Once Upon Her Three Wishes

Chapter Eight

That night was rough on Sergei, not because his father never came home. He was used to that. It was because his mother never would. He sighed sadly as he sat on the edge of Oksana's bed and rubbed his face. The tired young man shook his head and laid down on his mother's pillow, inhaling her perfume.

"Why, momma?" he whispered as he closed his eyes. Sergei's sleep that night was restless, tossing and turning, visions of his mother's lifeless body filling his memory. Finally, around three a.m., he got up and went to his room. On the way, Sergei looked into the living room where Aldrik usually passes out on the sofa, reeking of alcohol and one of the local 'favor ladies'. Not seeing his father, Sergei just shrugged his shoulders and went to his room. More likely than not, his father will be back tomorrow morning.

Laying down on his bed, Sergei stared at the ceiling. He allowed the tears he'd been holding back to fall unchecked down his cheeks.

*****

Oksana looked down at her son from the Shadowlands. It felt liberating to no longer be in pain from all the wounds that never healed. Her wolf smiled at her, "I'm sorry that I couldn't keep you healed."

Oksana just shrugged and gave her wolf a half-smile, "I know he was poisoning me. That was why the potion from that witch was so cheap."

Selene had come to greet the tired mother when she heard this, "What did you say?"

Oksana jumped, "Moon Goddess, forgive me. I know I don't deserve to be here, for taking my own life."

Selene lifted a finger to silence the repentant woman, "Some people will never understand the pains that cause us to do what we do. There is nothing to forgive." Selene crossed her arms and gave Oksana a curious look, "But, what do you mean, he was poisoning you?"

Oksana's face changed, "Aldrik was tired of moving all the time. He blamed me regularly for everything that was going wrong. Or when he got too sloppy and got caught hurting me so harshly. I found the bottle he'd gotten and it was easy to figure out he'd gotten it from a black magic witch." The woman turned to the pond and sighed. "There aren't many out there and this one has never cared to hide. He'd been lurking around a few of the other packs we'd come from, so Aldrik was able to find him easily. "

Selene nodded as she listened intently. She had a feeling she knew exactly which witch this was and huffed angrily. "Birsha," she muttered. "What's done is done," the moon goddess said sadly. "So, I'm sure you know by now too that Aldrik has been banished from the Dragonmoon Pack."

"What?" Oksana gasped, "What about Sergei?"

Selene quickly reassured the worried mother, "He's welcome to stay, so long as he doesn't follow in his father's footsteps. He's mated to one of Alpha Alexei's daughters."

"Just one?" Oksana questioned. "Sergei was sure he was mated to two of them."

Selene just shook her head, "Only, Irina was given to him. She will be perfect to help him heal."

Sergei's mom smiled, "Thank you." Oksana couldn't help but worry about her son because that was what she thought too when she was mated to Aldrik.

***************

Aldrik paced the room he was in angrily. He threw every object he could get his hands on, the rage inside him knew no bounds.

"Easy, my friend," the man greeted him as he walked into the room.

"Easy? What is there to be 'easy' about? Even in death, that stupid b***h of a mate cost me my pack!" Aldrik threw a bottle at the wall, the glass shattering into millions of shards.

"Your son is mated to an alpha's daughter, that means there's something special in him," the conniving man informed Aldrik.

"Yeah, right," he sneered. "If he's anything like his mother, then there's nothing special about him." Aldrik lifted the other bottle and took a deep swig of the amber liquid in it. He lifted the bottle, "What is this? It's pretty decent."

The man, who kept his face hidden, smiled, "Nothing special, just my own recipe."

"Well, you're good at it, whatever it is," Aldrik took another deep swig of the bottle. He could feel his wolf getting restless as if it wanted out.

The mysterious stranger remained silent and waited, allowing Aldrik to release his anger while biding his time. This one would be a good one to add to his pack. It only took a few more swigs of the bottle before Aldrik's wolf finally came out. The medium-sized wolf stood there shaking its ordinary brown fur.

The stranger tutted, "I thought you'd be bigger, for all your talk. No wonder you took pleasure in beating your mate and son. You look like you could barely handle that on your own."

The wolf growled at the insults, but couldn't shift back to his human form.

"Now, now, for the time being, you're needed like this." The man lifted his hand and waved a couple of his guards in. "Take this one out to the caves. He needs to be taught our rules."

The guards did as they were instructed without a word, pushing the wolf along with them. They had the potion needed to take him to the caves.

Birsha strode in, "Well, how will that one do?" He nodded his head toward the exiting trio.

The shadowed man shrugged, "You know I don't judge, but I thought you said this one was stronger and had a large wolf."

Birsha shrugged, "I thought he did. After all, he was a member of the guard."

The shadowed man laughed, "That doesn't mean a thing." He pointed at the wolf, "The only thing he did was beat his mate, and occasionally his kid. Until the kid got too big for him to handle."

Birsha hummed, "An experienced fighter is an experienced fighter. And he was a guard. So, I'll expect my payment." The black witch put out his hand, the palm was dirty from pulling the wolfsbane and nightshade from the garden since Stain was busy spying for him. "And," the weasel of a man continued, "Soon enough there will be three alpha's daughters under your wing as well."

The shadowed man laughed, "And just how do you plan on doing that?"

Birsha's dark grin was frightening, "I have my plans. But first, I have to deliver a note to a grieving son."

The duo laughed darkly at the mention of Sergei and his grief. They both knew that a saddened mind was easier to manipulate.