I’d been steering clear of the sub-Alpha of Snehvolk. Since Blackmaw ceased to exist decades before we were born, the main rule of the pack falls to Alpha Elias. That hadn’t stopped Alpha Brooks from turning on me back when we were growing up, and when he became Alpha Elias’s subordinate alpha almost ten years ago, the damage he’d done by bullying me in school continued into my adulthood.
There was no escaping being the resident outcast, especially among descendants of the old Blackmaw Pack. I was never able to fit in, even as one of the Snehvolk Pack’s healers, working with herbs and having an office at the pack clinic.
Why now, after all these years?
Does his cruelty know no bounds? Is Alpha Brooks bored now, wanting to stir up trouble all over again, as if he didn’t cause enough for me?
“Alpha Brooks.” Elder Silas, Alpha Elias’s grandfather, nods at the man whom I’m deliberately ignoring, not even flicking my eyes to the side when his name is called.
“Omega Rissa.” Elder Silas nods at me this time, prompting me to sit ramrod-straight when I lift my head.
“We’ve called you both in today to make a very important announcement,” Silas continues as he glances between the two of us. The motion makes it impossible to ignore Brooks’s immense, bold presence beside me, his natural body heat upping the temperature to my right as I feel it prickling the fine hairs along my forearm.
The Elder on Silas’s left clears his throat and continues the speech as if they’re taking turns. This must be important, even if it’s strange, if the Elders of the council are taking this so seriously.
“With the threat of the demons hanging over Snehvolk and most of the packs in surrounding areas, we are utilizing every ounce of information we can to not only strengthen the safety of this pack but also ensure that every measure is followed to defeat them for good.”
I frown when Elder Caius is done speaking. He’s said a lot, but it’s like he’s said nothing at all.
What does this have to do with me? Or with Alpha Brooks?
I involuntarily glance to my right in the dense silence that follows before Elder Silas picks up where Caius left off. I notice how tense Alpha Brooks is, his dark brows set in a frown that shields his eyes as if he, too, has no idea why he’s here.
Turning my head slowly toward the elder, I weigh his words with careful consideration, because this no longer feels like an interrogation of me with his narrowed eyes on Alpha Brooks.
“Two months ago, after the demons were lured onto our territory for a planned attack, Luna Yvonne had a psychic vision that prophesied that there would be more demons that would come to test our pack in the future. But it also revealed the coming of four witches that will defeat the demonic creatures for good. As you already know, we have two witches in our pack, both of whom have been mated to alphas.”
Elder Silas pauses to take a breath, keeping his eyes on Brooks.
“We believe that the emergence of the witches’ powers was brought on by mating with their alphas. Which is why we’ve called you both here.”
Elder Caius adds, “Luna Yvonne revealed that the two of you are connected to the prophecy.” He turns to me, and a shiver runs down my spine with the intensity of his sapphire gaze fixed on me. “She saw both of you in her vision. We have reason to believe that you are a witch, Miss Rudolph, but you may not be aware of it yet. Which is why the two of you will have to mate to bring upon your magic powers.”
The heat and color on my face drain, screaming mentally on its way out, and leaving me numb and cold as I sit there staring at Elder Caius.
I was wrong. Aurora’s surprise visit wasn’t a lifebuoy; it was a noose.
Me? Mate with Alpha Brooks?
How is this even possible?
Over my dead body!
Chapter 2 - Brooks
As soon as the announcement leaves Elder Caius’s lips, every vertebra of my spine turns cold and steely, as if the blood has just rushed out of my body.
Turning my head slowly to Caius’s right, where Elder Silas sits staring directly at Rissa, I catch a glimpse of the way her usually rosy skin pales as the color seeps from her cheeks.
She looks as shocked as I’m feeling right now.
It can only mean one thing—Rissa was unaware of Luna Yvonne’s psychic premonition. It’s shocking because I’m aware of how close the pack’s healer is to the two witches of our pack.
Alpha Dawson must have known about this, too, but he didn’t breathe a word of it to me in the past two months.
What were they waiting for? The right time? The perfect opportunity to spring this news on us?
There is no perfect timing for this kind of announcement. Not when it involves me and the one omega she-wolf who’d been the target of my dismissal and vulgar words in the past.
