Chapter 39: Sorceress

Azura’s POV

I turned around so slowly you would’ve thought my neck was rusted.

My heart wasn’t just beating; it was trying to punch its way out of my ribs. The sound of it was a loud thump-thump ringing in my ears. In my head, I was already picturing the worst. A ghost? A giant spider? Some ancient guardian with a flaming sword? Honestly, after the day I’d had, I was ready for anything.

But I was not ready for Genevieve.

She was sitting in a plush, velvet chair across the room, looking like she was just waiting for her favorite tea to be served. She looked perfectly relaxed, back straight, hands folded neatly in her lap, and a tiny, calm smile playing on her lips. It was the kind of look a mother gives you when she catches you stealing a piece of bread, not the look you expect from someone hiding behind a "breathing" stone wall.

I just stood there, my mouth hanging open like a fish gasping for air. My brain was a mess, trying to connect the dots between the solid wall I’d just walked through and the woman sitting in front of me.

"What... what are you?" I finally whispered. My voice sounded small and shaky, like a little girl’s.

She didn’t skip a beat. She didn’t look away. "A sorceress," she said.

I felt like someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water over my head. My jaw dropped even lower. I looked at her, then back at the stone wall, then back at her. I did this about four times before any words actually formed in my mouth.

"A... a what?" I managed to squeak.

Genevieve gestured to the empty chair right next to her. "Sit down, child. You look like your legs are about to give out, and I’d rather not have to carry you back to your room."

​I walked over to the chair like I was walking through a forest full of hidden snares. I sat down on the very edge of it, gripping the armrests so hard my knuckles turned white. I was convinced that if I moved too fast, the whole room would vanish and I’d be back in the hallway staring at a solid wall.

I’m dreaming, I thought. This is definitely a dream. I probably fell asleep in Rhydor’s room because his boring Alpha energy finally put me under. Or maybe I’m dead. Is this heaven? No, Genevieve is here. This is definitely not heaven.

"Tell me you’re joking," I said, finally finding my voice. "Magic? Like, real magic? Not just wolf-shifting stuff?"

She didn’t laugh. She didn’t even tease me. She just watched me with those steady, deep eyes that felt like they were reading my diary.

"You’re really a... a sorceress?" I asked again, slowly, trying to let the word sink in.

She nodded once.

I shook my head, letting out a breathless, crazy-sounding laugh. "No way. Wolves don’t have sorceresses. We have Alphas and Betas and... and Omegas or weak people like me. We don’t have people who walk through solid rock."

"Yes way," she said simply.

I sat back, sinking into the chair. My brain was still screaming. "Okay. Fine. So you’re a sorceress. And you just... what? You spend your nights walking through walls for fun? Is this a hobby?"

"Among other things," she replied, her smile growing just a tiny bit.

"How come nobody knows?" I asked, leaning forward, my curiosity finally winning over my fear. "Wait... when I say nobody, I mean Arthur? And Rhydor? Your own husband and son do they know you can turn stone into water?"

She shook her head. "They have no idea."

I stared at her, genuinely shocked. "Oh Goddess."

The weight of it hit me like a ton of bricks. This woman, the former Luna of the pack, the wife of one of the most powerful alphas in Crescent Moon, had been living a double life for years. Right under their noses. She wasn’t just the quiet, elegant lady who organized ceremonies. She was a powerhouse. She was dangerous. And she had been keeping it a secret from everyone she loved.

I looked at her differently now. She wasn’t just Rhydor’s mom anymore. She was a mystery.

Genevieve leaned forward, the flickering candlelight making her eyes look like they were glowing. "How did you cross the wall, Azura?"

I blinked, confused by the question. "I... I don’t know. I just did. I saw that figure in the cloak do it. You touched the wall, it rippled, and you went through. So I just... I told myself it wasn’t a wall. I treated it like a heavy curtain and walked."

She nodded slowly, a look of triumph crossing her face. "As I proclaimed," she whispered to herself.

"Proclaimed what? Genevieve, stop with the riddles. What is going on? Why could I do that?"

She looked at me for a long, quiet minute. The silence in the room felt heavy, like it was pressing against my skin. Then she said it. "You are not a normal wolf, Azura."

