My stomach flips anxiously. "Who?" I ask.
"Ophelia," she answers, so quietly that I have to strain my ears to hear her.
"She's my ancestor," I respond awkwardly, unsure how to take her confession. "Apparently."
Lydiana nods confidently. "I'm aware."
My eyebrows furrow at her admission, instantly connecting the dots. "You knew all along."
She smiles again, throwing me off with her unusual, expressive behavior. "Keep searching, wolf. You'll find what you're looking for."
Turning on her heel, she makes tracks along the road. I continue to watch her, not moving from my place until she becomes a tiny speck in the distance. No one from Shadow Creek will bother her, yet I still feel compelled to make sure she reaches the treeline without disturbance.
As soon as she's fully out of view, people start crowding the street, emerging from buildings and continuing on with their day. But it's as if they were oblivious to her presence, not giving me unusual looks at our impromptu meeting. It almostseems coincidental that they are now bustling around the main street as soon as she’s gone, but I know better though—nothing is coincidental when it comes to things like this. Everything is planned, intentional.
Powerful.
There’s so much to this world that is beyond us, even beyond the power of alphas and ancient packs. In a world full of predators and prey, we are quick to be reminded that even apex predators aren’t completely safe and secure. Everything comes back full circle to cosmic balance, the universe ensuring that no one species can ever become too big for their own good.
Except… not every pack and alpha believes that.
Slowly, I start to move when people give me strange looks at my frozen stance, heading back into the building. The office door is still wide open, the alphas back in their chairs, exchanging quiet, heated words. At my appearance, they all fall silent, eyes snapping to my lingering frame in the doorway.
"Well?" Maverick asks first, standing up. "What did she have to say?" There’s an edge of urgency to his tone. And something else too… an unusual almost begging plea to his question that should scare the shit out of me.
"Nothing," I admit honestly. "But she didn't need to. I think we can all read between the lines here."
If they are taken aback by my monotone response, none of them show it.
Cade flashes me a warm smile while Lex moves toward me, embracing my torso with his strong arms.
"I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he whispers angrily, stubble brushing against my cheek. “There’s no universal force that would be able to stop me from protecting you.”
Pulling back to survey my face, I force a soft smile to appease him. "I know," I answer quietly. I’m not entirely sure I believehim. Not because I don’t believe he’s strong, but because the universe has proven time and time again that we’re just creatures in a game. We could be wiped out of existence in a single blink, and none of us would be able to stop it.
Raising my voice to address the others as well, I continue. "We need to warn Alpha Wyatt and Luna Eve immediately. I think they are the most at risk if Orson decides to attack."
"I'll take care of that," Alpha Daxton offers. "I think we are all in agreement that the culprits are the Seventh Circle Pack."
I nod, heading to my seat once Lex steps back. When we're all seated again, I wait for one of them to speak. It's Cade who starts much to my surprise, his leg hanging casually over his knee.
"Our best course of action is to take out Orson. We can't wait for him to strike. Plus, we have a rough timeline to follow now—a deadline at least.”
An unfortunate choice of words, but he’s correct.
"How long until the next new moon?" I ask, glancing around the room, completely forgetting what day it even is now.
Maverick clears his throat. "Twelve days. Enough time to prepare."
“Barely,” Cade interjects quietly with a touch of humor as he attempts to lighten the mood.
Maverick side-eyes him with annoyance. “Speak for yourself. My pack is well and truly capable of preparing on short notice.”
Frowning, I watch as the other alphas nod, including Cade as they all start discussing preparation tactics. It's moments like this where I feel like an outsider again. Where would I even start? How the hell do you prepare four—no, five—entire packs to enter a war. Well, not a war, I guess. A fight to avoid a war.Tomato-tomato.
Even though I feel worthless as a meaningful contributor to the conversation, one thing is for sure. Gone are the days where I was just a normal omega wolf. If only I knew what my life wasgoing to become once I turned twenty-one. Instead of leaning into the awkwardness, for once I turn away from it.
"What does preparing look like in a situation like this? What can I do to help?"
