Chapter 5 - Conan
“Sister Amalia is quite accommodating for a witch, don’t you think?” Theodore Haines, the alpha of the Goldfang Pack, snickers as he leans back with a smirk.
“I have known Amalia for a long time, Theo. She’s not as cruel as the stories go,” Alpha Orlando Caldas from the Nightcreek Pack muses.
“You’re biased, because your mate was one of them,” William Moon, the alpha of the Blood Mill Pack, sneers. He’s the bald man from yesterday, who helped Simon take Marcus Hale to the witches’ dungeon.
Orlando gulps at the mention of his mate. “Perhaps I am. But the sisters have shown us nothing but kindness. It makes sense to give credit where it’s due.”
The Nightcreek Alpha turns his attention to the front of the meeting room, and a pang of sympathy clutches my heart.
Last night, when I found myself at the village bar, drowning my sorrows in liquor that wasn’t strong enough, Alpha Orlando walked in and joined me. We got to talking, and that’s when I learned why he was adamant to drown sorrows of his own away.
His first love was a witch, part of the August Moon coven. She died fighting demons last year, leaving him and their ten-year-old son, Nico, behind.
All because of a deal with another pack that betrayed both the witches and the Nighcreek Pack.
It’s no wonder everyone is particularly tense about the conference and entering into an alliance.
But I have a reason of my own to be tense.
Last night, I learned that Hannah Young is in Augusta.
Not just that, but she’s a very gifted witch with the powers that are distinct to the woman I have been searching for.
The woman who is supposed to be my true mate.
I can’t let it slide. I cannot let her slip through my fingers like she did in the past.
She won’t get away like she did when we shared a bed, and then she fled the valley with nothing more than a note to say goodbye.
I refuse to accept it.
As the meeting hall fills up with more witches, I stay focused on the door, waiting to see her. Eager. Nervous. Last night, I quickly realized just how much I missed Hannah Young.
She was the most important person in my life until she broke my heart.
She broke my heart for a second time last night when I found out she had a child with another man.
Perhaps it’s a cruel twist of fate that she is my true mate, but it is fate, nonetheless. A destiny I cannot ignore. I’ve been torn up about her for years, and that was the reason for my neglecting my duties and being reluctant to look for my true mate from the ritual.
Deep down, it was because of her.
It was always her…
And becoming friends with Orlando also allowed me to gain some intel.
Clarissa’s father is not in the picture. He hasn’t been since Hannah joined the coven.
He’s probably some low-life, measly human she met when she left the valley. That’s why she can’t answer my questions about him.
She’s too ashamed of what she did, leaving the valley because she was too afraid of becoming the luna.
Now that decision is no longer hers to make, a choice she cannot keep.
I simply must have Hannah Young as my mate and luna.
It is what the Moon Goddess has decided as our destiny.
That’s why I feel her presence long before she enters the hall, the gentle breeze from the open doors carrying her scent to my airways. A missing puzzle piece slots into place in my mind, completing a ritual that was performed twice on the west portion of the Bitterroot Valley.
It wasn’t the hallucinogenic kambo that needed to give me the answers. It is right here, in Augusta Hall, where Hannah Young walks in and my heartstrings are tugged, that I get my answer.
An answer that I’ve tried to escape for eight years.
When Hannah left, I was forced to bury my feelings. But even though I was younger then, I always suspected that she was my true mate. It’s why I wanted her by my side, as my luna, once I became the alpha.
She broke me apart.
But this time, she can’t escape me.
I watch every step she takes as she finds her seat at the back of the hall with the blonde girl, Milly. She doesn’t look up, her braided hair bouncing down her back when she turns, catching the overhead light in a way that makes only the top of her head appear as if it has caught fire.
My breath catches in my throat when she turns again, and I carefully trace the lines and contours of her face as she takes a seat, the way her luscious lips are slightly parted, the way her eyes appear like swords, curved exotically.
“Hey, isn’t that Hannah Young…?” Simon asks beside me, his voice a whisper against the movement and chatter in the hall.
I snap out of my daze and turn to him, more surprised that he would remember her, and I frown.
