Chapter Nine #2
TWO MONTHS PASSED, and in that time, so much changed.
Only the war council could propose and pass laws as they pleased, so it was still true that we needed the clan leaders to draft the laws, and then Nyx, Badr, Orion, and Edric could vote and pass them, getting them to do that proved a lot easier than expected.
After all of Wolf Nation looked into the eyes of true evil, they hit the streets. Executing citizens without a trial, attempted forced rape, holding children hostage, throwing the omegas out of the academy, reinstating the academy’s unequal rules, blocking betas, epsilons, and omegas from connecting and organizing on social media, and rejecting all the wanted changes proposed during the forums.
In one horrible video, all of Wolf Nation woke the fuck up.
Parents marching in the streets for custody rights. Omegas marching for better and equal rights—including a permanent change to the Corvin charter that their attendance was a right, not a privilege. Epsilons demanding to choose their own paths in life. Everyone demanding a swift and vicious end to alpha dominance.
Tracy’s uncle was thrown out of his brother’s house and into prison when her mother returned, telling her story for all of Loop Garou and Wolf Nation to hear. Part of that story included the many times she went to the police for help, and they threw her out—claiming a clan alpha could do whatever he wanted.
A mob of sun wolves attacked their local police stations, dragging the officers out onto the streets and making examples of them. Wolves from other clans had to be sent in to settle the riot and unrest, but that kicked off the start of the first independent epsilon-led investigation into the police force. So many officers were fired, some stations only had three people left manning them.
After gutting the police force, the protestors turned their sights on their clan leaders. Turned out their participation in the forums mattered more than they thought.
Many praised Mara for her commitment to making her clan safe for women before it benefited her politically. Even Magnus, who was dragged to the forums by the ear because of his mate, was recognized for calling for justice for every metal wolf that was hurt in the mess hall riot—not just the alphas.
But as for Nyx’s father—the forest clan alpha, the nepo baby water clan alpha, the moon alpha, and the wind clan alpha, everyone had a front-row seat to their scoffs, eye rolls, and refusals to change all throughout the forums. So their sudden reversals during the protests and their canned speeches about wanting change, were seen right through.
The public told them flat out either they proved they cared about all of their people by drafting the laws proposed in the forums, or they better barricade themselves in their mansions because from then on, the right of defeat challenges would never stop coming. All but Nyx’s father agreed and passed the laws.
Two weeks after Teodore Drach held a profanity-laced press conference, shouting about how he wouldn’t be blackmailed into passing nonsense, bullshit laws, he was challenged by his own son... Sol.
Turned out the brothers shared more in common than they thought, which included a hatred of their father who sent their only loving parent away so that he could dominate and destroy their childhoods.
The first thing Sol did when he took over was draft the law ending alpha-only custody in the forest clan. Nyx passed it into law the second it hit his desk.
After that, a flurry of new laws were proposed and passed.
An end to that approved job list bullshit— Passed.
An official independent epsilon-only force to investigate and monitor the police— Passed.
Stronger inheritance laws stating property and monies go to who they’re willed to—period—and if that property is passed on, it must be witnessed by four unrelated witnesses who can attest there was no coercion— Passed.
Command-based murder, rape, and theft resulting in mandatory sentences from ten years to life in prison— Passed .
Complete and total protection for coming children of the new generation stating that no law could ever be passed requiring harm to them or the forced or coerced use of their power— Passed so fast it made my head spin.
And on and on it went as each individual clan formed their own public forums, and told their clan leaders what they wanted directly.
The paperwork was coming in hot and heavy, drowning my fates in more administrative work than they could believe, but they had the time to do it because Corvin Academy was closed.
Not permanently, but after everything that happened, the school needed to clear out while some students went home to recover from the trauma of the riots, and others to be prosecuted and sentenced for leading them.
It made the most sense to close down the school, especially because Headmistress Ash needed time herself to focus on her boys and helping them process the horrors they went through at the hands of a sociopath.
