CHAPTER 105: CHAPTER 105

Chapter 105

Astrid’s POV

"Your previous mate."

My mind refused to accept it. It was like trying to solve an equation where the numbers made no sense. It was like there was just a piece that did not quite fit no matter how hard I tried to make it fit. This wasn’t possible right?

"No," I whispered, shaking my head. The movement was small and jerky. "No, that’s... that’s not possible."

Elara fixed her gaze on me, her eyes pitiful as she stared at me. She didn’t argue. She just waited, letting the truth sink into the cracks of my denial. It was like she knew I was just denying everything right now.

"How?" I asked, my voice pleading for a different answer, a different explanation. "The mating bond... It’s a sacred ritual. It has to be completed by both people. We never... I never did that with him. The only person I have ever completed the bond with is Kaeleen. My soul is his. We are bound to each other."

"And that is the truth," Elara affirmed, her voice gentle but firm. "Your soul chose its rightful mate, just like the moon goddess had planned. But this thing... this tether... it is not a bond. It is a curse. It is a one-sided claim, a brand forced upon you without your consent. It does not require the sacred ritual because it is not sacred. It is black magic, child. A perversion of the Goddess’s most holy laws. And it’s forbidden but sadly people still practice it."

She released my shoulders and turned away, her movements suddenly frantic. She swept towards the massive oak tree at the center of the stone circle. Tucked into a hollow at its base was a series of wooden cabinets, dark with age. She pulled one open with a creak, revealing rows upon rows of clay jars and glass vials filled with dried herbs, strange liquids, and powdered minerals.

"I am such a fool," she muttered, her back to me as her hands flew over the jars, selecting some and discarding others. "Such an old, blind fool. I should have known this was going to turn out like this but I turned a blind eye to everything."

The disappointment she felt towards not noticing this was so intense it felt like another presence in the grove. "I saw a shadow on your aura when you first came to us. I thought it was just the lingering trauma of your past, the residue of an unhealthy relationship. Many of us carry such scars. Like I said before, I had believed that when you finally found your true mate, his light, his love, would be enough to heal it. I never suspected... I never imagined it was something rooted so deeply. Something so deliberately malevolent."

She slammed a jar down on a stone table, the sound making me jump. "This is not a scar, it is a chain. And he is pulling on it."

How was it that I was so far from Leon and he was still hunting me? And how was it that I didn’t notice?

"Don’t blame yourself child," Elara spoke up as if reading my mind, making me jump in shock.

I was extremely jumpy today, maybe due to the shock from everything going on.

"This curse only takes effect when you get entangled with someone else, I suspect. Tell me, did you notice anything when you were with your previous mate?" She asked me.

I had no idea if she knew Leon’s name and come to think of it, how did she know I was...oh, I’m sure everyone in the pack knew about my story already. I’ve been here for months already.

"No. Nothing at all." I told her.

Thinking back, perhaps this was why Leon had left without much argument that day he came to get me back. I should have known.

"Then it is activated because of your bond with the Alpha. I can’t believe I neglected this." She said bitterly.

"What can I do?" I asked, my voice trembling as I watched her work. "Maybe I can help you do something to help break it?"

Elara paused, her shoulders slumping for a moment. The brief display of vulnerability from this powerful woman scared me more than anything else.

"Black magic is not my specialty," she admitted, her voice low. "To break a curse, one must understand its construction. I do not. Not yet. But I can give you something to help. Something to numb the whispers. To reinforce the walls of your mind so he cannot pull on you so easily."

She began to work with a feverish intensity. She took a stone mortar and pestle and began grinding a mixture of herbs. I could smell them from where I stood, the clean, sharp scent of silverleaf, the calming aroma of moonpetal, and the earthy, bitter smell of something I didn’t recognize.

"This will not be a cure," she warned, her voice strained as she ground the herbs into a fine, dark green powder. "It is a shield. A temporary one. It will quiet the voices and help you sleep, but the tether will still be there. The curse will still be active."

She poured the powder into a small, dark glass bottle, then added a clear liquid from another vial. The mixture fizzed for a moment before settling into a liquid as dark as midnight. She corked the bottle tightly and handed it to me. It was still warm.

"Take a single drop in a glass of water before you sleep, or whenever the whispers become unbearable," she instructed, her bright blue eyes boring into mine. "No more than that. It is potent, and it will dull your senses. It is a necessary evil for now."

I clutched the small bottle in my hand. It felt impossibly heavy.

"There is one more thing," she said, her expression becoming deadly serious. "You cannot leave this compound. Do you understand me, Astrid? The Emerald Glade pack lands are warded, protected by ancient magic. The wards will help weaken his influence. But if you step outside of them... you will be exposed. Vulnerable. He will have a direct line to you, and I do not know what he will be able to do. Promise me you will not leave."

"I promise," I whispered, my throat tight.

"Good," she nodded, though she still looked deeply troubled. "Now go. I must consult an old friend and also old texts. I must find a way to fight this. I will not fail you again, child."

"You never failed me before." I told her.

She smiled warmly. "That’s what you think but I neglected the signs. I failed you but not this time."

I wanted to argue but she had already turned away, muttering to herself as she walked further into the shrine. I turned and walked away from the shrine, my feet moving automatically. The walk back through the forest was a blur. The sunlight seemed too bright, the birdsong too loud. The entire world felt unreal. My thoughts were a swirling mix of fear and disbelief.

I clutched the small bottle in my pocket, willing myself to be strong. Elara blamed herself for not stopping this before it got to this extent while I blamed myself for even letting this happen.

’Astrid?’

Sheena’s voice in my mind was small, hesitant. I had been so lost in my own shock that I had forgotten about her.

’Yeah?’ I sent back my own mental voice feeling weak and distant.

’I... I am so sorry,’ Sheena said, and I could feel a wave of shame and guilt wash over me from her side of our shared mind. ’I told you it was just stress. I didn’t listen. I should have known. I should have felt it. It is my duty to protect you, and I failed. I am so, so sorry.’

Her genuine remorse was a small, warm pinprick of light in the overwhelming darkness of my thoughts. I stopped walking and leaned against the trunk of a redwood tree, closing my eyes.

’It’s not your fault, Sheena,’ I reassured her, my thoughts coming more clearly now. ’How could you have known? Elder Elara herself didn’t see the truth of it. This is dark magic. It was designed to be hidden, to fool everyone. To fool me.’

’But I should have fought harder,’ she insisted, a low growl of anger in her voice now. Not anger at me, but at Leon. ’That monster. He didn’t just lie to you. He defiled our soul. He put his filth on us.’

’True but how could you fight? We were so fooled by him. I was used to it and still kept going back and begging for his attention because I wanted something to belong to me. I wanted something to call my own. I wanted to be seen, to be loved that I let him use me.’

’I should have known...’

I shook my head. ’How could you have? This curse was placed on us even before we got to be dependent on him.’

’I hate this.’

’Me too, but if Leon thinks I’m still that weak naive girl from before, then he’s wrong. One thing I’ve learnt from being in the Emerald Glade Pack is how to fight for yourself as a woman. Yvonne and Rebecca don’t depend on acknowledgement from their spouses like I had seemed from Leon, they are strong and I will be strong too. This time, I’ll destroy Leon.’