“I have called you all here to witness the council’s mediation of the proposed casting out of Redlynn of the Sisterhood.”
Murmurs could be heard from all sides. Several of the girls spoke to each other in hushed, urgent tones. Redlynn stood firm, awaiting her turn to speak.
“I expressly forbade Red from entering the woods, but she disobeyed me and went anyway. To disregard a direct order from The Head Sister demands the punishment of casting out.” Lillith’s angry gaze trained on her.
“But she saved the girls,” came a call from the back.
Murmurs of agreement rippled throughout the townsfolk.
“Yes. Yes, she did. But what if she hadn’t? What if she’d angered the Weres further, causing them to come and take it out on the rest of us? Our numbers have been dwindling, you all know it. We cannot afford to lose any more. We won’t survive if we do.”
“The wolves won’t hurt anyone,” said Redlynn.
“Then I suppose it wasn’t a Were who killed Anya and took Sasha and the others?” Lillith countered.
“It was. But those wolves have been dealt with. The ring leader did what he thought best to save his dying pack.”
Lillith laughed. “Did what he thought was best? And how do you know that?”
“He told me.” Her anger rose.
Lillith’s eyes widened. “That’s not possible. The Weres are beasts–”
“No, they aren’t. The werewolves are shape-shifting men. They shift into wolf form by choice. They are not our enemy.”
Lillith stared at Redlynn. Whispers from the villagers grew louder around the room.
Redlynn pressed on. “It was not always this way between us. The Sisterhood did not always hunt the wolves. We used to be mates to them.”
“Lies!” Lillith yelled suddenly, rising from her chair. “You see? She’s been brainwashed, like her mother!”
Redlynn had anticipated this. Trying to box her in and discredit her, the way she had Redlynn’s mother. Redlynn opened her mouth to speak again.
“No!” yelled Yanti rising from her seat. Yanti’s mother tried to pull her down, but Yanti shook her off and walked to stand next to Redlynn. “The wolves helped us. Yes, we were taken by a few, but the rest saved us from the vampires.”
“Vampires?” Mayor Helman squeaked.
“Nonsense.” Nervousness crossed Lillith’s face. “It is obvious that you are still suffering from your ordeal, child.”
“I am no longer a child, and I suffer from nothing.” Yanti’s voice grew stronger. “Yes, it is true. What happened to me, to all of us, is something we aren’t likely to forget. When one has been fed upon by vampires for months on end, it tends to leave an impression.”
“It’s true.” Lizzy stood.
Several of the other girls stood as well and moved to Redlynn’s side in support. Forming a line, the girls stared defiantly up into the faces of the council.
Redlynn smiled to herself. Against all her life had taught her, she dared to hope. These were her sisters. These were the future mates to her wolves. These girls standing with her now, who had suffered so much, would change the future of the Sisterhood, and there was nothing Lillith could do about it.
Lillith opened and closed her mouth several times. “This does not change a thing. The fact of the matter is, Red disobeyed me and–”
“Disobeyed what?” Redlynn asked. “Disobeyed your order that I not venture into the woods? Why did you start forbidding us when you became Head of the Order?”
“Because Sisters have gone missing in the woods. I’ve been trying to protect our way of life.”
“No.” Redlynn shook her head. “No. Sister’s have not gone missing in the Wolvenglen Forest.”
“My sister Clara lives in Wolvenglen,” Lizzy chimed in. “I saw her.”
The buzz from the crowd grew louder, and Lillith had to yell to be heard now.
“The forest is dangerous. The Weres–”
“You knew I’d find the truth,” Redlynn countered. “You knew that if I went into the forest, I’d discover what you’ve hidden from us all these years. And we, like stupid sheep, followed blindly without asking questions.”
