Healing His Broken Luna.... Chapter 111

Chapter 24 - Seeking

Lukas POV

If it was up to me, I'd keep her locked in the room and spend my days wrapped up in her. The more of her I had, the more I wanted. I had to keep myself focused on the goal at hand, which is to find Magnus and break the curse.

"Once she shifts, she can mark us too." Luke told me. He wanted nothing more than to have her mark on him. Well that, and he wanted pups.

I took her shopping yesterday and it felt great to spoil her. She had so little and I want to give her anything and everything. I had so many nagging questions in my head thinking about her previous circumstances. I also wondered if there's any information she might have that could be connected to the curse. Who would do such a thing and why? Now would be a good time to ask and possibly help understand the entire situation better.

I mind linked Angelo and let him know that Syble and I were going to make our way to the French quarter and look around. He sounded like he had just woken up and I'm sure he had spent the night with Camille. I decided to take Syble to try her first beignet, you can't come all the way to New Orleans and not have one. Then I'll ask about her past and what she remembers.

After the beignets, we walked by Jackson Square on St. Ann Street to Armstrong park. I could feel Storm relax as we entered the park, and Syble also seemed to enjoy the ponds and fountains. I could feel Luke nudging me, but I wasn't sure where to start.

"Syble, what can you remember about your parents? Do you remember if you ever saw them shift? Do you remember grandparents? Aunts or Uncles?" Someone had to be elemental I thought to myself and I also wondered if either one of them had the same curse.

"Both my parents were wolves. My father had dark gray fur and my mother had light brown. I don't recall either of them having elements or ever seeing the crescent mark on anyone's neck. You already know my mother was from Blue Mountain and my father from Sapphire. My father was orphaned at Sapphire moon when he was little, he had no siblings. My mother was raised alone by my grandmother, no one ever mentioned my grandfather. I assume he died long before I was born."

"Do you remember anything else? Any events that were out of the ordinary?" I had a feeling in my gut that I was missing something.

"No, my mother was an omega, she worked in the kitchen at the pack house. I'm an only child. My father was a pack warrior, they were attacked, and Luna Tara died when he was killed."

"Do you resemble either of your parents?" I asked wondering if she was their natural child.

"I think so, from what I remember, I look like my mother."

"Do you have any pictures or remember seeing any from your parent's past or maybe any that your grandmother had?"

"No. After Alpha James killed my mother, he set our cottage on fire. There's absolutely nothing left of my parents. They've been completely erased from existence." She looked at me with tear filled eyes. I pulled her into my chest to comfort her.

"You are left of your parents. Syble, you are a reminder in this world that they existed, loved one another and loved you." I whispered to her. "A pup conceived in love will always carry the love of their parents. Don't ever forget that." I stroked her hair.

"I was just a pup. Alpha James was cruel and Alpha Jaxon was no different." She cried.

"When I saw you at the cliff, your eye was blackened. Was that Donnatella?" I cringed thinking about her now.

"No. The maid had given me the bread rolls. Alpha Jaxon thought I had stolen them. He was embarrassed that you had to witness it, so he came back that night with a plate of food. H-He forced me to eat and with each bite he beat me."

Fuck! It was all my fault! I had walked out of the pack house with a plate of food to take to her and see if she would talk to me, when Jaxon caught me. He insisted that he take her the food. He told me that she only ate when he fed her and that I would scare her. He took the plate and went to the barn. I didn't know that sadistic bastard would be so evil. While it's frowned down upon to have slaves, prisoners are a different matter altogether. I didn't know the extent of her crime at the time, but she was completely innocent.

"Syble, when this is over. I'm going to kill Jaxon and his father myself." I promised feeling my blood boil.

"I'm going to make sure they get very painful deaths too." Luke snarled.

We left the park and walked back through the French quarter. It was almost noon and we walked into a small boutique that specialized in vampire apparel. The store front was filled with trinkets for the tourists, but I could smell the leech in the building. We walked towards the back of the shop, where the lighting was low.

"Can I help you Alpha?" A voice said from the darkness.

I looked closer into the corner and found the source of the scent. She could pass for a pale looking human, but she wasn't. Just as I could scent her, she could sense my Alpha aura and tried to maintain decorum.

"Good afternoon, we come in peace." I assured her, werewolves and vampires typically avoided each other. The shifters council has had a treaty with them over eighty years now. Louisiana had a few covens, which impacted the murder and missing numbers of the State.

"We're hoping to find a particular grand warlock in the quarter."

"Ahh, Magnus. I've not had the pleasure of seeing him these last few months. I imagine he's been very busy." She said.

"Do you know where we might find him?" I asked.

"I would try Laveau's or HooDoo's." She suggested.

"Thank you." I nodded my head and led Syble out.

"She's a real vampire!" Syble mind linked me.

"Yes, she is. Is this the first time you've come across one?" I asked her.

"Yes. Well, maybe, no. I believe I met one in New York named Ambrose, Lola saved me from him." She linked back.

"Ambrose is hundreds of years old. He worked with the shifter's council on the peace treaty decades ago. Wolves taste terrible to them, we're a greater threat to them than they are to us." I told her.

The wind picked up and gentle gusts of wind started rocking the ferns hanging from the balconies.

