Chapter 69 - 68. Original

Eden didn't wait for the two men leading the way to stop and ran back to the Soul Healer to prevent her from going any further. When he reached the old werewolf, he noticed right away that something was wrong with her behavior.

Eyes half-closed, she strode with a slow, automatic step, opposite to where she was supposed to be.

The blond put a hand on her shoulder to stop her, but it had no effect. The woman released his grip with a simple gesture and resumed walking in the opposite direction, her gaze dull.

The Omega looked at her as she was walking away then turned to see that Glen and Connor had just come up to him. His alpha gave him a questioning glance which he responded with a shake of his head.

"She is completely under the spell. It's incredible when I think my clan never noticed a thing like that." Eden said, a little admiring the protection put in place by the wizarding clan now that he saw it in action.

"It's a given if all the werewolves who crossed the Skinwalkers' barrier were in this state as soon as they entered their territory." Glen watched the werewolf with his hand under his chin.

"Yes! We saw it and it's great, but we have to get her out of this state. " Connor stated, gripping her tightly by the shoulders to turn her towards them. "Hey, Oldie, it's time for your potion. So take it out and swallow it up! "

He leaned on but the old Soul Healer didn't seem to see him. She simply stared at his features unconscious of the person who was in front of her.

"I can't even imagine the pain in the ass it would have been to deal with the three of you if she hadn't made this potion. Eden, take the potion out from her pocket, you have to open her mouth to make her drink it! "

"Hey? But that's… " The Omega hesitated to treat a Soul Healer who was highly respected in his clan like that. He looked at the old woman and his eyes lingered on her silver hair before settling on Connor.

The Omega winced slightly in his unease at the idea and the agent rolled his eyes.

"Glen! Please help me, hold her tight by the shoulders while I look in her pockets. Which one was it in again? Left or right? " He had barely finished his sentence when he stepped aside to make way for the dominant who stood in front of the silvery-haired werewolf and made sure not to move.

The alpha placed his hands firmly on the Soul Healer's shoulders and looked down at Connor who, on the first try, had pulled out a vial with crimson liquid inside. He removed the cork and positioned himself so that Glen gave way to him. Barely released from the alpha's grip, the woman tried to move, but Connor stopped her before letting out a groan.

"Yup. Definitely a pain in the ass. " He grabbed her by one shoulder and shoved the vial into the hands of the Omega who took it without question. As soon as his other hand was free, Connor grabbed the werewolf's jaw, placing his point and index finger each on a knuckle, and pressed firmly.

"Ah, Connor, watch out…" Eden protested seeing the force with which the agent pressed, forcing the old werewolf to open her mouth.

The Soul Healer's eyes were still blank. The light-brown-haired man let go of the shoulder and held out his hand to Eden who immediately placed the vial in his palm. Without waiting, Connor poured the contents of the vial into the mouth of the woman who swallowed still absent-mindedly. He handed the vial back to the blond, who waited apprehensively for the liquid to take effect, his hands trapping the shoulders of the old werewolf.

After less than ten seconds, the Soul Healer blinked and her expression returned to normal. She frowned when she saw Connor standing in front of her, his hands on her shoulders, and shrugged off before walking away.

"What are you waiting for? Perhaps an invitation? " She said, pausing briefly.

"I should have shoved the entire vial in her throat along with the potion, maybe she would have been a little grateful." The agent mumbled.

"It would have been counterproductive I think," Glen temporized with a sneer. He set off as did Eden, who was smiling, a little puzzled, at the dynamic between the agent and the woman.

"I heard that !" The Elder said, shouting a few steps in front of them.

"Oh, but it was said for you to hear."

Grumbling and stamping his foot, the agent hurried to join the woman. The group gathered to move forward together. Each remained silent as if they were waiting every second for something to happen or for a stranger to come. Even though the Soul Healer had already met Connor's grandmother who was a Skinwalker and claimed that they wouldn't assault them, the three men couldn't help but be suspicious.

These people were unknown to the rest of the world to the point of being considered a legend. They were too determined to hold the werewolves at a distance. They pretended to be mere wizards when they too possessed the ability to shift, even if only into wolves.

No matter how much the two mates turned the question around for a logical answer, nothing that came to their minds could explain their behavior. On the one hand, the Blue Moon clan was so protective of the werewolves that they intervened during the greatest massacre in history. On the other hand, they didn't want to meet them enough to bewitch their land so that no werewolf could ever come near.

Eden stared at the Soul Healer's back as a question he had left out resurfaced in his mind.

"Elder? How come you got the recipe for this potion? "

How the old werewolf had acquired the knowledge to counter such a powerful spell, which had been put in place probably centuries ago, was a mystery to the Omega. The woman kept walking, still in the lead, and answered without looking back.

"I told you, the memory of the Soul Healers is passed down from generation to generation. I wasn't the one who made this potion, but an Elder centuries ago. I found the recipe in one of the archive books. This was the last register that spoke of the shared history between the Werewolves and the Skinwalkers. "

"What do these registers say? You told us about it without going into details, "Eden questioned, curious.