“It is her,” I whisper in return. “Our paths crossed yesterday already.”
Simon nods thoughtfully. “What is she doing here?” he asks as he watches her through narrowed eyes.
Gulping hard, my hands curl into fists on my lap. Simon was the only Iron Breath wolf who knew about what had happened eight years ago. He was there when I found the note she left behind, and the one who knew how devastated I was because she had left.
“She is a witch in the August Moon Circle,” I whisper under my breath as Hannah and I lock eyes. For a moment, everything around me fades, my vision tunneling until all I can see is her, as if no one else is in Augusta Hall except the two of us.
“Conan…?” Simon responds as if realization is settling into place. “Was Amos right?”
I turn to him just as High Priestess Amalia steps behind the podium, her presence alone commanding silence to settle over the room.
“Respected sisters, alphas, and associates, I would like to thank you for joining us at this conference tonight,” Amalia begins with the graciousness of an esteemed leader as she glances around the room.
“I have called upon you tonight to propose an alliance between the August Moon Circle and the werewolf packs in attendance, in the wake of the greater threat we have all been facing. Demons.”
An eerie silence fills the air as Amalia pauses.
She nods at her sisters and continues, “A year ago, August Moon and Nightcreek faced a demon attack that left us devastated.” She pauses again, and I notice that she doesn’t mention the Bloodmaw Pack—the pack that betrayed them when they didn’t show up to the battle.
“We lost sisters, and the pack lost wolves.” Amalia regards Orlando before she goes on, “And despite our best efforts to protect ourselves from the demons, they remain a threat. Blood Mill and Goldfang have also encountered the demons, suffering losses of their own over the past year. But Helena Valley is not the only place being haunted by these demons that pose a threat to beings like us. They have been operating and devastating werewolf packs in the Bitterroot Valley for more than three years. Which is why I have invited the Bitterroot Valley packs to this alliance. If there is anyone who has more knowledge about the demons, how to fight them, how to stop them, it is the packs in Bitterroot.”
Amalia turns her eyes on me. “Alpha Conan Becker of the Iron Breath Pack has joined us tonight to represent the three packs from Bitterroot Valley. He acts on behalf of his own pack, Red Moon, and Silver Stone. Because of their experience fighting the demons, the Bitterroot Valley packs joining this alliance is advantageous to all of us in Helena Valley. I would like to call upon Alpha Conan Becker to address this conference.”
When Amalia meets my eyes with a knowing expression, I frown. I wasn’t expecting to be called up to speak, but there’s something in the way she looks at me that makes me believe she knows what I want.
After all, she’s the one who introduced Hannah to me as the only witch in Augusta with the powers my true mate is meant to have.
When she steps aside from the stage, it feels like the High Priestess is opening up the floor for me to make a decision.
I have to make this count.
Patting Simon’s shoulder, I get to my feet and head to the stage, the room deafeningly silent as I take my place behind the mic.
“Good evening, fellow werewolves and respected witches. The August Moon Circle has been welcoming during my and my beta’s stay, and we thank them for it.” I glance at Amalia and give her a nod of gratitude before turning back to the room, my eyes involuntarily searching for Hannah at the back.
Her head is bent, eyes lowered, as if she’s pointedly avoiding looking at me. While I search for the next words mentally, my mind drifts to all the latest revelations over the past few days.
First, the council’s insistence on my finding my true mate. Then, arriving in Augusta, only to discover that Hannah Young is here. And she has a child now, with an absent father.
And there’s a reason she never had a wolf while she was in Iron Breath.
She’s a witch, and not just any witch—she’s my true mate.
That’s why I can feel it in my bones, whispering beneath my skin, humming in the air like a gentle wave of awareness that remains present even when she isn’t looking at me.
It’s no wonder I felt what I did for her in the past. The pain of her abandoning me, of learning that she moved on, may just be outweighed by having her back in my life, as fate would have it.
My inner wolf is in turmoil, desperate to have her by my side, even if it rages with jealousy that courses through my veins like poison.
How could she go on to have a child without me? How could she move on from me as if that night we shared in her cabin meant nothing to her?
It scared her so much to be my luna that she ran away as if we didn’t share something special.
