“Miss me, Kitten?”
Fuck.
I disentangled myself from Seth’s arms with a soft sigh and placed the tray between us, needing space from his heady cedar scent and the feel of his clearly incredible physique.
Giving him a once over, I tried to paint a look of indifference on my face, but he made it difficult with that damned smirk, as if he knew exactly what he did to me. His eyes practically danced with challenge, and everything in me wanted to accept. It felt like every nerve ending in my body lit up, wanting to prove he didn’t scare me.
This man was a dangerous temptation, one that I knew would use and abuse me mentally before spitting me back out, a shell of a human, constantly craving that unhealthy toxicity.
Why was it always the ones that you just knew would damage you irrevocably that you were drawn to? Was it the thrill of knowing it would be full of passion before it ultimately combusted in your face, leaving you in pieces?
Whatever it was, I needed to stay as far away from him as possible.
He tilted his head in amusement at my silent treatment and gave me a once over before saying, “I’m going to take your silence as a yes. You must have missed me so much that the ability to form words escapes you.”
My lips pinched together before I shook my head and answered, “Did you know that I really don’t like you?”
Once again, my ire washed over him, not phasing him in the least. He stepped back into my space and whispered, “That’s not what your scent tells me,” before walking away as the alpha yelled for everyone's attention.
Fucking wolves and their sense of smell. Just because my traitorous vagina liked him, did not mean that I did.
There was more to life than physical attraction.
I pushed through the gathered crowd and walked to the back of the room to stand in a shadowed corner. Tucking a strand of hair that had blown into my face behind my ear, I eyed the alpha as Jameson stood next to him looking pained. Anxious energy rolled off him in waves as his jaw clenched and grinded.
The juxtaposition of their features made it near impossible to tell the two were related at all. The only thing they had in common was their tall frames and broad shoulders, but that’s where their similarities ended.
Where Jameson screamed winter prince, Jace, his father, was tanned and had a permanent smattering of freckles on him, with caramel flecks meshed into his slightly wavy, short brown hair. He embodied a golden summer god.
Though a mere human, I found his presence just as daunting. Something about him struck immediate fear into those around him without even uttering a word.
Which made sense since he was Alpha of Alphas on this continent. There was one per continent, and the only people they answered to was the council. The council consisted of top alphas who were elected whenever a seat became available. Whispered rumors suggested that Jace was next in line for a seat.
Jace’s deep baritone voice rang out clearly, and all eyes were trained on him, unwavering in their attention as he spoke. “Tonight is a moment you will never forget. Life as you know it will change in the most glorious way possible. You will finally be one with the other half of your soul.”
The crowd of anxious shifters smiled and nodded as he continued, “My son, Jameson, started to feel the beginnings of the shift earlier, as expected, and I ask you all to make your way outside to avoid your wolves emerging while in a confined space.”
At his request, they began to file out immediately, not giving me a moment to slink away, so I pressed as far into the corner as possible, trying to melt into the shadows as they went through the door near me.
The majority of the shifters spared me no mind, but a select few did. Sofia somehow managed to simultaneously sneer and smile, triumph clear on her face, eliciting an eye roll from me.
Milo walked by, bringing back the pain that came with the knowledge that nothing could ever happen between us after tonight. He sent a wink my way, exuding confidence in his belief that tonight would only solidify our feelings for each other. As he walked out the door, I made peace with this serving as our goodbye.
Seth’s voice disrupted my musing and made me scowl at him for bringing attention to my hiding spot. “See ya on the flip, Kitten.”
Jameson followed directly behind him, a look of shock flashing on his face for a second at our interaction, before his icy disdain for me replaced it within seconds.
The feeling is mutual, bud.
As the alpha reached the threshold, he stopped in his tracks and turned towards me, making me want to curl into a ball where I stood. His forest green eyes held so much malice that he truly made Jameson’s hatred for me pale in comparison.
“You can manage to stay indoors and out of our way tonight, yes?”
The condescending sneer on his face made it clear that he thought me incapable of the task.
Nodding vigorously at him, I kept my mouth shut and lowered my gaze to the floor in submission. I watched his shoes turn back towards the exit and disappear before I allowed myself to scamper into the kitchen.
The next hour flew by as I grabbed the meat from the smoker and began pulling it apart. The pork was tender and infused with the divine apple scent from the wood they used in the smoker.
I prepared one tray of plain meat, one tossed in a sweet barbeque, and a third that featured a spicy rub. Sampling them all, I decided to make a sandwich of the sweet one and hurried to scarf it down. My tastebuds exploded with the flavors, and my stomach demanded one more.
As I spooned more meat onto a bun, a lone howl sounded, and the hair on my arms stood on end. A shiver racked my body, and I dropped my half-made sandwich onto the counter, gripping the edges of the granite as a sharp pain shot down my spine.
What the hell? Was this pain from being bent over cleaning all morning?
A small scream escaped me as a searing heat consumed me, the agony extending into my extremities. The roaring fire burned me from the inside out, and I stumbled through the back door, desperate to cool down in the fresh air.
