Author's Note: Hello! Echo here. I would like to quickly clear something up that I have seen in the reviews a few times about the title of this story. I did NOT name this after the disease lupus. I named it Mirror of lupus because the mirror turns people into wolves. You know, as in Canis lupus, the GREY WOLF. I just wanted to clear that up real fast, and now, on with the story!
Aisha's Pov
I don't think I will ever be as happy as I am right now ever again. Being back with my pack and having my shoulder healed… this is the best miracle ever. They all seemed a bit different… Sad, and maybe a bit depressed, but they all went back to normal once we were back together. Both Flora and Stella looked a lot skinnier. Musa, Tecna, and Faragonda seemed tired, but Bloom… She looked entirely different. Her fur was darker and she had more black on her back, and she also seemed… more powerful.
"I am so glad you're okay!" Flora whined as we nuzzled each other. I was so glad to see her again. I missed my best friend while I was in the strange cave, but I was sad to see how unwell she was. She was thin and her fur had dulled since the last time I saw her, but I promised myself that I would change that. Stella also had a large wound on her leg, like she chewed herself raw. I'm sure once we get back to the grotto, Flora will heal it.
Daphne's Pov
"So this is where you are…" I whispered, my voice trembling. "I was wondering what happened to you."
"The woman at Alfea, the one who is impersonating Faragonda… Who is it?" Roxy asked.
"I don't know… But she needs to be left alone"
"But-"
"Roxy please… I want her gone more than you know, but I can't get rid of her… None of the teachers can…" Tears filled my eyes. "She took our powers and threatened the students if we told anyone."
Suddenly, Bloom trotted over to Roxy, and she bent down and hugged her neck.
"…She wants to thank us for bringing Aisha back safely." Roxy mumbled. "So, do you know if they have any magic?"
She was changing the subject, probably for Tess and Jeremy who were looking at me with concerned faces. "Yes, they do have magic, especially Bloom, but it is suppressed. Maybe this is another side effect of the mirror."
"So they are wolves, have no memory, and their powers have been suppressed… How are they expected to turn back then?!" Roxy cried out, startling Bloom.
I knelt down next to Roxy and hugged her. She hugged me back and began to cry onto my chest.
"How are we going to get her out of Alfea? The Winx would be able to in a snap, but how can we get her out?" she cried.
Bloom was now whining and the rest of the pack surrounded us. "I don't know, but we will get her out of there."
Sky's Pov
The guys and I were less than happy to be back at Red Fountain. We all wanted to be near the girls, even if they didn't want us around. Helia was always on edge, Timmy snapped at us easily, Roy and Nex were constantly getting into fights, Brandon shut everyone out, and Riven behaved worse than normal. I myself have found that I am not as interested in things as I was before Bloom became a wolf.
Roxy called me this morning and told me that Aisha is completely healed and has been returned to the pack. She also told me that she has something really important to talk to the guys, Thoren, and me about. We met up with Thoren after classes and we headed out to Magix. Roxy met up with us at a place called the White Horse and as we all sat down, Roxy got bombarded with questions.
"How are the girls?"
"Is Aisha okay?"
"Do you think they remembered anything new?"
Roxy held up her hands "whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down guys. The girls are fine, and Aisha has been reunited with the pack. But there is something way more important we need to talk about, two things actually."
We exchanged glances. "Does this have something to do with Daphne and why she is so upset?" Thoren asked suddenly. Daphne was upset? I hadn't noticed.
"Yeah... But first, there is something about the girls you need to know."
"What?" I asked.
"Their powers are still there, but they don't seem to know how to use them." Roxy said quietly.
"…Really?" I said after a moment. "What will we do if they figure out how to use their powers?"
"I don't know… Well, we would have to take them off of earth and find a place that they could stretch their powers without burning down a forest or completely change the ecosystem altogether." Roxy chuckled sadly.
"What about Daphne? You said that you know what's been bothering her." Thoren asked again.
He is really worried about her. Well, he should be, she is his wife… And she is Bloom's sister… I should have at least visited her to see how she was doing.
"Faragonda, the real one, is with the girls as a wolf, and the Faragonda here is a fake." We already knew that, and we guessed she was there to just keep people from worrying. "The Faragonda that is here is an impostor who has stolen the majority of our teacher's powers and have threatened us students if they told anyone or tried to stand against her."
We were all dumbstruck, how could this have happened?