And yes, I said Headmistress Ash. In the end, I stepped aside, and handed the running of the school to a professional. One that more than proved she wasn’t a council rat, and she wasn’t my devoted lackey. She was an independent woman with her own mind and conscience, and stood up for them.
You came to appreciate qualities like that after watching officers hold a weapon to a ten-year-old’s throat just because a worthless pig like Cygnus told them to. I wanted people around me who did the right thing because it was right, not because some despot ordered it.
She was still home with her family, but we’d been emailing back and forth about her plans for the school and making it a fair, safe, and equal place for all students—including amending the charter to state that.
As for me, I hadn’t been idle.
I’d been traveling all over Wolf Nation, meeting with epsilons of all ages. They’d finally been freed from their temples, and even though some wanted to stay, many more wanted to leave and step into the new positions that were begging for them.
It was still their choice to accept them, but positions to be judges, lawyers, police investigators, rape survivor advocates, news reporters, and so many other jobs where they could do true good and make a difference were opening up to them. Positions beyond sitting behind a curtain and doling out advice that was ignored.
They wanted to help all the omegas suddenly relying on them to make sure their voices were heard, and Paxton was right by my side helping me show them how to do that, as the first omega clan leader in Wolf Nation.
That day in the mess hall when all those people pledged to serve a pack led by me, they did something that couldn’t be undone.
It was said. It was out there. It had to be addressed.
They officially turned their backs on Wolf Nation, so if I didn’t accept them into my clan, by law, they were packless. They had no home, no people, and no right to live in Wolf Nation.
I couldn’t let that happen, so I petitioned my mates and boyfriends to allow an eighth clan to join Wolf Nation. Naturally, they agreed.
As soon as they did, the first thing I did was name Paxton as my co-leader. This wasn’t done because of his cute butt and wicked smile. Frankly, after the way he expertly organized the forum, and pulled my head out of my ass when I gave up, he proved that he was excellent at this—a natural-born leader. And a leader that knew better than anyone what it was like to fight and scrounge at the bottom of the pack.
Our clan was small, but growing with epsilons and omegas from all clans—forest, water, sun, moon, fire, metal, wind and the lost clans.
All of it was complete night and day from the oppressive hellscape Wolf Nation survived in before. Things were changing, people were happier, the riots and marches were becoming parties and celebrations of peace and equality.
Things were changing so much, the last stop of the around-the-country tour was a mansion within Incepe Din where I picked up my daughter, packed her things, and took her home.
“Have you been using the cream-based diaper cream, because the gel-based doesn’t work?”
“I have,” I gritted.
“And have you been playing the songs I recorded for her?” Lucia asked. “My singing is the only thing that gets her to sleep.”
“So you’ve told me.”
“I hope you’re not singing to her. You’ve got a terrible singing voice. Sounds like a frog being attacked by a tuba.”
My brow twitched. “I will block your number again.”
“And I’ll call from another one again,” she replied, cackling. “Oh, and have you—?”
“Lucia!” I bit my tongue and breathed deep. “I’ve been doing any and everything for my daughter,” I said in as polite a tone as I could force between clenched teeth. “We’ve got this. I promise.”
She sniffed. “We’ll see. I’ll be there to pick her up next week. Mama Lucia is taking her sweet Hope to Paris.” She squealed. “She’s going to look so cute in a little beret, pretending to drink coffee outside a Parisian café.”
“What?! I never agreed—”
“Talk later. Bye.”
The madwoman hung up on me, leaving me gaping at the phone.
Nyx gave me a look over Hope’s head. “If that woman steps a foot past the gates, I’m dumping holy water on her.”
I sighed. Of course his wolf ears picked up the entire conversation. “Lucia is just having some trouble... adjusting... to the new way of things.”
“Trouble adjusting? We brought Hope home two days ago, and the woman’s called fifty-six times since them.”
“Yeahhhh... That’s pretty hard to defend.” I looked down. “I should just throw away my phone, shouldn’t I?”
“I’m surprised you haven’t already.”
Laughing, I came over and joined them on the carpet. Nyx had a mass of toys that he was passing to the baby who was touching them, turning them to pure solid gold, and then giggling herself over on her side—thrilled by her new trick.
