by Tamar Sloan
“Our eco-lodge has the potential to benefit many. We plan on fitting in with the existing typography and complementing the wonderful ecology that you all know and love.” James sweeps his hands like some sort of magnanimous monarch. “Your community will benefit through the increased tourist trade, and our lodge will create jobs.” He pauses, but James doesn’t realize that most of the bodies here aren’t human. There are few perspectives that want to clap at his words.
“This glorious area will be here for future generations as visitors learn of the power of conservation. This capacity for this project to have a significant impact is substantial.”
I feel something move and I glance up. Kurt has stopped moving and it looks like he’s listening along with the rest of us. But unlike the Weres down here, whose anger is fanned by James’ words, Kurt’s mind feels like it’s smiling.
I concentrate a little harder, wondering if I’m placing too much confidence in my ability to connect. Maybe I’m reading him wrong.
But the sensations I’m receiving from Kurt are a steady sense of satisfaction. It’s like he wants this to happen.
Then I feel something else. Noah has been calm and focused since the moment he left with Adam and Mitch. But his senses have picked up, he’s alert but also something else.
My breath catches in my throat.
Noah is on the hunt.
Part VIII
Noah
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The moment we’re deep enough in the forest we shift and straight away I can smell their traitorous hides. My father and brother would have registered the same thing. There’s four of them, fanned out, not far ahead.
We slow, spacing out so there are a few trees between us. I form the apex of our trio, eyes scanning the gloom as the smell becomes stronger. What little breeze there is, is working in our favor, but I suspect the element of surprise isn’t going to last much longer. I scan the connection with Eden—she feels the same way she did when I left her—edgy but calm.
Good. I focus ahead. It’s time to take out one of Kurt’s foundations.
We slow as we stalk through the forest, closing in as much as we can. I focus my hearing beyond the trees around us—they seem to be staying put, probably waiting for the green light from their leader.
Looking at Dad and Mitch, we all nod. We’ve agreed how this will go.
I catch a glance of one of them through the trees. A light brown wolf, probably not much older than me, is straight ahead. He’s not anyone I recognize, not that it matters, I’m prepared to do what needs to be done.
The minute he smells us, he runs. I sprint forward like an arrow that was itching to be fired and take after him. He glances over his shoulder, and when he sees who’s after him, probably more what is after him, his run becomes frantic.
I doubt Kurt mentioned there was a risk we’d make a pre-emptive move.
In the end, it doesn’t matter how hard or desperately he runs, his pace is no match for the Prime Alpha. I close in steadily, knowing his fear of the inevitable is growing with each second.
As I come up beside him I see his wide, frantic eyes. I do it quickly, not needing him to anticipate the inevitable any longer. I snap my head to the side, jaw opening and coming down on his shoulder. A bit of pressure and the skin breaks. The moment I taste the metallic tang of blood I pull back.
The wolf staggers and trips and it’s a human body that tumbles forward. The momentum he’d gained propels him over the pine needled ground, over and over. All I see is a young man tucking himself in tightly as I turn away. There are three more traitors to be dealt with.
The next one had time to think, which means he’s chosen to run toward the Glade. He’s probably figured that reaching the safety of people will keep him from his fate.
Well, he assumes he’ll get there in time.
Powering between the trees, I use fallen logs as launching pads to gain even more speed. The wind is rushing at me so fast that I narrow my eyes. Within seconds I see him.
This one is a dark grey wolf, bigger but slower than the last one. This time I streak straight past him, cutting off his trajectory. Predicting his change of direction, I know he’ll head east. He’ll want to get back to his friends in the hope that there will be some safety in numbers.
He doesn’t realize that with one down, he’s number two.
Knowing I don’t have much time, I swipe at his haunches as I overtake, slicing a thin streak of red on his thigh. This one lets out a yelp, his last as a Were, as he hits the ground like the other one, his pale human body slamming into a tree. I circle back long enough to see him push himself up and groan before collapsing again.
The third one hasn’t moved far. He’s either brave enough or stupid enough to think he can fight his way out. A mottle of greys, he’s the biggest and possibly the youngest. He stands in the dappled shade, teeth bared and wild eyes determined.
The moment I breach the trees, he starts running. I drop my head, adding a dash of speed. Just like I knew he would, the instant we’re feet apart he launches into the air. Mouth open, teeth snarling and exposed, he’s looking to wreak some damage. I leap too, letting him think we’re going to meet in mid-air. But there won’t be a tussle for dominance; this traitor won’t even get a snap in before I’m done.
Rather than aim high, I spear forward. The Were’s eyes widen the moment he realizes we won’t be clashing like he planned. Aiming straight for his underside, I twist. Like a slow spinning projectile, I pass under him, reach out and nip his underside, then land on my feet behind him.
The fast-moving nudge has the wolf tipping in the air, but it’s a human who crashes to the ground. Pushing himself up, he looks down at his hands, realizes they’ll never be anything but human again, and looks up. I straighten, disappointed that his choices brought him here, but unapologetic. When the hands ball into fists, I straighten even more, wondering if he has anything to say on the matter.
After a long moment he looks away, hands falling to his side.
