The Alpha's Mutt
The Circle of the Ancient Oak

Relic walked through the winding hallways until he found himself at the entrance of the sanctuary. As he stepped into the chamber, he was swallowed up within the darkness, not even the smallest flicker of light could be seen. He could feel the thick, inky, blackness making contact with his skin, moving across his body with a slither, causing him to shudder at the contact.

He knew then that this was not normal darkness. The room had been spelled, so that he would only see what they wanted him to see. He could not blame them for this. He was no longer a member of this coven and had not been for quite some time. They had every right to keep their secrets. Secrets were, after all, almost a way of life for the witches. It was one of the reasons why he preferred the wolves. Whether for good or for bad, Alphas tended to be fairly transparent with their pack. They understood that secrets often ended with someone getting killed.

Not that the witches did not have good reason for their choices. But Relic believed that the secrecy and guarded nature of the witches had only furthered the divides between the species. Perhaps if the witches had been more open and willing to assist in the first place, then the others would not feel it was necessary to force them to their bidding. Maybe they could have come to an understanding, rather than be made to live in relative hiding.

It was that very nature of the witches that was causing him issue now. He had been here for far too long in his opinion. He had hoped to have this matter settled by now. He had argued repeatedly with the higher ups of the coven for their assistance in this matter and while they all understood the gravity of the situation, they remained reluctant.Involving themselves in a war was a fairly large ask.

This was why they were finally meeting here, within the coven’s sanctuary. Relic would be given one final chance to speak to the entire coven at once. Though he may not be able to see them or hear them, they were there, every single one of them that was over the age of sixteen. If Relic failed to sway them towards his cause, then he would be forced to return to the wolves empty handed and that was simply something that he was not ready to do.

“Relic...” A voice called out from the darkness.

“Yes?”

“You are here to plead for assistance on behalf of the wolves?”

“Yes. I come to you, specifically, on behalf from the Alphas of the Hemmings River Pack, the Elwood Pack, the Pariah Pack, and the Bristlecone Pack. However, given the seriousness of the situation, you could say that I am here on behalf of all wolf-kind.”

Suddenly, some of the darkness lifted, and a small area of light began to show, revealing the High Priestess with her two chosen priests flanking her sides. She stood strong and proud, the staff identifying her position as the head of the coven gripped in her hand, the prism on top glowing with a rainbow of light. She wore a long white gown and a dark, hooded cape but her hood was dropped back revealing her long, flowing red hair that moved as if being blown by a gentle breeze, though there was no such wind within this chamber. Her large purple eyes glowed with an ethereal light, announcing the immensity of the powers that she held within.

She stared at Relic with an unamused expression on her face. He knew why she was displeased whenever she laid eyes on him. And he assumed that this was part of the reason that she had been dragging out these proceedings for unnecessarily long. As many years ago, before Relic had met his mate, he was meant to be one of the High Priestess’s chosen priests, one of the men forever at her side.

At the time, the High Priestess had been newly assigned to her position and had requested him above all others for the sacred role of her chosen priest. And even though Relic had felt some reluctance about tying himself to her in this way, he had been prepared to do so in service of the coven. Eventually he had agreed, and they had completed every ritual linking himself to her except for the final and most important one, the Commitment Ceremony, which was, for all intents and purposes, a wedding.

The week before the Commitment Ceremony, Relic was out in the woods, trying to clear his head and that was when he found her, his mate, Trudy. She was the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen, and he felt an instant connection to her. In that moment, he did not understand what was happening as witches do not have mates. But as their lips met for the first time the “why” of it no longer mattered, all that truly mattered was her.

Of course, this meant that he had to go home and call off everything that was meant to happen between him and the High Priestess. Naturally, she was furious and tried to force him to change his mind, but Relic knew where he really belonged and that was with Trudy. He was more than grateful when the Hemmings River Alpha had allowed him to join the pack and he never looked back. The High Priestess had been forced to choose another to take his place and even though she was ultimately happy with her choices, she would never forgive Relic for breaking her heart.

