by Tamar Sloan
“Yeah?”
But it’s a voice from outside who speaks next. “I have a gift for the Prime Alpha.”
Seth shoots upright, his eyes wide. Their shocked brown depths come to rest on me. “Don’t go out there.”
Alarm has the apple feeling like acid in my stomach. “Why?”
Seth looks up at the door, then back at me. “I knew we should have left.”
“Why, Seth?” I’m standing now, the anxiety hardening my voice.
“That’s Daniel.”
What? Shock roots me to the spot. “As in banished Daniel?”
Seth strides to the door but then stops and whirls to face me. “This isn’t good, Eden. He’s not supposed to be here.”
And yet he’s openly calling me out. Daniel is looking to start something.
The need to have Noah by my side skyrockets, and the hand that comes to my belly is involuntary. What have I done?
Seth’s face hardens. “I’ll go out there and see what the bastard wants. You wait here.”
Those words have me moving. I stride up to Seth and then straight past him to the door. “We’ll both go out there, Seth. It’s the Prime Alpha he wants, it’s the Prime Alpha he’ll get.”
I open the door, driven by a courage that I don’t feel. I have no idea what I’m about to face.
What I see is certainly not what I expected.
A young male, strong and built like a Were is standing on the paved area before us, legs spread, arms crossed. His face is defined by the grim smile it holds. “Hello…Eden.” He holds up a small piece of something then drops it to the ground.
My guess is that’s part of my truck’s engine.
But it’s the small, confused woman next to him who captures my attention. “Emily?”
When Seth repeats her name behind me, it has the same level of surprise, but a strong note of dread. As much as Seth loves Emily, as much as he’s pined to see her, this is not somewhere he’d want her to be.
Emily’s eyes widen, her eyes frantically scanning for the one who just said her name. “Seth!”
Seth is around me and rushing toward her before I can draw a breath. They meet halfway across the paved area, bodies instantly melding and arms holding tight. They stay there for long seconds, and you get the sense that something was just righted in their world.
Seth pulls back, hand cupping Emily’s face as his thumb strokes her cheek. “What are you doing here?”
Emily’s freckled face is soft with adoration. “I missed you.” She straightens, like she’s just snapped out of a dream. “Oh, and Daniel said you needed my help. Something about a serious injury?”
Daniel huffs a snort of laughter. “That’s the plan.”
His words send ice down my spine.
Like that was their cue, people start to seep in from around the buildings. They’re all Weres, all young and strong, all hostile looking.
Seth pushes Emily behind him, eyes hard as he watches our audience assemble.
“What’s going on, Seth?” Emily’s voice is full of confusion, underscored by concern.
I step forward. There’s no room for fear here. “That’s enough, Daniel.”
Daniel snorts as he crosses his arms. “You hold no authority here.”
One more person joins our tense assembly. Dana comes forward to join Daniel, a smug smile plastered across her face. “Hey, Eden.”
My hands clench. “Dana.”
“Dad’s on his way. He had to look after something, but he’s looking forward to saying hi to you too.”
I know Dana wants me to bite, to ask what she means by that. But Noah is stronger and faster and smarter than Kurt. I won’t buy into her empty threats.
Although I haven’t heard from him…
My hands clench and harden, feeling like rocks. I won’t let them undermine my faith in Noah. “This is not what Weres are about.”
Daniel puffs up, his face contorting. “This is exactly what our strength and power is destined to do.”
Seth is moving back, slowly and steadily, ushering Emily with him. Although Daniel and Dana watch, they don’t say anything. Tension rises through my chest, clamping around my heart. I don’t know what Kurt’s band of Weres want, but it’s not good.
I look to Dana, although she’s Kurt’s daughter, my sense is that she’s the one I could gain some traction with. “Noah wouldn’t want this, Dana.”
Dana’s eyes flicker but she crosses her arms. “Noah isn’t here.” Her arms tighten some more, an angry but defensive motion. “And Noah is as weak as his mate. You two don’t deserve Prime Alpha.”
