by Kat Zaccard
“Come on, I won’t break it,” reasoned Hayley. “Nothing gets a nurse’s attention like spilt royal blood.”
“You’re a little too eager to do this, Hayley.”
“Oh, come on, it’s no big deal.”
“Then how about I punch you in the face instead?”
“Well sure, I totally would, except it’s just that I was just in there with the ankle thing, and you saw how it went. I think they were onto me.”
“You think?” I raised an eyebrow and tried not to laugh as I recalled Hayley hopping from one foot to the other, claiming the pain was spreading.
“Okay, fine,” I relented.
“Seriously?” Hayley was not expecting me to agree.
“You can’t!” cried Fanya.
“Sure she can, it’ll be fine,” reassured Sara.
“I can’t look!” Shea covered her face, but I saw her peeking between her fingers.
“You guys are so supportive,” I teased. “Okay, hurry up and do it before I cha—ow! That hurt, Hayley!” I grabbed my throbbing nose and glared at her.
She pulled my hands away, peering at my face. “I don’t know,” she said. “I’m not sure it’s going to bleed. Oh, yep, there it goes!”
I quickly covered my nose, but I was already making a mess on my shirt. “Ugh! Let’s go already.”
“Cranky,” snickered Hayley. I pierced her with a look.
“Otay, Otay. Leth go.” My words were muffled by my swelling nose.
We decided to all make the trek to hopefully get the last few journals we hadn’t read. We made it to the hospital wing without running into anyone else. It was Saturday afternoon, and most kids were in their dorms. At the infirmary, Nurse Ellis did not look pleased to see us. “Princess Alice! What’s happened to you.” He glared around at my friends, his dark eyebrows drawn into one line.
“It wab an acthident,” I tried to explain.
“Hayley was showing her a new krav maga move, and things got a little out of hand,” Sara offered. She wasn’t a bad liar, but she could have spared Hayley the glower and angry heat coming off Nurse Ellis. Shea and Fanya slipped away to the bookshelf to swap out the journals.
Nurse Ellis busied himself fixing up my nose. I was so embarrassed when he unwrapped a tampon and stuck it up my nostril. “We ran out of swabs, but these work great in a pinch. Pro tip.” He smiled at me. Hayley was choking on the laughter she’d swallowed.
A few minutes later, I was patched up and ready to go. Really, all he did was pull out the tampon and wipe my nose clean. My natural healing power was already kicking in.
“Well, the good news is, it isn’t broken. I don’t think you need anything for the pain, do you?” He raised an eyebrow at me.
“No, of course not.” I smiled innocently at him. No, we weren’t here for drugs. We got up to leave when Nurse Ellis spotted Shea and Fanya returning from the bookshelf. Shea wasn’t quite quick enough to hide a journal out of sight.
“Ahh, so you’re the ones reading Dr. Cope’s journals,” Nurse Ellis said. “I wondered who’d been taking them.”
“I’m so sorry,” Shea looked every bit the thief caught red-handed. Her rosy cheeks turned deep red almost matching Fanya’s hair. “I should’ve asked.”
“Oh, it’s no problem!” Nurse Ellis smiled. “Though, yes, we usually ask students to check out books from the hospital library. But of course you’re welcome to borrow them. I’ve read them all myself and find them fascinating. Did you know that you can put raw honey on a burn to stop the skin from burning? Fascinating! Right? Do you have an interest in medicine?”
Shea noticeably relaxed and admitted she did hope to be a doctor someday. Meanwhile, Hayley smacked her forehead, and Sara glared at me like this was my fault. Hey, I was the one with the bloody nose! Nurse Ellis and Shea chatted about medical school a bit more. Shea signed out the journals she and Fanya had swiped and thanked Nurse Ellis for all his help.
As we headed back to the Artemis dorm, laughing at our stupidity and luck, we knew two things for certain. Sure, we needed a lot more practice at the art of deception, but all-in-all, we made a heck of a team.