I snorted, rolling my eyes. "Well, duh. I’m rankless. I’m the girl without a wolf. I’m the ’weakling’ who somehow managed to kick a high-ranking wolf’s butt without shifting. I figured out the ’not normal’ part a long time ago."

She smiled, but it was a sad kind of smile. "Good. That was my first test. When I watched you in that trial, I saw something. It wasn’t just skill, and it wasn’t just luck."

I froze. "Test? You mean you knew what would happen?"

She nodded. "Something powerful lives inside you, Azura. Something old and deep. But right now, you’re like a kid playing with a loaded crossbow. You don’t know how to aim it, and you don’t know how to keep it from going off."

She paused, her expression turning dead serious. "If that power comes out by accident, if you lose control because you’re angry or scared, it may end you."

A cold shiver raced down my spine. I thought about the fight. I remembered that weird heat in my veins, the way the world seemed to slow down, and how I moved faster than I ever thought possible. "End me... how? Like, I’ll die?"

She didn’t answer. She just kept watching me, and that silence was scarier than any ’yes’ could have been.

"Your parents," she said, switching topics so fast my head spun. "Who are they, Azura?"

My stomach did a little flip. That was the one question I never wanted to answer because I didn’t have an answer. "I don’t know," I said, my voice small. "I never met them. I was just... dropped off."

"Where?" she pressed. "The first place you remember."

"I don’t know that either," I said, my voice getting a bit defensive. "I was moved around a lot. Different packs, different orphanages. Nobody wanted the ’useless’ rankless girl who couldn’t shift. I just... I moved from place to place. I survived on scraps and learned to hide. I’ve been a ghost my whole life."

She leaned in even closer, her eyes searching mine. "Think back. What is the very first place you remember? The very first pack?"

I closed my eyes, trying to reach back into the foggy memories of being a toddler. And I remembered a name. "It wasn’t here. I snuck into this pack later. The first one... I think it was called Hollowcrown."

Genevieve went completely, terrifyingly still. She repeated the name in a whisper. "Hollowcrown."

I watched her face. It was like watching someone put the final piece into a thousand-piece puzzle. Her eyes widened, and she looked at me like I had two heads.

"One day," she said, her voice sounding far away, "you will go back there with me."

"Why?" I asked, my heart starting to race again. "What’s in Hollowcrown?"

"To confirm something," she said. "Children do not just fall from the sky, Azura. There is a reason you are here, and there is a reason you are what you are."

The words felt huge. Too big for me to carry. I looked down at my hands. "What if I find out my parents just didn’t want me? What if there’s no big secret?"

She smiled faintly. "I have my ways of finding the truth."

I looked up at her, really looking at the lines on her face and the power in her blue eyes. "You really are a sorceress," I whispered. It finally felt real.

She smirked. "You keep asking that, child. Are you waiting for me to turn into a toad?"

I actually giggled a little. "Maybe."

Then, the reality of my life came crashing back. Liona. The Alpha. The threats. "I need your help," I said, the words tumbling out. "For real this time."

She raised an eyebrow. "With what?"

"Someone wants to hurt my friend. Liona. It’s your son. Rhydor."

I told her everything, the switch, the walk, the insults. "He heard every word. He threatened to hang her upside down! It’s my fault. Can’t you... I don’t know, poke his brain? Make him forget?"

Genevieve stared at me. Then she laughed, a light, genuinely amused sound. "Magic is for complex things, not for fixing my son’s bruised ego."

"Then how do I save her?" I pleaded. "I can’t just tell him ’no’."

She leaned back, a mischievous, almost wicked glint in her eyes. "Don’t use magic," she said, her smile wide. "Just seduce him."

My brain stalled. Heat flooded my face. "Seduce him? The human icicle?"

Genevieve shrugged, her eyes sparkling. "He’s a man, Azura. And he’s your mate. Use it."

I stared, speechless. Seduce Rhydor? I’d rather wrestle a bear.

"Are you crazy?" I whispered.

"No," she said, her smirk knowing. "I’m a sorceress. And trust me, that’s much more effective than a memory spell."