Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 114617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
I turned back to Cygnus. “Let me get this out of the way before the threats start. The changes I’ve made to the school and the curriculum aren’t going anywhere, and I’m staying on as headmistress.” I snapped my fingers, driving my point home when the gates swung shut and locked. “I hope those two things weren’t what you came all this way to discuss, because that conversation is already over.”
“After you,” he said, gesturing to the walking path leading around the school to the forest. He gave no sign that he heard, or cared about what I said.
“No.” I backed away, putting a healthy distance between us. “After you.”
Inclining his head, Cygnus set off without a word. He had no fear of me walking behind him. He had no fear of my allies. Cygnus Tahan stopped fearing everything and everyone when he became head of the alpha council—the most powerful alpha in all of Wolf Nation.
“What is it you hope to accomplish here, Daciana?” He spoke casually as if we were off on a genial stroll.
“I told Sunella this. Luame sent me a vision,” I replied. “I am her chosen. I have to heed her word even if everyone else doesn’t like it.”
“Ahh. This supposed vision.” Cygnus watched two birds chasing each other across the sky as if he actually cared about the beauty of such things. “What was in this vision?”
“War.”
Cygnus halted, turning back to me with a frown. “Excuse me?”
“War. Since the beginning of Wolf Nation we’ve never had a civil war. That tradition is about to come to a brutal and bloody end. In the vision, the epsilons, omegas, and lost clans rise up against the alphas and betas.”
“Lost clans?”
“Made up of shifter wolves that were thrown out of their clans with their ears cut,” I said. “Did you know they’ve been gathering and organizing in secret?”
He frowned, brows crumpling. He did not know. “That’s a lie.”
“It’s not. The vision didn’t come with a count of their forces, but from the horrid scenes of burning towns and rotting corpses—there are enough. Our way of life will end in total slaughter.”
“The slaughter of the omegas, epsilons, and traitors.”
Meeting his eyes, I shook my head.
Cygnus’s eyes blew. “The slaughter of the alphas and betas? That’s impossible!”
“It’s not impossible. Apparently someone somewhere finds a way to nullify your powers of command and persuasion, which is the only real power you’ve ever had over us. Without them, why wouldn’t you fall? Why wouldn’t you die.”
“I don’t believe this,” he cried, tossing his head. “Nothing you’re saying can be true.”
As serious as the situation was, I had to admit I enjoyed seeing the icy bastard agitated. As much as he strutted around pretending otherwise, his hackles went up just like every other wolf.
“What proof do you have?” he demanded.
“Proof will come,” I replied calmly, “but not in a way you’ll like.”
His growl told me what he thought of that.
“But there’s also the obvious proof,” I continued. “I won’t swear in Luame’s name because she hates that and she’s been punishing the crap out of me for it.” I absentmindedly rubbed my temples. “But one thing she hates even more is someone lying in her name and swearing false prophecy. We all know what happened to the last person who tried it.”
Cygnus tensed, jaw ticcing. Of course he remembered, he was there.
One day when I was around ten, a fire alpha woman named Elaine started preaching in the streets, claiming she was a psychic and Luame was sending her visions of people’s futures. She predicted that a young woman would rise to fame, fortune, and power. Her name was Sunella. Two years later, Sunella was tapped to join the alpha council.
After that, Elaine’s legend rose. Sunella gushed about her being the real deal to everyone she met, so of course it did.
It happened the night of the solstice when the alpha council and all the clan alphas gathered for the feasting and celebrating. Elaine was invited to be the entertainment for that night. Lucky for me, my father brought me along too, and I remembered being all excited to see my first real psychic in person. I couldn’t wait to ask her if I was destined to live a happier life than the one I had.
Elaine stood up before the entire party, began to tell us about a vision Luame sent her about dark days ahead, and she burst into flames.
Right there in front of us all, Elaine caught fire like someone doused her in gasoline, then revved up the flamethrower. She was nothing but ash and bone before I stopped screaming.
“I’m not lying, Councilman. She would never let me lie.” I lifted my shirt, revealing the mark where my belly button should be. “War is on the horizon and it must be stopped.”