Chapter 14 - Sage

Damn it! I knew I recognized that pack name for a reason. My brain was too fried from all the Auðr hotness to think straight. Plus, I only remember important shit. There is zilch important about Dane Blackburn or his stupid pack. How fucking dare these assholes show up here unannounced and unin-FUCKING-vited. How dare their arrival get in the way of my private time with my mate. Things were getting good before they decided to crash the party.

“Alpha Dane is dead.” one of the old fucks said.

I’m not always good at remembering names and faces. At least not when I first meet someone. Even less when I don’t want to meet them, but I’m pretty sure the one that just talked, the brunette with brown eyes, was named Joar. I think Alpha Logan said he was the Beta. I don’t care what rank he held in Steelcrest. I don’t care about Steelcrest.

I glanced at River and Mom. Based on their expressions, this was news to them. Mom looked conflicted. I think no matter how much she hated the shitstain. She’s kind enough to feel empathy for someone who died. River looked indifferent at best. I don’t think they gave a fuck that he’s dead. I know I don’t care. 

“If you came all this way to tell us that shitstain died, it was a waste of a trip. He’s been dead to us for eighteen years.” I rolled my eyes. 

“It wasn’t a waste with Dane’s passing that makes you our new alpha.” the third guy said.

I’m testing my brain here, but I think that one is called Svein. He used to be the Delta. I’m not sure what Delta’s are like in other packs, but he’s not nearly as smart as ours. Not that it’s a fair comparison. Nobody is as smart as Silvercloud or Persephone. But I would think that as a Delta, retired or whatever, dude could read the room and realize this was a waste of their time.

“Me?” I barked out a laugh. “An alpha? No way.”

“It has to be you unless Alpha Logan was incorrect in saying your wolf is named Eclipse and that you are the eldest son,” Joar insisted.

“I’m not his son. I’m non-binary.” I corrected him. 

“My apologies.” Joar bowed his head. “You are the firstborn child, and from what we can tell, fit the prophecy.”

‘What prophecy are they talking about?’ Eclipse asked.

“Prophecy? What fucking bullshit is this?” I asked, voicing my wolf’s question.

Svein and the other one… the blonde named Elton, the trio’s only normal-ish and easy-to-pronounce name, looked at Joar. They gave him solemn nods. I didn’t want to hear the prophecy. I don’t care. Yet despite that, Joar stood, clearing his throat.

“When the sun is swallowed by shadow, the reign of the reviled will end. When the moon bleeds red, the neglected heir will rise. Marked by the eclipse, they shall claim the mantle of leadership. Bound in an unprecedented mating outside werewolf kind, this union will forge a powerful alliance, breaking ancient barriers and uniting Steelcrest like never before.” He recited.

I frowned, not sure how to start to interpret any of that. My ADHD brain was not computing all that shit. I needed it broken down better. This was part of why I didn’t want to hear their dumb prophecy. If I’ve learned anything from the past two years in Bloodmoon, prophecies only bring trouble. 

Alpha Alec had to wait thirty years to find his mate, and his prophecy started a whole war. Alexander Petridis was violated on many levels because of the prophecy about him. And even now, he and his mate Delilah and the Sicilian packs are on high alert as she’s pregnant with their first pup, and there’s a blue moon in August. Prophecies are trouble, and I don’t want trouble. I want a peaceful life with my mate. Maybe traveling the world with him and his band, anything that didn’t involve some wordy and confusing prophecy.

“When the sun is swallowed by shadow? You mean a solar eclipse. Your raggedy ass Alpha died on the solar eclipse? That was in fucking January. You’ve taken six months to contact Sage and River?” Auðr shook his head.

“Yes, Alpha Dane died in January, but there was much to do. We had to hold his funeral, decide on an interim leader, and obtain the necessary approvals to enter Bloodmoon.” Elton stood, defending Joar’s words.

“So, it took you six months to burn the fucknugget and get through red tape to come here?” River questioned.

Everyone looked at Alpha Logan. Logan shrugged with a smirk. Oh, he kept them away on purpose. By why? Six months sounds like a long time to keep them from informing us that douchebag kicked the bucket. 

“That is something only Alpha Logan can explain,” Svein said.

“Here, I thought it was obvious,” Logan said. “I didn’t want you people in my territory. I didn’t and still don’t care that Dane is dead. He’s lucky he didn’t get sent home in a body bag. Between Hale and David, it was a possibility.”

“But why let them show up now?” I asked.

