He was looking at the woman. She was dead.Maybe she was almost twenty years old. She was one of the young girls from the Gypsy village.The man had watched her in surprise as she strolled through the colourful tents the villagers had set up. Her green eyes radiated incredible joy as she displayed the charms of youth. From the first moment, he had looked at her with interest. Her curly red hair fell loose around her shoulders. Just the sight of her was enough to make him aroused and his body on fire.For the rest of the night, he had been trying to get closer to her. At first with flirtations that had caused the young Gypsy girl to look satisfied.Everything then gets out of control. Her temper in general was quite violent. She couldn't be that innocent if she'd agreed to walk him alone away from the noisy bustle of the city. Losing a fortune... Philip Morgan cursed. It had been so easy to win good favours among the Black Order's members... Everything in life had a price. He had promised a share of the girl's dowry loot to those religious fanatics.He had been patient. He was an experienced man. He knew how to please women easily, although the sight of new boys also attracted a lot of attention.At first, she still returned his kisses. Protests were inevitable as his caresses grew bolder.Refusal and rejection had been the reason. He only noticed that she wasn't breathing as her screams ceased and silence enveloped the woods around her.He didn't mean to hurt her at all. He would never hurt her. The whole problem boiled down to a single detail: Richard Morgan.Phil sighed heavily. That was a problem he would have to solve.He was the omega wolf of the pack, tired of living alone and excluded from power in the pack despite enjoying their protection. Oh, worse than that. He was sick. Dying. And even then that miserable sorceress would not have compassion. Rick could have any woman, but... She didn't have eyes for any other man. Not after she'd been saved from that disaster. The girl was suffocating scared and lost among strangers... It had been a betrayal of fate that Rick had been fair to help the girl. Phil cursed God. He was just a heretic who attended Mass and passed himself off as a good citizen.And Rick... oh, damn it! Even studying in Europe, and a little removed from ancient traditions, he still worshipped the Goddess. He was a chosen one. The scarlet guardian obeyed his orders and his command by having a faithful servant.The guardian was one of the oldest spirits who had accompanied creation and dwelt on Earth. A phalanx of spirits tended the forest and it is dead in the heart of the holy lands that housed slain valiant warriors.Forwarding lost souls to their correct paths and opening paths by eliminating negative energies. Guardians dealt directly with death and brought instruments such as scythes, swords and shields in their hands and covered themselves in black cloaks. The energy that never died... They say that at the beginning of creation he had been appointed by the great God to take care of the disincarnation of human souls on Earth. They were highly evolved entities that helped in difficulties of detachment from the body, material goods and relationships, against vampiric attacks from other spirits... That infuriated Philip.Philip wondered what else to do... The denunciation had done nothing. And the game was reversed. Cassie... His finding his wife brought a lot of complications. The local authorities started to comment and some people. Harassment... Using the Key to Hecate's Paths...He had used it without any qualms for years. It all boiled down to pack leadership. Ah, it wasn't the first time the spell had gone wrong. He was appealing to the Order's dark magic... The girl needed to forget her youthful adoration for the future alpha.And knowing that Cassie wasn't ready yet... Philip cursed all the gods. The priests had assured... The girl was fertile. Had her blood flown?? The alpha's proximity... It was a curse. The law of fate... The sorceress who walked among the wolves belonged to the pack's alpha... It was irrefutable proof. Even more so when he started the celebrations.Women and the Great Goddess have always been associated with the Moon and her powers. the sorceress's blood was a carrier of Life coming directly from her Source, from the Great Goddess. Dammit! Was her moon already low?Maintaining all the blood magic took a lot of energy. It was the key to eternal life and unlimited power.Witches were guardians of the Old Ways, who kept the sacred flame burning. Era blood is pure and unlimited.
He needed the drink of immortality... If he were the alpha in his own right, none of this would be necessary.
And there was only one problem...The guardian...was still with the girl. He was in tune with the alpha. After Rick had ordered the attack to be suspended... they had recognized the sorceress...Damn old customs. She would never accept a ceremony before the God of humans. She was a heretic. She worshipped the great goddess. She was one of her priestesses. She also commanded a guardian... And both guardians faced each other recognizing each other... They were brothers in the cult of the great goddess and the ancient gods...Two alphas by birth... The alpha male was scouting terrain... A guardian never appeared like this... Unless it was in front of a chosen one.