Book 1 - The Lycan's Curse

Clueless

When Alastair and Rio arrived at the manor, they found Giuseppe sitting alone on the couch, his posture stiff, as though he had been waiting. Rio sauntered to the adjacent couch, settling across from Giuseppe with a smug grin curling on his lips. The tension between them was palpable, and Giuseppe's brows knitted in irritation.

“So, where’s Aliyah?” Rio asked with a cocky tone, removing his ring, and releasing a potent aura that crackled faintly around his body.

Giuseppe’s glare hardened as he leaned forward slightly. “Are you trying to intimidate me with your aura?” he shot back, his voice calm but cold.

Rio crossed his arms and pressed his lips together. “I just want to make it clear that I don’t enjoy seeing you around here,” he retorted, his words dripping with disdain.

Giuseppe stood up slowly, his expression unreadable. “Alright, then. I’ll just come back later,” he muttered, turning towards the stairs.

But before he could leave, Rio cleared his throat, drawing Giuseppe's attention back. “Did I ask you to leave?” Rio’s voice dropped, taking on a more dangerous edge as he stood.

Suddenly, Giuseppe’s body convulsed, an insurmountable wave of pain crashing through him. He groaned, collapsing to his knees. “Kneel,” Rio commanded, his voice laced with power as the pain intensified. Giuseppe’s groans turned into gasps as his body trembled under the weight of Rio’s incantation.

Alastair, sensing things had gone too far, rushed to Rio and shoved him back onto the couch, breaking the spell. Giuseppe, regaining his strength, shot to his feet. In a blur, he grabbed Rio by the throat and slammed him against the wall. His eyes flickered with an unnatural glow, rapidly shifting colors as Rio’s incantations faltered and died.

Alastair tried to intervene, but with a single, effortless motion, Giuseppe flung him across the room, sending him crashing through the veranda doors. Rio struggled, his hands clawing at Giuseppe’s grip, but the more he fought, the weaker he became as Giuseppe drained his energy, his skin growing pale.

Rio’s vision darkened at the edges as he teetered on the brink of unconsciousness.

“Don’t make me your enemy,” Giuseppe whispered, his voice a dangerous promise.

Alastair cast a spell, but before it could take effect, Giuseppe vanished, disappearing like a wind. Rio slumped to the ground, gasping for breath as his energy slowly returned. Alastair hurried to his side, pulling him to his feet.

Just then, the doors burst open, and Aliyah and the others rushed in, their eyes wide with shock. Without a word, Aliyah stormed up to Rio and, without hesitation, slapped him across the face, the sharp sound echoing in the room.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” she said angrily.

Rio shot her a venomous glare before he vanished from their sight.

The arrival of Giuseppe had thrown their lives into chaos, a tangled web of complications that was only beginning to unravel. Alastair, weary from the constant strain, grabbed a bottle of wine from the  shelf. Without pausing, he tilted it back and drained it in one go, the sweet liquid burning its way down his throat.

"I almost had him, but you stopped me! Look at what happened!" A voice echoed in his mind. It was Rio’s voice, even though Alastair hadn’t activated their telepathic link. He froze, startled by the sudden intrusion.

"I can penetrate your mind again. Looks like my psychic abilities are stronger than ever," Rio's voice continued, laced with pride.

"Good to know," Alastair replied, his eyes scanning the empty room. "But where are you?"

"I'm here," Rio said, suddenly appearing before him. Alastair groaned, tossing the empty bottle aside with a dull thud.

“Just move on already, you bastard,” he muttered, grabbing another bottle and shoving it into Rio’s hand.

Rio took it, a faint smirk playing on his lips. “You’re right,” he sighed, his gaze drifting toward the door where Aliyah's figure quickly disappeared into the daylight.

"She isn’t meant for you, buddy," Rio said softly.

“I guess we’ll have to practice magic without her for now. But let’s skip the basic spells—we need to master the advanced ones as soon as possible,” Rio said, his tone sharp as his lips pressed into a thin line. “Lycans are roaming closer to us. I ran into a few of them last night.” His eyes darkened with concern. “They’re getting nearer.”

“And now i'm worried about it." Alastair muttered, gripping his wine glass a little tighter before taking another deep sip. "We need to learn how to put a barrier around this house.”

“I figured it out last night,” Rio responded, leaning forward slightly. “But to make the spell effective, we need to put conditions in place.”

Alastair raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “And what kind of conditions are we talking about?”

“First of all, under no circumstances that someone can pass through the barrier without the owner’s permission,” Rio explained, his voice steady. “ Secondly, the protection is limited to the owner’s territory, and lastly, once the spell is cast, it’s nearly impossible to undo—unless the owner sells the property.”

Alastair stared at him, his eyes lighting up with realization. “Which means... we can keep that bastard out of the house for good.”

Rio grinned, nodding in agreement. "Exactly. "

“Kai, Anthony, I need you to come here,” Alastair called through the mind link, hoping they were nearby.

“Coming!” Anthony and Kai both responded.

Within five seconds, they appeared in Alastair's sight. They stepped outside and spread out, covering every corner of the house.

“We need to chant Protega Totalum seven times together while linking our energies,” Rio communicated mentally. “Ready?”

“Always am,” Alastair retorted confidently.

“I’m ready,” Kai added.

“Wait... I’m almost done eating waffles,” Anthony mumbled, earning an exasperating sighs from the others.  “Okay, I’m ready now!” he exclaimed.

“𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒂 𝑻𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒎,” they chanted in perfect harmony. Though they couldn't see it, they could sense a weak barrier slowly forming around the house. “𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒂 𝑻𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒎,” they repeated, and with each repetition, the barrier strengthened, its presence growing more tangible with every word. The ritual has done. They all felt momentarily drained afterwards, the magic taking its toll.

“That was amazing,” Kai muttered as they caught their breath. They quickly headed inside, quenching their thirst.

Once inside, Rio handed the thick ancient spellbook to Alastair.

“Let’s all learn this together. I’m sorry if I practiced magic without you,” Rio muttered apologetically.

Alastair shook his head, smiling. “It was clever to have some alone time. You good buddy.”

“I have an idea,” Rio said suddenly, his voice growing excited.

Alastair raised a brow. “ Spill the tea.”

“There are hundreds of spells in the witchbooks. It would take us an eternity to memorize and master them all. Why not each of us focus on different kinds of spells instead of learning the same spell at once? In that way, we can master the ones that suit us effectively.”

Alastair's eyes flashed golden brown, a sign that he was interested. Rio noticed and furrowed his brow.

“You know what I like about you?” Rio mused, smirking. “Your eyes—they change with your mood.”

Alastair’s eyes flickered back to their original dark hue as a smile crept across his face.