She's here!
Carswell's viewpoint
I stood in front of my mirror, my full-length mirror, watching my fingers as I clicked the lock of the cape over my shoulders. It wasn't needed, but it was the royal cape passed on from generation to generation. My best friend, Zane, sat on my bed, checking his flawless nail polishing work for the fifteenth time in thirty minutes. Caesar, my second friend, was trying to find my favourite ring.
That scent came again, but briefly. It had been troubling me for days. It wasn't like the roses to trouble me. It usually gave me peace so the new trouble was confusing me. My beast was more reckless but silent, he wouldn't talk because the confusion had gotten to him bad. It was starting to give me constant headache. The others said they didn't find anything weird in it, but I doubt they perceive what I was perceiving.
Caesar said the scent remains the same to him, while Zane said it kept switching from honey pine and snow, to the usual scent. It was confusing him too but not as much as it was to me. I exhaled loudly from my mouth and turned around, a brief blurriness flickered in my vision but went away with a blink.
"I don't feel good," I said queasily, "my head hurts again," I pressed my thumb to my temple and groaned. My throat was closing up but I was forcing it back down. "I don't know what's wrong with me. Do you think the roses have been infected with black magic and it's trying to warn me?"
"Doubt it. One, who would affect the roses they think is regular with black magic? Makes no sense,"
"Except if they know," Zane said.
"True, but I doubt they do. Plus, I don't think this is the way they would warn you. I think it would affect the barrier, not you…"
"I'm connected to it," I cut him off.
"And Zane? I doubt it," Caesar, my beta. His father was my father's beta. He came from a long generation of betas as Zane came from one of warriors. But Zane was closer to me because I knew him before we later met Caesar and added him; he was worthy of it.
"Look, let's just get this over with. After today, we can check the mirror and see what's wrong?" Zane asked tiredly. It was a rare thing to see him tired. He was usually energetic, loquacious and act like a crazy teenager. But don't challenge him, he was a brutal fighter. Caesar was more of a thinker, a good beta and quiet one.
"Three hours," I murmured. I swept the cape out from underneath my feet and walked to the door. Zane stood up and followed. Caesar didn't bother looking for the ring again, he knew I wouldn't wear it.
The guards bowed as we made our way to the ballroom. With each step I took, the scent got stronger. It almost felt like it was trying to strangle me or force me to shift. My lycan stirred in me, his confusion hitting me as strong as the scent. Something nudged the back of my mind, trying to remind me of what the scent mean. But it seemed like the information was locked tight, somehow.
"Announcing the arrival of His Royal Majesty, King Carswell Finneas Adrienne R.D. Maximilien, Beta Caesar Payne, and Honourable Chief warrior, Zane Berlanti."
"He didn't have to call my full name," I grumbled.
"Technically, he left out the other two," Zane chuckled.
"What difference does that make?" Caesar questioned. I chuckled, just before the doors open a little. It was like an explosion of wind accompanied with a powerful aura and scents. The aura was powerful, and the scents entwined so tightly it pushed me some few paces back. Caesar pushed me forward in time for me compose myself, at least to them I was. Zane on the other hand, surreptitiously gasped for air.
"Are you two okay?" Caesar asked with worry.
"No," we both groaned. I walked into the ballroom as compose as I could, but the scents and the aura was everywhere.
‘What's that powerful aura?’ Caesar pushed into my thoughts. ‘Is that yours?’
‘No, it's not.’
"Fuck, this is too much," Zane murmured.
‘Mate! Our erasthasis is here!’
Zane and I simultaneously froze on our steps, like he too realise what was actually happening. I looked around with wide eyes and confusion clearly written allover my face. Zane moved, almost using his speed to rush towards two girls. The one with amber hair and green eyes was staring at me with red cheeks and shock, but the black haired one was looking behind her as if looking for something. The scent was coming from that angle, but it wasn't either one of them. I could tell they were both not shapeshifters or anything common.
I walked over to him. The scent had suddenly disappear, as if she tucked it away.
"She was here, she was just standing here," Zane cried out helplessly.
"Your Majesty, what is going on?" Francis asked puzzledly. I knew he would be ecstatic about the information. I almost didn't want to tell him, but it was pointless not to.
"My erasthasis, she was just here, I smelt her," the crowd began to murmur, Francis' eyes flying wide. I ignored them and kept my eyes on the black haired. From what I could see, she had short black hair, but added the length. She was scared of me, but knew how to keep a compose state.
"Who was here just now?" Zane barked at the green eyed. He was making the poor thing tremble. I looked to my side and saw her mate standing close, ready to attack Zane and get himself killed. It was just mate instinct. I knew he was her mate because she had his scent allover her.
"Er…it…it…" She stuttered.
"Our friends," the black haired replied evenly.
"Where did they go?" I asked, glancing behind me to Caesar, mentally instructing him to lock all the exit doors and windows.
"I didn't see them, but if Xyra is involve, she's probably running away and dragging Zephyr along with her,"
Xyra, that name was more appealing to me and my lycan. That was her name.
Her face scrunched up, a sign that she was having a mental conversation. From their scent, they were all in the same pack, under Cresent Pack Alpha. I knew that scent all too well.
"Where are they?"
"She just commanded me to shut up, sorry," she said chucklingly. Zane growled and stepped forward to probably shake the information out of her. I used my hand to block him.
"Calm down,"
"But why will she run? Why? Did I do anything wrong?" Zane whimpered.
"If I'm guessing right, you are after Zephyr," black haired said, "she won't run, probably be in shock and Xyra used that state to drag her away. As for Xyra, when you meet her, you'll know why…"
"But I assure you she didn't do it to disrespect you," trembling one cut in sharply, defending her friend, her alpha. My mate was an alpha, a strong one. That aura came from her.
It didn't take me long to piece the clues together to know she was an alpha, their alpha. Alpha Kristofferson's first daughter I was told didn't die. I never cared to know about the alpha female that no one knew about or who mysteriously came back from the dead. When I asked her father once, he told me she was stolen from them and they were told she died, but didn't. It didn't look like a serious matter, not until I actually felt her aura. It wasn't one of a regular werewolf's.
"What is your name? What are your names?" I questioned.
"April," she murmured nervously.
"Moira,"
"What are you? Both of you?"
"I dunno," Moira said with a shrug, "all I know is that I am a telepath and tech genius, with some few extra surprises. April is a human tree…"
"Fucking yes!" Someone shouted. Zane's shoulders tensed as he took in a sharp breath. His mate. He sprinted towards the direction of the voice, leaving me to follow. A young girl was arranging her short dress as she giggled. Brownish gold and honey blonde hair, dark grey eyes and very pale white skin. She gave off a terrifying cold aura, one that left chills running down one's spine. I would have said she was a vampire, but I knew she wasn't. Zane's mate.
"You," he called, rushing over to her. She raised her head from her dress with an innocent smile, one I saw through. She was a tricky kid like Zane and was going to throw an unnecessary drama.
So his mate is a teenager, that would explain the childish behaviour.
"Yes?" She asked, maintaining her innocent smile and letting it seep into her voice.
Zane pulled and trapped her in his arms. "Mine," he growled.
"Excuse me? Who are you and why are you touching me?"
Knew she would do this.
"Mine," he growled again.
"Oh no you don't," she disappeared from his arms to a man's, Alpha Kristofferson's. She instantly clung to his bicep, shocking everyone with her ability. "Daddy, that man was touching me,"
"You're a witch," Zane said as matter-of-fact.
No, not witch.
"Do I look like one? I don't think so, and no, not a vampire but a wereghost. Yes, I'm rare, deal with it and don't come close to me, you weirdo!" That explains a lot.