Chapter 25
Three days later, I decided our luck had run out. There was nothing useful in the journals, at least nothing that mentioned my mother or my birth. We brought the journals back to the infirmary and pulled them all off the shelves to make sure we hadn’t missed one tucked behind the others. There were dozens of volumes; we’d been reading about Cordelia Cope’s medical practice, which spanned some fifty years. Sara suggested putting them all in order and double checking the dates. After a while, Hayley gave an excited shout.
“There’s one missing!”
We scurried to her side of the pile and looked as she pointed out the journals from my birth year. The one that spanned August to December was gone. My birthday was September eighteenth.
“Do you know what this means?” Hayley exclaimed excitedly.
“That we’re screwed,” grumbled Sara.
“No! That we’re getting closer! Think about it. If this one is the only one missing, it must have something important in it!”
“Not necessarily,” countered Sara.
While her argument wasn’t wholly sound, I preferred to cling to the hope that there were some answers to find. “It’s still the best chance we’ve got at the moment. Cordelia Cope obviously cared about recording her medical experience. It’s unlikely she would’ve destroyed the volume. She probably hid it. But where?”
“Maybe her daughter has it?” reasoned Shea.
I told them I would check in with Nadia the next chance I got to see if she’d found out anything on her end. Hayley was convinced it was only a matter of time before we found real answers. I wanted to share her optimism, but Sara’s doubt wasn’t unreasonable. I hesitated to hope but had to dare to try.
◆◆◆
March was wearing on, bringing another blizzard followed by icy cold. Werewolves tended to run hot, but even we were feeling the cold as the long winter dragged on. I’d scheduled tea with Nadia that afternoon, and I was hopeful I might see Diego on the way there. I was disappointed to see Sir Henry waiting for me outside the Artemis dorm.
“Hi, Sir Henry.” I smiled, but something told me I hadn’t quite fooled him.
“Your Royal Highness.” He bowed formally.
“Henry, do we have to do this every time?” I balled up a snowball and threw it at him. He smiled as it hit his chest but refused to retaliate.
“All right … Alice,” he relented.
We chatted amiably on our walk. I asked about patrols in general, hoping to maybe hear some specifics instead. Other than my mishap during Capture-the-flag, nothing out of the ordinary had happened recently. After a time, we arrived safely at Nadia’s door.
I went inside to have tea with Nadia. She filled me in on the latest gossip, which wasn’t much. I inquired about the betrothal, but she shook her head.
“I’m sorry Alice, but we already brought it to the council. I’m not sure what else we can do. We’ll try to negotiate with Ulric after your coronation. We are all agreed that must happen first.”
“We should pose the name issue at the next meeting,” I argued.
“Alice, I know you want a quick end to this, but I must caution you. Your alliance with the Dolph clan is providing you with more protection than you know.”
I grumbled something about the twenty-first century and civil rights, but Nadia ignored me. She filled me in on recent upyr sightings in the Toronto area.
“Toronto?” That was a little too close to Wisconsin for my comfort. “What are the werewolves there doing?”
“Everyone is in defense mode. No one is out hunting them, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
It wasn’t, but it brought up a good point. Would we start hunting them? I shivered, thinking of Sloane. They weren’t all evil.
“What about an emissary or peace treaty? Is that possible?”
“Un
likely, Princess. How do you reason with a monster?”
“They’re not all monsters.” I said it before I thought about the implications.
“What are you saying, Alice?” Nadia was no fool and she could easily read my evasive fidgeting.
“I’m just saying that they can’t all be bad. I mea, they talk and think, and well, some of them may value their own self-preservation over fighting some king’s war.”
“King?” Now Nadia’s hackles were up, figuratively speaking, of course.
I sighed. I had to trust Nadia if I was going to get her help with the rest of the council. But would she still trust me after I told her? I took a deep breath. “Well, you see, I kinda met one last year—”
“YOU WHAT?” Nadia was on her feet, screaming the words. I’d never seen her lose control before. She was wild-eyed, fists clenched, breathing hard. She looked at me like I’d turned into an upyr myself.
