CHAPTER 3: Celeste

Once changed into her usual stretchable jeans and a semi formal shirt with a long over coat to shield her from the harsh winds that blow in this region even in the early hours of the morning, Celeste finds herself calling her brother with her head held in her hand, as the buzzing in her starts bothering her again.

She expected a lot from this visit here, but what she didn't expect was to find the King of Werewolves here the first thing in the morning. She knew she couldn't go back and abandon the mission she has, but she couldn't have herself held in check every minute of the day.

"What's wrong?"

Celeste almost snorts at the way her brother knew her so well. He knew her calling him the first thing is not normal. Hell, she would probably only call him each time she has something to update when she is away from the pack grounds. She tries to normalize her voice, pushing back the powers to make them behave, as she speaks, "Zack. The king is here. What do I do?"

A silence of few seconds continue before Zack sighs on the other side of the phone.

The young Alpha had his doubts already, and had told his dad to inform her of this might be happening. But the elder Alpha talked him out of it. Now Zack was afraid the king will try to get information on the working of the pack to see how they have so many species with them.

"Cel, as your brother as well as your Alpha, I would say you and your team do what they are there for. Now that he is there, chances are the wolves may feel conflicted on who to follow, including Jason. But you four still are not under command of him."

"What about the investigation on our pack?"

Celeste knew it was not normal for any pack to have any other species, so for Anderson pack to have so many is bound to raise question.

Question that the other packs had but couldn't raise due to lack of power and evidence. Question that the King and the Royal Palace won't have a problem in digging into.

"I will handle it. You focus there."

"Understood sir."

Celeste groans before saying good bye and cutting the call off. Standing up, she straightens her posture, finally getting the magic to quieten down before making her way down and into the kitchen for a coffee, where she finds her team and the Royal crew to stand in two separate corners save for Jason and Alan.

Finding Seth and Willow standing together, she head over to them as she makes a quick sweep for the King as well.

She finds him standing with a tall, well built brunette and a muscled black haired man deep in discussion. Almost like he could feel her eyes on himself, he looks up, his light brown eyes catching hers for a second before both of them look away.

Celeste takes the coffee from Willow before whispering, "Where are Alan and Jason?"

Seth is the one to answer, "To get the Gamma and the Formal permission from the Alpha of this pack to sort of miss the whole Addressing the pack thing."

Celeste lets out a sigh of relief.

At least something seems to go right for her. She needed to check out the area herself before talking to the witnesses and checking their memories. But that would have taken a lot of her time if she had to wait for the address to get over.

Celeste makes a quick motion for the five wolves of her pack to join her, glancing back to see the crew still being busy before she talks to her team.

"Alright guys, listen. I know it will be hard for all of you to resist the command of your king, so I am going to let all of you to stay for the address. As wolves, you will want to and need to stay to hear him. Jason will be with you too so you will have him to go to if it's something urgent, Okay," when she sees everyone nod, the witch continues.

"Now for your first work. I want you all to gather each and everyone who have personally seen the strange wolves and have them sitting by for us when we come."

"Yes Ma'am."

The five wolves said firmly in union, making the royal crew silent as they saw the team respond in perfect seriousness and decorum to the woman.

Giving them a nod, Celeste lets them go before turning to find the crew looking at her in intrigue. Not having enough time to look at them as the buzzing in her head starts to make way into her blood at the prospect of what she may find, she keeps the now empty cup on the sink before marching out. Willow and Seth following her closely to the front of the house.

Once outside, she marches towards the woods, calling out to Seth, "Where were the sights more concentrated to?"

It puzzles Willow at times how in complete control the dark witch remains despite the magic that is held inside her is wild and unpredictable. Not only that, the aura of the Wolf King and his physique almost made it impossible for Willow to remain in the same room as him and yet Celeste could walk with complete elegance that faltered not even once.

"North- Eastern border. SpirngFare and Silvette Pack have a strip of no mans area that starts from that side of the border. Interestingly, that part of the area of no man's does not actually meet the Silvette pack due to the presence of the mountain."

The three continue forward, with Seth giving directions that he had learned well due to his sharp memory.

They reached their destination by the time Alan managed to join them. The border was hardly any different from the pack land with no solid or magic wall erected to mark it. What did seem different is the slightly raised platform of land that looked over the depressed side by the height of a couple of feet or so. Not a lot to ward of any intruders, but it was enough for the pack members as well as for the outsiders to know that the border lie there.

The four divide themselves the minute they jump over the raised part of land to enter the free land.

Celeste tries to find the exact place where the picture she received had shown the wolf, a probably injured one. She could try to use some of the few old tricks she knew to absorb some memories from the ground of that place.

