Chapter IV — Jasmine

In a large garden filled with vibrant hues of summer flora, two lone figures stood under the moonlight that only made their pale skin more apparent.

"You should not be out here." One of them broke the silence — the younger one.

"Neither should you."

"They had arranged it for you."

The older brother walked ahead, and did not reply for awhile.

"That's what makes it all the more suffocating."

The younger brother took a few steps forward too.

"Its not the first time they have done this. You are usually able to handle it easily."

"No, it's not." The older one agreed. "But it's the first time they have done it this close and being this insistent."

The younger one did not reply.

"God damn it, Claude! I hadn't asked for this. I don't think I can go through with this, not when it's this close."

The one called Claude — a short for Claudius — stayed silent as he waited for his older brother to cool off. His eyes stayed on his brother whom began walking again. He followed.

They stopped at a bed of white lilies and the older brother stared at them with a pained expression.

None of them spoke for awhile and the older one's head snapped up all of a sudden, looking into the night sky, as if searching for something. The younger one followed, only less confused when he picked up what his older brother managed to detect first — the distant flapping of wings which was fast approaching.

Claudius caught the black raven as it dived down to land on his arm.

.......…

She stirred relentlessly, a deep frown set on her face.

Her eyes flew open abruptly. She was met with a navy blue ceiling and the events of the past twenty-four hours came rushing back at her all at once, making her remember that she was now in the Lilium Pack's territory. 

She sat up and rubbed her eyes before letting out a soft sigh. She knew she would not be getting anymore sleep tonight. Sliding off the bed, she made her way out of the guest room.

.......…

He heard the soft click of a door closing and the extremely light footsteps that padded down the hall outside. 

It was the same dream the only difference this time was that she had turned around. He was then able to get a full view of her face. And it shook him to the core when his blue eyes had met a pair violet ones that he was all-too-familiar with. She had the same hauntingly, beautiful smile he had caught a glimpse of during the day as well but this time it was directed at him.

He had woken up clutching his thudding heart, as he took in gulps of air in heavy pants. Thus, he managed to catch the object of his dreams leave her room.

.......…

She ended up in the library.

The shelves of books towered over her and despite that it didn't have the grandeur and magnificence that she was used to, it was a library nonetheless.

To be surrounded by a plethora of knowledge at one's disposal made her feel powerful yet surreal and calm.

Words have power. She more than anyone has always been aware of this. Her spells and incantations were evidence of that. Furthermore, because she cannot lie, the manipulation and twisting of words were a well acquainted way of art for her. Every word she spoke was measured and calculated — its weight, its implication, its meaning.

She picked out a book covered in a thick layer of dust and flipped. History, facts and drawings of a mythical race with unnatural beauty and cunning nature filled the pages, written in a language known only to a select few not part of the race.

A shadow fell over her expression as she mused darkly. It was apparent these books have not been touched in decades. But of course, there was no need to for them.

Werewolves — such oblivious creatures — they lived in the safety bubble of their packs and territory, only paying attention to the external threats prominent to them;  that of their rogues who trespassed their territory and their centuries long feud with the vampires.

Their relationships with the witches had been amicable one — some even mated to them. Even then, they hardly dabbled in affairs unrelating to them, therefore, they found that they have no reason to know more outside of their mundane pack lives.

The soft click that echoed through the library alerted Cassandra to another presence in the library.

She did not turn when she felt the approaching footsteps stop at the end of the row she was in. Instead, she closed the book and slid it back to its original place.

Taking her time, she faced him.

His eyes clouded with lust as they roamed from her bare, toned legs which were on full display for him due to the shorts she wore, to the white singlet top that showed her bare shoulders and cream-white skin that seemed ethereal. Her silver-white hair that was usually thrown up in a high pony tail cascaded down her back, some pooling around at the nape of neck.

He clenched his fists as he felt his veneer of self control teetering.

She greeted, her soft melodious voice, husky from the sleep, carried across the few feet between them.

"Alpha Jayden."

In a haze of sleep, the only thing he heard was the sensual way his name rolled off her tongue. It made him snap.

In the blink of an eye, he had her pinned against the bookshelf, hands above her head and a blow of hot breath fanning her neck as he inhaled her sweet scent and then leaning down till his lips met her slender neck.

For the first few seconds, she was caught off guard, the sparks tingling where his skin came in contact with hers. And when she felt the impact of her back hitting the bookshelf and his firm lips attacking her and sucking in a heated manner, she nearly closed her eyes and tilted her neck to give him more access.

She didn't and her violet eyes still wide, flashed red, repelling him back away from her.

Both stood a few arms length apart now, breathing hard. If looks could kill, Jayden would have been buried six feet under.

"There is never to be a repeat of what just happened." Her voice cold and tinged with anger.

She did not wait for a reply before spinning on her heels, leaving behind a dazed Alpha.