"Is that you?" I asked Syble through the mind link.

"I was getting a little warm." She linked back and smiled.

"That is a great gift. Moving the wind allows you to pick up someone's scent before yours can even reach them. I'm picking up the scent of a rogue right now." I told her and scanned ahead.

"Is it a lone wolf or a rogue?" She asked.

"Rogues tend to smell bad because their wolf is more feral. This is definitely a rogue." I explained.

"Hey there's Angelo." She pointed as Angelo approached us.

"Hey lover boy." I greeted him and he grinned. 

"This place is crawling with freaks and creeps. I've scented two rogues, a leech, dirty prostitutes, a couple of drunks and a partridge in a pear tree!"

"All I'm scenting is Camille on you." I told him and he laughed.

"Are we ready to find Albus or what?" He asked.

"Magnus." Syble corrected him.

"We met a leech who recommended a shop around the corner."

"Well let's get going. The sooner we get done, the sooner we can have lunch."

We entered the small shop called, VooDoo HooDoo. There was a young man in his early twenties working behind the counter holding a tiny little ball of fur. It appeared to be a Chihuahua wearing a tiny pink scarf. I almost dismissed him as human, until he spoke.

"Hello, is there something in particular you're looking for?" He said as he nervously stroked a shaking dog. I knew the dog could sense my Alpha.

"We're looking for Magnus." I cut to the point.

"I'm sorry Alpha, I don't know who Magnus is." He lied. He was clearly more than a mere human because he recognized I was an Alpha. A distant half of him was part witch, but it wasn't very strong.

"How did you recognize the Alpha?" Angelo asked.

"What?" He tried to pretend.

"You're such a bad liar." Angelo walked over to him and took the shaking little dog out of his hand. The dog seemed to calm right down when Angelo held it to his chest and stroked its head.

"It must be a female, that little bitch turned to putty in your hands Casanova." I linked Angelo and suppressed the urge to laugh.

"You know, as a wolf, I can also communicate with dogs and your pooch is spilling the tea right now." Angelo told him. "You may as well come clean before the Alpha loses his patience."

"Wolves can talk to dogs?" He asked in shock looking at his dog.

"The little pooch said you're lying about Magnus." Angelo said.

"Look, he's not here. He only comes in when he has appointments to see others. I never really know." He quickly volunteered.

"Others? As in other witches and warlocks?" Syble asked.

"Yes. Or anyone else who may have an appointment with him. It could be humans or wolves too." He said.

"How often do you see him?" I asked.

"About once a week. He was in three days ago. Now can I have my dog back?" He reached his hands out and Angelo handed it back.

"She said she doesn't like the scarf." Angelo told him.

"Here's my card. Be sure to tell Magnus I'm looking for him." I dropped my card with my cell number on it and we left the shop.

"Can you really talk to dogs?" Syble asked Angelo and we both burst out laughing.

"No, but he sure did believe it." Angelo told her. 

We made our way to the Laveau voodoo shop. This place was filled with all kinds of interesting items.

"Eww are these skulls real?" Angelo asked.

"You break it, you buy it." I told him.

My eyes met with a beady eyed old woman who was looking at me. I walked over to her and could sense her energy. She was a highly gifted witch.

"Good afternoon. I'm hoping to find Magnus." I said.

"Ah, he's been very busy lately. I haven't seen him in a few weeks, but you could probably find him at the cemetery tonight." She said.

"What? Why would he be in a cemetery at night?" Angelo asked.

"Graveyard dirt is used in many spells. It is always best to harvest the night after a full moon at midnight."

"Do you have any ides which cemetery he prefers?" I asked.

"That depends on the type of magic he wishes to extract and who's buried in the cemetery." She said.

"How does that work?" Syble asked.

She eyed Syble before she spoke, "if a spell is cast for someone seeking justice or legal help, the dirt from the grave of a prominent Judge might be useful. If it's a spell to protect your fortune, the dirt of a notable banker to help guard your assets would be ideal. But, if someone is looking for revenge that would require dirt from the grave of someone who was murdered to help bless the spell; like the slaves who were murdered by the infamous Madame LaLaurie." She explained.

"I see. Thank you for explaining it." Syble's low voice said.

"I'm going to leave my card, if you happen to see him, please pass this along." I said.

"You're seeking to break her curse." She said and it wasn't a question.

"We are." I replied.

"This magic feels familiar. Yes, you will indeed need Magnus to break it. I will give him your card."

"Thank you."

"Have a good day Alpha." She said as we left.

"Tell me we're not going grave digging tonight." Angelo said anxiously.

"Relax, it's not like the graves in New Orleans are actually buried in the ground. There won't be any digging involved." I told him.

"Are you fucking kidding me. The boneyards here give me the heebee geebees with those big crypts. Every witch and warlock within a twenty mile radius will be collecting dirt for their witching hours, how are we supposed to know which one is Merlin?

"Magnus." Syble corrected him again.

"Right Magnus. Anyway, I heard it was going to rain tonight, are you sure you want to go crashing someone's séance and shit?"

"Relax buddy, it won't be that bad. Come on, let's go have some lunch. You can order anything you want, and we can discuss our plan." I coaxed him and suppressed my laugh.

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