The Hybrid’s Second Chance
Chapter 56

Cornelia's

position.

POV

I was staring flabbergasted at Dianna, Julia, and Alexander as the elders shouted that they were wolves. How are they here? How did they manage to find us all the way out here? This couldn't be happening; I had tried so hard for so long to keep her out of this exact "Will someone please explain to me how there are wolves in our coven?!" Elder Francis yelled.

"They need to be seized at once!" Elder Caster bellowed.

"No!" I yelled, and all eyes fell on me. "This young wolf is here on my behalf, as is her mate."

"Why would wolves be here to help you?" Elder Caster asked.

"Because she's my daughter." The silence in the room was ear-shattering. No one moved, I don't even think anyone was breathing.

"Mistress Sullivan, do you care to explain yourself?" Elder Herman asked calmly. Alexander and Julia were still standing a few paces behind Dianna. I think she was ready to protect them if she had to.

"Yes, but please hear me out before you say or do anything."

"Why would we do that? We should...."

"Elder Caster, please control yourself and let her speak," Elder Herman said, throwing him a sharp glare. Elder Herman had always been a man of reason and wisdom.

"Thank you, Elder Herman. As you are all aware, our coven is forbidden from mating to werewolves. But that didn't stop the Moon Goddess from mating me to an Alpha wolf. We tried to ignore the pull of the mate bond, but it wasn't possible. I became pregnant and we knew what that would mean for our child. Hiding my pregnancy from you, I gave birth to a daughter. She was perfect, so beautiful." I turned to smile at Julia, who was staring at me. "She had powers almost instantly. We tried our best to hide her, but we knew it was no use."

"Who's we?" Elder Herman asked. I didn't want to tell them of my sister's involvement, but before I could say anything, Dianna spoke.

"Elder Herman, I helped my sister try and conceal her daughter from you and the rest of the coven."

"Eventually, we sent her to a wolf pack for her protection miles and miles from here. They hated her for being part witch. I didn't know their take on other supernatural beings when I left her there. She eventually was mated to the Alpha's son, and I knew her life would be miserable because of his hatred for her."

"It's true," Julia's voice rang out.

"Silence yourself, wolf!" Elder Caster spat.

"Elder Caster, remember your place while you're here. I would like to hear what this woman has to say," Elder Herman said. Looking behind me, Julia was now approaching the podium I was standing at. "What's your name?"

"Julianna Parker, Luna and Queen of the Crystal Sky Lycan pack. And this is my mate, Alexander Hudson."

"A wolf mated to the Lycan King," Elder Albert remarked.

"Yes, and she's the best thing that has ever happened to our pack," Alex said, stepping up to stand by us.

"Cornelia saved my life on more than one occasion. She helped set me free from the he** I was living in. When my former mate kidnapped me, she helped Alex and me fight my old pack that was bent on destroying our bond. I know she broke the laws of your coven, but she did it out of love for me, her daughter. Surely you can understand that if any of you have children of your own. Wouldn't you go to the ends of the earth to protect them? Even if that meant putting yourself in danger?" Some of the men at the table shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

"Elders, you see my daughter here before you. She has risked her own life to come and help me. The love between a parent and a child knows no bounds. Many of you have children, as Julia said; would you not do everything you could if you knew they were about to be killed?"

"That still doesn't refute the fact that you mated with a wolf and helped fight in a battle between wolves. Not to mention all the other times you aided this wolf, as she has said," Elder Caster said with disgust.

"What about all the good she's done as your High Priestess? All of that is negated because she wanted to save my life?"

"It's time to put an end to this segregation once and for all. Look at what it's doing?" I told them. "The members of this pack grow smaller each year as fewer and fewer people find their mates. Many members of this pack support me and what I have done, they have told me so themselves. Do you want an uprising on your hands if you kill me?"

"Are you threatening us? Elder Anton added.

"No, I'm simply stating the truth. What I did was out of love and harmed no one but the people who tried to kill someone I love. They deserved everything that happened to them after what they did to Julia."

"They took me out into the woods and tried to kill me with a silver knife. One of the warriors hit me and I was on the verge of death."

"I led Alexander to Julia to make sure she was safe. And it turned out that he was her mate. My intervention led to a wonderful pairing that never would have happened had Julia not been born. Please, I'm asking you, as the High Priestess of this coven, to change the laws so the future witches of this pack won't be denied the happiness I have been, which denied Julia her happiness for fifteen years."

"Thank you, Mistress Sullivan, Luna Julianna, Alpha Alexander. You have given us a lot to think about. Kindly step outside and we will call you back once we have talked about all this information," Elder Herman said. Julia and Alexander looked at me. I nodded, trying to let them know it was okay. We all filed out of the council hall one after the other. Once the door closed behind us, I turned to Julia and Alexander.

"What in the name of the Moon Goddess! Are you crazy coming here?! How did you manage to find us and get yourselves here?"

"It's all I could think of doing," Julia said. "I couldn't just let them kill you!"

