Page 33 of Shifted Fate (Broken Luna #1)

Chapter Thirty-Three

A

fter training, I headed back to the pack house and up to my father’s office. I heard voices from the other side, so I leaned against the wall next to the door and settled in to wait for whoever was to be done. My ears perked up when I heard my name.

“Are you really letting Amy run our pack?” A nasally voice called out sweetly.

“Our pack?” My father’s voice was soft and confused.

“Yes, my love. Our pack. You promised to make me Luna at the next full moon, remember?”

“I did?” I leaned against the door and pressed my ear against it. “Aurora, what are you doing?” My father’s angry question caught me off guard. Something was going on inside. Something that my father didn’t like but wasn’t stopping.

“Bonding with you.” I heard a ruffling, but I reared back and kicked the door open to see Aurora leaning over my father with his head tilted back. She was pouring something into his mouth, and I tackled her to the ground.

My mind-linked to Ronnie and Beck. Get to my father’s office now!

I barely heard their response as I punched Aurora in her face. “Who the fuck do you think you are?” I screamed as I was wrenched off her chest. My father was breathing heavily and his eyes were half lidded, and there was a faint pink tinge to his usual blue eyes.

“You dare to attack my Luna?” He screamed in my face as he panted.

Aurora, face swollen and bleeding, slowly got to her feet and smirked at me. I watched as her face slowly healed the damage I caused her, but my father was snarling in my face like he didn’t recognize me. “I told you he would be mine.”

My father slammed me against the wall again and wrapped his hands around my throat as I fought back. I kicked him in the stomach, but I wasn’t trying to hurt him while he was trying to kill me. “Dad.”

“Shut your filthy mouth. I’m not your father. I will only be with my mate, and that’s Aurora.” I tried to rear back, but his hands tightened on my throat. I caught a shine on the back of his hand out of the corner of my eye, but when I focused on the spot, there was nothing.

“What the fuck is going on?” Beck and Ronnie ran into the office.

“Tell them.” Aurora called out.

“Aurora is my mate and will be Luna.” My father snarled as he choked me. Both men reared back at his words.

I punched my father in his face and heard his nose snap. His grip loosened on me enough that I could speak. “Aurora. Grab Aurora. Now.” I used my Alpha command on the two, and they grabbed her. “Get her out of here.”

“Don’t touch me. Baby!” she screamed as Beck wrapped his hand in her hair and pulled her toward the door.

“Don’t fucking touch her.” My father screamed his Alpha command, freezing Beck mid step.

He released her and turned to look at me as my father gripped my throat harder, cutting off my airway again.

“You dare to command my wolves to attack their Luna? I’ll kill you!

” He screamed in my face and for the first time I was terrified of my dad.

“Alpha. Stop, that’s Amy, your daughter.” Ronnie tried to come to my aid. He wrapped his hands around my dad’s hands and pulled.

“Stand down.” The Alpha command had Ronnie freezing. His panic was evident on his face.

“Please don’t make me watch you kill your own daughter. She’s like my pup.”

“She isn’t mine!” He whirled to face Ronnie, dropping me to the ground. “Aurora told me the truth. She is a fake. Aurora is my true mate, not Ainsley.”

I coughed on the ground and shook myself.

I cleared my throat and pulled Nix to the surface.

“Everyone freeze!” Everyone in the room stopped.

Including my father. I heaved myself up from the floor.

“Beck. Take Aurora down to the cells. Now. Ronnie, make sure she has someone of higher rank watching her cells, but don’t allow her to touch anyone. ”

“Yes, Amy.” Beck grabbed her and pulled her out of the room again.

“Don’t.” My father called after him. But I wrapped my arm around his neck and pulled him back to stop him.

“Go!” Beck pulled a screaming Aurora from the room and I turned to face Ronnie. “Close the door.” I wrestled my father to the ground and he fought me. He punched me in the face as I did my best to subdue him. “Loki!” I screamed for my father’s wolf and I watched as he fought for control.

“Pup?” Loki’s voice was icy as he stared up at me. “What happened to your face? Who did that to you?”

“You did.” I felt my face swell as blood trickled from my eye and nose.

“What?” His voice flashed, and he shook his head. “What’s happening?”

“I would also like to know what the hell is happening. Why was your dad attacking you for Aurora?” Ronnie dropped into a chair and I let my father up.

“I came to see my dad about something, I can’t even remember what now, but I heard him talking to someone.

” I rubbed my healing face and wiped the blood off.

“Then I heard him asking what she was doing, and she said bonding, and something inside me screamed. So I kicked in the door and she was pouring something into his mouth. Then I tackled her and attacked.”

“And then?” Ronnie pointed to my dad, and I nodded.

“He attacked you?” Loki asked.

“Yes.” I nodded again.

“What the hell is going on?” Ronnie shook with barely controlled anger.

“Loki, I need the book of shadows.”

“Okay. Give me a moment.” Loki got up and left the room. I looked over at Ronnie and he grimaced.

“You are healing, but it still looks painful. That bruise around your neck is going to take the longest to heal, I think.”

“Probably.” I rubbed my neck and tried to clear my throat. Loki walked in and handed me the book. But he had a look on his face. “What’s wrong?”

“When I took over to work with the book last night, I felt the need to change the code to the safe. I blocked your father from seeing the code, so he had no access, just in case.”

I nodded. “Smart.”

“Well, the safe was clawed at, like someone was trying to get in. I can’t remember if it was your father, and he blocked me. Or someone tried to get in while we were in here.” He shook his head. “I don’t think it is safe for us to have it until this problem is solved.”

I nodded and took the book. “I’ll keep it.”

“Good.” Loki dropped down onto the chair and leaned back. “I don’t trust myself around the pack. I need to use the room.”