Another howl rang out, sounding identical to the previous one and bringing with it an immense pain that brought me to my knees. My stomach churned, and I was positive I was about to hurl from the agony coursing through my body.
I dropped my hands down into the grass, my breath coming in short pants as I dug my fingers into the dirt and clenched my jaw so hard I briefly worried I would crack a tooth.
Something snapped in my tailbone, and I couldn’t hold back a blood-curdling scream as tears fell down my face and onto the grass. More bones cracked throughout my body, and I fell onto my side, no longer able to hold myself up.
My vision grew hazy as my mind threatened to slip into unconsciousness to escape my current hell. Black dots danced in my view of the forest behind the dining hall. My eyes fluttered shut briefly, and something wet pressed against my forehead, nudging me.
Struggling to open my eyes, I managed to peel the lids back enough to see a beautiful white wolf with eyes of blue fire and what looked like blue electricity tinging the tips of its fur standing before me.
The most beautiful wolf I’d ever seen.
My brief moment of awe flitted away as my back arched involuntarily from the most blinding pain yet, and then I felt nothing as darkness took me.
Chapter Six
Kira
The trickling of a stream reached my ears as I came to, even though I knew I hadn’t passed out anywhere near a body of water other than the sink in the kitchen, which definitely did not count. Hesitantly, I opened my eyes and immediately gasped at the bright glow of the full moon taking up the majority of the black sky. It appeared so close, I felt like I could reach out and touch it.
Oddly enough, I basked in the glow of it, as if it gave off heat like the sun naturally did. I had never felt better in my life, mentally and physically, as if I could take on the world with ease, no matter what it threw at me.
I sat up slowly, looking toward the sound of the water, and noticed a
lone figure in a semi-translucent white dress sitting on a rock ledge, bare feet dangling just above the water. Sleek, long raven hair hid her from view, but I could tell this was no ordinary human as she began to sing in a language unknown to me. She seemed otherworldly and divine. Her voice held a beautiful, airy quality to it, and I found myself more drawn to her the longer she sang. Walking closer to her, I felt such a wide range of emotions flutter through me at the tone.
It was a song of loss and death, of that I was sure, and a mournful sorrow filled her tone. Tears gathered in my eyes as her song came to a close.
“You sing beautifully,” I hedged nervously, unsure whether she knew I was here.
She turned around, stunning me with her ethereal beauty. Her skin appeared almost translucent, holding an underlying sparkle. Paired with white, glowing eyes, it contrasted beautifully with her long, dark mane of hair and perfectly arched brows. I swore I could see her thick, long dark eyelashes from here.
She was flawless.
A striking smile lit up her face, putting me at ease in an instant. Something about her seemed familiar, but surely I would remember having met such an otherworldly and beautiful woman.
“Thank you. How intriguing that you felt the emotions of the song without the capability to understand me. Perhaps your soul knows that it is about you and your role in the prophecy.”
Confusion rocked me to my core, and my mouth parted to ask her a question, but for some reason laughter bubbled up out of me instead.
When her face turned somber at my reaction, my hands flew over my mouth in shock. She was serious. But that couldn’t be.
“I’m so sorry. I thought you were pranking me. You can’t be serious....” I trailed off, my eyes wide as saucers. When she just gave me a perplexed look, I continued, “I’m just an ordinary human. I have no special talents—except maybe scrubbing floors. Honestly, I don’t even know anything about the world outside of these pack lands, because I’ve been confined here for the past seventeen years, and…” She held a delicate hand up, cutting my ramblings off.
“Did you just call yourself a human?” She inquired with genuine curiosity.
Was this a trick question?
“Yes?” I answered hesitantly, wondering why she would think otherwise.
It was her turn to laugh now, but her laughter was one that was contagious, and I found myself laughing along with her until we both wiped tears from our eyes.
We spoke at the same time, “It’s so funny that you thought I wasn’t human,” came from me as she said, “You’re hilarious, my young Prophetess.”
Did she just call me a prophetess?
“Kira, you can’t be serious right now,” she said incredulously with a raised brow.
Looking around, it dawned on me—this must be a dream. The serene landscape, my subconscious desire to be more than human, combined with the excruciating pain from a few minutes ago, must have induced this hallucination.
It all made much more sense now. That’s why I didn’t feel any pain and why she felt familiar, because this was all in my head.
I threw my hands up in the air, “You got me. I’m a prophetess and super important to the world, and it’ll end if I don’t use my kick-ass power to save everyone.”
Anger clouded her face, throwing me off guard. Why was my own imaginary person angry at me?
“Your role in the Dark Prophecy is no joking matter, and as my chosen, you’d do well to remember the severity of the situation you are in. Otherwise I shall strip you of your powers and find a wolf that respects me and the gift.”
Doubt trickled in and anxiety began to flood my system. Panic bubbled up, and I dropped to my knees and quickly fired questions at this mysterious woman.
“Who are you? Where are we? This can’t be real, can it? Am I dead?”