“Well, then, Relic Vrebras of the Hemmings River Pack, the coven is listening, now is your chance.” The High Priestess stated with her head held high.

She tapped her staff once against the ground beneath her feet and a spotlight seemed to click on from nowhere, illuminating Relic beneath it. The sheer brightness of it was difficult to handle and he was now struggling to even see the High Priestess any longer. But he was determined to carry on. She would not distract him from his mission, even if she was determined to make it more difficult.

“Thank you, High Priestess. And thanks to your priests as well.” He acknowledged out of respect. “I know that you did not have to allow this opportunity for me to speak today and I do appreciate the chance.” Relic began, remaining diplomatic as ever. “As I said, I am here on behalf of the wolves as the entire species is at risk from a terrible new threat. The vampires have developed a virus that is rooted in magic. They are using this to infect the wolves, effectively weakening them before launching a physical attack. They have been systematically wiping out packs all over the country. As a matter of fact, one of the packs that I am here representing, is down to only a few living members after the vampires raided their territory. The vampires have declared that their ultimate goal is the extinction of the entire wolf race.”

Relic paused for a moment and allowed the effect of his words to settle in. He could not see the crowd, nor could he hear their reactions, but he was certain that they had to be feeling affected by what he was saying. How could they not be? He was talking about, no less than, the annihilation of an entire species.

“The wolves have been able to delay their plans by replaceing a cure to the current version of the virus that the vampires have been using in their attacks. However, as we all know far too well, magic can be altered. It is only a matter of time before the witches that the vampires are using to create this sickness develop an answer to the current cure that the wolves are utilizing. Because of this, we know that we must act. The vampires cannot be allowed to run around unchecked. The wolves are prepared to take on this fight alone. But this will not be a fair fight if the vampires have witches on their side and the wolves do not.

Brothers and sisters of the coven, I beseech you, we always say that we will not get involved unless absolutely necessary, but when has it ever been more necessary that this. If we do not step in when such a grave injustice is being committed against an entire species, then when do we? Where do we stand if we do not stand against this? I ask you each to look deep inside yourselves before making your decision. Whether you join us or not, the wolves and me will be going to fight the vampires. A few packs against an entire army. Will you be able to live with your decision should we fail?”

Relic looked towards the High Priestess and could see the priests on either side of her raising their arms in front of them with their palms facing upwards. The High Priestess began to tilt her head from side to side as though she were listening for a distant sound. He knew that she was conferring with the coven. They were getting a chance to ask their questions and have their voices heard; their opinions known. Relic waited patiently, allowing their silent discussion to take place.

“The coven would like to know where you have received your information on the vampires and their motives from?” The High Priestess finally spoke up after several minutes.

“Wolves from the Elwood and Pariah Packs were able to apprehend a vampire during the attack on the Bristlecone Pack. The information that we have been given was taken from that source.”

“And you trust the reliability?”

“I do.” Relic confirmed with a nod of his head.

“How is it that you intend to replace the vampires?”

“Our hope is that the vampire they have captured will offer his blood willingly so that we may track their leader directly, a Master Belial.”

Things grew silent again for a moment and Relic knew that there was hesitation now that he had mentioned the use of blood magic.

“What will you do if the vampire does not give his blood willingly?” The High Priestess suddenly demanded.

“We will have to search for the vamps using less exact means. I promise that we will not be breaking any laws of magic. No witch will be asked to use dark magic during any of this. The wolves are already working on attempts to win the vampire over with friendship, if this does not work, then we will replace something else. I assure you that no one’s soul will be at risk.”

“And what are the wolves’ expectations of us?”

“Defense only, of course. My children are with the packs already working on protective charms and talismans. On the battlefield, we will be working to fend off any magic that the vampires may be using against the wolves. We will prevent them from further infecting the wolves with any viruses or other supernatural forms of attack. The name of the game is to keep as many wolves alive as possible. But we will do none of the actual fighting ourselves.”

