Armies upon armies of masked Soldiers of Saint Aldous, all led by Baphomet’s Prince in his gruesome mask.
An alpha who fights with ice. An alpha who fights with fire.
But that’s not all I see. Not this time.
I see the omegas I’ve been working with freed, out and about in society, finding mates that love them as much as my mates love me. Not having to be afraid anymore, not having to be brave anymore, because there’s nothing left in the world to hurt them. No Soldiers. No Prince. New omega students at Fairhaven Academy. An entire class taken in aftera brutal war, learning magic, falling in love, forming packs. Utterly free.
I see myself, too, with a bite on the pad of my right hand, just below my wrist, where Marcus first touched me when he healed me back at Rose Manor. My happy pack.
The vision switches again, as grim as before, as frightening, as deadly. Baphomet’s Prince flares to life in my head, the thin horns of his mask stretching high above his head, the mask’s faint smile shining in the afternoon sun. He raises his scribe again and mutters a hex I do not hear.
I come to in Ian’s arms with a jerk, tears in my eyes. I shake my head to clear it, but to no avail. I know both futures can’t be true. Am I seeing the near future, a future of terror, and then a brighter future after the oncoming war? Or am I seeing two possible futures? If that’s the case, how can I tell what’s true? Can I trust these visions, both grim and beautiful?
“I need to see Sienna,” I rasp, my voice hollow.
I don’t know if my history professor and friend will know anything, but I have to find out.
“I’ll take you, my darling,” Ian says gently, stroking his hands down my arms until he reaches my hands, which he takes in his. He presses a kiss to my cheek. “The omegas can go a day without me. You’re more important.”
He helps me up from the couch and up to my nest, where I quickly dress and rake a hand through my hair.
By the time we make it downstairs, Marcus is already starting up the SUV, just as reliable as he always has been. Just as dedicated and devoted.
It takesus twenty-five minutes to reach the headmaster’smansion and to climb the long set of stairs to the door. I shift from foot to foot, agitated as I ring the bell.
Ian holds my hand, draws me close and presses a kiss to my forehead, to each of my cheeks, to the very tip of my nose, and then to my lips. “What did you see, my darling? What’s troubling you so?”
“I only want to live through it again once.” And then, only through my words. If the futurecanbe changed, I’ll never have to truly live through it. The omegas I’ve seen, my pack, the rest of the world, will never have to live through the gruesome war in my visions.
Sienna answers the door a moment later, a book in one hand, her glasses pushed back on the top of her head.
“Ah, Juniper. You’re early. I wasn’t expecting you until after lunch. Eager to get down to work today? Ian, hello. Good to see you, as always.”
“It’s… it’s not that,” I manage, and Sienna must see how shaken up I am, because she invites me in immediately. She guides us through the mansion’s opulent halls to a spacious yet cozy kitchen and immediately puts on a pot of tea.
“You’re overwrought, dear girl. What’s troubling you?”
“It’s my visions,” I say quietly. “They’ve been so much more intense lately, so much more… traumatic.”
Ian swoops me up and into his lap, holding me tightly. “I suspect they will be the more you grow in your affinity. That they’ll be sharper and more accurate, too.”
My heart seizes at that. “More accurate?”
“What did you see?” Sienna asks calmly.
“A-a lot,” I begin, my voice shaky. “I’ve seen such a grim future, Sienna. It plagues my waking life and haunts my dreams. I’ve seen omegas forced into internment camps. I’ve seen Baphomet’s Prince in front of a veritable army of Soldiers. I’ve seen alphas slain before their omegas. And something moreI don’t understand. Alphas with ice and fire powers, wreaking havoc. Leading the Prince’s armies to… to victory over omegas. The visions have been so brutal, felt so real. I’ve seen myself caught in an omega trap, my mates killed before my eyes.”
“Saints above,” Sienna murmurs, her voice hitching. “That would be enough to traumatize anyone. And you’ve been dealing with these visions for how long?”
“I’ve been having them for a while, but it’s only been recently that they’ve solidified into what I’m seeing now. As Ian said, they’ve been sharp and intense. Clear.” I draw in a deep breath, biting my lower lip before I forge onward. “But my vision today was different. It was like… like I saw two possible futures. I saw all omegas freed, living happy lives, and a new incoming class of omegas here at the academy. It was beautiful, not the grim things I’ve been seeing for so long. When I really stretch my affinity, I’ve seen other beautiful things too. Times with my mates, some that have already come true.”
I pause, gathering my courage to ask the question that’s been troubling me for some time now. “I know neither of you can definitively answer questions about my affinity since there’s no record of it showing up in an omega before now, but… but do you think the future can be changed?”
Can I be saved from the tortures of the eradication of my kind and seeing my mates killed? Saints, I’ve seen such gruesome things. If the future can’t be changed, every horrific thing I’ve seen will come to pass. War will wipe us out, will crush any resistance until what omegas survive will be held under the heel of alphas, ground into the dirt until we’re nothing more than biddable slaves and tormented breeders, forced to bear alpha children.
“Juniper,” Sienna says very softly. “If there’s anyone capable of changing the future, I believe it’s you.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