“I still can’t believe thousands of forest wolves are going to be able to do this soon,” Nyx whispered, gazing at Hope like the marvel she was. “Our world is going to change, Daze. Not that psycho’s apocalyptic fever dream of a change, but still, nothing is going to be the same.”
“All the forest clans of the world are about to become incredibly wealthy for one,” I muttered. “And water wolves are going to go from laughed at to feared. Who is going to mess with a person who can drain all the water out of your body with one touch?”
He hummed, brows crumpling.
“What?” I asked. “What is it?”
“I... I just don’t understand these powers,” he burst out. “Our elemental powers the way they are now bring us into harmony with nature. They help us in our purpose of protecting it from the mundanes determined to destroy it. Just like the fae believe their purpose is to stop us from disrupting the balance of the world.
“But the powers we’re about to inherit, they’ve got nothing to do with protecting nature. These are the kinds of powers an elemental wolf would want”—he met my eyes—“if they were going to war.”
“What are you saying, Nyx?”
He tossed his head, his eyes hooded beneath his bandana. “I’ve been thinking about your vision, Daciana, and about your theory of a demigod being behind all of this. Trying to orchestrate a world war that’ll leave every other species decimated, and finally free them from Olympia. If the Olympian gods are sending their people prophecies and giving them powers to take over the world, don’t you think there’s a chance ours is too?”
My eyes widened, jaw hanging. “You mean Luame blessed the wolves with these powers not to start a war, but because war is inevitable, and if we don’t change... we’ll lose.”
“Yes,” he rasped. “I think something’s coming, Daze. Something bad. Something big. Right now there’s a very uneasy balance between all the dominions. The mundanes are ignorant. The demigods are trapped. The fae ignore us all. And the werewolves and vampires fight, but never so badly or too much it could set off a war that neither of our sides want.
“It’s a steady kind of peace, but it’s not stable, and it’s not what the Olympian gods want.”
“They want to return to Mount Olympus,” I confessed. “They want to be the unquestioned rulers of the universe again.”
“And where does that leave a minor wolf goddess named Luame?”
“Luame’s trying to protect the survival of the werewolf race,” I whispered, feeling the truth of that in my bones. “From threats within and outside of our community. She knows we won’t last the way we are now, but just because she gifts our children with a bunch of amazing powers, doesn’t mean the dumbass adults in the situation will do the right thing with them.
“A vision of the Golden Age of Wolves was shared with the wrong prophets and clairvoyants, and now everything is happening too early,” I rushed as it all fell together in place. “Because of course a bunch of infants aren’t going to war with anyone. This isn’t supposed to happen now, but the shadow brought forward his plans early—so early Luame was forced to warn me—because exactly what I said. A bunch of infants can’t fight anybody.
“ Now is the time to steal their powers and destroy us from within because in twenty years’ time...” I stroked Hope’s soft cheek. “We’ll be unstoppable.”
Nyx nodded hard, agreeing with everything I said. “What is it the mundanes say? ‘ I was silent when they came for the others, so when they came for me, there was no one left. ’”
“Cygnus and the alpha council would’ve been rulers of the world for all of two seconds. Right after that, the shadow would’ve ripped their overpowered souls out of their chests, and then given them to the ones he truly serves. And the price would’ve been manipulating that power-obsessed lunatic into wiping out his own people.”
“The wolves wipe out the vampires and the fae, and then we destroy ourselves,” Nyx said. “A frighteningly good plan.”
“A plan that’s still in play because we haven’t found the shadow yet,” I cried. “I don’t know about this, Nyx. Maybe Hope would be safer in Incepe Din. Maybe she’d be safer in Paris!”
“No, love.” He laced his fingers through mine. “The safest place for our girl is home with us—her family.”
I groaned, stomach churning.
We were living in the safest possible home. Because we were living in the academy.
Technically, I was still the headmistress until Ash took over officially. With all the students gone, and the gates keyed into me and my mates, and only us, there was nowhere else on earth I would’ve taken Hope.
