Chapter 51
“Anella
Oh Goddess, what now?
“What is it!” Rafe demands. “What’s wrong! What’s happening to her?”
Castor gestures for the rest of them all to quiet down, and he asks me in a gentle voice, “Ariella, could you describe exactly how you feel? The more detail the better. Take your time, no rush.”
“Everything is spinning” I take a deep breath. “Everything is on fire, worse than last time. However, it didn’t last long. I’m fine now.” I try to reassure them, but given how I look I don’t think they believe me.
Castor hovers his hand over my belly, focusing all of his energy there..
“Castor, just spill it already” Ethan demands.
Castor looks at him. The baby is small but the potential in the child is unlimited. He or she may even be stronger than you. Ethan.”
Normally, this would be great news, however. I sense there is a “but”
“The problem is, as expected, Castor continues, “it is that exact gift now making the curse act out. Put it this way, the baby is so powerful that it may even have its wolf from binh. You remember what the curse says?”
I murmur, “It will turn into a mindless beast when it gains its wolf.”
Castor nods, “If your baby gains its wolf at birth, that means the curse will be in effect as soon as the child is born! Its humanity will slowly give way to its primal nature, until all that is left is a wild wolf, powerful, but deranged and uncontrollable.”
Everyone else in the room gasps.
No no! It can’t happen! I won’t allow it! No mother would accept such a dooming fate for their beloved child:
“Can we make the baby’s wolf dormant?” I ask him quickly, “Like what was done to me?”
It’s the worst thing that I think has happened to me, and I wish that I didn’t have to even consider it for my child. But if it is the only way “Perhaps” Castor says, “But bear in mind that wolves become dormant due to things like trauma or dissonance between the wolf and human halves. To do so on purpose would require a spell or ritual”
Eli steps forward. “It’s a potential solution, though,” he says. “And one that we might be able to help. Witches are rare, but Evelyn isn’t the only one. There might be other witches out there who can help put the baby’s wolf to sleep.”
Ethan frowns, “Castor, tell me if I’m wrong, but the curse has two parts. Even if we can find a remedy by making the baby’s wolf dormant, it doesn’t automatically resolve the other part of the curse, correct!”
—It shall suffer the loss of its mother upon its birth. So I would die during childbirth?
Castor doesn’t answer, but his silence has confirmed my dooming fate. The room fell into silence again. After a while, Castor clears his throat. “Well, we do have a piece of good news.”
A glimmer of hope rises in my heart as I patiently wait for Castor’s explanation. He looks at me, “Your wolf is beginning to wake up, thanks to the Harvest Moon. The stress that the curse has placed on your body and your unborn child is causing your wolf to awaken faster. It’s trying to repair the damage and protect you, it’s just that your mind and body has not adjusted yet. That’s why you’ve been having those dizzy spells carlier.”
“So you mean, my wolf could potentially resolve my baby’s problem?”
“Not really, unfortunately,” he shakes his head. “It means that you might become feral as well in the next few months. The curse will affect your wolf’s sanity just as it’s at
affecting) your child’s
I let out a bitter smile, “Castor, I thought you said it’s good news.”
“It is,” he says, “As dullenging as the process might be, obtaining your wolf is absolutely necessary. If she is strong enough, you might be able to withstand the curse during childbirth After all, when Evelyn cast the curse on you, your wolf wasn’t fully presented. Hopefully, that made the curse skip your wolf, at least part of your wolf”
-Hopefully” isn’t enough,” Ethan remarks, “I need a solution that can guarantee the safety of both Ariella and the baby!“.
“Agreed,” Rafe chimes in.
“In that case, finding Evelyn and convincing her to lift the curse is the obvious answer, Castor says. “It’s the easiest and most difficult way.
2:10 PM
Chapter 51
“Then that shall be our first priority,” Ethan says.
6 FR
“But you and I both know convincing Evelyn is not going to be easy,” says Eli. “We need a back up plan.”
“I heard that some master witches can reverse other witches‘ doing under certain conditions Castor explains. “But that’s as much as I know. If we want to go down that path, we will have to actually find a normal witch and see if we can get more information about it.”
Ethan concludes, “In that case, the next steps are clear to me. First thing first, we need to find Evelyn. Second, as a backup plan, we’ll search for other witches.
Eli adds, “Meanwhile, we should search for other witches in our territory too. This is something we can also take on. Rafe and I will split up. One of us will go home and bring the news to Shawn. Now the question is…”
Eli pauses and looks straight at me and Ethan, “When are you guys getting married?”
Ethan replies firmly. This is between Ariella and me,”
I feel a knot in my stomach. “Eli. 1, 1 haven’t decided yet!”
Rafe jumps in, clearly annoyed with Eli, “What the heck, Eli When Shawn and I were against Ariella coming here, you were the one who pushed for it. Look how much she has gone through ever since she got here. And now you’re forcing her to marry him? What the hell is wrong with you?”
Rafe then turns to me, his expression softening. “Ariella, listen to me, I’m going to leave this totally up to you. If you want to stay, I’m here to support you. If you want to go home. I’ll take you home right now”
Before I can say anything. Eli shoots back, “You think I don’t care about Ariella‘ But Rafe, think things throught If Ariella isn’t pregnant, we have all the time in the world to decide who she wants to marry, when to get married, or even if she somehow decides to stay single forever, that’s totally fine. But now with the baby, it isn’t the same anymore.”
Ethan remains silent and I have no idea what is going through his mind. However, even till now, he still w
wouldn’t commit to a marriage.
Seeing his own king hasn’t said anything. Castor tries to break the fight between my brothers, he raises hand and interjects, “Your Majestiest Maybe we shall focus back on lifting the curse-
“Stay out of this, Castor.
Eli’s icy–cold tone startled Castor a little. After all, Eli is always aduble with a warm smile. It’s rare to see him like this. He glances around the room his tone key–cold but determined. “Soon Ariella is going to show and everyone will know about the baby, the only heir of the two kingdoms. It can not be bom as a bastard!”
Ethan suddenly speaks up, “A month.”
“What?”
“Our wedding will be held in a month,” he states.
“Everyone stop!” I shout, silencing the room. They all look at me. My heart pounds as I gather my emotions and thoughts together. “Did
ask me what I want?”
any
of you
色