"Can you tell me the legend of our creation by the Moon Goddess, dear Eden?" The werewolf answered and the blond frowned. He wanted an answer not for the Soul Healer to ask him a question in return, but he did so anyway, preferring to go her way and see where it would lead him. Anyway, he had nothing else to do except walk through the forest, which was getting darker and darker.

"Back in the days when people still lived in tribes scattered across the land, one of them lived in harmony with a pack of wolves. Despite their different natures, each respected the other.

When the tribe was attacked by several others who coveted their land and resources, the wolves came to fight alongside their human friends, bringing them victory. To thank their courage and the strength of their friendship, the Moon Goddess bestowed human souls on the pack.

From that moment on, wolves were able to take human form, but also a hybrid form between the two which gave them their name, the werewolf form. "

The Omega paused, hinting by his silence that he had finished telling the story of the creation of his race.

"Good," The Elder commented. "This is indeed the legend of our kind. However, this is only the beginning. There is a sequel known only to the Soul Healers. I discovered it in our archives, as probably my ancestors before me. "

She paused, holding her audience in suspense. Glen and Connor were also listening attentively to the conversation between the blond and the silver-haired woman and the woman smiled as she glanced to the side and met their eyes which silently urged her to continue.

"After the Moon Goddess entrusted them with human souls, the friendship between the wolf pack and the human tribe grew stronger. Several years have passed, the records don't say how much exactly. But it was enough for the daughter of the chief of the tribe who was born after the war, to fall head over heels in love with the future alpha of the pack. It goes without saying that the feelings were mutual.

Of course, the two leaders who respected and held a deep friendship saw nothing wrong with the feelings, but, not wanting to offend the Goddess by allowing an abomination, they prayed to ask for her blessing.

When the Moon Goddess finally answered them, it was with an astonishing response. She ordered the chief's daughter to mark the future alpha by biting him and then she warned them.

The werewolf had to resist at all costs the temptation to mark his beloved back, or else kill her instantly. If he resisted until the next full moon, then the Goddess would offer her blessing to their union. "

"But it's…" Eden was shocked.

"The ritual of the Omega's Mark." The Elder finished the blond's sentence for him with a smile on her face. "It is indeed this ordeal that is at the origin of the ritual known to us as the Omega's mark."

"Did the future alpha manage to hold out until the full moon?" Glen asked. His gaze shone with an interest the Soul Healer was seeing for the first time.

"Yes. He succeeded. The future alpha was strong both physically and mentally, but above all his love for the chief's daughter was immeasurable. He had grown up beside her like a protector, but as the years passed by the human soul inside him started to desire something else and he didn't want to risk losing everything by lacking patience.

The writings say it wasn't easy, the urge to claim his future bride almost drove him crazy, but in the end, on the evening of the full moon, the chief's daughter presented herself untouched before the Goddess. "

"And so? What happened after? The Goddess blessed their union, right? "

"Indeed, the Moon Goddess has bestowed her blessing on the union between the future and the chief's daughter, but that wasn't all. So that the chief's daughter could be able to fully understand her werewolf lover who was a different kind, the Goddess offered her the spirit of a wolf as well as a power. The power to transform each member of her tribe who would like to wed with a member of the wolves' pack. "

"So this is how the Skinwalkers were born? Awesome! " Eden said in awe. "Wait, I don't understand, if they were as close as the Goddess gave them the way to understand each other and even wed, why are the Skinwalkers hiding from the werewolves? Why haven't we heard from them? And who made the potion? " The Omega who had joined the woman to walk beside her kept asking questions and the Soul Healer chuckled at his enthusiasm.

Around them, the forest had changed. It was barely 4 pm, but the sun was already disappearing behind the horizon and the temperature, already low, had dropped with its disappearance. Connor, who was the only one feeling the cold, was starting to show signs of fatigue, but continued to walk, listening to the old werewolf to distract himself from the sensation that was numbing his muscles.

"To be honest, I don't have the answers to these questions and I hope my meeting with the Skinwalkers will help fill in the gaps in our collective memory.

The Soul Healer archives are incomplete, all pages of the ledger relating to what happened after this ceremony have been ripped off. I don't know by whom. When I met Autumn, she hadn't wanted to answer me. The last clue I have found regarding our shared history is this potion that allows us to enter the Skinwalkers' territory.

I don't know who or what caused this separation, but it was important enough that the Skinwalkers put a barrier between us. "

Eden stopped abruptly with furrowed brows. His mate turned and stopped as well when he noticed.

"No... that's not true, right?" The Omega mumbled and looked up. "Elder! If the Skinwalkers are in this land and you told us that they didn't settle down, but that they have been there from the very beginning. Does that mean my pack, that Bloodhood… " Glen cut his mate, wide-eyed, understanding what the blonde was trying to say.

"Bloodhood is the original pack.. The pack of wolves from whom the werewolves come. "