Visena went behind the Packhouse to shift and change before returning to Thyra and the Praelia wolves that had finally made an appearance.

"Nice to see you again," Visena remarked. She recognised the wolves immediately, and they all bowed slightly. Thyra wasn't entirely comfortable with her wolves submitting to another Alpha, but the connection she felt to Visena's wolf was like nothing she had ever experienced. She imagined it to be similar to a mate bond without sexual attraction.

Gideon looked so proud of his mate, who was a few shades paler. His eyes searched hers, and she offered a small smile. She looked more unwell by the second. Gideon pulled her close and kissed her head before sending the Invictus wolves home to change and prepare for training. Luckily for them, they had picked up all the clothes that had been shredded after their impromptu shift. Visena wondered what they did with all the scraps—recycled somehow?

"Well, that was certainly interesting," Thyra commented dryly. "I can see why my wolves raved about you. So what are your plans?"

Visena let out a small laugh. "No plans. Just trying to figure out who I am, I guess."

"Aren't we all," Thyra said with a genuine smile, her full lips pulling over beautifully white teeth.

The women stood in comfortable silence before an idea popped into Visena's head. "Do you want to join us for training?" Visena's invitation took everyone by surprise, but the Praelia wolves stared at Thyra with the eagerness of puppies. 

With very little hesitancy, the Praelia Alpha made a decision.

"Only if you can keep up!" Thyra grinned.

...

It was apparently very unusual for two packs to train together, but Visena enjoyed the extra challenge. The Invictus wolves warmed up quickly to their neighbours and learned a thing or two.

To her disappointment, Visena felt winded much earlier than usual, and Gideon pulled her to the side inconspicuously. "There's something wrong. When Praelia returns home, we need to have that conversation with your mother."

"I know." Visena shook the fogginess from her head. She didn't feel right. As the afternoon drew to a close and the Alpha's said their goodbyes, Visena pulled Thyra in for a sweaty hug. "If you ever need anything, just call." 

The Praelia Alpha was taken aback and felt herself get warm. "That's very kind of you."

Visena dipped her head in response and leaned back into Gideon's embrace. She could barely stand. Thyra and her pack turned on their heels, jogged into the forest, and headed for home. The mingling seemed to be a success, and the Invictus wolves looked pleased with the events that had taken place.

Visena had to fight the sudden wave of dizziness and squeezed Gideon's arm. She couldn't lift her head to look at him without wanting to vomit.

Prim and Eve finally returned with a grumpy Calypso in tow.

"Took you long enough," Gideon remarked, giving Visena a gentle squish. None of the returning women seemed to appreciate his comment.

"Next time, you can convince the hermit to leave her cave," Eve grumbled.

Calypso sent daggers to the two wolves. "What do you want, Alpha?" Calypso got straight to the point.

Gideon adjusted his position to better support Visena's swaying form before answering. "I thought you might be able to assist with Visena and her mother."

The look that crossed the witch's faces was comical. She was in no rush to help the Fae, nor did she feel the 'bond' Eve and Prim had described. In fact, Visena was becoming more of a headache than she thought possible. "And do what?"

"I think Zeir's witch has done something, and I know how much you like to meddle with her magic... So?"

A mischievous smile crossed her lips, and she kept quiet as they all filed into the Packhouse. Liam, Jed and Orion were already sitting in the dining area, and their backs went ramrod straight seeing Calypso. Visena wondered if she ever left her little shack in the woods as she tried not to collapse. However, her proximity with Gideon did seem to ease the strange symptoms as they sat at the table.

"Alright, where is she?" Calypso looked around bored, and Visena closed her eyes. The unconsciously loud sounds of the wolves settling in their chairs made stars appear behind her lids.

"Calypso." Her mother's silky voice came from the doorway. 

The witch's expression changed drastically as she turned to face the voice. "Esme?" 

The smile the Fae offered was radiant. The pack watched the interaction with confusion as Esmerelda floated in and sat at the head of the table.

Visena was the one to speak up, albeit softly. "Mother? Care to share?"

Esmerelda reached over and brushed a hair from Visena's face with a worried expression.

"I raised Calypso after she was..." Esme sighed before choosing her words. "Swapped. The Fae responsible were dealt with, but the changeling killed her coven." 

"It was four hundred years ago. Let's not rehash." Cal's eyes were burning. Four hundred years, and it still hurt. That's rough, Visena thought with an ache in her chest. 

The older Fae nodded before revealing the story. "I met Visena's father, Darius, after his mate died, and I helped him through his grief. Then, when I fell pregnant, I hid in a Fae realm where I raised Visena for twelve years."

Liam gaped. "Darius Alastair, Malum Packs Beta?"

A sharp pain needled in Visena's stomach at the question. Even though she couldn't remember his fate, something told her it was too horrible to recall. At that moment, she almost wished she would never get her memories back.

Esmerelda nodded at Liam while simultaneously eyeing Visena shivering on her chair. Gideon took off his hoodie and pulled it over her head, making her mother suppress a smile.

"As I'm sure you are aware, time in the Aether realms works differently. In my home realm, time is almost inconsequential. Three days is around one earth month, while two weeks could be a decade. Instead, I raised Visena in a Celeritas realm. Time there is twice as fast as on earth."

"So it had only been six earth years?" Jed questioned. 

Visena admitted it was amusing watching everyone trying to do the maths.

Esmerelda nodded again, letting a small smile past her lips. Calypso looked rather unimpressed with the tale.

"Why couldn't you just raise her on earth?" Eve questioned.

"It was the only way I could ensure she survived. A condition of her blessing," Esmerelda replied rather flippantly before delving back into the mysterious upbringing of her daughter. "She met her father who trained her for the last twelve years, until two months ago. That was when Zeir found out and killed him in front of us. Visena shifted for the first time and ran through our Fae ring in her wolf form."

Prim and Eve gasped while Visena just felt sick. Gideon pulled her chair closer to his and rested his hand on her thigh.

"Unlike the myths," Esmerelda quickly pointed out, "Wolves don't perish when entering a Fae ring in their animal form, but they do lose their memories. Only the realm's creator can undo the magic. However, in this case, even that may not be enough."

"Why?" Prim's eyes were wide. She was following along, open-mouthed and starry-eyed.

"You've been bound, " Calypso interrupted breathlessly. "I'll kill her." She ground the words out painfully from her clenched jaw.

Esmerelda's head shook as she directed her attention to her Fae daughter, who swayed slightly in her chair. "We need to return to the Fae realm to heal you, and I will ask Queen Cecilia if she can do anything about your memories."

"When should we go?" Gideon questioned for the both of them.

"Now." 

~~~

A/N

Another day another chapter. 

Sorry to leave you on a bit of a cliffhanger just as things are starting to get interesting! 

But as always, thank you for reading <3

Until next time xxx