“The room?” I turned to look at Ronnie, who had paled.

“When your dad feels your mother…with your stepdad, he goes into the room.” Ronnie slowly turned to me.

“It’s a sound proof cell out in the woods.” Loki stared down at me. “Only Ronnie knows where it is and he makes sure I’m okay.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because I attacked you. I can feel him fighting for control as we speak and I refuse to allow whatever Aurora has done to us to put you or this pack in danger.” Loki growled out. “Don’t let either of us out until Amy has a solution.”

“You can’t mean that, Loki.”

“I can. And I know your father would feel the same if he was in his right mind.” He cut his eyes to Ronnie. “Walk with me.”

“Okay.”

“Uncle Ronnie, you can’t allow him to do this.” I begged.

“He’s right Amy. He would never forgive himself if he hurt you and I walked in on him trying to kill you. For the safety of you and the rest of our pack, he needs to be subdued until you figure this out. I won’t chance this pack, or you.” Ronnie stood up and Loki followed him out.

What the hell is going on? I grabbed the book, ran back to my room, and locked the door behind me. I needed to figure out what she did to him because whoever that was; it wasn’t my father. I shook as I remembered his hands around my throat.

That wasn’t him. Nix’s voice calmed me, but I was still shaking when I opened the book of shadows.

I read every single page twice. I wasn’t seeing anything that would cause him to act this way. “There is no way that was truly him. Something’s wrong.” I shook myself and thought back to everything I had seen since I got here.

I flipped back through the book until I landed on a page. It was a love spell, but this one didn’t fit. The charmer had to be wearing something that belonged to the true mate of the one being spelled. And the spelled had to be wearing something that held the charmer’s sigil.

But he wasn’t wearing anything of hers.

I needed advice. And I think I knew exactly where to find it. I grabbed a bag and stuffed the book inside of it and headed down the stairs and out the door. I ran all the way there and dropped to the ground, opening myself up, and calling out. “I have need of you.”

“What can I help with?” I opened my eyes to see my great grandmother settled in front of me in the clearing.

“Something is wrong with my dad.”

“Tell me.” She nearly reached to grab my hands but remembered she couldn’t touch me, so she ended up hovering over mine.

“He attacked me.” And I watched her eyes widen.

“Start from the beginning.”

I know I had already explained some of it to her before, but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing anything so I started over. “When I got here, he was fine, at first. Then Aurora started to show up around him and whenever I said her name or she came around, his eyes would grow hazy.”

“Hazy?”

“Like he was confused or distracted. Not focused. And his voice became soft and confused. Aurora kept saying that she would be the next Luna. No one was taking it seriously, but anytime she was around, he would seem to be considering it. Today, I was waiting outside the office and I heard her say she was bonding with him.”

“She said bonding with him? Exactly that.”

“Yes.”

“What happened next?”

“I busted in the door and she was pouring something into his mouth and I attacked.

But he ripped me off of her and screamed that she'll be the next Luna, and nearly strangled me to death.” I touched my throat and her eyes zeroed in on the bruise.

I watched as her eyes narrowed and she lifted a hand to hover over my neck.

“Did you see anything out of the ordinary?” Her whisper was hard, but I knew she wasn’t angry with me.

“His eyes had a pink tinge to them but that’s it.”

“Are you sure?” She questioned. “Close your eyes and think. Is he wearing something out of the ordinary? Something you had never seen before?”

“No. I did find the love spell here.” I flipped to the page and showed her, but she was shaking her head.

“That isn’t a love spell. It’s an infatuation spell.

It makes the one cursed become unhealthily attached to the speller—to the point of murder.

If the cursed ever finds the one that cursed them with someone else.

Or Goddess forbid they have a child, and the child starts to take precedence for them, then they can go on a rampage. ”

“Really?” I turned back to the page. “Why would you create this spell?”

“I didn’t create it.” She reared back. “A book of shadows is a collection of magic over many lifetimes. Some created, some found. This spell was found by another and my great-great grandmother transcribed it in our book, and figured out a way to counter it.”

“How do I counter it?”

“We have to make sure it is the right one. If it isn’t, then you can make the infatuation permanent.”

“How do I confirm it?” I started to panic. If my father was going to be stuck, he would be able to be the Alpha any longer.

“You have to find the item that belongs to your mother. It will be touching her skin at all times. And you need to find the item that has her sigil on it.” She pointed to the book, and it flipped through a few pages.

“Here is that specific counter spell. You will need to destroy both at the same time with a fire, and then you need to recite the words as it burns. BUT!” She screamed as I surged to my feet.

She pointed to the ground, and I dropped back to my butt.

“But what?”

“I cannot stress this enough. You have to be sure. Not only do you have to be sure that was the spell used, but you also have to be sure you have the right items.” My grandmother stressed.

“How will I know?”

“The item will emit a soft glow that you won’t be able to see properly.”

I threw my hands in the air. “What does that even mean?”

“I can’t tell you exactly. As each witch has their own color and trick to hide it from being found.”

“What am I supposed to do? Loki took over and now he locked himself in a cell.” I shook my head. “I’m lost.”

“I believe in you, my girl. You can save him. Start with the girl.” She got to her feet and looked down at me. “Sometimes you do things you are not proud of to save the ones you love.”

I nodded up at her. “I’ll do whatever I have to save him.”

“Good. Now I think you know what you have to do.” She walked off and disappeared, leaving me alone with the information she gave me.

I slowly got to my feet and started running through the forest back to the pack house. My mind-linked to Ronnie. Where are you?

Just coming back from the cell. What’s wrong?

I need to see Aurora. And I need to do it now.

For what?

I’m going to do what I have to do to get the information about what she did to my father.

Amy…you can’t mean that.

I do.

Well, then meet me in your father’s office.

Why?

We have to call the council first.