Chapter 312: _The Protection Ring
"Alright, I think this would be the perfect space to begin the ritual." I blurted, turning around.
Walking behind me were Althea and Luna Queen Janelle. We were in an old chamber within a small building outside the main mansion.
The same one which Althea had created a portal to Mexico months ago.
The room was dimly lit, and there was a circular hole at the centre of the ceiling from which the blood moon was filtering through.
It smelled of incense, old herbs and stale air and was also a bit chilly.
"The blood moon is at its zenith right now. It’s peak." Janelle muttered with a tense expression. "We’re lucky it didn’t mess up with the inner wolves of anyone during the attack."
I turned to her. "Well, I didn’t have to shift, so I can’t speak for myself."
"And that’s just the thing, Alpha King Kaelos." Janelle pushed on, her emerald eyes glinting with worry as she stepped closer. "Your wolf... You know how chaotic it is compared to other Alpha Kings."
Damon growled with disapproval in my mind but I ignored him, tilting my head at Janelle. "What are you driving at Luna Queen?"
Janelle placed her hands on her waist. "Mwansa was able to keep his transformation stable during the attack despite the blood moon. But now, at its peak, any of us transforming could have unforeseen side effects. Especially you. So if we’re going to track your mate tonight, we need to dial down on transforming until absolutely necessary."
Yeah... Right.
As if I haven’t been doing that for most of my life.
"Ahem." Althea cleared her throat just then, forcing us to swerve our heads to her. "If you may... I’ll need the centre of the room."
She gestured at us to move away from the room’s centre, and we did just that, resting against the wall at a corner.
"Do you have all the ingredients you need?" I questioned, trying not to hold my breath as I stared at her anxiously.
She parted her lips to speak when the door swung open, Caroline stepping in. She held a small box with intricate carvings that looked familiar.
"Ah, Caroline." Althea’s eyes brightened. "I believe that’s what I asked for?"
Caroline nodded with a serious expression, handing the box to Althea and then stepping back.
"Yes, high priestess. A personal belonging of Ma’am Odessa."
Althea opened the box and brought out what was in it, causing my eyes to widen slightly.
It was the ruby necklace I gave Odessa on her first night in the pack.
"Perfect." Althea nodded. "I’ll use this to spark the threads of connection between me and her protection ring. Hopefully, she hasn’t taken it off."
My chest tightened. "And if she has?"
Janelle patted my shoulder beside me, almost reassuringly. "Let’s hope she hasn’t."
Right. Hope.
Finally, Althea brought out a black chalk from one of the pockets of her robe, squatting and drawing a circle around herself.
The room was eerily quiet, the air still.
After drawing the circle, Althea went further to draw some rune symbols before finally straightening her back.
"Why a black chalk?" Caroline asked curiously from where she stood, causing me to glance at her.
I technically owed her an apology for almost choking her to death...
Sigh, Odessa’s not going to like that if we find her.
’WHEN we find her, dude. There’s no if.’ Damon growled in my mind and I couldn’t agree more.
"A black chalk has quite a few uses." Althea began with a calm tone, standing at the centre of the circle and then clutching the ruby necklace in her right hand. "One notable one is warding off negative energy or influences. From what we know, Ryker is a practitioner of dark magic. I don’t know if he’s somehow going to tamper with the bond of the protection ring to make my tracking ritual... Backfire."
Goddess, I was losing patience.
"Let’s just get this over with, High Priestess," Janelle said with a light sigh. "The Alpha Kings and Luna Queens are still waiting in the pack, but we all have our respective continents to head back to. The war with witches and humans is only on hold for as long as the blood moon is up."
I raised my right hand, staring at a watch on my wrist.
It was already a few minutes past midnight.
"Very well." Althea nodded with an understanding smile before dropping the ruby necklace just in front of her feet.
She closed her eyes, pulling out a small dagger from her robe and slitting her palm just a bit. A few drops of blood fell from her palm, falling directly on the necklace.
Suddenly, a pulse of red light spread all around the magic circle before morphing into a blue light.
Althea spread out her arms, her robes and long black hair flapping around her despite the stillness of the air in the room.
When she began muttering a spell in a language I didn’t understand, my jaw tightened, my gaze narrowing on her.
I caught Janelle and Caroline glancing at each other out of the corner of my eye, but I barely paid them any attention. I didn’t understand how the ritual was supposed to work but I wasn’t willing to peel my eyes away.
"Under the light of the sacred blood moon, I seek my niece, Odessa Pierce." Althea suddenly yelled out with a loud voice, the black circle lighting up with an even brighter red hue in sync with her words. "I seek the magic of Seraphina Pierce still within her protection ring. So mote it be!"
Without warning, a powerful wind began blowing in the room, forcing me to dim my eyes while Janelle used her arms to shield her face.
"By the moon, are witch rituals always so theatrical?" The Luna Queen mumbled beside me but I barely paid her heed.
All my attention was on the black circle as Althea arched, staring at the ceiling. Her eyes shone with a deep blue light, the magic in the air thickening.
After what felt like an eternity, the light around the black circle finally dissipated and Althea gasped, the bright light in her eyes disappearing as well.
She turned her gaze to me. "Canada. I saw her. She’s in Canada."
I let out an exasperated breath. "But do you know where in Canada?"
She parted her lips to speak when the chamber doors suddenly swung open, two elderly women with familiar faces walking in.
They both wore robes with the yellow star symbol of the Luminari coven etched on them.
Wait... The Luminari coven?
"The coven elders," I whispered to myself solemnly, knowing exactly why they were here.
The eldest among the two glanced at Althea briefly before fixing her gaze on me. "Wherever your wife is, she’s in trouble for flouting our law. Using her hybrid abilities in public. She still had two months left to stick to that law."
My fists curled as I took a step forward to speak but then the other one continued from where the first stopped:
"When we felt the energy she used at your festival tonight, we couldn’t believe it at first. Until one of our own contacted us and confirmed it."
My eyebrows furrowed into a deep frown.
"One of your own?" Janelle repeated.
At that moment, footsteps echoed behind them, calm, confident and steady.
And when I saw who stepped into the room next, walking past the coven elders without as much as a bow, my jaw clenched.
"Good evening, everyone." She said with a sweet smile laced with venom, her hazel eyes landing on me.
Lucinda.
She took her time, letting the room fall silent before she tilted her head and said. "You must be frantic, Alpha King Kaelos. After all... losing your wife on your own territory? Under your own watch?"
The corners of her lips curled higher.
"Seraphina would be so... disappointed."