the gigantic wolf's stomach, white hot flames licked out from his centre as he growled, thrashed and rolled around in a frantic attempt to quench the fire. He rolled into the centre of the packlands flower garden, his heart-wrenching growls and yelps drew the pack members from their hiding places, part fascinated, part utterly horrified they watched as the gigantic, mutated, monster wolf burnt from the inside out, sparks of magic danced at the tips of the flames. As the inferno fully consumed him, he shifted, from the Hellish wolf beast to an agonised, burnt 16 year old boy. He whimpered and cried out in pain but the pack was
too scared of what he had just been to approach him as he lay naked in the garden's fountain. From the start of the fire to his pitiable death had taken just 20 minutes but the repercussions for his actions were ongoing. From that point onwards all magic types were
banned. Anyone with magic was registered and had to agree to never use it again or if they refused they were exiled to either join another pack or go rogue. Descendants of magical bloodlines were also registered and forced to refrain from any magical usage, tuition or
knowledge to ensure nothing like the horror of those 5 days ever happened again.