His Blue Moon Princess
Chapter 85

I finally reach Damian's side, and I think it takes him a few seconds to realize the other wolf is no other than his younger brother. Even I am still gathering the pieces. But the most important is that this witch, the young woman facing us, has a few butterflies flying around her. The very same kind of butterfly as the blue one that has been staying with me these last few days, except for the fact that hers are of multiple different colors and somewhat smaller.

She looks quite young, too, with gentle emerald eyes and fair white skin. While I'm staring at her, I realize all the roots have stopped attacking, and silence befell the stadium. "Liam, what are you doing?!"

Nathaniel, from one of the benches, is staring with confusion at the scene. He runs toward us, approaching his brothers who are facing each other. Some of the Alphas come back down, too. But instead, the witch turns to me, looking very calm. "Hello, Nora."

"Hi..."

She smiles softly at me. I was right. She is not the Dark Witch, but the one who sent me the letter and the butterfly. Damian growls, and I know he wants his brother to push aside. But Liam is growling back, too, not moving an inch. I put my hand in my mate's fur, trying to calm him down a little for now.

"Damian, it's okay."

"What is the meaning of this, Nora?" Asks Nathaniel.

"She's on our side. I think..."

William arrives at my side too, frowning. "What do you mean? Why is the Black boy standing for her?"

"It's all right. Nora is right, I'm not the Dark Witch you were mentioning earlier. I don't want to harm you in any way."

"Are you kidding me? You just did!"

No, she didn't. As everyone starts to look around, it becomes quite obvious: No werewolf was actually injured. Despite the panic, all the tree roots did was capture some people and trap them on the ground. Maybe about two hundred wolves. Even Lissandra is still growling at some branches, trying to free herself.

"What was that, then?" Asks Nathaniel.

"A little reminder."

She makes a little movement of her fingers, and the branches suddenly untighten their grip to release Lissandra's arm. The Purple Moon Alpha growls and massages her wrist with an annoyed look.

"Listening to all this nonsense you were all arguing about, I thought it would be good for you all to remember or witness how powerful a witch can actually be."

She's right. As soon as she attacked, most of the werewolves panicked, and it even took us a few minutes to understand what was going on and look for her. Even the Alphas had a hard time holding their packs together until Damian intervened. And this was just a warning... If she had intended to kill, this would have been much worse.

All of the Alphas have come down and are staring at her with shocked eyes. Even Tiffany Pearl and Andrew Jones lost their composure.

"I thought all witches had left Silver City..."

"Well, I'm the last one."

The werewolves around us, while some are still catching their breaths, all start whispering. I hold on to Damian, and try to take him back. Damian, it's really okay. She's on our side.

I feel my mate hesitate, but after a while, he shape-shifts back to his human form. Nathaniel hands him a pair of pants, and Damian dresses up, still staring at the witch and Liam with doubtful eyes. Actually, Liam shape-shifts back, and the witch gives him his shorts. "Hi, guys..."

Both his brothers and I glare at him.

"Liam, you i***t! You should have told us you were fine!" I scold him.

"Sorry about that. Syl needed me, so..."

"Syl?"

He suddenly takes the witch's hand, and the smile she gives him makes no doubt about their relationship.

Nathaniel swears. "You've got to be f*****g kidding me, Liam..."

"I told you guys I had a girlfriend." "You never said it was a witch!"

But Liam acts as if it was nothing. Or he probably expected this kind of reaction from his brothers. Actually, he's even standing a little in front of the witch, ready to shield her at any moment. Nathaniel looks like he can't even believe what he's seeing, while Damian is frowning.

He turns to me. "...You knew?" He asks.

"I... She contacted me a week ago. She said she could help."

"You believe her?" He asks.

I hesitate a bit. Do I? I look at the witch, but no matter what, my wolf isn't the slightest worried by her. My instincts tell me she is not a bad person, one we should be wary of or anything. I slowly nod. Damian sighs, takes my hand to keep me close to him and turns to face Liam and the witch. "What should we call you? And why would you help us?"

She smiles. "My name is Sylviana. I come from a very old and long line of witches; my ancestors lived in Silver City long before werewolves came. We have always lived in peace with both werewolves and humans. Sometimes in secret, when the situation called for it, like I was until now. But we never had any conflict with your kind."

"That doesn't explain why would help us against one of your own..."

Sylviana shakes her head, and takes on a very serious expression. "Witches aren't like werewolves. We are solitary individuals; we do not feel the need to interact with our peers or get along with them. On the contrary, we are territorial creatures, and don't usually enjoy sharing."