Silence enveloped the room once more as the coven was deep in consideration. They had to balance their values and beliefs against the possibility of being involved in bloodshed. Yet, even as the conversation carried on, Relic was confident that the witches would do the right thing in the end. He had once belonged to this coven. He believed that these were good people, and they would not want to see this situation go on any further. He was certain they would not abide the slaughter of an entire species over an ancient vendetta. That was until, the High Priestess spoke up…

“I know that there have been a lot of differing opinions as far as this situation is concerned. Allow me to shed a little clarity on the subject by providing you all with my personal view on the matter.” Her eyes turned towards Relic, and she made a point of staring into his own, directly, as she continued speaking. “My personal belief is that the coven, as a whole, should not be involved. This war has nothing to do with us or our kind and if our coven fights alongside the wolves, we could be bringing the witches into a feud that has existed for centuries. Do we really want to bring the wrath of the vampires down onto the entire witch race just to save some wolves? I am sorry to hear that Relic’s family is under threat, but should we really risk our entire coven’s future on some hybrids?” She spat, her words dripping with the venom of her hate for Relic and all things that he cares about. “You may all vote how you choose. But know that my vote is a resounding ‘no.’”

Relic was dumbfounded. He knew that she held a grudge against him for how he had hurt her in the past, but he had never expected her to behave this way. Was she really going to allow these atrocities to continue simply because her heart had been broken so many years ago? She had two personal priests that attended her night and day. And if they were not enough for her, she was permitted to take lovers as well. She was, both, adored and revered by the members of her coven. Was one male’s slight against her so much that she would really allow the annihilation of a species.

“I remind you all again.” Relic spoke up out of turn, but he was desperate to make one final plea. “This is not just about my family, though, yes, my family is being directly affected. This is about ALL of the wolves. If we do not stop these vampires, here and now, they will continue this slaughter across the world until there is nothing left. Do you want that on your conscience? Fathers. Mothers. Sisters. Brothers. Children. Innocent wolves, all of them. Wiped out by ignorance. And you stood by and did nothing. Please consider that before voting. Witches serve the Goddess. Would She really want us to turn a blind eye to the slaughter of Her children?”

Relic allowed the silence to take hold one final time. He knew that he had said all that he could. They would either come with him or they would deny him. There was nothing more that he could do. He had wasted too much time pleading with the coven leadership already. If the majority turned him down, then this had all been for nothing.

After several minutes of agonizing silence, the High Priestess finally cleared her throat, gaining Relic’s attention. She seemed agitated, so he was hopeful that the vote had not gone the way she had wanted.

“I am sorry, Relic, but the coven has spoken. The Circle of the Ancient Oak will not participate in this war.” The High Priestess announced with a certain finality in her voice.

Relic could feel himself instantly begin to deflate. He had been so certain that he would be able to convince them to join their cause. When he had left the Elwood Pack territory there was not a doubt in his mind that he would persuade the coven to help. Now he was overwhelmed by a feeling of disappointment. He had thought that he knew the witches of this coven better than this. He had, at one point, been prepared to give his life in service to these very people. Now he could not reconcile with what he believed they had become.

“However…” The High Priestess spoke up, her voice causing Relic to jump in surprise. “There are those within the coven who believe in your cause and are discontent with the coven’s ruling on the matter. These members have agreed to volunteer to join your mission with the understanding that they will be without the protection of the coven while involved in your movement.”

Relic looked around the room in hope. This was not a complete loss after all. If he was able to return with even just one witch, well then, that was one more than they had before. His eyes scanned the blackness, waiting for a face to reveal itself through the dark. When one finally did, he breathed a sigh of relief. But then he was shocked to see another then another and another emerging from the darkness. Before he knew it, he was surrounded by volunteers who were stepping forward to risk themselves for the greater good.

“Thank you all for this sacrifice. The wolves and I will be forever in your debt. Now pack your bags, we leave for the Elwood Pack immediately.”