.......…

There was a thick tension in the meeting room where they were all gathered that made everyone who was present uneasy.

Dylan was on edge as he watched the mated couple in the room constantly exchange nervous and concerned glances. The fact that his Alpha had the most troubled and distracted expression had also not gone unnoticed by Dylan. The few times he had returned from his inner thought, it was to cast a longing gaze at the bewitching sorceress in the room whom was the only one seemingly unaffected by everything. Seated at the furthest end of the table, as far away as possible from Jayden, was Cassandra, who wore a blank, unscrutable mask as usual.

Dylan knew something had happened. He just didn't know what.

None of them said a word as they waited.

A knock resounded and Dylan could not have been more relieved.

"Come in."

He said and the double doors to the room swung open, revealing the two blonde siblings and behind them, two escorting guards.

They held hands, the brother leading the sister in. The former wore a grim expression but walked in confidently nonetheless while the sister hid behind his back slightly.

The young boy's sea-green eyes did a quick sweep of the room and spotted the woman he was looking for immediately, her back to him. The sister too, did a quick sweep of the room, but not meeting anyone else's.

Dylan noticed the reassuring squeeze he gave his sister's hand.

Moving further into the room, his gaze met Dylan's and gave him a curt nod.

Cassandra's violet eyes analysed them as they entered her line of vision. They stopped on the sister, taking a few seconds longer to take her in as the latter shuffled, hiding behind her brother and keeping her head down. Cassandra's own head tilted and she blinked twice at the young girl who hid behind her curtain of golden blonde hair — the same exact shade as her brother's.

Dylan would even dare say her expression was a curious one.

They sat down opposite her, the sister inching her seat close to the brother. Receiving a signal of dismissal from their Gamma, the two guards left the room.

A beat of silence passed before Cassandra spoke.

"I do not wish to harm you. I am looking for answers that you may possess."

Her words had an instant effect on them as they widened their eyes in surprise for a moment before relaxing ever so slightly. They trusted her words to an extent, Dylan observed.

But both of them were still wary for they knew who she was, and what — who they were dealing with.

"What is the name of the leader of the unit you were with?"

"He goes by the name Ray. Ray Maddock." The boy answered carefully.

"What are the names of the other members?"

"Skylar Santiago, Shanti Pathil and the last member was only known as Reece."

"Where is the group that you were travelling with headed to?"

"We do not know. The final destination has never been revealed to us."

"Where were the locations of the previous gatherings?"

"Columbia, Missouri and Loiusville, Kentucky. The last one we have just left five weeks ago was back in Charlotte, North Carolina. These are all the places they have gathered so far since we started travelling with them."

The three other werewolves in the room did a double take as they processed this. They shared a look, all of them thinking the same puzzling thought — there has never been an occurrence where rogues have banded and travelled together. They were never known to work well with structure and authority, yet, by the sound of it, it is implied to be akin to a common, organised practice to do so.

"When and why did you join them?"

At this point, the teenage boy gave the witch opposite him a strange look, but answered anyways.

"Seven months ago, our small pack territory was burnt to the ground-"

Eyes widened at this, however, some also noted that the black witch did not react to this, as if she had already known.

"What pack were you from?"

Dylan asked, interrupting abruptly.

"The Aenean Pack." He answered without missing a beat.

The three wolves shared a look while Cassandra gestured for the young boy to continue.

"Me and my sister escaped. We were on the run, looking for any remaining survivors from our pack, and happened to cross paths with one of the rogue units who were on the way to Columbia. They offered us to join. We accepted and got transferred to another unit — the group that trespassed. At first, it was for food and shelter."

"What changed?"

"We-The gatherings were believed to be just a bunch of rouges banding together to survive. But in actual fact, it was for a cause. The survival was just a ruse — a cover for the real cause. They welcomed any who joined them — coerced even. It was very tempting, for those who had nowhere to go. Some of the rogues who joined seeked what they offered like we did — free food and shelter — I'm guessing they were either ostracised and kicked out of their packs or lost their packs like us or something along the lines of that. Not all rogues hate the hierarchy and wants to go against it, you know? Anyway, only certain core members know the real cause — the unit leaders."

The teen boy did not shy away even under her sharp scrutinising gaze that were sieving out any lies or intentions of deceptions on his part.

"The real cause?"

"What cause?"

"Yes, a cause. Doesn't it sound suspicious? Free food and shelter? Fundings? A promised safe-haven waiting for us somewhere where we could live free from pack rule? Sounds too good to be true don't you think so? Furthermore, the units are too well organised. Its like the unit leaders are receiving orders from some higher-up to move together. There has to be a cause driving it."

The three werewolves exchanged glances as the teenage boy shook his head while replying to their questions.

"What was the name of the leader of the previous unit you were with before this one?"

"He had introduced himself as Liam."

If any of the names meant anything to her, Cassandra did not show it.