Redlynn turned from the council to face the villagers and other members of the Sisterhood. “You should all know the truth, so you can decide for yourselves. In the beginning, the Sisterhood were mates to the wolves. A hundred years ago, the king of the wolves betrayed his wife. In return for his betrayal, his wife, Sister Irina, took the Sisters and left, vowing to hunt them from that day forward. But no more. Women who we believed to have gone missing live now in Wolvenglen. They bear young with the wolves and live happily. These girls,” Redlynn gestured to the line of girls standing beside her, “were taken by a misguided few, led by the vampires. But those men are gone, and the rest of Wolvenglen is committed to keeping us safe from the vampires. As they have done since the beginning.”
“Lies!” Lillith yelled.
“Have you not wondered why we dwindle in numbers?” Redlynn’s voice rose with frustration. “Why our birth numbers have gone down? Why our Sister ancestors lived to be over one hundred years old, but now we are lucky if we live beyond fifty? It’s because Sisters were not meant to marry and bear children to farmers. Sisters are meant to be with our rightful mates.”
“How dare you!” the mayor objected.
“You see?” said Lillith. “You see the lies she spreads? Cast her out, before she has the wolves tearing all of our girls away.”
“Was it not you that said you saw three wolves come and take Sasha?” Redlynn yelled. “Then tell me, Lillith, if three wolves took Sasha, how did they get her out?”
Lillith glanced around, refusing to speak.
“If they are not men, if they are beasts only, how did they snatch her up? With their paws? Did they carry her between their jaws? I’ll tell you how. Because it was not three wolves, it was two. Two wolves, and a vampire,” Redlynn finished.
The crowd burst into an uproar. Yelling sounded all around the hall, bouncing off the walls, and echoing back on itself. Fear crept onto Lillith’s face, and she clutched her red stone necklace.
The council huddled together, babbling. Redlynn watched as everything Adrian’s mother had tried to build came crumbling down.
“Quiet,” said Mayor Helman. “Quiet!”
The noise died down, and everyone took their seats.
“This is a development that we need to discuss as a council. We will adjourn until this evening. At which time, we’ll render our decision.”
The council bustled from the room, followed by Lillith and the whispering crowd. Other members of the sisterhood joined Redlynn, gathering around her.
“What do we do now?” Yanti asked.
“Prepare.”
“For what?” asked Sasha.
“For the future. You may no longer need to fight the wolves, but the vampires are still out there. With the death of the vampire king’s son, Garot, war will come to both wolves and humans. The wolves will need us at their sides if we are all to succeed.”
“Are you going to stay with us?” asked Lizzy.
Redlynn’s heart squeezed. They needed her here, but she needed to be with Adrian. Her she-wolf lifted her head to listen for the answer. Redlynn swallowed a lump in her throat. “Let’s see what the council decides first.”
The day passed slowly for Redlynn. She kept to her home with Angus, who’d changed his mind and refused to leave until there’d been a decision made about her fate.
“What does it matter what they decide, girl? You already know ya aren’t stayin’ here.”
“Because if I leave now, what will that do for the girls? If I stay, and take the judgment, no matter what it is, there will still be hope for the Sisters to return to Wolvenglen. I cannot run from Lillith, because it only reinforces her power over us.”
Angus shook his head. “You’re just like your mother. I’ll never–”
There was a soft knock, interrupting him. Redlynn crossed to
the door and pulled it open. There was no one there, but her step was covered in baskets and bins. She stared at the sight, confused. Flowers and jams, loaves of bread and sweet rolls. Fruits, dried meats, and other miscellaneous items sat waiting.
Redlynn stared at the food, not sure what to say. She swallowed hard and tried to hold in the conflicting emotions. The townspeople had never wanted to help her before.
After several trips, she’d brought everything inside. There were anonymous notes attached to many of the baskets. Letters of gratitude for what she’d done, for rescuing their daughters. Several times, Redlynn choked up, overcome with emotion. Eventually, she excused herself to her room.
Sitting on her bed, she let her fingers run over a parchment thank you letter. Why now? Why did they choose to accept me now? After all this time, after all these years of protecting their houses, their children, their livelihoods. Why now, do they care?