“Is that what your father said?”
Dana opens her mouth and I know she’s going to deny it, but I don’t care. Discussing this is better than whatever actions these angry Weres have in mind.
“Enough!” Daniel steps forward, his roar making Dana jump. “Kurt knows exactly what the Prime Prophecy is asking for.” There’s a murmur of assent from the Weres fanned out behind him. “The last Precept says it all. United is exactly how we’re going to conquer those weak, selfish humans.”
“No, it’s not.” I keep my voice level, but loud and strong. “And you’re not uniting anyone, Daniel. You’re dividing Weres in a way that will only destroy us.”
“You don’t get to say that. You’re one of them.”
My hands ball once again. He assumes that means human, but even though that’s not true, it’s a secret I cannot share. “And yet I was chosen, what does that tell you, Daniel?” I turn to the red-haired girl beside him. “Dana? What does that say about what the Prime Prophecy is really about?”
There’s a rumble amongst the Weres as Dana glances at Daniel.
“Eden!”
Oh god no.
“I’ve made croissants, with my own butter no less!”
There’s a clang as Maria drops the silver tray she was carrying, said croissants falling, hitting the ground and crashing in a spray of pastry.
“Maria, I need you to—”
“What’s going on?” She sucks in a sharp breath, shock widening her eyes and slackening her mouth. “Daniel?”
Maria coats that name with everything this pack has been through. Disbelief. Betrayal. Grief.
And something I hadn’t considered. Hope.
I want to shut my eyes, hoping that when I open them I won’t see what I see next. But I can’t afford to, the Weres that want something different are starting to fan out. They have to, because more Weres have just joined them.
It seems Maria brought some of her pack to have a morning chat over her handmade-down-to-the-butter croissants. They form a line behind Daniel and his supporters.
Daniel moves further into the center of the paved area; Seth, Emily, and I in front of him, Maria and her pack members behind him. This is probably how he looked at Council, a strapping young male glorying in taking center stage.
“Hello, Maria.” Daniel’s voice hasn’t changed at seeing his surrogate mother and pack leader, he barely glances at her as he talks. “You’ve arrived just in time for me to tell Eden what’s happening next.”
Maria’s hand comes up to her throat. “What’s going on, Daniel? You shouldn’t be here.”
“I follow the true leader, Maria. And he knows that we have the right to move wherever we want. No longer will any Were be banished to obscurity.”
Maria swallows, eyes wide and frightened. “Daniel, no…”
But Daniel’s already turned away. “So, we came here for more than just a chat.” His friends, his pack of mutineers, start to move a little. “And we don’t want to disappoint Emily after coming all this way.”
Seth seems to inflate beside me as he tucks Emily further behind him. I shift a little closer, knowing I have no powers of strength or speed. I’m a poor protector of the two I have depending on me.
Seth’s frown is ferocious as he stares at Daniel. “You won’t touch her, you traitorous bastard.”
Daniel smiles. “Or what, Seth? You�
�ll beat at me with your fists? Maybe get a kick or two in?”
The derision dripping from Daniel’s words show exactly how much of a threat he thinks that is.
“Daniel!” John, although pot-bellied, is tall and gnarly enough to pull off angry Alpha. He strides forward to stand beside Maria, who now has a tear staining her cheek. “You are to leave this ranch at once. Traitors are not welcome here.”
The remaining members of the Tate pack flock around their Alpha. Their angry gaze amplifies the words that John just slammed across the space.
Daniel turns and takes in his old Alpha. The man who guided him and led him for most of his life. “I will.” He glances back at me, then Seth, then stares straight through him to Emily. “Once I’ve finished what I’ve come here to do.”
“No,” John roars, the confidence and power of an Alpha magnifying the denial. “Whatever you think you’re here to do, it’s the bidding of greed and selfishness. That makes you no better than humans.”
Daniel rears back like he’s been punched in the chest. He stares at John for a moment, before turning back to me. “This is what’s going to happen.”