"Why did the two of you split from the current group?"

"It was a decision made in the heat of the chase."

There was a lapse of silence before she repeated the question.

"Why did the two of you split from the current group?"

The boy sighed before answering, staring straight at her.

"We have been meaning to leave for quite some time. We didn't want to be an expandable in whatever cause they had either. The chase offered the opportunity."

He ended with a casual shrug.

"And you run towards the pack house and surrendered unconditionally."

"Does nothing escape you?" He mumbled but it was heard by all.

"Fine. We've been meaning to ask eventually. You've just sped up the process." He huffed.

To everyone's surprise in the room, especially the twin's, Cassandra gave them a breathtakingly gentle and earnest smile.

"Consider it my thanks for the information you have supplied me with."

Recovering from his shock, the boy felt his own lips twitch into a smirk. There was gratitude present but also as if there was a hidden meaning. He turned to address the three leaders and the other witch in the room, meeting each of their eyes, with the steely resolve Dylan had seen before.

"Alpha Jayden, Beta Dylan, Gamma Lucas and Female Gamma Rosalieé. I, Bryan Grace and my sister, Clary Grace, seek the sanctuary of your pack. With your permission and blessing, we would like to join the Lilium Pack."

.......…

Rosalieé bit her lip nervously, not knowing where to begin. She had left the meeting room with Cassandra moments ago after the meeting was adjourned and the twins were dismissed after being questioned further with Dylan promising to give them an answer by mid-afternoon. For now, they were treated as guests and had been escorted to a guest room to freshen up and rest. It was clear the Alpha, Beta and Gamma were in need of a discussion together.

"You wish to ask what has happened."

Giving her a side glance, she watched a wave of relief wash over Rosalieé's face.

"Yes! How did you know? Does that mean he did do something?"

"...It is not something I wish to speak about...Shall we spend the rest of the time till lunch practicing?"

Cassandra shut down the discussion before it even began. Rosalieé deflated internally at this, but accepted the offer readily.

.......…

They stood yards apart in the open space at the edge of the training grounds, drawing occasional glances from curious souls.

Rosalieé thrummed with anticipation. It has been a long time since she had faced-off in a Duellum Maleficarum match. As a white witch, she had specialised in healing and clairvoyant magic but that is not to say she did not train in more...offensive magic. Before her turning of age and choosing, she had participated in countless mock battles like every other young coven witch out there, who began training the moment they could read. And though more often than not Rosalieé emerged on top, there were occasions where she had still lost, but even then many were close fights.

Across her, Cassandra watched her, composed as ever. The only indication of readiness Rosalieé received on Cassandra's part, were the violet eyes that analysed her, waiting for her to make the first move.

Taking a deep breath to calm whatever nerves she had, Rosalieé steeled herself.

She was the one who had requested this match — it was an honour for it to be accepted — and she will see to it that nothing short of her best is done.

Her mouth began moving as she casted her first spell, emerald eyes flashed bright yellow, and instantly a bright yellowish-green magic circle activated and a ball of light gathered in front of her, shooting out multiple beams of light at incredible speed in the direction where Cassandra stood.

Hovering a feet off the ground where another yellowish-green magic circle had activated, Rosalieé was already flying forward in an arc, before the light beams even reached Cassandra. Her witch's cloak billowed behind her. Her incantations never once stopping, not even when an intimidating wave darkness cut through her light beams almost effortlessly. And in seconds, before she knew it, an ominous fog of smoke has appeared and thickened, surrounding her and limiting her vision. She halted abruptly, eyes immediately flashing yellow again and a large gust of wind blew from a yellowish-green magic circle she cast, dispersing the fog around her.

However by then, tendrils of dark energy has already lashed out from the ground where Cassandra's large purple magic circle had been cast, and wrapped onto her arms and legs. She fought the fear that creeped up her spine from the foreboding feeling the dark energy emitted.

Through it all, Rosalieé's attention never left her opponent, just barely making out the latter's silhouette through the fog. When the fog lessened, Cassandra advanced towards her just as Rosalieé's light magic sliced through the shadows of dark tendrils.

Flashes of yellowish-green and purple light emitted brightly as magic circles activated in rapid succession and even simultaneously as they both cast their attack spells without relenting.

The second she was freed, Rosalieé launched herself into the air, backflipping using telekinesis, to land behind Cassandra. Green eyes met violet ones as they went overhead and the owner of the latter turned. Her eyes flashed a bright yellow once more, and a wave of light was sent flying before Rosalieé's feet even touched the ground.

However, upon contact, Cassandra disappears, Rosalieé's eyes widened to saucers, realising her mistake immediately.

Materialising behind her in the centre of an activated magic circle with a dark material enshrouding her and red eyes aglow, Cassandra delivered the swift strike to Rosalieé's neck, hitting the latter's pressure point, and Rosalieé blacked out and she crumpled.