"But Silver City is a city of werewolves..." Says Nathaniel.

"I meant that we do not like to share with other witches. Werewolves, humans, or animals do not have the same needs as we do, neither do you perceive a territory like us. To you, a turf is a land your pack has rights on. For me, it is a source of life, a way to draw more power and energy. I don't need buildings or money. The same way you wouldn't argue with humans or animals about your turf, I do not need to dispute my homeland with you."

"Then, this witch is a threat to you as well, isn't it?" I ask.

Sylviana nods, and as more Alphas get closer, she makes some movements with her hands, calling back all the roots to the ground.

"That's right. As I said, witches don't share territories. If this Dark Witch seeks to gain control over Silver City, she will eventually become a threat to me, as well. We do not have any special feelings towards other witches, though we usually respect each other's boundaries. But the woman who attacked a few weeks ago is looking for more power, and she won't stop because I'm here. So, as another resident, I believe we could replace a mutual agreement and work with each other to keep her out of Silver City." That sounds quite reasonable, indeed... The same enemy, a reason to work together and protect Silver City. Nate and Damian exchange looks, probably mind-linking each other, as well. Liam is eyeing his girlfriend, but they gently smile at each other. They do seem like a genuine, loving couple...

Meanwhile, Bobo arrives at my side, standing against my leg. I wonder if Daniel is there? No news from Elena, either... After a while, I see Nathaniel looks pissed, but Damian turns to Sylviana again.

"You said that other witch, the Dark Witch, was looking for more power... If our land and wealth is of no interest to her, what is she attacking Silver City for?"

Sylviana nods and takes a few seconds before answering, looking a bit unsure. "Witches divide into two categories: Light Witches and Dark Witches. I belong to the first group. I draw my powers from my own life energy and my relationship to nature."

She shows us her arms and the dark markings I had noticed earlier. Now that I can see them from up close, they are not black, but dark red... Those are scars! Like carved in her own flesh, or burn marks. Moon Goddess, does that mean she has to injure herself to use her powers? Next to me, Damian is frowning, too.

"As you can see, light magic comes at a cost... I can heal myself, of course, but the more powerful my spell is, the bigger is the cost."

"Sylviana could really die if she was to face that Dark Witch directly," explains Liam.

Now I understand why he is so adamant about protecting her.... As well as why she did stay hidden for so long. That attack from earlier was impressive, but now her arms are covered in severe injuries... And there might be more under her clothing, as well. "Wait a second."

I turn around. Clark Hamilton, the White Moon Clan Alpha, just joined us. The Joneses and Seaver are there, as well. I try to decipher Old Man Seaver's expression, but the elder Alpha is just frowning behind his white beard.

"You... you helped us, didn't you? Last time... During the vampire's attack, the water kept turning on us and poisoned some of us. We were losing ground until the trees suddenly moved, too, and the water stopped. The branches shielded the injured wolves and tore vampires apart. That was all you, wasn't it?" Asks Clark.

Sylviana smiles. "Well, vampires don't so well with wood... And that witch didn't want to face me directly, either."

"What does a Dark Witch do, then? How is she different from you?" Asks Nathaniel.

"As I said earlier, I sacrifice my own life force and body to use powers... Dark Witches do the same, but with other bodies."

I gasp. "You mean... like sacrifices?"

"Exactly. What's worse is, while a witch's body is made for this since can heal fast and recover, other species can't withstand powerful magic. Not only does she need bodies, but she also needs a lot of them. And alive, too."

Oh Moon Goddess, this is... disgusting! How can someone be as evil as that? Injuring other people to be more powerful! I was wondering why Sylviana would go through the pain of injuring herself, but this other witch is so hateful!

"Light Witches give their lifeforce to others, while Dark Witches take it. This is our fundamental difference. This also why we don't usually cohabitate: We have very different mindsets," explains Sylviana.

"Wait, who would be more powerful then?" Asks Andrew Jones.

Sylviana sighs. "I think... for now, that would be me. I won't get into the details, but in terms of brute magic, mine is much more powerful than hers. However... she is very aware of that, and working to change that. She will keep gathering as much as she can until she can overpower me."

"How?" Asks Damian. "Is that why she is attacking us?"

"She was gathering bodies. Some from our pack," says Ryan.

"That's right. The more she can get, the better. However, corpses aren't nearly as... good as living people for a witch. And the more those people are filled with Moon Goddess' power, the better..."

Damian and I exchange a look. I see horror and anger on my mate's face. Which means...

"That's right. A living Royal would be exactly what she needs. The perfect prey..."