I wasn’t going to question the logic of keeping them away. Logan was protecting us. Given that we were finishing our senior year of high school, it was for the best that they were kept away. It let us focus on graduating and let River and Leo enjoy the early months of being mated. Personally, I’d have liked it if they were kept away even longer. I want to get that same honeymoon period with Auðr.

“I listened to their prophecy. There wouldn’t be a blood moon eclipse till June 26th.” Logan shrugged. 

“It also mentions an ‘unprecedented mating outside werewolf kind.’ You weren’t mated, and while I can’t predict the future, I know a few people who can.” Logan said, eyes falling on Auðr.

“François or Diana?” Auðr asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Wait, if Grandpa knew you were meant to meet Sage, wouldn’t he have told you?” Léonel asked.

“Your grandfather doesn’t tell his great uncle everything,” Logan said.

“You knew? You knew I was fated to a vampire and never told me or the rest of my family?” I asked, feeling hurt.

“Some things are better to discover for yourself. The Goddess has her plan and timeline. It would be wrong of me to interfere with that. And if either of you knew in advance, those initial feelings wouldn’t be the same. They’d be dull.” Logan explained.

“So, let me get this straight. You’ve known my baby would find their mate for months and kept these males away until that happened.” Mom said, rubbing her temple.

“Yep.” Logan nodded, making a popping sound on the ‘p.’ “I wasn’t letting anyone influence Sage finding their mate or how Auðr handled it. They needed to come together because they wanted it and not out of pressure from anyone or anything.”

“Alpha, does that mean you make other decisions based on predicted futures seers have told you?” Austin asked.

“Are you asking if I knew you’d end up losing a leg in the Incubi war and sent you there on purpose?” Logan arched his brow. 

“The answer is no. Unless it’s a prophecy like this one, I don’t seek a seer for clarity. Sending you to war was because you were green and needed real-world experience, not to mention taken down a peg or two.” Logan shrugged. 

“Not to be rude, but can we get back to me here?” I asked. 

“I only just found my mate. And even if you’d come to me in like ten years, I would say I’m soo not alpha material. I don’t think before I speak or act. My brain is constantly all over the place. An alpha should be able to focus and lead people. That’s not me.” I shook my head.

‘It could be.’ Eclipse said. ‘I’m capable of all that. If you’d listen to me more, you could too. And I bet our mate would factor into it, too.’

“It has to be you,” Svein said. 

“The prophecy says it’s you. The Goddess says it’s you. And while we could transition the Alpha line of succession to my son Sten or grandson Christian, that’s not the way of Steelcrest. Our pack would only accept someone outside the Solberg bloodline if the line was truly dead or another Alpha had defeated ours.” Joar spoke passionately, obviously desperate for me to agree.

“Solberg? Cuntnugget was a Blackburn.” River questioned.

“Alpha Dane was a Blackburn, but his mate was a Solberg. And while you aren’t of her bloodline as her mate, the pack would accept a child of Dane’s line.” Elton explained.

“Um, no, we’re Carlisle like our mom. If you hadn’t picked up the vibe, we don’t acknowledge that shithead.” River scoffed.

“Either way, the line of succession cannot simply be broken. It must be you, Sage,” Svein said.

“It doesn’t have to be me. If it’s about that stupid bloodline, take River.” I gestured to my twin.

“Oh, don’t volunteer me for this shit. Steelcrest is in fucking Canada on the east coast. That’s way too close to Silvermane for my taste, thank you very much.” River held their hands up. 

“And you think I want to? Plus, Auðr is in a band. He travels a lot, so leading a pack ain’t happen.” I shook my head.

“But Sage…” the Steelcrest elders exclaimed in unison.

I cut them off, holding my hands up. I wasn’t trying to do it, but a burst of darkness shot out of my hands. The darkness filled the house. I could see and hear everyone’s shock as they couldn’t see in the darkness. I didn’t want to listen to anything more they had to say. I didn’t want this. I’ll never want this. I only want to be with Auðr. I grabbed Auðr’s hand and hurried out of the house.

“SAGE?” A chorus of overlapping muffled voices shouted from inside the house.

I was in panic mode on the front steps, eyes closed and bent over as I started to hyperventilate. That was all way too much, too fast, too soon. I only just found my mate. He barely agreed to date me. And now these fucks show up saying we’re part of some prophecy that would mean being leaders of a pack on the other side of the fucking country. That’s not just cockblocking. That is relationship-ending type shit. I won’t be surprised if Auðr peaced out after this. He’s gonna straight-up reject me.