All those years, her mother had served them, and her mother before her, but now they were finally willing to listen. Finally ready to believe. What had changed?
“It’s you.” Angus leaned on her doorjamb.
“What?”
“What you were thinking. Why are they doing this now? That was what you were wondering, weren’t you?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“It’s because you’re the one prophesied to return the sisters to the wolves, and to end the shedding of blood.”
“What is that?” she asked confused. “Sage said the same thing.”
Angus sat next to her on the bed. “One will be born, with the mark of the wolf, to the Sisterhood of Red. And when she finds her destiny, the bloodshed she will end. Taken to bed by the mate of her soul, a reminder she will be. And then will the females follow her home, the cursed will be set free.”
“Where’s that from?”
“It was the first of the prophecies, given by the mages, to reunite the lands. After the brothers made their wishes to the djinn and the wars started, and the prophecies began to come forth."
"But who gave them?"
"A prophetess had been King Isodor's advisor before his death. No one knows where she came from. After the prophecies came about she fled to the south with the mages and built the towers. And little has been seen of them since.”
“And you think that is me?”
“Is it? Only you can know.”
Redlynn sat silently. Did she know? She’d done most of what Angus had said. It was possible.
Angus left the room and pain punched her in the gut. Her she-wolf awoke again, letting out a mournful whine. Her thoughts turned to Adrian. More than ever she wished she’d asked him to come. Memories of his lips on hers, and his eyes when they’d said goodbye the day before loomed over her.
“Mother,” she whispered. “What do I do now?”
Chapter Twenty
Adrian ran through the woods; a giant white bear followed behind. His anger toward his mother had raged over the past week. The first night after Redlynn had left, he thought he might actually die. The pain of knowing that she wasn’t near was almost too much for him to handle.
By the second night, he’d taken to the bottle to dull the pain, and Dax had taken to checking on him every couple of hours. When Angus didn’t return on the third day, Adrian had resigned himself to the fact that she’d decided to stay in Volkzene, Angus as well. He couldn’t blame Angus. Angus had lost his mate. To lose his daughter so soon after finding her would be all that much harder.
Adrian sprinted across the riverbank where he’d held her in his arms, and his heart ached all the more. He’d done what he was supposed to. He’d taken the throne and seized command of the wolves. But without Redlynn, it was all for naught. He was as powerless as he’d been before he’d met her.
He’d started coming out to the woods to run the last two nights. Dax had joined him, probably afraid he might do something stupid, like run into Tanah Darah and rip some bloodsucker apart. The previous night, Adrian had found himself at the edge of the woods, overlooking the village of Volkzene for hours on end. The villagers were busy celebrating the return of their daughters. From his vantage point, he’d tried to catch a glimpse of Redlynn, but hadn’t seen her. Tonight, he’d resigned himself to the fact that she wasn’t coming back, and he hadn’t returned to Volkzene. Instead, he’d run in the opposite direction.
Running with no other purpose but to make himself forget, Adrian sprinted over rocks and fallen tree limbs. He cleared the river in an enormous bound and continued on, down into the valley.
Dax didn’t pry. He didn’t speak; he was good like that. He merely followed along, making sure Adrian was safe. The giant bear’s company was so different than Blain’s had been. Blain had been chatty and witty, but Dax was reserved. A quiet strength that Adrian appreciated having at his back. But his camaraderie with Dax wouldn’t last much longer. He’d seen a restlessness in Dax. He’d move on soon. Most likely to finally face his demons and figure out who he was.
Adrian darted past the rocks where they’d found Lizzy, and out into the clearing where Redlynn had howled at the moon. He stopped in the middle, panting hard. The stars twinkled like candle flames, flickering far away. Breathing deep, he took in the scents around him. He sat on his haunches, remembering the last time he’d seen her, the wolf, in the woods. The way she’d looked so happy howling at the moon.
A rustle in the trees caught his attention, and Adrian turned around. Silence. Sniffing, he detected no scent. All sounds ceased except for the chirp of an occasional locust.