Willow finds a boulder to stand on as she feels the air around her to tell her what it can. Wind, as she had learned from an early age, carried secrets- words or actions- around with it, waiting to whisper it in someone's ear if they listen to it patiently. Once she learned that she could mold the air and use it as she wishes when she grew older, she understood why she was the one the wind chooses to speak to.

The vampire lets his sense wild, hearing and smelling for any signs of blood. While wolves had great sense of smell regarding everything, vampires seem to have a greater sense of smell when it came to blood. It was almost as the blood and vampire could connect to each other, sensing it more than smelling it.

Alan had chosen to view the area from above as he let his wings snap open, the black feathers of it ruffling before it gave a hard push bringing the male up in a few seconds. The daemons eyes turned red, a deep colour almost resembling the colour of frozen blood, as it dilated to look around the area to possibly find any such strange wolf.

The witch stood near a fell over log that looked a few days older, taking a full round of her position before sighing. As mush as she tried, she couldn't find the exact same place.

Deciding to just go for it, Celeste slowly lets the magic leak from her mind into her body. The familiar chants and whispers rushing within her head as her eyes, along with its lid and underside start to feel cold.

The familiar feeling of them cracking is accompanied by her sight changing.

Well aware that her eyes are now pitch black, a feeling of dark and sinister confidence flows through her veins. Her sight now, sharp and alert, saw things that none of the other supernatural creatures could see.

The ground she was on was littered with wisps of aura and essence of magic of creatures that had been there and the natural magic of the world.

If anyone was ever to get her powers, Celeste was sure that they will either go crazy when they tap into the reserve of magic, or they would never even think using her magic to this extent.

That is if they ever survived having so much of this sinister magic in them.

The witch studies the wisps of colours and aura around her, concentrating deeply as she digs deeper to find the ones that might now be mere traces. Dissecting each and everyone of them as she goes, the buzzing in her mind now screeches and whines. 

Her body, soon getting tired of the hyper activity of the magic starts pushing it out, which hardly budges making her blood gush out from her nose.

The team worked for over an hour, each using everything in their power to find all that they could when Willow exclaimed.

"Celeste!"

The witch heard the alarm in her friend's voice and before she knew it, she turned to run to her, teleporting herself from where she was to a few feet away from her, the only residue of the magic being the wisps of darkness and the slight smoke around her.

"What is it?"

The dark witch hardly noticed the vampire joining her, nor did she notice how the daemon had changed his course from coming there to somewhere to her far right abruptly.

"I heard the chaos. The Silvette Pack had been attacked on their North border, The king and the royal crew headed for assistance immediately after the Addressing, though the pack is safe as the threat is now gone. We need to get there, right now."

The second the words register in her mind, she signals Seth to take hold of Willow while she turns to the direction the north border of the next pack would lie.

"Get her there," commanded the strong voice, as the dark magic extended its hold on her mind. The darkness of her magic created mists around her as she steps forward to make her way to the border, it wrapping around her, covering her almost entirely.

She felt her body lighten before a sensation of being lifted went through her body. In a second that sensation left, the black mist retreating just as the echoes of the million voices did at the back of her mind, her body returning back to its normal, human form.

She opened her grey orbs to find her right at her destination, the northern border of the Silvette pack, her hand coming up to wipe the trails of blood that had rushed out from her nose.

The area, a clear land with a few scattered trees and bushes looked like a war zone. Bodies littered around the place, blood creating tiny streams in the natural grooves.

Celeste tentatively steps forward as her eyes feel a tinge and the voices inside her head mumble their sorrows. She passed a were, its hind legs had been pulled apart and his eyes gauged out as blood leaked out with something with same texture but coloured blue.

A few yards away she found another body, this time a woman. Probably a rogue as she looked under-fed, lying head first on the ground with her sides, both right under her ribs, ripped to the point her insides were visible.

Celeste stumbled as she took a step back, looking away as she realised that the woman was expecting and now her foetus was close to spilling out along with her intestines.

The dark witch has seen many horrifying things in life, but somehow things like these still chill her to her bone. The hair on the back of her head rise, making her back stiffen.

She makes a quick turn, coming face to face with the giant black wolf that rules over their species. Recognizing him due to his well known magnificence and the aura he was currently emitting. It held anger, not the red hot one, but the cold kind. The one that has been lying underneath for decades, nurtured but held down.

The wolf walked up to her in grace, its strength visible in the way the muscles moved under his fur.

She remains where she is, not showing any hint of emotion on her face, despite her emotional turmoil. She could still see the ripped insides of the woman, her mind still struggling to understand how come a woman, pregnant would come anywhere near a fight.

She-wolves are just as protective of their own as their men, if not more. This makes no sense to Celeste.

It seems as the witch had been lost in her mind for a while as her attention snaps back to reality again when a growl sounds from her front. Her eyes focus back to see the Alpha King now in his human form towering over her, with his hand almost at her shoulder, holding back a grimace.

