Trisha followed James to the care and got in before him. Once everyone was ready, they headed out. “I should have stayed. Why in the world did you let them shove me in the closet?” James looked at Trisha and his face broke into a smile before he laughed. “You heard why. We all know about your lack of skill at fighting, and we like you too much to let you put yourself in danger. If you came along, you’d have distracted all of us because we’d be focused on protecting you. Add in the fact that three quarters of two alpha couples were out there and you’re the only one who has a claim to both packs’ leadership. It made sense to me to keep you back.” Trisha couldn’t believe what she was hearing again. “You really are trying to play on my feelings, aren’t you? James, can’t you take this seriously? What I supposed to do if you guys didn’t come back? Really, what could I have done? You guys didn’t have to lock me in a closet, and you could have explained this to me i
Dean sat at his desk as he sent off an email. “Okay, there we go. The email’s off to the oracle. You’d think that an oracle would see into the future and know someone needs to talk to them before they reach out.” “What a pedestrian thing to say. Honestly, oracles see things all the time. It’s all extra information they have to process and sort out besides what we all see. Could you imagine all that extra information the oracles would need to process? It would be easy to see them become overloaded by it all. I don’t think knowing things like who needs to talk to you before they contact you would be part of the list of information that’s too much for someone’s insanity. Could you imagine calling someone you don’t know and telling them out of the blue about something that will happen to them? Who would trust anything or anyone like that?” “I was joking, Kiera. I won’t argue with you about that.” Dean wondered if the humans damaged her sense of humour, alo
Kiera sat on the back patio with a coffee in hand and wondered how she’d ended up right back here again. The druid proved she was a monster, and Dean still wanted her after seeing what she’d done. If that wasn’t enough, he wanted to become one as well. Nothing mattered but that to him. He didn’t care that they might make an army for who knows what or why. Dean was right. They didn’t know if they were unknowing slaves, or expected to fight for a greater good of some sort. He believed that there’d be free will and choice, but he couldn’t be sure it was even a thing. They didn’t have facts about that. Then the hazards of what he wanted her to do so that he could become like her and claim her as his. It could kill him, and then what would the pack do for a leader? If he survived, then how would the pack react to the changes in him? What would he do if they abandoned him because he wasn’t a wolf shifter anymore? Then they have the changes with th
“Very good.” Dean’s face went from a tentative smile to a beaming grin. He wrapped his arm around her back and guided her toward the common grounds the pack used. This was where the cabins and cottages were, and the pack used the centre as a common meeting area to live, work, and socialize. It was where pups played, and people worked. The people met there, many worked there as well. Dusk slowly descended around them, but that didn’t slow down the pack. The common ground didn’t fall silent as dusk fell. Life flourished even more now. Pups, elders, and everyone appeared to have turned up in the common grounds this night. “Wait, it’s not normally this crowded. You planned this, didn’t you?” Kiera turned to Dean and accused him. “I had to do something, Kiera. If I didn’t, you’d never believe me about any of this. Will you at least listen to some of our pack who want to speak with you?” “Speak with me? Why hasn’t anyone said anything ab
Dean led Kiera through the common grounds, and, to Kiera’s surprise, other people stopped to speak with them. She felt each pack member took courage from the pervious conversation. It felt like a competition of sorts or a badge of some sort to be part of the ‘it’ crowd. Kiera didn’t know what to make of all of this. There weren’t many there that glared or appeared like they didn’t want to be there. It was more like the pack turned out for curiosity’s sake and their alpha’s command. It was far from the entire pack, but the diversity of the pack was there, and Kiera felt like these people were now total strangers. Their behaviour was like night and day when held up against what they were like when she’d left. Then there were the explanations they gave her about why they said or did something. Sabrina, a she-wolf from the pack Kiera once was friends with during school, she’d turned her back on Kiera without a word of explanation. Just ghosted h
Dean didn’t let go of Kiera once he had his arms around her. He could feel her vulnerability, and he didn’t like it at all. He felt like he could look in at all the things she’d experienced, but he could never fully understand it all. Dean hated the fact he couldn’t take away her suffering or her hesitation. But he understood why she didn’t want to turn him. The difference between them appeared to be how they saw the future. The facts were the same for them. The way they looked at the list of potential outcomes was different. A fear Dean now found himself saddled made him question whether he’d successfully kept Kiera away from the drama unfolding within the pack too well. As he watched her during the walk and listened to each conversation. A theme or subject kept repeating. Each person who once was close to her felt the need to catch her up on what she’d missed in their lives. It did his heart good to hear a few admit they regretted she’d not been there for some of t
“Hello?” “Hello Alpha. I’m calling in response to you email. I’ll wait until you’re comfortable.” The voice was unfamiliar with what Dean remembered. “Sorry, who is this?” His confusion was apparent in his voice. “Alpha, this is Lillian Provost. I’m sorry. My mate and I are both Oracles. Maybe I should have started with that. You left us an email, and I got the impression that it was rather urgent.” Dean absorbed that information. “Wow, surprises must suck in your relationship.” Lillian’s laughter reverberated through the connection. “It’s hit or miss, really, but I’ve been able to pull a few. Now you said your mate. No, future mate, have some concerns about your mating in connection to Rionnan, the Moon Goddess? I’m a little confused, to be truthful.” “I’m not surprised. I’m not sure how she or we came to this theory. But she’s hesitant about the mating until she’s sure we aren’t leading the wolves and lycan
Kiera couldn’t believe what she was listening to. Everything she feared wouldn’t be happening in her time. “So you’re saying basically that Dean and I are starting a new species of wolf shifter? That we kick off the entire ball?” “Essentially, my dear, Christianity has Adam and Eve. Not true, but close to the truth. What we have is the first stage of the existence of a new species. A few hundred to begin with and you’re both part of it. It’s how it all begins. Believe it or not, but you’re the talk of the world in certain scientific circles because of this. The humans have never seen the moment the gods openly created a new species. You’re lucky you don’t have people visiting to gawk at you. Or try to protect you, or take advantage of your unique situation. Just think of your lives and how you can live them best. Think of your happiness and those around you will come around.” Lillian could feel things clicking in her mind now that were from that unknow