Chapter One
Nyx
My eyes are wide as I stare at the aging witch, her own eyes hazy and full of disdain. The others behind me are deathly silent, likely processing her words as well. You can practically hear a pin drop in the room, except for the sound of increasing ragged breaths—my own.
I open my mouth to speak but before I get a chance to fumble out any words, she turns, stalking out of the office without so much as a backwards glance. Panic fills me instantly, shock filtering through my system as I struggle to process her words. The stock turns into thunderous bolts of electricity, a charge ricocheting through me and before I realize I’m doing it, my feet are moving on their own accord as I chase after her.
"Wait!" I call out to Lydiana desperately.
Behind me, I start to hear the telltale echo of following footsteps, but they stop, hushed voices barely audible.
I manage to catch up to Lydiana on the sidewalk outside, throwing myself in front of her frame as I force her to come to a standstill. She glares at me angrily, as though it’s my fault she’shere. Though, admittedly, there's also a fraction of expectancy in her gaze.
"That's all I have to say,wolf. Now let me leave."
I'm so baffled by the revelation, caught off-guard, as I will myself to calm. Lydiana has made her stance clear—she doesn't want to engage with wolves. It’s physically painful for her to be in our presence. But if she's here, I know it must be for a higher purpose—something she felt she couldn’t ignore. No other choice but to go against her better judgement and beliefs.
I don’t want to make her feel trapped or threatened. But I also can’t let her just leave like that. We know how dire the situation is, and her words have only escalated the panic I feel.
Before meeting Cade, I would have made the assumption that witches wouldn't just waltz into pack territory, but now that I know how much power they possess, I have no doubt that she doesn't feel threatened. Heck, she incapacitated three alphas without even being near them.
Still… the severity hits home and an uncomfortable feeling digs deeper in my chest that she still felt the need to come into our pack’s territory to warn me.
Warn me of my impending death…
"I understand," I start, keeping my voice composed. "And I won't keep you. I know you wouldn't be here if it wasn't important."
Her eyes narrow in disbelief, but she somewhat relaxes—particularly since the street is oddly quiet and the alphas haven't given chase. I suspect that was a deliberate move on their part, a calculated step of their knowledge. If anyone knows witches better than another else, it’s the alphas.
"I have no issue with you," she grunts. "But I have no desire to stay longer than necessary."
I nod. "I apologize for this—truly. But as you can imagine, things in the cosmic universe have been very disruptive. We'retrying hard to restore balance and stop a war but we're coming up short. Your presence here is a light of hope… even if it was ominous as fuck."
Internally, I cringe at my slip-up, my leadership persona clearly reaching its peak long ago and starting a downward trajectory. And these assholes still think I’mLuna material. Idiots.
But when Lydiana starts laughing, her voice cracking with amusement, I can't help but return a sheepish smile in her direction.
"You've changed," she points out. "There might be hope for your kind yet."
"I'm going to make sure of it," I say strongly, politely choosing to ignore the mild hostility in her tone. "But I refuse to lose people I care about. Please—is there anything else you can give me? Tell me?"
Lydiana straightens up, and around us, an out of place breeze suddenly sweeps through the street, whipping my hair around my face as leaves rustle along the road. Just as quickly as it starts, it vanishes, sending a rush of coldness through me. Chills rack my body and it has absolutely nothing to do with the wind.
"You're curious about the allies," she murmurs. It's not a question, but a definite statement judging by her tone.
Nodding, I frown. There’s no point denying that I’m worried about our friends. "From the information we've gathered, I worry you might be referring to Alpha Wyatt's pack."
She neither confirms nor denies it, but her eyes sparkle for the first time as she looks at me. "You don't appear to be the least bit concerned about the other part of the premonition."
Swallowing hard, I give a little shrug, averting my eyes to hide my true reaction. To be fair, I’m trying to avoid focusing on that part. I won’t pretend I didn’t completely start to spiral when she said those words. But I’m quickly realizing that this situation—this world—is bigger than just me. And the people I care about will always take priority.
"I don't want to die, Lydiana. But you also said that if I die, then there's no stopping the war. That makes it sound like there's still a chance to turn things around. We already suspected that I was the key to stopping another Great War or having the balance tip over. Even if that wasn't the case, I'd still give everything I have to try to save everyone. Witches included.”
The two of us fall into silence. It's a little unnerving, and I dare to sneak a glance up at her, surprised when I find her smiling at me.
"You're more like her than you realize."
Her?