I take in all the stakeholders who now fill this courtyard. Seth trying to desperately protect frightened Emily. Maria, her heart breaking all over again. John and the Tates. Daniel, determined to see this through. Dana, watching like this is getting bigger than even she predicted. The area around me is shrinking, the stakes raising with each minute.
I shove the fear and the doubts aside, cramming them into a corner of my mind. If Noah were here he would be saying exactly the same thing.
They just wouldn’t see him as a vulnerable target. Noah is the Prime Alpha, none of these Weres would consider attacking him. If one drop of their blood were to be shed, they’d turn into what Seth has become—the human they believe I am.
“First, you all,” Daniel looks at his old pack, “need to understand something—the Glade that you’re all fighting for. Did you know it’s Eden’s mother that we are protecting it from?”
There’s a gasp from the Tates, the other Weres nod in satisfaction, several of them crossing their arms. They all look to me, half waiting for me to deny it, the other half waiting to see me squirm.
I’d step forward if I could, but I refuse to leave Emily, the one who is the most vulnerable in this awful mess. Instead I stand there, pretending my heart isn’t hammering with the force of a jackhammer. “It’s true.” I ignore the startled gasps from the Tates. “But Alexis is one of many who will not succeed because of what Weres have united to achieve. That is how we will win the right to own the place most sacred to us.”
Daniel narrows his eyes at me. Take that, you self-serving shifter.
“Us?” Daniel asks. “Us? The Glade is the sacred place of Weres—not humans.”
I clench my teeth as Daniel drops his gavel on the clincher of me being chosen to be Prime Alpha. How do I tell these people I’m their leader when I’m not even one of them? “The Prime Prophecy—”
But Daniel has stepped forward. “But you’re not just human, are you?”
I snap my mouth shut. Where is he going with this?
Daniel turns to the Tates. “She never mentioned it’s her own mother who is attacking our sacred place. But she’s also never mentioned who her father is, has she?”
Seth jumps in, saving me in my muted shock. “That’s enough, Daniel. Have you ever considered that maybe Weres need to discover their humanity, not shun it?”
The glare Daniel throws at Seth is dark and full of promises. It tells the crowd who he’ll be coming after next once he’s finished with me.
“The one piece of yourself that you couldn’t bring to share with your new pack, Eden. The one truth that your kind has kept a secret from all, is that you are part Fae. In fact, you’re the bastard daughter of Avery, King of the Fae.”
Shock wipes my mind clear. I stare at this Were, unable to process how he knows this.
The Tates are staring at me in horror. Daniel’s Weres are staring at me in disgust and contempt. I don’t have the luxury to see how Seth is taking the news, which is probably a good thing. Any sense of betrayal he’d be feeling would stab like a knife.
“It seems the Fae have hidden even deeper than we have. It’s what gives her the power to subdue us. She believes she’s more powerful than us, than Weres. How could she want what is best for us?”
I look around again, not knowing if I need to defend this or honor what it means. The Fae have so much they could contribute to Weres and humans.
Dana steps forward, her face finally finding an emotion to settle on. Triumph raises her brows high and tips up her lips. “You’ve never been one of us and you never will be.”
Daniel turns to stare at me, shoulders straight and determined. “This is how it’s going to go. We are going to show what the strength of Weres can do. But we won’t be shifting until the last moment. Your Fae powers won’t save you or your friends.”
It’s no longer tension banding around my chest. Now fear at the very real threat that Daniel is promising has my chest so tight it hurts. How do I tell him that I never wanted to conquer them? “No, Daniel. This is wrong.”
“What are you going to do, Prime Alpha?” He sneers the last two words. “You have no power over us.”
Dana tilts her head. “She won’t die. We’ll make sure she lives to tell the tale.”
Not enough air is getting to my lungs. So that the truth of Weres’ existence can be leaked. From the lips of a broken, bloodied human.