I turn away, hoping I’ve hidden my disgust. His choices did this, not mine.
Tuning into my senses, I scan the forest around me. I can hear a muffled voice, Alexis, making some sort of speech behind me. Good. It looks like I have time. I scent another but I quickly move on, it’s not something that’s important right now. Next, I pick up what I was looking for. Low, ominous growls tell me they’re not far away.
I find the small clearing, only a handful of feet wide, and a pale grey and midnight black wolf standing at the edge. Daniel is lounging against a tree on the other side.
This was always the plan—I’d take out the others whilst my father and brother made sure Daniel didn’t get away. This is the traitor who became Kurt’s right-hand Were. His escape wasn’t an option.
Although, we didn’t bank on him shifting. He pushes away from the tree but remains at the edge. He’s smart enough to know to keep his back protected. He’s also smart enough to know I can’t turn him unless he’s a wolf.
I shift to human, too, as Dad and Mitch move in to flank my sides. “What’s his plan, Daniel?”
Daniel’s gaze is hard as he looks at me across the open space. “To do what needs to be done.”
“This is no longer some game, you fool. How can you be okay with the prospect of so much bloodshed?”
Daniel shrugs. “Sacrifices have to be made. It’s the only way that we’ll show them.”
“This is your chance to save lives, not take them.”
“Survival of the fittest decides who lives and who dies.”
I’ve had enough. I can no longer hear voices from the Glade, so it looks like the speeches are done. The time for talking is over.
“You either walk away human, or you don’t walk away at all, Daniel. You choose.”
Daniel huffs in disdain. “You don’t have the guts to kill me.” He glances at me, then the two wolves on my left and right. “It would be cold-blooded murder.”
My heart hardens at
what I have to do. This isn’t something I look forward to living with, but this has to end.
I step forward. “An Alpha needs to make some tough calls.” I straighten my shoulders, deciding to use his own words against him. “Sacrifices have to be made.”
I hear my family beside me, two Alphas themselves, and realize I won’t be alone in what needs to be done.
Daniel doesn’t move, probably assuming we’re bluffing.
From the shadows behind him, a shape materializes. A shape we scented minutes ago. A shape Daniel’s human body didn’t pick up on.
The grizzly rises up on his haunches, a towering mass of fur and fury.
I stop, and a flash of victory lights up Daniel’s face.
I shake my head, almost wishing I could have done the deed myself. “You’re about to find out that this is bigger than we all imagined, Daniel.”
Confusion dulls his moment, the flush of victory short-lived and already dissolving. My guess is that all three faces across from him are looking up and past him.
Daniel turns slowly, and I wonder when the realization will hit. He either dies as a human or protects himself as a Were from the bear who has just made its decision. Except the moment he shifts, I’ll be on him faster than he can pump out a heartbeat. And then he’s human anyway.
By the time Daniel’s turned, the bear is already caving in on him. That’s the moment he decides to shift, it’s probably practically a reflex.
But the realization is too late. Wolf or human, Daniel’s fate is about to be consumed by the violence we can all see in the bear’s eyes. He knows this needs to end as much as we do.
I look away as teeth and claws close in. Daniel’s ending is fast, his gurgled scream swiftly cut off. I turn back in time to see the bear drag his limp, bloodied body into the darkness between the trees.
When the earth shudders, I look at Dad and Mitch. Their wolf faces are scanning, looking from where the bear just disappeared to the ground to me. No bear having his lunch did that.
We all hold still, feet planted into the soil that’s still trembling. It feels like an earthquake, but we’ve never had an earthquake in these parts. We’re nowhere near a fault line.
Looking at my father and brother, my heart contracts painfully. “We need to get back.”
I throw myself forward, a wolf by the time my paws hit the ground. The three prongs of a trident, we sprint back to the Glade. The place where our loved ones are waiting.
A sliver of knowledge has my heart pumping painfully in my chest.
The Prophecy has always been about making the impossible possible.
Part IX
Eden
Chapter Thirty
There’s a polite round of applause as James steps down from the podium. Not one Were in the audience raises a hand. I wonder if James doesn’t see or is deliberately ignoring the savage frowns that surround him.
Alexis certainly doesn’t, judging by her smile as she steps up. I grit my teeth, not looking forward to having to listen to her words of self-congratulation.
“Thank you, James.” She glances down at the cards she’s holding and my eyes narrow. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Alexis use palm cards.
“This project is not something I’ve undertaken before. But it was born of high hopes that it will do great things.” Alexis looks up at those around her, but her eyes are unfocused. “It is an undertaking which will bring people together in ways they haven’t before and build bridges that haven’t existed.”
I frown. What is she talking about? This project has been about nothing but a facade for her career-driven ambitions. By making them environmentally friendly she found a way to make them more palatable.
“But the only way to show that to you, is through action. For you to celebrate the outcome with us.” Alexis scans the crowd, looks like she’s going to acknowledge my existence, but then keeps moving. “So, without further ado, let us break soil.”
A man who was standing beside the bulldozer plugs in a set of ear buds and climbs up to the cab. His head is already nodding to whatever beat his eardrums are absorbing before he’s shut the door.
