My Lycan Mate of Suicide Forest

"Unfortunately, I must go now," Charlotte said quietly, and Greta and Sylvia both stood. "I am happy to have had this time with you, August. I understand Sylvia has some work with you today. But we will see each other again," Charlotte reassured her and patted her hands again before standing to leave.

"I have questions," Greta spoke to Charlotte softly as they exchanged a hug.

"I would expect nothing less. We'll speak again," Charlotte chuckled. "For now, you ladies have received something that most have never heard. The alyko story is one you will not find in books."

Sylvia embraced the old woman next. "Thank you, dear friend, for sharing this with us. We are honored." Charlotte smiled and made her way out of the shop.

Greta, Sylvia, and August remained in stunned silence for some time after she left.

"Graeme told me something he was shown at the council," Greta then said, breaking the quiet with a hesitant voice. Sylvia and August both turned to her.

"They have this… this secret team," her eyebrows pinched together, attempting to put all of these things together in her mind. "It's run by a very young stray named Zosime."

"I've never heard of her," Sylvia said, taken aback. There was a young stray working in the council?

Greta nodded. "Neither had I. There is apparently some widespread effort to tag alyko to keep track of them. And there are horrible stories that have been collected… about things alyko have done and why they are a threat…" she trailed off. "I fear that what began with our alyko here, with Maggie and the others, was only the beginning. Why is this happening?" she looked to Sylvia with saddened eyes.

Sylvia blinked and turned to August. "It seems you have come to us just in time," she said thoughtfully. "And that means that getting control of whatever abilities you have is going to be very important. Reiki will help, but I think we need to find a way for you to practice using them. I just don't know how…"

August's stomach dropped thinking of using her second vision, or… the Veiled as it was apparently called, experimentally. But then, what if she found herself in a situation with another Marius? Or even someone like Violet? If she could practice and get control, she could protect herself and maybe even turn unwanted thoughts off. And maybe she could understand how she had gotten from under that ancient tree back to Graeme's treehouse. She still hadn't told Graeme about that for fear that he would see something nefarious in it.

She had to face this fear and use whatever crazy abilities she had to be strong for herself and for her mate. Talking with Charlotte gave her confidence in being identified as alyko, at least, whether it was an incorrect label or not. She did not fear being called alyko now. The designation seemed sacred somehow. La Loba… what an amazing story.

"I won't put anyone here in danger by practicing with them, but if we can find a way for me to do it myself… in a safe place away from everyone…" August suggested.

"But we're forgetting about how the council has tagged suspected alyko. What if they've already done it to you? They'll know that you are… I don't know, manifesting your ability, and who knows what they'll do with that information," Greta interrupted.

"So they can somehow see when alyko use their abilities?" Sylvia asked.

"Yes, there's a map, Graeme said. An alyko will light up or something when it's happening, and that's how they know if an alyko is on pack lands," Greta explained.

"What can they do if I do light up?" August asked, almost challengingly.

"Who knows… who knows who they share this map with or who is in on it. Graeme said that this Zosime mentioned allied packs having access. And Graeme hasn't established dominance here yet, so the council may try something," Greta said.

"They can't do anything publicly unless they think they have pack members behind them. And they don't have that right now. It's our instinct to embrace Graeme and his mate back, especially with the way things have been around here lately. Since when did our pack members run away?" Sylvia looked at Greta meaningfully.

"Livvy," Greta nodded. "Well we don't know if she ran away for sure… we don't know anything."

"But if Derek and Genevieve were here, we would know. She would have been found or we would at least have solved the mystery surrounding it. It's unlikely she would have run away or disappeared in the first place," Sylvia sighed. "But the council seems to have no interest in helping look for her."

"Okay, so either the elders will find a way to turn pack members against Graeme and August or they will do something secretly to remove them," Greta deduced.

"Why?" August looked at the two women, bewildered. "Why are they against us? Isn't it tradition for the pack to run with an Alpha and Luna? I was reading the histories of this pack over the weekend, and this doesn't seem to have ever happened before. Why don't they want Graeme back?"

"He denied his role and left them responsible. And now his mate is a 'witch,' according to their thought process," Sylvia said. "A threat like they believe the alyko were before. Their prejudice led them to believe the alyko were responsible for Derek and Genevieve's murder."

"So how do we mend this?" August sighed, suddenly feeling the weight of it all.

"You gain the pack's trust. You endear them to you," Sylvia answered. "And then with time, it will come together. After all, it is the Moon Goddess' will that you are here. Surely they will see that."

"August is teaching the Woodside pups art. Their first meeting was today," Greta said.

"Perfect. That will do much to gain trust amongst the pack," Sylvia smiled. "And, in the meantime, we make sure you are protected."

"So do I practice with the second vision, the Veiled, or not?" August looked back and forth between the two women.

Sylvia and Greta looked at each other as they thought about it. "How do they tag the alyko? Does Graeme know?" Sylvia asked.

"I don't think he does," Greta shook her head. "But maybe we can try to find out. Let me see what I can do."

"Okay, in the meantime August, we work on reiki. Though maybe not today, because our time is short. I imagine Graeme will be arriving early anyway," she laughed softly.

The bells hanging from the front door chimed at her words, and Sylvia's eyebrows rose. "What did I tell you?" she smiled. "I think it will also be wise to meet here with Charlotte regularly.. Perhaps there is more she can tell us," she added.

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