It also worked out because it was a great place to hold meetings with the epsilons, and make plans for the future home of the eighth clan of Wolf Nation. Nia and her brothers, who didn’t have another home to go to, were already taking up residence in the academy—the unofficial home of our clan. Her, Idalia, Paxton’s moms, and a bunch of epsilons that vacated their temples, and had nowhere to live.
Corvin Academy had become the sanctuary it was built to be, but the situation couldn’t last forever. This place would be a school again, and a busy school with people I didn’t know traipsing all around, wasn’t the best place to raise my daughter.
I told Nyx as much. “We all wanted this—Hope home. But this can’t be our home forever. Ugh,” I cried. “Is this how parents feel all the time? Constantly worried and stressed and like they never know the right decision?”
“They do when there’s a war on the horizon.” Nyx gently rubbed my knuckles. “Daze, of course you’re scared and worried, but for what it’s worth, I really do believe she’s safest with us,” he said. “Nothing and no one can get past those gates without our permission. Not even demigods.”
I held tight to his hand, needing his reassurance more than I ever did.
“We’re doing all we can, Daze. We’ve sent the sketch of the shadow to every clan in Wolf Nation, and even Wolf Republic. His face is all over Loop Garou and papered through the streets. He can’t hide now. Any day now, someone will report in that they spotted him. When they do, we’ll go down there and rip his head off ourselves.”
“I’ll do the ripping,” I growled. “I’m very much looking forward to turning his neck into a blood fountain.”
“There’s my sexy, ruthless mate.” Nyx kissed me. “And now that Hope has five devoted manservants,” Nyx said, clapping as Edric, Paxton, Orion, and Badr came into the room. “She’ll be guarded and served by one or all of us at all times until you make him your blood fountain.”
I cracked the barest smile. “Why is manservants such the perfect word for it? Hope probably does see us all as the beings who exist to serve her every need, and nothing more.”
“She’s certainly not calling us Mama or Dadas yes.” Paxton scooped her up, smooching her cheek. “Are you, baby girl? Can you say Dada? Dada?”
Hope giggled. Flailing her little baby arms, she grabbed his nose and held on. Thankfully her transmutation powers didn’t work on living beings, or I had a feeling she’d be cooing at a giant golden statue of my boyfriend.
“Hey, why would you be Dada?” Edric demanded. “I’m Dada. She can call you Pops.”
“Screw that. I’m Dad. You’re Eddy. He’s Grumps,” Paxton said, pointing to Badr. “Orion is Pops. And Nyx is Goku.”
“Fuck you,” Nyx said, and thus set off their now daily argument about what Hope would call them.
Hope grabbed a fistful of Nyx’s hair and munched on it while she watched the chaos.
Badr broke from the pack, falling in next to me.
I was still sleeping in the headmistress’s chambers with Edric in the bed next to me, and Hope in her crib on the other side. That left Nyx and Paxton to drag in beds from the other rooms, plopped them next to ours, and announce they were moving in too.
The room was so big, it more than fit us all, but left the big massive gap of the beds that weren’t there hanging over our heads. Orion and Badr didn’t move in with me, because we had yet to complete our bonds.
It wasn’t because I held a grudge about them turning the school against me and destroying the cord killer. It was for the reason I gave them the day after they killed the alpha council.
A sweet, wonderful, brave man named Castor taught me what true love is, and I didn’t give a shit how badly my wolf wanted them, I wasn’t letting another man into my heart or my bed until I knew that’s what we had.
They said they understood, and ever since then, we’d been dating. Taking the pressure off and just getting to know each other again. I wanted to say it was going well, but... it wasn’t.
For me and Orion, even though he was polite and charming when he took me out, the air was always heavy between us. It was filled with all the things he wanted to ask me about his mother and father, and what I knew about her disappearance. And even though I wanted to tell him, I had to be very, very careful not to break Luame’s rules and get myself reduced to a pile of ashes.
It was a dangerous door to walk through, and I didn’t want to do it unless I had Orion’s permission to open it.
