“Willow, if you wouldn’t mind, before El shows you where you’ll be staying, could I have a word alone with you?”Ryan asked her, taking her other bag.
“Of course,” Willow replied.
Ryan and Shawn set Willow’s things down in the foyer and made their way back to Ryan’s office.
“Willow, I hope you know how grateful we are that you were willing to come and help El.I know it might be worrisome to you to be away from your pride, but just know that you’ll be treated well here,” Ryan began.
“I have to admit I’m not that heartbroken over leaving my pride,” Willow confessed.
“No?”Shawn asked.
“You weren’t raised Pantera, and that may seem like something you missed out on but trust me most of us envy you having grown up away from it all.The Pantera are in ruins.Everyone is fighting, and there’s no real Alpha right now.Several males are claiming to be the Alpha, but none of them are strong enough.”
“Rest assured you’re welcome here for as long as you want to stay even after this is all over with,” Ryan assured her.
“I appreciate that.I don’t mean to sound treasonous, but I’ll do as my Luna commands.What El wishes will be law.I will, of course, respect you as Alpha of this Pride, but I must be clear that if you and El should come to differences, I’ll follow her.”
Ryan was a bit taken back by Willow’s statement.Nobody had been so blunt with him before about their intention to completely disobey him.Not that he planned on disagreeing with El anytime soon, but he figured the time would come again sooner or later.
“I appreciate your honesty.I hope it won’t come down to that, but your loyalty to El means more to me than my own ego.I have enough people reminding me I’m the Alpha, there’s no need for you to worry about it.”
Willow smiled softly.Ryan could see why El liked Willow so much for only having spent a small amount of time with her.There was something soft about her that pulled a person in.Ryan felt at ease talking to her and knowing she would stand by El no matter what.As bad as he hated to think of it, he knew that there may come a day when El would need a friend like Willow.
“You know our main concern right now is ensuring that El doesn’t get pregnant, but there’s more to it than that.She’s just learning how to deal with her two beasts, and it’s a lot on her.Now she’s taken on learning our Pride history and laws.I know when she’s done with that, she’ll want to know more about the Pantera.”
“The Mother chose her for good cause.She’ll make a great leader,” Willow replied.
“The prophecy says our daughter, is to be the leader that unites the two species though, so why do you keep referring to El like it’ll be her?”Shawn interrupted.
Ryan was grateful for his bluntness because he too wanted to know the answer to that question.Willow had been placing a great deal of emphasis on El when the prophecy places more on their child.
“El will bear the chimera child that rules over the two species, but El will put their union into place before her child will be born.She is a symbol of the union.”
“Most people don’t even know about this prophecy, though?”Shawn questioned her again.
“More Pantera know it than lions because some of your elders refused to believe it to be true,” Willow answered.
“You’re saying some of the elders here at my Pride had heard this prophecy?”Ryan asked, wondering why the elders wouldn’t want anyone to hear of the prophecy.
“Oh yes, I know they do.”
“Do you know their names?”
“I know of one name, because he was close with my mother, and they would speak of it often.His name was Otis,” Willow told them.
“That son of—“ Ryan stopped himself before he finished his thought out loud.
“You know him?”Willow asked, a bit of hope in her eyes.
“Yes, he’s one of the elders, tasked with teaching El about our history, but now I’m wondering if he was such a good choice if he’s cherry-picking what to inform people of and what not too.”
“I would love to see Otis again.Maybe if I speak with him, I can find out why he didn’t want to tell his people of the prophecy.I know he believed it because he’s the one that convinced my mother it was true.”
“How?”Shawn asked.
Ryan shot Shawn a look.He didn’t mind having Shawn there, but Shawn had been the one to chastise Ryan about potentially grilling Willow, and now Shawn was doing just that.
Willow just shrugged.If she was upset with Shawn’s constant questions, she didn’t let on.