There’s a rumble of engine and a blurt of smoke as the dozer starts up. The Weres around me seem to contract. This is like a terminal death—you know it’s coming, and you think you’re prepared, but when it’s finally staring you down, you discover you really aren’t.
The dozer trundles forward, a lumbering hulk of metal that very little could stop. Alexis is probably going to demolish another strip of pristine beauty just to make a statement. It’s the only reason she’d have such a hulk lined up to do her dirty work.
I gave her the idea.
My eyes snap up to the ledge. Kurt is looking directly at me, knowing I heard his words. Even from this distance I can see his wolfish smile.
Why would you want to see something so important to Weres destroyed?
The enormous red wolf sits and I’m actually glad everyone is focused on the dozer. Sacrifices need to be made.
No. They don’t. Anything that asks for the blood you crave is not what the Prophecy is for.
I feel his contempt slam across the distance. I’m about to unite us in ways you have never been able. The subsequent conquering is inevitable.
I feel when Daniel dies deep in my chest. The others didn’t lose the thread that weaves us all together. It’s a loss that didn’t have to happen. It’s a loss that hurts and angers at the same time. I glare at the driver of this train of death. Your few supporters won’t be helping you any longer.
The wolf shakes his head. They’ve served their purpose.
What? My mind scrambles as I try to figure out what he means. Noah will be on his way back shortly, and he was never far away. Division of the Prime Alpha pair wasn’t Kurt’s plan. I look around, the dozer is moving in a straight line.
Directly to the Precept Rock.
Others will do it for me.
The Weres around us realize what’s happening as I do. Several shout out for the dozer to stop. But he can’t hear them—I barely can. His music and mechanical monster ensure he’s cut off from the world around him. He won’t feel the pain of the earth he’s about to slice or that of the Weres he’s about to lacerate.
James wraps his arm around Alexis’ shoulder, turning her away from the crowd and toward what is about to unfold.
The bulldozer is a lumbering beast, its sights on the rock that has predicted it all. The gigantic bucket angles slightly down, like a surgeon aiming his scalpel. When it hits, my hand flies to my mouth. I wait for this venerated tablet of nature to crumble, knowing my hope is about to be crushed with it.
But the bulldozer comes to an abrupt halt like it just hit the side of the mountain rather than a rock the size of man. The earth shudders, like the rock’s root is buried deep down. Everyone in the crowd is wide-eyed that the slab of granite hasn’t been toppled.
What everyone else hasn’t felt is that every Were’s anger in the area spiked as the dozer connected with their beloved rock. They’re all standing now, several have moved forward. They’re waiting to see what the driver will do next.
I wait, breath imprisoned in my chest. A whole lot of anger is being held as potential energy at the moment. No one wants to know what happens if it is released.
When the earth’s trembling doesn’t stop, the humans stand too. Everyone is glancing at each other now, an acknowledgment that the rumbling is disproportionate. Even a deeply rooted rock shouldn’t have the soil vibrating with seismic waves.
The bulldozer reverses, the driver doesn’t seem to have noticed what he just triggered. I step forward, possibly trying to get ahead of the anger that is growing. Please let him keep moving backwards.
The dozer stops, idling on the grass. The driver moves levers before the engine revs again. The machine lurches, grass churning beneath its caterpillar tracks.
Oh god, he’s moving forward again.
And this time, he’s getting more of a run up. The
dozer driver has been set a challenge—the motor growls louder as he picks up speed. The wave of fury swells with it. Not one Were here is going to be okay with what’s about to happen.
The bulldozer hits the Precept Rock with a crash, and this time it feels like the very center of the earth roars with pain. I watch in horror as the proud rock, the holder of all Were law, fractures. Cracks spear through it like forked lightning, starting at the base and spreading out. Splitting and splicing, they reach the top. I gasp along with every Were in the Glade as it crumbles, toppling into nothing but a pile of ruptured rubble.
The bulldozer reverses, opening up the space around the pile so we can all appreciate what just happened. The driver cuts the engine, and I wonder if he can now feel what these actions have triggered.
The ground beneath us is shaking and rolling. I’m not sure if Mother Nature is shuddering in pain or trembling with anger. The people around me grab each other to steady themselves, minds starting to get scared. The Fae are no longer looking serene and calm.
It’s only the Weres who seem to absorb the shaking. Maybe they were already shaking with fury.
I look up to find Kurt standing tall on the ledge. I can feel his smile in my mind.
This is what he wanted all along…
The Weres move forward, vengeance becoming a unifying concept. I step forward too, images of how this is going to play out splashing through my mind. These peace-loving Weres are taking this as a personal attack. One that needs retribution.
The shaking intensifies, like what we’ve just experienced was only a harbinger of what is to come. The trunks around me are shuddering, branches creaking, canopies shivering and rustling. The air around me feels like it’s vibrating.
Behind me there’s a creak of metal followed by cries of alarm. I turn to find one of the bleachers collapsing. People clamber off the staggered seats, rushing and screaming. Like a pile of pick up sticks, it collapses into a heap. Relief rushes through me as I see that no-one was hurt.