The witch realises what happened, bringing back her magic back in.

The Alpha's hand goes back to his side, his light brown eyes focused on her in curiosity and intrigue, his head tilted a little as he tried to understand her. Celeste's eyes catch a symbol on his right pectoral, her mind too pre occupied to work it out right now.

They step back from each other as they hear a whoosh, following which the daemon lands next to the two, his wings folding back and disappearing as he walks to his leader.

Alan gives the King a nod before his voice comes out, clear and confident.

"The Pack members are safe in their pack house. Most of them actually. Only a handful were here, out of which two had gone back to report and usher everyone to safety."

The witch's brow furrow, while the king looks around before returning to look at the daemon with hostility, his eye brow raised, "You want me to believe that this is done by no more than three or four pack guards?"

The daemon heard the underlying tone of disbelieve as well as the frank distrust from the King, standing taller at his own place. Giving the king a firm nod, he looks at the witch who he is friends with, "I have seen each and everyone, and taken a quick head count from the Beta. They have everyone there but still expect someone to tell them what had happened here. The whole pack is only aware of four of their pack members dying due to the snapping of connections."

Celeste couldn't help as she nods at him.

She knew Alan well enough, as well as they have worked together for years. They all know what to do in situations of emergency like these.

She goes to the immediate setting, while Alan checks the pack safety. Jason, Seth and Willow do a quick perimeter check for any on coming danger.

Sounds of paws thumping as they come in their direction resonates through the thin forest around them, and soon enough, a group of different wolves rush to them, stopping a few feet away from them for further command.

Celeste noted with amazement that there were two small distinguished groups, one looking at their king for further order and one looking at her to take lead.

It warmed her heart at how loyal her people are.

Wolves are as tight knit as anything, yet they tend to feel the power of their higher up ranks which forces them, at times consciously and at times unconsciously, to follow their commands and look up to them for it too.

To see her friends, her pack members resist their inner natural instinct, to look up at their king showed their love, trust and confidence in her.

And sure, she has been long accepted as the daughter of the Alpha, it felt to her at times that she will forever be an outsider. But then, some of them show her dedication like this which makes her want to prove the rest of them that she is, surely not by blood but by her nature, a part of the pack just as they are.

Subtly nodding her head at them in respect and gratitude, she looks at the king to find his eyes already on her.

Picking up her role as team leader, Celeste asks her team to transform back and report right as the King's eyes glaze over as he talks to, presuming, his group.

In a few minutes, the two groups, Anderson Pack team and the Royal crew stood ready in front of the two leaders when Seth and Willow appear from opposite sides. With a shake of their head to indicate no lurking danger, they along with Alan join the group of Anderson Pack.

The dark haired, blue eyed man from before steps forward from the royal crew, before standing right behind the king.

Celeste raises an eyebrow at him, unsure of his position.

"Wolves," The deep, throaty voice of The King resonates around the woods, "All of you divide yourselves in equal halves. Half of my crew stays here, along with Miss Anderson's team to scout out the area while the other half comes with us to get a briefing of what happened here from the pack members and the Alpha."

The command in his voice was clear, as the wolves, regardless of who they were, divided into another set of groups. The two group had a mix of both the teams, divided in an equal that their man power as well as authority stayed the same.

Looking at the king, who seems to be waiting for her, she suggests, "I say it will be better if we get them somewhere close to here for questioning. Dividing the team is an efficient way, but taking the two too far is almost inviting danger to one, if not both. We can't get the members here, it will be heart breaking for them. But scouting will need more people."

The king seems to think this over before speaking, "A rather thought out suggestion. But the fact still remains, how do we get them here? Not to mention where? And who will be in questioning then?"

The command for the other was to come from Celeste, who was took a second to admire the deep baritone of the fine male before taking the lead.

"Alan, I think you and Willow should go and get the pack members that can brief us about everything. As far as questioning goes, all of us can get every information we can from this area before two warriors from each team and the two of us can see that, King Roditti."

The king nods his agreement, causing the daemon to unfurl his wings again, grabbing the wind element before two strong flaps send them in the air.

The weres scatter around in seconds, letting their animalistic side out partially to search the area when The Witch catches the king looking at her before whispering in a low, husky voice, "If we are to put up with each other, then call me Zeus, Miss Anderson."

"Very well, then I am to be called Celeste."

With a nod of agreement, the two part ways. Both holding up whatever they may be thinking in order to work better.

As Celeste clearly knew, that they may find some clue about what exactly are they chasing today. If not, they may end up running after their own very tails for quite some time, and as amusing it is when a young pup does that, it won't be so in dire situations like this.

The witch hesitates for a minute, before she decides to let it go, turning to join the trackers that crouch down on her far left to try helping them.