Chapter 5 - Puppy Duty and Prophecies

Brandon’s POV

Walda looked down at the girl who now lay pale on the blue velvet couch that Marc, Amanda, and the rest of the pack had dragged in.

I stood back, giving Walda the space she needed to work efficiently.

“How is she holding up—uhm, Beatrice, I mean?”

I felt so stupid. I didn’t even know her name before turning her. And worse, she was already claimed. I wanted to facepalm and die from shame.

Walda must have guessed my thoughts because she said, “Brandon, relax. She may look very ill, but she’s stable. I just need something to balance her inner state.”

She tilted her head, her hands moving carefully over Beatrice’s body, feeling for where the vampire and wolf viruses had spread.

“It’s circulating,” she said, her tone firm, “clashing with each other including her immune system.”

Her hands froze as she reached a conclusion. “Carry me downstairs!”

Luke groaned. “Not again!” He threw his head back dramatically as if he was already exhausted.

I smacked him on the back of his head. “Giddy up, big boy! Yee-haw! This old lady needs a ride!”

I winked at Walda. I couldn’t help myself. She shook her head but chuckled anyway as Luke bent down.

Walda climbed onto his broad back, and with a loud smack on his shoulder that echoed through the room, everyone burst into laughter. Even Luke’s ears turned red. It was hilarious.

Luke’s POV

I thought alot about the dead blonde woman, her summer blue-sky eyes had looked so lifeless, she had been so pretty. I felt so shaken to the core. I couldn’t explain it.

And now walda was trying to lift my spirit, at least it worked.

Why was I always the phony pony? It even rhymed, which made it worse. But, hey, I could laugh at myself!

“So, Walda, is everything okay up there?” I asked, trying to strike up a conversation as I carried her down the 13 flights of stairs.

“Oh, sure, puppy-boy,” she said, grinning. “I can even see the full moon through the stair windows. So many stars too! How’s that fine back of yours?”

She tightened her grip on me with her bony legs, making sure she wouldn’t fall off.

“With all that power, you could probably walk, you know,” I joked, panting.

“I could,” she said with a mischievous grin I could feel even without looking, “but why would I miss the fun? Playing the ‘I’m old’ card is so entertaining!”

By the time we reached the bottom, I was out of breath. Thirteen flights of stairs were a cruel joke. “Alright, Walda, you’re off.”

Walda slid off my back and grabbed my hand. “Now, puppy, I’ll do your reading before we start the hocus-pocus.”

She dragged me outside into the chilly Berlin night outside the Giraffe building complex. The Berlin TV Tower, with its graceful spire, felt closer tonight. I felt uneasy but let her do her thing.

Walda closed her eyes, and her voice changed. It became deeper, softer, and otherworldly. It sent chills down my spine.

“A supporting role is yours to play,

The threads of fate shall guide your way.

Two women rise, a royal line,

A bloodstone calls thought lost in time.

A war approaches, shadows creep,

Betrayal waits where secrets sleep.

The darker path will test your soul,

Choose your side, or lose control.

Your wit, your charm, your cunning flame,

Will seal your place within this game.

If the heir is born, then doom shall fall,

The wolf of Berlin will lose it all.”

I just stood there, blinking. War? A bloodstone? What was this? I thought she’d say something simple, like I’d marry a girl and die out of old age.

Walda opened her eyes, her expression returning to normal, and then she began to chant. Her words flowed like a mix of poetry and spellwork, it felt so strange listening to those words:

“Night and day, black and white,

I call for balance in the German night.

What soars, what dives, what floats with ease,

Now waggle back to me, I plea.

Lend your aid, let truth take form,

Restore the balance, calm the storm.”

It half-made sense, but not really? Witchery clearly wasn’t my thing.

“What was that—” I began to ask, but Walda hissed, “Shhh!”

That’s when I heard it: Waddle-waddle, tipper-tapper.

“What the hell?” was all I could say before Walda shushed me again.

To my shock, two black-and-white swans waddled toward her, squawking as if greeting her.

“What are they saying?” I whispered.

Walda smiled slyly. “You’re not as stupid as you look.”

I didn’t know if that was a compliment or not, so I just smiled awkwardly. “Eh?”

“They’re waiting for a friend,” she said, puzzled. “But I only called these two.”

Before I could respond, there it was again—a sound like hoofbeats.

A massive, pitch-black Frisian horse appeared. Its mane shimmered like liquid midnight, and on its forehead glimmered a rainbow crystal horn. A unicorn.

Walda’s eyes widened. “But… I didn’t call for you!”

The unicorn snorted, its voice deep and amused. “Of course you did. I’m here to help restore balance.”

“But you’re a horse! A unicorn! How am I supposed to get you up those stairs? You won’t even fit through the door!”

The unicorn chuckled. “You think I walk around like this all day? Obviously not.”

It shimmered, its form shrinking and morphing into a scruffy gray German shepherd.

It wagged its tail once and darted through the open creak in the door, diving beneath my two open legs and racing up the stairs.

I stood there, dumbfounded.

“Here!” Walda said, scooping up the two swans and stuffing them into my arms.

Then she hobbled over to the elevator, muttering a few spells. The ancient machine groaned to life and dinged open.

I just rolled my eyes at her and stepped in awkwardly beside her. I knew she was just teasing me! The ducks, I mean, the swans squawked and seemed to settle comfortably in my arms.

Oh, heavens what a day!