“The freak on the other hand…”
“Enough!” It’s John’s voice that slices through the promises of pain that Daniel has thrown down. “You will not spill blood on Tate land, Daniel. This ends now—or do you wish to face your own pack in your aim of hurting innocents?”
In a flash, the Tates shift. Twelve massive wolves, grey and brown and shades of everything in between, line up. Maria, now a dove grey wolf, is no longer the teary wife watching one of her pack turn against her. Like the others, she’s a growling mass of animal, ready to stand for what she believes in.
Daniel turns to me and I hold my breath. This is his opportunity to stop this, to avoid the blood that is going to be spilled.
Slowly and deliberately, Daniel smiles. The light in his eyes simultaneously darkens with determination and glows with hunger.
Oh no.
Chapter Sixteen
Daniel, Dana and their crew remain facing us, despite the threat that just exploded behind them. Most of them look unperturbed by the turn of events. One or two look worried, at least one’s features match Daniel’s—welcoming what is about to come.
The Tates form a semicircle behind and around John. Their growls are low rumbling threats of what will happen if Daniel makes a move.
Seth’s emotions are the strongest. His fear is tightly contained in a cage of determination. He’s human, but he’ll do anything to protect Emily. Emily whimpers, but I don’t have the luxury of turning to see what she thinks of everything that’s unfolding before her. At least when I saw a Werewolf for the first time, he was there to save me.
Not threatening to kill me.
Daniel stretches his neck and rolls his shoulders like he’s about to step into a boxing ring. One move from him and the domino effect will begin. He’ll run forward, looking to shift at the last moment, giving me no time to stop him.
But the Tates are only feet behind, waiting, ready to pounce. Their reflexes are just as sharp, their commitment just as solid. They’ll attack a split second after Daniel and his Weres.
But Seth’s tight tension and Emily’s growing fear are a testament to our odds. If Daniel or the others don’t get to us on the first wave, then they will once the bloody battle breaks out. The truth is, Daniel is the closest and the Tates have to get through him to protect us.
And I hate that I need protecting. This is not what the Prime Alpha should need.
Seth moves forward, and I move with him, my h
and coming up to rest on his arm. I want to help in the small way I can, in calming the tension that has him in its grips, enabling him to think clearly. I feel his anger, his sense of helplessness, his powerful desire to protect what is important to him. I channel everything I can into our one point of contact, unsure whether he can feel it like Noah does. We’re going to need all the courage we can muster.
My whole chest aches with the inevitability of what is about to happen.
Daniel stills, the absence of movement telling me this is about to start. The Tates tense as a pack, a coordinated weapon, waiting for the first move.
Without warning, Seth turns his face to me, eyes wide with a commotion of feeling. I take in his slack jaw and raised brows, confused. Is he unsure of what’s about to happen? Is he scared of how this is going to turn out?
He stumbles forward, and my hand tightens on his arm but he slips through as it looks like his body is crumbling.
“Seth!” Emily moves forward, her own safety no longer a concern.
Oh no, he’s fainting?
Daniel shifts, like this was the green flag he was waiting for—for someone to collapse under the tension that was at crushing point. John Tate’s head lowers, waiting for a crime to be committed so that he can punish it.
But Seth never hits the ground. I’m delivered the final unbelievable surprise when a chocolate-brown wolf explodes onto the pavement.
There’s a collective gasp, the motion making everyone pull back a heartbeat. This isn’t supposed to be possible!
Seth seems to hold himself there a moment, possibly the most disbelieving of all. His massive broad head looks down at his massive broad feet then back at his massive broad body. His eyes come up to meet mine.
Those canine depths are full of astonishment and wonder.
“Seth?” It’s Emily’s voice that is full of bewilderment and confusion.
My head is full of all four. I changed Seth back?
Seth looks back at Emily, but it’s the next gasp that grabs our attention.
Dana has stepped forward, eyes wide with horror. She looks from the brown wolf who straightens, owning the pride that is swelling through him, to me. Her mouth works but no words come out.