“I knew it” The archon had said with an excited voice but it got drowned amongst the ruckus caused by the other hycwens that she hadn’t seen earlier. They had reached a deeper part of the forest or someplace they couldn't quite put their fingers on. There was a clearing in the middle and large tree stumps were placed in a circle where most of the hycwens were seated apparently arguing over something. The hycwen carrying the rope trap in which Valencia and Dominic were present dumped it unceremoniously on the ground, sending them crashing into soil and gravel once again. All of the hycwens cackled like the beasts they were, their hideous brownish yellow teeth glinting in the sun. However, what astonished the two alphas was the presence of a person, a human amongst them. It was hard to make out the features of the person because he was wearing a large and oversized cloak that covered him from head to toe. The only thing that made

Curious, he turned around to see that the table was beginning to glow in a soft golden light. Or rather the symbols carved into the table were. They began to glow in an ethereal light, one that was slowly seeping into Valencia’s body from everywhere. Now, that they were shining could he truly look at them clearly. They had been etched into the cold black marble and were strangely shaped letters, diagrams, and circles, overlapping each other. Astonished, Dominic only watched in a daze as Valencia was flooded with the light that her body absorbed greedily. The soft light kept seeping into her as the woman kept chanting in utter concentration and tightly shut eyes. As light spilled in the room, Dominic could make out the interior which was empty save the table in the center. There were columns along the cavern walls that also had these odd symbols and some statues. Wanting to inspect them, he inched closer to the columns, and only now did he realize that

The archon alpha looked Mydra in the eye trying to gauge if she could tell her the reason. She still didn't know if Mydra had betrayed her but her gut feeling was telling her otherwise.  “I will tell you after you tell me how you escaped Trecdor and met this mage.” The sun was almost on top of their heads but the atmosphere inside was relatively cool. Also, now it seemed that both the alphas could see better, or was it a trick of the light? Mydra’s fingers were drumming on the table, she was deciding how much to share and how much to keep to herself. In the end, she decided that she would need some time to completely open up about her secrets. For now, she would only share what they needed to hear. “Trecdor trusted me, he even proposed that I would become the assistant head, a position directly below him in the near future. However, when he sent me to kidnap innocent women who were poor and destitute, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I a

It was beginning to grow dark again and Dominic was getting impatient, he didn't want to wander around the forest in the night. Their last night had been in a hanging cage and he was very mindful of where he placed his feet. Mydra had told them that hycwens didn't venture that far in the forest so at least that was a plus sign. He also kept an eye on strange wisps that might try to distract Valencia but she seemed to have learned a lesson and was on guard. He couldn't blame her though, she was already under a spell so maybe as they were nearing the mountains, the spell’s effect was increasing, making her vulnerable to anything magical….who knows? Trying to break the awkward silence, he asked her, “After Mydra revived you, did you feel that your sight or sense of smell had diminished? Like you couldn't reach to your werewolf instincts?” The question made Valencia think for a moment, she had been lost in thoughts of the ghastly acts of the Coven's head

He gave no explanation of what he meant but answered Dominic, “You can accompany me to the Ancient One’s sanctuary but after that, I cannot guarantee you an audience with him.”Valencia dusted her hands, “We’ll take it from there, don't worry.”The three began walking towards the mountains, with the mage walking ahead of the two werewolves. Dominic fell in step beside her and checked if she was doing okay if she wasn’t disoriented anymore.The forest was a marvel to look at and the more she looked at it, the more she realized how beautiful it was.“By the way, why did the fauns trick us back at the river?”Dominic asked the mage who had gone quiet and was walking ahead of them, not willing to check if they were following him or not.Hearing his question the mage answered, “They are meant to do that. In the past, many people tried calling in for favors that only turned out to be taki