The Missing Beta

Chapter 15

~Shawna~

I don't know how long these witches have been hovering over my son, but I'm ready for it to be over. I want to trust them to be careful with him, and I'm sure they will be. I'm struggling right now, though. I'm struggling because I feel helpless.

My son, my only child, disappeared for four years. I couldn't find him, and I couldn't take care of him. He was probably scared and in pain at some point. As his mother, it's my job to help him not be afraid. It's my job to make the hurt go away. I failed my son, and I refuse to fail him again.

Aston lies on the couch, and the witches hover over his body. His eyes are closed, and I don't know if he's asleep or not. I just want them to be able to help him get better. I miss my boy.

In sync, the witches lift their heads, and their hands drop to their sides. Ulva makes eye contact with us, and my breath hitches. “There's magic in him, but it's broken.” I’m not well-versed with witches or magic, so I have no idea what they mean.

“What are you saying?” Blake is always the one to ask the right questions, and I'm grateful to him right now. I think this is a lot for Eddison and me, so he's the stable one.

“Someone used magic on him, but it was mixed with other things. If magic were simply used, we would be able to wake him from this. Since the magic is broken, we can't find an easy path. There are things we have to leave intact because if we try to remove it, it could backfire and become worse.”

“What do you suggest?” Eddison's voice cracks as he asks the question, and I squeeze his hand in mine.

“We can do a few things, just basic things that won't cause any damage. After that, things will have to progress naturally. We will make sure to come back and check on his progress often. Hopefully, whatever we do will make it easier for his memories to return.” I swallow thickly, not wanting to ask, but the urge is too strong.

“What about his wolf? Is his wolf gone?” Ulva looks at her sisters, and my heart drops. I swear they are going to tell me the worst possible thing, and I'm not ready for it.

“We don't know. If I had to guess, his wolf is still there, just buried. I don't want to promise that though. There's no real way to know for sure.” I guess that isn't as bad as it could be. I would rather have had a different answer, but I will take that.

“So, what now?”

“Well, now we will do what we can, Alpha. Once we do this, he will probably sleep for a few days. Don't be alarmed, his body will be trying to replenish energy. If he hits a week without consciousness, call us.” We look at each other and nod. I just want my boy to be okay.

~Chandra~

I wasn't really checking anything like my sisters. I already knew what I had done to him and about the broken magic. Mixing a bit of science with my magic was necessary; it was the only way to make my experiments happen.

Ulva was right to say that they couldn't remove everything from him. The mix with science makes it a murky situation at best. At this point, I can only take notes for experimentation.

One thing to note is that his wolf is probably not completely gone. It's a guess, but we should have been able to detect the loss. That's a negative. I really want to be able to remove wolves from ranked members. It's easy to do Omegas, but clearly, my tweak wasn't enough for more powerful wolves. I guess the plus is that his wolf is so buried that it's hard to notice.

More importantly, I need to figure out how to get through this without exposing myself. Experimentation is great, but I can't complete my work if I'm killed. Maybe I can hang back and allow my sisters to take point on this.

“Chandra, how are you at removing barrier spells?” This may be the opportunity for me to remove myself.

“I'm not that strong with that. Maybe Isidora can do better.” That's a complete lie. I can do stronger magic than either of them can imagine. If I want to save myself, I need to lie and deny it.

“It's fine. we can do this. Just keep an eye on him. If he looks like he's having a negative reaction at any time, let us know. The last thing we need to do is hurt the Beta on packlands.” I nod and watch my sisters try to undo what I did all those years ago. My mind wanders to that time.

*Flashback*

“Again.” The current runs through his body, causing it to jerk wildly. We've been at this for months now, and nothing has really changed. I know ranked members are stronger than others, but I didn't expect him to be this strong. I have to break him to be able to do what I want with him.

The currents die, and his screaming subsided. He's panting heavily and sweating profusely. “Ww… why? Whhhy aare you dddoing this ttttttttto meee?” I swear he's asked that a lot since he's been here. It's always the same question, no matter who's in that chair. I guess it makes sense, and if the roles were reversed, I'd ask for the same.

I usually ignore him, but I'm feeling talkative today. “I was paid a lot of money, you know. They initially wanted me to get rid of you, but I felt like that was a waste.” I start to pace slowly, and I feel his eyes follow my movements. “Actually, coming across you was pure luck. I need a ranked member and they are very hard to come by. You must have really pissed someone off for them to give you up so easily. Your loss is my gain, though. Rather than end your life, it was sold to me to do with it whatever I like. I plan to continue my research and use you to do so.”

He jerks in the chair as if trying to break free. He used to do this a lot when he first got here, but he was never able to move too far. I know he would love nothing more than to get his hands on me, but I’m afraid I can't oblige him. “I'll be back soon, and we can continue.” I turn and walk away, laughing as I go.

*End of Flashback*