Keith was sitting on a chair in the corner of a room that looked like a lab from a horror movie.
Numerous shelves filled the walls with jars and vials of different colors. He could swear that some of those jars had contents that moved, but he was warned not to touch anything if he wanted to stay there, so he sat there obediently.
In the middle of the room was a medium-sized table. Cassandra, Calla, and three other healers from the Midnight Guardians pack were sitting around that table and talking about some things Keith was not interested in.
He overheard Calla expressing her desire to be the next Oracle, together with a healer called Remi, but Cassandra denied that request immediately with, "I am the Oracle of the Midnight Guardians pack, and I have no intention of retiring. Unless Alpha Talia removes me from my position, it won't happen. Besides, how can you be an Oracle when you are not receiving divine messages?"
Calla was visibly flustered. "Divine messages?"
Cassandra snorted arrogantly. "I am the Oracle because I receive divine messages, not because someone gave me the title. Even if you call yourself the Oracle, you will never be one for real."
Calla nodded in understanding. "I didn't mean to take over your position as the Oracle, but in your absence, we need someone to conduct ceremonies and such. Alpha Talia approved for Remi and me to share those duties."
"That's a different thing, then", Cassandra said. "You can call yourself main healers, or shamans, or make up a name, but unless you are blessed to be an Oracle, you calling yourself as such will be just an empty title."
Calla had to agree with this. It was logical. Cassandra performed her duties for such a long time, they associated everything with the Oracle.
After that, the conversation became livelier, with them picking the right title and defining the duties of each role. Calla and the other three healers had many questions ready about the different ceremonies and things that Cassandra would normally do, and she answered their questions patiently.
Keith observed the old Oracle while suppressing his urge to snap her neck. He knew that Damon was under the influence of dark magic because of her, and Keith still clearly remembered how Damon manhandled Talia on the evening of the pack run. If Cassandra succeeded, Damon would forget about his mate, and he would probably be crippled, and that meant the whole Dark Howlers pack would be at the mercy of other Alphas who would want a piece of the Dark Howlers pack. How can Keith not wish to punish the Oracle for such a heinous act?
But she was alive, and that meant Talia and Damon had a reason not to kill her. What was that reason? Keith was not sure. Maybe it was something that only Alphas should know.
It was obvious that Keith hated Cassandra, so why was he in this room? Because no other place was safe.
Liam was busy with his newly found mate (aka Amelia), Axel and James were sticking to their witches, Talia didn't need Keith's protection when Damon was around, and Keith was finding it increasingly difficult to watch them being lovey-dovey.
Keith knew that he had no right to claim Talia in any way, and he had no right to be jealous either, but he couldn't help it. In order to prevent himself from making the obvious mistake of provoking Damon, Keith decided to find another place to idle.
Ah, he thought that this would be exploring the new realm while valiantly defending Talia, yet he ended up holding a candle to mated couples no matter where he looked.
With witches' burning gazes on him, Keith decided to go to his room with the intention to rest.
Unfortunately, witches would find a reason to disturb him every few minutes. They would knock on the door of his room, offering snacks and drinks, to show him the fountain and the library, and even massages.
Keith wondered what was wrong with him. If this was before, he would take advantage of all those witches, or at least of a few of them. But how could he indulge in pleasures when his mission included Talia? What if an emergency happened, and he was balls deep in a woman? He wouldn't be able to look Talia in the eyes ever again.
Desperate for a safe place, Keith remembered four healers who came with them. They were from the Midnight Guardians pack, fully clothed, and they wouldn't try anything funny because they were saving themselves for their mates.
And that's how Keith found himself in this lab, spacing out while contemplating his life choices.
Keith felt like he merged with the chair he was sitting on, and he became furniture. A sad ending for someone with a promising future. He remembered how he was excelling in academics, and he proved himself as a worthy warrior; he became a coach and started a lucrative business of protein shakes, and… now he was sitting in a room with five females and being ignored.
Keith was startled out of his depression when the door opened for a witch to peek in. He thought she was looking for him, but after glancing around the room, she left without a word. It wouldn't be strange if the same thing didn't happen four times already. Was she looking for something or someone? Keith thought that it made more sense to think that she was waiting for someone.
What he didn't know was that witches were keeping a close eye on Cassandra; it's not that they were monitoring Oracle's every move, but now that people from the Midnight Guardians pack were visiting, witches wanted to remind Cassandra why she was there.
Cassandra stayed behind after making an unclear deal that resulted in the potion to dispel dark magic temporarily.
Cassandra's life with witches was not an easy one. It all started with testing the potion that was intended for Damon. However, in order to check if the potion works, witches re-created the ceremony that Cassandra did to suppress Damon's power. The pain was excruciating. And the worst thing was that they did it more than once.
After Cassandra regained consciousness, they clarified the terms of the deal. Cassandra was hungry for knowledge. However, since she was not a part of the Coven, the witches refused to teach her directly, but they allowed Cassandra to observe and learn on her own. In exchange, they got to use her for testing non-lethal spells and potions. Non-lethal didn't mean that Cassandra didn't suffer, but the proud Oracle would never admit that she ended up with the short end of the stick.
Keith noticed that Cassandra would glance at him occasionally. Did she notice his hostility?
After an unknown measure of time, Cassandra left the table where four healers were engaged in a discussion, and she approached Keith.
"You are Alpha Talia's guard, right?" She asked.
Keith confirmed. "Her head guard."
"I hope we can have a word."
As much as Keith was withering away from boredom, he didn't like that Cassandra was gesturing toward the door, obviously asking him to step out. There were witches out there! On top of that, the woman in front of him was the one who dared to act against Alpha Damon. Who knew what she would do to Keith?
"Where do you want us to go?" Keith asked without getting up.
"To find privacy", Cassandra responded.
That's it!, Keith thought. She was definitely up to no good. Will she perform a ritual to harm his wolf? Or maybe to brainwash him? Anything was possible. He eyed her top-to-bottom in search of a weapon or a potion, but he couldn't find anything. Maybe she was luring him into another area where a bunch of witches was waiting. Is that why the other witch would peek in once in a while? Was she reminding Cassandra that Keith needs to be offered as a sacrifice?
He should snap her neck right now, just to be safe, and he can explain it to Talia later. But this was a different realm with many witches, and if he acted rashly, he might bring trouble for Talia.
"Is privacy necessary?", Keith asked warily. "Why don't you tell me what you want."
"I am Cassandra, the Oracle of the Midnight Guardians pack", she said with her chin lifted up. "I have a divine message for you from the Moon Goddess."