"What are we going to do?" Timmy asked.
"…We are going to figure out a way to get that woman out of Alfea before someone gets hurt." Thoren said.
"Maybe we could get her to reveal herself to the other students?" Brandon said.
"That's a good thought, but how? She has everyone completely convinced she is the real thing except for the teachers." Roy said, and Nex surprisingly agreed with him for the first time in months.
"What if we inform Saladin and Headmistress Griffon? Maybe they could get her to reveal herself." Helia said.
"…That, might work." Roxy mumbled, thinking. "Yeah! She must have been really strong to take all of the teacher's powers, so the other Headmasters could work together and beat her!"
"Okay, Roxy, you can go tell Headmistress Griffon and we will tell Headmaster Saladin." I said. "We can arrange a meeting somewhere secret to figure out what to do next."
Bloom's Pov
Everything is as it should be now that the pack is home again. Well, almost everything. Ever since I have seen that human female who was with Roxy, I have this strange feeling that I have seen her before and have simply forgotten. Oh well, I can't dwell on that now. Tonight, we hunt and sing till our throats burn!
Stella and Aisha seemed to be getting along much better now, but they are competing again to be Beta. Flora is back to her normal self now, and the pack seems to be going slowly back to as we were before Aisha was injured.
"Hey Bloom, Come hunt with us?" Musa and Tecna called for me.
"Sure, where to?" I trotted over to them.
"There is a rabbit burro I found a little way past the creek" Musa said. "I think that there are young-lings there. They will make an easy catch if they are out, and if not, we can just dig them out."
We reached the place where the burro was, but a scent caught my nose. Tecna and Musa smelled it to, and we all came to a stop.
"Bloom," Tecna whimpered. The scent was of a new pack of wolves. I stalked forward to a dug up burro. Blood. Rabbit blood.
"It seems our visitors had the same idea as you, Musa." I growled.
"We need to get back and alert the others." I backed up and took off in the direction of the Grotto.
Aisha's Pov
I was helping Flora arrange the herbs we collected earlier today, but something made me stop. Stella barked a warning from her lookout and I turned towards the entrance of the grotto just in time to see five large males charge down the slope.
Stella bounded down the roots as Flora and I charged forward to meet them. Faragonda, who was sunning herself, jumped to attention and came to our side. Even if she was older, she could still fight.
"Who are you?!" Faragonda demanded.
"I am DarkMud. I have been searching for new pack mates to increase the size of our pack." the Dark brown one looked back to his pack "And I believe we found what we are looking for."
"You have found nothing!" A voice roared.
I looked to see Bloom, Tecna, and Musa bounding down to stand with us. DarkMud seemed a little surprised, but then he smiled deviously.
"Who is the Alpha of the pack?" He asked.
"I am. My name is Bloom and you are trespassing in my territory!" Bloom snarled.
"I am DarkMud-"
"I heard who you are and what you want, and you have come to the wrong place!" Bloom cut him off.
"Oh I believe I have come to the right place. You see… I am an alpha, and so are you… and I am not catching a scent of any males but us. We both have what the other needs. I need an alpha female, and you need an alpha male." He said.
"I have no need for an alpha male, and there is nothing in this world that will make me your alpha female!" Bloom said.
"Then maybe one of your other females will fill this important role…" his gaze raked over us and as soon as his eyes landed on me, I felt like I needed a bath. I was clear what his intentions were, and none of us were going to have it.
"You can look elsewhere!" I said simply. "None of us are interested."
The others nodded their heads in agreement and Bloom raised her tail dominantly.
"If you won't join us… Then I will take your territory." DarkMud's voice hardened.
He looked back to his pack mates who raised their hackles in agreement. "But not now… Think on my offer. I shall be back in one moon cycle to speak with you and your beta alone, and with me and my beta." He and his pack walked out of the grotto.
Bloom stood there in silence. Her head low. I didn't have to guess why this troubled her. We just got the back together and now there is a chance we will have to go to war. And on top of that… We still don't have a beta.
Stella and I exchanged glances. We are both going to have to work ten times harder. I will be beta.
"Bloom," I walked up to her. "If there is anything I can do…"
"Aisha… I will announce who will be beta in four days. Just hunt, rest, and train until then. Once I have a beta, we will set up a better routine and we will keep our territory and keep DarkMud and his pack out." Bloom said quietly and walked away.