“Dax?” Adrian called.
There was no answer.
“Dax?” he called again. A shiver ran down his spine.
“I’m heading to the castle. You take your time,” Dax said.
Adrian listened as something moved closer. He flattened his belly to the ground, trying to hide amongst the tall grass. He scanned the opposite end of the clearing. A form emerged from the darkness. A large red wolf with golden eyes made her way into the moonlight. He hopped up, his heart beating wildly.
“Hello.”
Adrian’s breath caught. She’d come back. She’d really come back.
“Hello,” Adrian whispered.
“May I come in?”
Adrian stared in disbelief.
Redlynn shifted from foot to foot. “Maybe I should just–”
“Don’t go,” he said, quickly regaining his composure. He took a step closer to her, and she took a step closer as well.
“You came back,” he said softly.
“I told you I would.”
“I know, but–”
“If you don’t want me here, I’ll leave.”
How could she say that? How could she think he wouldn’t want her? “Why would I want you to leave?”
She didn’t answer. The two circled each other slowly, each taking in the sight and smells of the other.
“You learned how to shift.”
“Angus has been teaching me.”
It all seemed so unreal. Just when he’d resigned himself to losing her forever, she was here, in the woods, in wolf form.
“Are the girls alright?” he asked.
“The girls are fine. I was made Head of the Order.”
Adrian’s throat went dry, and his heart sank. She wasn’t staying.
“Lillith knew, not only about the wolves but about the vampires as well. She said nothing about the vampires because it would’ve exposed the lies she’d told about the wolves. But I think it went deeper than that.”
“What did you do with her?”
“Nothing. When the Council went to pronounce her sentence of banishment, she was gone.”
“Gone?”
“Only a few of her things were found missing. Enough to fill a pack, no more.”
“Where did she go?”
“No one knows. But I have a feeling we’ll see her again. I don’t think she alone worked on keeping the Sisters from the Wolves.”
“That’s good,” he
finally said, sitting down. “I mean about you being made Head of the Order, not about Lillith. They need you.”
“Yes, I suppose they do.”
“Did Angus teach you how to communicate in wolf form as well?”
“He did.” She cocked her head to the side. “How old are you?”
“What?”
“Angus told me that wolves live longer than humans. So it got me wondering how old you are.”
“Old.”
“And me? How long will I live?”
He hoped it was for as long as he did. “I don’t know.”
Redlynn let out a heavy breath. The air around her vibrated, and she whimpered. Adrian watched as her body contorted and flexed, her limbs retracting, red fur giving way to smooth skin. A cry escaped her, and he wanted to run to her.
After she finished and she lay panting on the ground, gaining her bearings, he too shifted. When he looked up, she stood naked in the moonlight. His heart caught in his throat as desire wracked him. Her hair hung loosely, covering her breasts and womanhood. Her long, slender legs traveled for miles up to round slender hips and a small flat waist.
He couldn’t stand, for fear she’d see his arousal.
“Adrian,” she finally said. “I don’t want to play games anymore. If I’ve learned one thing in these last weeks, it’s that I need to speak my mind. I know you’re hurting because of Blain. You’re questioning your own existence because of what he did. You’re also afraid. Afraid of being hurt. I understand that.”
She took a step closer to him.
“But I also know that I am the one. The one from the prophecy, but most of all, I know that I’m the one for you. I’m yours. I love you in a way that I honestly never thought possible. And I want to be with you. Now and forever. If you need time to–”
She didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence. Adrian crossed to her. His lips on hers, he pulled her close, smashing her body into his.
She loves me.
Redlynn’s body trembled with anxiety. Spilling her feelings to Adrian made her more nervous than when she’d faced the village council. But if they were ever going to make this work, one of them was going to have to start the conversation. Bags shadowed his eyes. He looked like he hadn't shaved or slept in days. All she wanted to do was rush to him, but he sat there, listening to her ramble.
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