"She's definitely your daughter Lia, her stubbornness is unmatched next to yours," Dianna laughed. I raised a brow at her, letting her know now was not the time for jokes.

"I told you I was going to face my punishment for what I'd done," I reminded them.

"That doesn't mean I have to let you. I have a lot of questions for you that I feel deserve answers!" Julia said back.

"How did you find us?" I asked again.

"We researched your coven and came across something called scrying, to find a witch," Julia told me.

"We used the vial and potion you made. I saved them as evidence for our elder council."

"She's smart, I'll give her that," Dianna said.

"We took a plane as close as we could get and ran all night to get here in time."

"I guess there's no point in being angry with you, you're here now, so we have to deal with that."

"What are you talking about? I think we really made an impact on them," Julia said.

"I think you absolutely did something," Dianna laughed. Her laughing caused the rest of us to laugh too, and for a moment I forgot about the position I was currently in.

"I tried so hard to keep you from all of this, I'm so sorry," I said to Julia.

"Don't be sorry. Maybe this was supposed to happen all along. Maybe you were never meant to keep me from all of this because this is a part of who I am," she said. She had a point. No matter what I did, Julia still ended up exactly where she wasn't supposed to be. Maybe there was a reason for all of this, and this was just part of the path she was meant to take. The doors behind us opened and Blaise came out.

"The elders are ready for all of you," he told us.

"That was fast," Dianna commented. She was right, they had decided our fate rather quickly. I didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing. Following Blaise back into the council hall, the four of us lined up by the podium, waiting for the elders to speak. Elder Herman got to his feet. As the head elder, he gave the verdict the council had decided.

"Mistress Sullivan, we have heard what you and Julianna had to say. The information you gave us was interesting and new territory for us. Nothing like this has ever happened in our coven before. Our High Priestess mated to a wolf, resulting in the birth of a hybrid child. Then given up but protected from the people that tried to hurt her because of a mother's love. After hearing everything you had to say, we have decided not to terminate your life." My heart skipped a beat hearing this, though this didn't seem like the end of what he had to say. "Thank you, Elder Herman."

"However," he said, holding up a hand. "Seeing how you broke some of our oldest laws, we have decided to banish you from this coven. You will not be stripped of your powers, but the title of High Priestess will pass to your sister Dianna." "I don't want this title," Dianna said defiantly. "I refuse to accept it."

"Then we will find someone who will, and you may also leave this coven," he told her.

"Dianna, I want you to accept the role of High Priestess. I want to know someone I trust is in control of this coven," I told her. She gave me a desperate sort of look for a moment. I pleaded with her in my eyes.

"Okay, I'll do it for you. I accept my new role as High Priestess of the High Noon Coven." I felt my ties with the coven break, as the title was passed to Dianna. It didn't matter much to me, all that mattered now was ensuring Julia's safety. "What about Julianna?" I asked them.

"Rest assured the life of your daughter will not be in danger. We will not come after her, as she had no say in the matters at hand." Elder Caster and Elder Gerald were staring daggers at me. I knew not everyone was going to agree to my punishment. Surely, they had voted to have me executed.

"Thank you," I told them.

"Now, if you would please leave this coven at once, take your daughter and her mate with you."

"Thank you," I told them once more, before turning and ushering Julia and Alexander out of the council hall. Once we were outside, Julia turned to me.

"That's not fair! You shouldn't be banished."

"It's okay, it's better than the alternative."

"I don't want this title," Dianna said somberly. "How am I supposed to never see you again?"

"I need you to do this for me," I said. "This could be the start of change. I need someone in charge with an open mind that might be able to convince the elders their laws need to change. No one else in this coven has the experience and magic that you do. And I don't think we'll never see each other again. Keep practicing your teleporting." I gave her a hug, as tears welled up in my eyes.

"Cornelia," Alexander said. "We'd like to offer you a place in our pack. You can have a home and practice magic, even teach Julia what you know. I think the two of you have earned the right to get to know one another."

"Thank you, Alpha Alexander, I'd love to be a part of your pack." Julia smiled at me; this was what I had always wanted. Time, time with my daughter after all these years.

"Julianna," Dianna said. "I'm so happy I finally got to see you again. Thank you for taking the risk and coming here." She gave her a hug, and I could see the tear tracks down her face.

"I hope we get to meet again one day," Julia told her. They broke apart, and Alexander spoke.

"We have a long run to get back to the airport."

"No, we don't," I told them. "I'll teleport us there." Thanking the Moon Goddess, the elders had let me keep my powers.

"We landed at a small municipal airport outside of Hibbing," Alex said. I now turned to my sister for our final goodbye.

"I love you," I told her. "Please take care of this coven. Work to make change."

"I love you too, Lia, I'll do everything I can." I gave her one last hug, before turning to Julia and Alexander.

"Take my hands." They each grabbed a hold, and in the blink of an eye, the forest around us was gone and we were now staring at an airplane hangar.