Page 56 of Alpha's Secret Baby Girl
Had the demon done something to her?
Before Gwen could worry too much, Rafael leaned forward. “Lianne, do you feel like you want to run?”
“Yes,” Lianne whimpered, writhing as she tried to itch her skin.
“And you feel like there’s a scream inside of you, just waiting to burst out?”
At Lianne’s nod, Gwen understood. Those were symptoms she recognized from when she was just starting to figure out how to shift. But how? She was so young! Gwen bit her lips together, fighting the anxiety that washed through her at this.
Rafael gestured Lianne over to him. “What you’re feeling is your wolf. It wants to get out, but you’re not ready yet. So we’re going to have to take some deep breaths to help soothe it until the itchy feeling goes away, okay?”
He started to walk her through the calming exercises while Gwen finished patching him up. She watched father and daughter, and the feelings that flooded her heart were stronger than any she could have anticipated.
This is why she needs him,she thought.This is why I need him.
Chapter 24 - Rafael
Gwen’s fingers intertwined with his, grounding him in the moment. She gave him an encouraging smile as they stepped into the Elder Council’s room in the town hall. Since Lianne’s display of magic two days ago, there had been no sign of any demons. Though Rafael was confident that there would be no more issues with that particular demon, he was less assured that it was the only demon on the island. In his opinion, it had been trapped within the protective barrier of the town when Gwen fixed it, and there had been a second demon on the outside, which led the special ops on a wild goose chase.
For now, though, they had some answers and a plan for moving forward.
“Alpha Rafael,” Elder Thera greeted with a half-nod. “We have been expecting you for a few days now.”
Rafael accepted the jibe. Of course, the Elders would expect him to make reporting to them a top priority. As he gazed at them, he couldn’t stop the small tug of annoyance in his chest. It wasn’t as though he’d been idle. There was a lot of work in town to do to recover from the demon attack.
“We wanted to make sure the borders were safe first,” Rafael said smoothly. “We have done more research after what happened, and we believe we know why the demon has been targeting our daughter.”
Thera laced her fingers together. “Oh?”
Rafael nodded once to Gwen, indicating that she should explain what she had found. “In the old texts, there is a ritual that can be performed to test a person’s magical reserves. Lianne’s is immense. That, and she is already showing signs of getting ready to shift at only six years old.”
This met with rumbles of surprise. One of the other Elders leaned forward. “But if she has magic that strong, how can she have a wolf powerful enough to emerge at such a young age?”
Here, Gwen tightened her grip on Rafael’s hand. He squeezed it reassuringly in return. This was where they didn’t have solid answers. It seemed as though there wasn’t actually a correlation between having magic and a weak wolf, at least not in any written records. Why it was true for Gwen, Kira, and Chelsey was unknown.
“We are still researching it,” Rafael answered when Gwen was quiet for a little too long. “We have no proof as of yet, but I personally believe that the demons themselves have been attacking the witch-born shifters on the island from the moment of birth, weakening them in both magic and wolves. Since Lianne was raised away from their influence, she was able to come into her true power. The demons must have seen what a threat she is to them as soon as she returned to the island.”
Thera nodded slowly. “That is an interesting theory. And you believe the demon that attacked us is destroyed?”
“I believe that Lianne destroyed the demon that was coming after her, yes. I don’t believe we’re completely in the clear,” Rafael said. “Whatever barrier the old witches put in place to keep them locked away must be deteriorating for even that one to escape. I believe there are others still on the island.”
Gwen shivered. “We think they will keep coming after the town. Specifically, they will keep coming after Lianne, no matter where she goes. Whether she’s on the island or anywhere else, and it may be that they will focus more effort on the pack to make sure no other children like her are born.”
Thera rubbed her chin slowly. “Hmm. So what does that look like for the town, then?”
“More special ops,” Rafael answered. “Higher training for the wolves on the island, and more effort to find and train any of the pack who might have magic.”
One of the other Elders grumbled. “You mean to encourage witchcraft, them?”
“I mean to protect my daughter by any means necessary,” Rafael shot back.
Gwen drew herself up. “I do, too. And that means we will be here for a long, long time. If you have problems with witches, then you’re just going to have to get over it. Witches are the ones that saved this pack from the demons in the first place.”
The Elder frowned deeply and opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Thera cut in.
“If that is what you believe is best, Alpha. These recent events have proven that there is more in our history than we knew.”
Rafael nodded once to her. He, Michael, and Gwen had decided to wait until they revealed the truth of his mother’s witch heritage, as well as how the demon had killed both Isabel and Randall. They needed time to process their own grief yet, and if the council suspected that Rafael was only doing this because of some latent magical ability of his own, it wouldn’t go down well. He didn’t think he had latent magical ability, as magic seemed to be passed from mother to daughter, but they also didn’t know much about how magic worked.