Her butler, Sven, came running into the room along with a security guard I hadn’t met before. They inquired after Nadia’s well-being, and she assured them everything was fine. The interruption gave Nadia a chance to regain composure, and I took a moment to gather my thoughts. Once they left the room, she clicked the door lock and rounded on me.
“Tell me everything.”
I did. I explained about seeing Sloane at the Winter Palace last year, how she’d saved Shea’s life when the upyr had attacked last May. And later, how we’d met up and discussed the threat against me.
“The threat against you is the upyr!” exclaimed Nadia.
“No it’s not, or rather, it’s not just them.” I went on to tell her about Sloane’s warning that Queen Christina was working with the new upyr king. Christina had ordered the hit on my life, and she had bargained some of the Great Pack’s land in the process.
“Treason! But how can you be sure it’s true?”
“It makes sense, doesn’t it? There’ve been no attacks on the Winter Palace, and by all accounts, that’s the closest Werewolf settlement to the upyr nest.”
“According to a defected upyr,” Nadia’s voice dripped with disbelief.
“Sloane could’ve killed me a half a dozen times at least, had she wanted to.” I went on to tell Nadia how Sloane had been protecting me all last year unbeknownst to me. “For all I know, she still is, though I asked her to seek proof of a connection between her king and our queen.”
“And has she?”
“Not yet, not that I know of. But she will.” It was more of a wish than a promise. “I trust her, Nadia.”
Nadia looked a little green, “What will the council say? What will they do?” She looked at me. It was an expression I’d never seen on Nadia’s face before: fear. No matter what I did, I was a constant source of worry and stress for my friends.
“There’s more, Nadia.” I decided to lay it all out on the line since I’d already told her the worst of it.
“More?”
With a sigh, I started to explain the extent of my alpha powers. Nadia knew about the telepathy and for the most part was thrilled with the seeming proof that I was a natural born alpha. I went on to explain about my first shift prior to the full moon, and that I was a Sliver already. Nadia grew silent and thoughtful. She sat for a few moments, thinking hard. I swear I could almost see steam evaporating off her head. Finally, she spoke.
“This is a lot to take in, Alice. I’m almost afraid to ask, but is there anything else?”
Damn my glass face!
Her eyes widened. “Go on.”
I told Nadia about my alpha power of command to influence a werewolf’s actions temporarily.
“I think that’s what helped my junior patrol gain days under the moon so quickly,” I explained. I admitted that telling them had also lost me a few friends. I glanced up at her to read her face, but her thoughts were impenetrable. Deciding it was hell or high water, I told her about Diego’s suspicion that my alpha influence might work in human form too. I didn’t think I could shock Nadia any further, but by her expression, I had. She’d regained her self-control, so there were no more outbursts. She sat thoughtfully.
“Well, I’m sure this has happened before,” she reasoned. “And I’m sure advisors to alphas past also cautioned restraint. I wouldn’t tell anyone else about the extent of these alpha powers. Oh great! Who all knows?” Apparently, I was a horrific liar without saying a word, and Nadia could read the guilt all over my face.
“About my alpha powers?” I stalled. “Well, Jack, Sir Henry, Diego, and Shea know. Hayley, Fanya, and Sara all know.” I swallowed. “Those are the ones that know and still like me. There’s also Lola and Damka, who didn’t take the news as well as the rest. And, I’m not sure, but maybe Jillian and Pamela know? I used my influence on both of them last year by accident, so… There’re a lot of rumors going around, but I’m not really sure who believes them.”
Nadia looked like a woman in labor taking long, deep breaths as waves of pain washed over her. I shook my head, thinking I’d read way too much about birth lately. I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to experience it, despite Dr. Cope’s positive spin on the experience.
“Okay, well, don’t tell anyone else.” In that moment, Nadia reminded me of my mom telling me not to take any more cookies, when half the bag was already gone, seeking the illusion of control.