But he wouldn’t give it.
Even though I knew he wanted to.
And even though he knew I would risk it.
So we just sat there, dancing around the conversation, and pretending we weren’t drowning in awkward.
As for Badr, I thought his closed-offness before was because he hated me. Turned out, it had nothing to do with me. Badr Divan was a closed book locked in a trunk that was chained and dropped into the sea where sharks now guard it on the ocean floor.
I should’ve figured when Paxton told me he spent a whole year with the guy, but didn’t know a damn thing about his friends, family, or his mom. I could confirm that in the two months since we’d been dating, I knew exactly zero about them too.
“So—”
“I—”
We spoke at the same time, cut ourselves off, and laughed.
“Sorry,” I said. “You first.”
“I was wondering if I could take you off-grounds for our date tonight? I know you like to be close to Hope, but I finally found a dinner spot that’s almost as beautiful as you are”—he smiled at me, winking—“and I’d like to take you there.”
“Oh, I— That’s—” I stuttered to force words out of my suddenly dry throat.
The man was tight with the personal details, but I could never say a bad word about his smile. Every time I saw that rare beauty, it stole my breath, rattled my senses, and made me agree with my wolf that I needed to stop being so stubborn, and tear his clothes off already.
I cleared my throat. “Well, when you put it like that,” I mumbled, “I have to see it.”
“Perfect.” Locking eyes with me, Badr took my hand, lifted it to his lips, and placed a soft kiss on my knuckles. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”
I squeaked something in return. Only after he released me to enter the fray and take his turn holding Hope, did I let my wobbly knees drop me on my bed.
Oh, yeah, that’s why I keep going out with him even though he changes the topic if I ask anything personal. Because the man is sex on wheels, and he makes me feel like a silly girl with a celebrity boyband–sized crush whenever he smiles in my direction.
Orion wasn’t going any easier on me either. Every time I made up my mind to tell him we had to do something about the serial killer elephant in the room, he’d tell me how happy he was being with me, Hope, and the guys. How we were the happy perfect family he always wanted, and every day was the best day because he got to spend it with us.
And every time he told me that, my heart melted like caramel ice cream—both our favorite flavor.
How could I be responsible for ruining that? For raking up his trauma just to relieve some underlying tension? I didn’t want to be the one that turned his best days into his worst, because when he found out the truth of what happened between his mother and father... that’s exactly what would happen.
But something’s got to give, don’t you think?
My wolf grumbled in agreement.
How are Orion, Badr, and I supposed to get to love, when we haven’t gotten to trust?
Again, my wolf was me, so she wasn’t an individual being with her own thoughts or voice, and all the same, I was one hundred percent sure she replied, Don’t need either of those things to fuck their dicks till they pop.
I heaved a sigh. You’re no help.
I got nothing but amusement in return.
A knock sounded on the door. Paxton went to open it, letting Nia in.
“Hey, guys.” The woman had twice the number of butterfly clips in her hair than usual. “Hey, Daze, do you have a minute? You remember we gave out our personal numbers to anyone who needs our help and wants to reach us directly? Well, someone contacted me today about something you need to hear.”
The six of us stiffened, sharing grim looks. Even though only three of them were in my mind, I knew we were all thinking the same thing.
The shadow.
“What is it, Nia?”
Nia glanced at the guys. “Would you mind giving us a minute? She was clear that she wanted the high priestess to hear this before anyone else.”
I nodded to the guys, indicating it was okay. It wasn’t like I could hide anything from them. Nyx, Paxton, and Edric had a live feed into my mind.
“We’ll grab lunch and bring it back,” Edric said, setting Hope down in her crib. “Ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes,” I agreed.
They filed out, leaving just the three of us.
“What is it?” I asked immediately, crossing the distance to take Hope’s little hand. “What did they say?”
“Something hard to believe.” Nia pulled the desk chair and sat. Rubbing her temples, she seemed to age ten years in front of me. “Daze, how much do you know about the epsilons and their true power?”
My forehead crumpled. “True power? What are you talking about?”