There’s a part of me that wants to punish her for doing that to me. And what better way to exact my revenge than by having her by my side, even if she despises being there?
I clear my throat and proceed to address the members of the conference.
“As Sister Amalia has mentioned, the werewolves in Bitterroot Valley have been fighting demons for years now. Their attacks have become more coordinated, and they have been working with humans to infiltrate our defenses.”
I proceed to explain the situation with Marcus Hale and how we’d brought him to Augusta for the witches to question.
I also bring up the south ruins of the valley, and how the demons are drawing energy from the ground, as well as dampening the werewolves and stunting our abilities to the extent that wielding air has become nearly impossible for my pack and me.
“Because of this, we have a team of dedicated researchers who specialize in uncovering the ancient texts and runes found across the valley. The team found a way for us to recover our abilities by mating with our true, fated mates—a phenomenon that was thought to be a myth. But it turns out it worked. Through the ritual found in a scroll, both alphas of Red Moon and Silver Stone found their true mates in the human world. And through mating with the alphas, these women emerged as very powerful witches. Descendants of the Ashclaw Pack from the south of the Bitterroot Valley.”
I pause to glance at Hannah, but she still doesn’t look my way. So, I continue.
“With the help of the witches who were brought to the valley as the alphas’ mates, we have succeeded in defeating the demons and shutting down the operations in the warehouse.
But the threat remains, and the demons are still operating in the valley.
The witches receive guidance through visions, and the demons are still active.
One such vision was that the portal from which the demons are entering our world is near a sawmill.
” I pause and turn to Alpha William. “After meeting with you in Augusta, I have reason to believe that the portal may well be in Milford.”
Alpha William frowns. “We have not had any portal sightings.”
I nod. “It’s only a suspicion for now. But our witches have not been wrong in the past. If the portal turns out to be in Milford, then we’re one step ahead if we find it before things escalate with the demons.”
“I’ll get my team on it. We will search the area, sweep the mountains, and look out for this portal,” Alpha William responds. “But how do you propose that we close it?”
“We are not sure of the logistics yet, but we do believe that it will be revealed in due time. For now, we must regain our powers and strengthen our defenses against the demons until we know for sure what they want and how to stop them.”
“If you are still weakened by the demons, what are your plans to regain your powers?” Amalia asks, and I nod at her.
“I have also performed the ritual to trace my true mate, and I have found her. Mating with her will certainly restore my powers,” I say with certainty. “I have been made aware that my true mate resides in Augusta, as an established witch within the coven.”
The room goes quiet, and Amalia just continues staring at me with a level expression. I stifle the urge to look at Hannah, but I can feel her shock as if it is my own.
“And considering that the wolves of Bitterroot Valley have an advantage over everyone else in this room, with our experience, our witches, our close link to the south of the valley, and our natural mystical abilities, I propose a deal with Sister Amalia and the coven, in exchange for an alliance with the packs I represent. We’ve already given up our prisoner, Marcus Hale, for the witches to interrogate.
If you succeed, you will gain invaluable information that will help in this war. ”
There’s a glint of amusement that flashes through Amalia’s eyes, as if she’s been waiting for this.
“Name your condition, Alpha Conan,” she says calmly.
“I will marry the August Moon witch by the end of tomorrow night upon the full moon, and return with her to Bitterroot Valley.”
Sister Amalia smirks. “And what is the name of the witch you want as your bride, Alpha Conan?”
I turn to the back of the room, finding Hannah staring at me, her face pale.
“My true mate is Hannah. Hannah Young.”
A ripple of shock silences the room, but Amalia takes the lead and walks over to me.
“Then it is settled, Alpha Conan. In exchange for an alliance with the Bitterroot packs, and for all of your knowledge and help with fighting the demons, you will marry Hannah Young tomorrow.” She smiles at me.
“I believe this is a fair arrangement, and if all other packs are in agreement, we can stop the demons together.”
I nod at her and see that the other alphas are very intrigued by this new development, but not hesitant to proceed with the alliance. After all, the Bitterroot Valley packs have the obvious advantage.
And now, I have what I want.
Hannah.