I told Nadia how we’d found and read most of Cordelia Cope’s journals. She agreed to press Tryna about her mother and to snoop through her room for the missing journal. We made a date for tea in two weeks, and I left. Sir Henry was chatty on the way home, which was nice. I let him ramble on while I stewed in my thoughts. By the time I said goodbye and made it to my room, something wonderful occurred to me. Nadia hadn’t freaked out about my alpha powers. At least she hadn’t freaked out on me. She mostly freaked out that other people already knew about them. She treated me the same way, which frankly, was a little bossy. But I was grateful for her advice and expertise on the High Council. She was still my ally despite knowing my biggest secret. I decided to take the win.
Chapter 26
Two weeks came and went, bringing April and the first hints of spring. Crocus and hyacinth bulbs were peeking through the melting snow as more and more brown and green started to invade the snowy-white world. April’s full moon was called the Pink Moon after the early blooming wildflowers. I loved the fresh smell of spring. The trees in the orchards were budding, and flocks of birds were returning from their southern migration. The whole world felt alive with magic.
Sadly, the ice between Lola and Sara hadn’t thawed. Sara was grouchier than ever. Fanya had managed to re-open lines of communication with Damka, but she was still frosty with me despite my attempts at reconciliation. Our pack was splintered, and I was to blame. I’d also tried approaching Lola to make amends, but she made it clear she wanted nothing to do with me. She blamed me for the rift between her and Sara.
“Stop trying to recruit more mindless drones, Alice!” Lola had seemed proud of her snide remark and had glanced around to see if anyone else had overheard.
“Lola, I’m not forcing Sara, or anyone else, to do anything. I respect that you don’t want to be my friend anymore, but please know that I’m really sorry. I never meant—”
“Whatever, Alice!” Lola had spun on her heel and stormed away from me.
We had a full moon run that Wednesday, and I tried not to worry about the pack discord as I planned out my training drills without Damka in the mix. When we got to the arena, I was surprised to see Sequoya among the few new freshman pups that had turned sixteen since March’s Worm Moon.
“Hey, Alice!” Sequoya came running up to me in her white terry bathrobe. Her black hair was longer and her blue eyes were alight with excitement.
I smiled back at her. “Hey, Sequoya, I forgot your birthday was in March, right? Happy birthday!”
“Thanks! I’m so excited to shift. Nolan is so jealous he has to wait another whole month,” she crowed. “Any tips?”
I told Sequoya
what I told all my friends: “Just relax and feel the moon. Your inner wolf will call you.” She gave me the same funny face they usually did. But she was too excited to tease me about it. I promised to wait until after she shifted, and invited her to run with our pack. She was so happy to be included. Sara grumbled something about keeping up and I glared at her. I wished she and Lola would make up for all our sakes. Fanya, Hayley, and Shea were more polite to the newbie.
“Sequoya will be fine,” insisted Hayley. “Her mom, Melinda, is one of the best Slivers at Mount Henley.” Hayley’s praise seemed to have the opposite effect as her intent. Sequoya gulped.
“Try not to be nervous,” Shea offered sweetly. She brushed a strawberry lock off of her face and shrugging out of her robe. In the next moment, her tawny-brown wolf was panting with joy.
We all shifted easily, but Sequoya wasn’t so lucky. I could feel her energy amp up as she started to panic. She was putting too much pressure on herself and just needed to relax. The other two freshman girls shifted and trotted out towards the woods.
I shifted back. “Take a deep breath, Sequoya. You’re trying too hard. Just look up at the moon.”
She looked at me and took in a slow breath. She was trying to relax, but still was antsy. I shifted back into my wolf and looked at her then the moon. The moon was just rising between the treetops, a large pink sphere just above the horizon. She looked up at the glowing orb. Its light shone on her face. I gave a long, piercing howl. One by one, werewolves near and far joined in the chorus. Soon the entire valley was ringing with the sound of our pack’s call. The shadows from the three mountain peaks hid us all.
I looked back at Sequoya and projected thoughts of peace, safety, and pack. She smiled, and with her next breath, I saw her shimmer into a beautiful white wolf. She reminded me of Nadia actually, except Sequoya had a touch of grey on her ears and tail. For a moment, I wondered when was Nadia’s birthday. Maybe there was a correlation between a werewolf’s morphology and the moon they were born under? Shea would certainly laugh at the theory and probably tell me correlation does not imply causation.