“Ugh, just as I thought. Nothing. You know, it’s outrageous the way the alphas have treated you. The way they’ve used you and kept you ignorant all for their own greed, fear, and gain.”
“Kept me ignorant?” If I was confused before, I was ten times so now. “Nia, did whoever called you tell you something I should know?”
“I was told a lot of things you need to know, Daze.” Sincerity etched into her pores. “And I won’t let you be kept in the dark for a second longer.”
“Okay, go on,” I said, pulling up Edric’s desk chair and placing it next to Hope so she could keep gnawing on my hand. Werewolves teethed hard, so lucky for me, I was a fast healer. “I’m listening.”
Nia leaned in. “Okay, you know that our powers and our ability to shift all came from Luame and the part of her that lives inside of us, but I assume what you didn’t know is that epsilon wolves are special, because they have more of her inside of them than any one of us.
“Daze, do you remember when you took over the school and you said it didn’t make sense that epsilon wolves were shut away in temples, when they should be leaders, judges, councilwomen, lawmakers, and the rest? Of course they should because they’re the only wolves that can’t be pushed around by alphas and betas.
“Well, you have no idea how right you were,” she said. “That is how it was always supposed to be. It’s why Luame created the epsilons, and it’s why alphas separated you, locked you away, and didn’t let you all do anything more important than sitting on your asses in a cold temple. Luame didn’t ordain alpha dominance,” she spat. “She never wanted the backwards oppressive world they created.
“She wanted the epsilons to be in charge, and she wanted her children—the ones marked with her sign—to lead them.”
“Wow,” I breathed, flopping back in my seat. “That... makes sense. My gods, when you really think about it, it makes perfect sense. Which is why I stumbled on that conclusion all on my own!” I tossed my head. “So you’re saying the alphas in the beginning knew this? They knew, and they turned their back on Luame just for power.”
“Cygnus Tahan and the alpha council turned their backs on her just for power,” she replied, voice hard. “It’s not that surprising.”
I couldn’t disagree with her even a little bit.
“Wow. Just wow.” I flicked to Hope who currently had pinpricks of my blood dotting her brand-new growing fangs. “Is that what they wanted you to tell me?”
“That and more, Daze. So much more.” Nia took a deep breath and released it. “What do you know about Ola? Luame’s mate.”
I shrugged. “I know that he was her mate, and he was a god of men. That’s why we’re equally wolf and human.”
“But do you know what kind of god he was?”
“What kind?”
“He was a god of destruction, Daze, and Luame was a goddess of creation. Opposites. Yin and yang. But”—she slapped her hands together—“perfect for each other, because together they made something perfect—us.”
“Wow,” I replied, wishing I could think of another word. “A god of destruction? Really? I wonder why no one ever told me.”
“For the same reason no one ever told you who you are. Daze, your power is no accident or trick. You have so much more purpose than screwing your mates on a rock one night and then going home. The werewolf race only exists because of you.”
“Yeah, I know—”
“No,” she cut off, eyes intense. “I’m not talking about all that mother wolf stuff. I mean it’s you , Daze. Gods and goddesses are nothing without belief but who can believe in a floating memory in the sky? It’s you that we see. You that we trust, and you we believe in. You’re not here because of Luame. Luame only survives because we believe in you.”
“Uh, okay—”
“And it’s because you loved six men so fiercely and so absolutely that you wished for your children to be all of their children in every way. Not one father, but six. And because you, the living goddess of creation, did that, your children were born with all the powers the seven of you were meant to create. And again because it’s impossible for a human to have more than one power, you wished them immortality and”—she snapped her fingers—“Hope was born.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “That all sounds nice, but that’s not how it went. I didn’t even know Badr, Nyx, Paxton, Orion, or Edric when I got pregnant with Hope. I hardly wished for her to also be the children of five guys I didn’t know.”
“Daze, come on.” She gave me a knowing smile. “So what, you didn’t know them then. Do you really think chronological time matters to a goddess?”
“I’m not a goddess, Nia. I’m just a werewolf with no belly button.”