She glided across the short distance between us and settled onto her knees across from me. Reaching out, she gripped my hands within her own, and once more I felt the serene energy of the moon flow through me until I was able to breathe normally and collect my erratic thoughts.
“Better?”
I nodded at her, and she squeezed my hands lightly, her voice softening to a maternal tone. “It sounds like we have much to discuss, Kira. My name is Selene, and I am what the shifters refer to as the Goddess of the Moon. Walk with me as I explain.”
She rose and offered a hand to me, and I placed mine in hers, climbing to my feet a bit shakily.
We began walking alongside the river, and she gave me a few moments of silence to calm myself before continuing.
“You are not human, Kira. You are a shifter, and furthermore, you are my chosen prophetess. Have you heard of the Dark Prophecy from your pack?”
Shaking my head, I explained my upbringing, “I was raised by a pack, but they told me I was a human and that my parents abandoned me in the dead of winter. I’ve never been privy to anything pack related besides the generic things I’ve picked up along the way.”
Silence followed, and I glanced over to see a furrow between her brows as she processed my words.
“This complicates things a bit, and there’s not a lot of time to get you completely caught up. Unfortunately, this will be the only time we can communicate until your soul crosses into the afterlife.”
Well that’s not morbid or anything.
“Hopefully that is a far way off, and certainly nothing to worry over now. I’m going to need you to listen to me with an open mind, and please don’t ask any questions until the end, okay? Our time is limited,” she instructed as we approached what looked like a small temple.
“Okay,” I answered breathlessly, a little overwhelmed as I took in the white marble structure with the different phases of the moon chiseled into the top. Two large vats of blue fire roared from pits on either side of the entryway.
It reminded me of the eyes of the wolf I had seen before passing out.
We walked up the steps and inside, where a variety of couches sat with silver and white silks strewn on them and sconces of the blue fire built into the wall. At the far end of the room, it looked like a large metal bowl sat atop an altar.
She guided me towards one of the couches and motioned for me to sit. I sank deep into a corner of it and could have sworn a cloud cocooned me. Selene looked elegant as she crossed one long leg over the other, easily seen through the somewhat sheer lower half of her white, floor-length dress.
Not a speck of dirt clung to the material, despite her having previously knelt in grass and dirt. Even the hem remained spotless. Goddess perks, I suppose.
I looked into her glowing white eyes, completely void of any pupil, as she started to explain my predicament. “As I stated before, you are a shifter. Why your Alpha didn’t scent that in you is beyond me, and puzzling to say the least. I wish I could see the day to day lives of my shifters, but alas, that is not within my scope of powers.” She frowned deeply at that but quickly composed herself.
“The shifters possess knowledge of a prophecy from thousands of years ago, passed down from generation to generation. It speaks of a great evil that will surface from Hell and obliterate the world, unless stopped.”
Nodding along to show my understanding, I clung to each word she spoke, completely fascinated.
“When my Oracle told me of her vision, we created the prophecy to be passed down, and I sent my energy into the world to settle into the soul of the wolf who would become the prophetess that the world needed. It would be her purpose and responsibility to expose this evil and lead the wolves on the path necessary to defeat the darkness. A pillar for the packs to look to for guidance and resolve.”
I stared at her, waiting expectantly for her to continue. To reveal who this special wolf was—and why she was telling me all of this. Oh, maybe I’m supposed to be handmaiden to the prophetess or something?!
As if she heard my thoughts, she sighed and said, “An energy has floated around looking for the soul that contains all of the qualities we need, as we awaited for
this darkness to emerge. I felt my powers settle into your soul twenty-one years ago, signaling the start of this prophecy.”
Wait. What? She’s saying that I’m this wolf? Why me?
“You are to be my voice on earth and hold within you the powers to vanquish this evil. My Oracle and Prophetess possess a divine connection to me but are also blessed by the Goddess of Fate, Heimarmene. Your visions and powers will directly tie into the fate of shifters.”
I was dumbfounded. I released a tense and shaky breath as she asked, “Do you have any questions?”
Where do I even start? “Only about a million, but I’m sure we don’t have time for that.” A soft laugh escaped her before I continued, “So, I suppose the most pressing questions are, how do I connect to my powers, and where do I start with finding this evil?”
She motioned for me to stand once more, and we walked towards the altar. “You start by believing in your divine connection. I do not have the answers you seek, despite being a goddess. This is why your soul was chosen. The power to save the packs is within you, and you will need to discover the answers on your own.”
Nothing like the weight of being chosen by a goddess to lead the shifters, despite thinking I was a human my entire life. Talk about an adjustment.
As we stepped up to the altar, the bowl ignited into the familiar blue flames.
Selene stepped back, but instructed me, “Please place your hand in the bowl and close your eyes. Open your mind and soul to the universe. You are ready.”
I cocked an eyebrow at her in question. Place my hand into the fire?
Shaking my head, I pushed all my traces of doubt from my mind. Focusing back on the flames, I moved my hand into them with confidence, trusting in Selene.
Closing my eyes, I cleared my mind and welcomed the universe to provide what I needed.
Outcast: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (The Pack Prophecy Book 1) Page 4