Chapter Nine 5
“What proof do you have?” he demanded.
“Proof will come,” I replied calmly, “but not in a way you’ll like.”
His growl told me what he thought of that.
“But there’s also the obvious proof,” I continued. “I won’t swear in Luame’s name because she hates that and she’s been punishing the crap out of me for it.” I absentmindedly rubbed my temples. “But one thing she hates even more is someone lying in her name and swearing false prophecy. We all know what happened to the last person who tried it.”
Cygnus tensed, jaw ticcing. Of course he remembered, he was there.
One day when I was around ten, a fire alpha woman named Elaine started preaching in the streets, claiming she was a psychic and Luame was sending her visions of people’s futures. She predicted that a young woman would rise to fame, fortune, and power. Her name was Sunella. Two years later, Sunella was tapped to join the alpha council.
After that, Elaine’s legend rose. Sunella gushed about her being the real deal to everyone she met, so of course it did.
It happened the night of the solstice when the alpha council and all the clan alphas gathered for the feasting and celebrating. Elaine was invited to be the entertainment for that night. Lucky for me, my father brought me along too, and I remembered being all excited to see my first real psychic in person. I couldn’t wait to ask her if I was destined to live a happier life than the one I had.
Elaine stood up before the entire party, began to tell us about a vision Luame sent her about dark days ahead, and she burst into flames.
Right there in front of us all, Elaine caught fire like someone doused her in gasoline, then revved up the flamethrower. She was nothing but ash and bone before I stopped screaming.
“I’m not lying, Councilman. She would never let me lie.” I lifted my shirt, revealing the mark where my belly button should be. “War is on the horizon and it must be stopped.”
He was silent for so long, my neck hairs stood on end. I couldn’t help it. Having those dead, expressionless eyes fixed on you would make anyone’s skin crawl.
“When did you have this vision?” he finally asked.
“Over a year ago.”
His eyes flickered. “Before you— Is that why you—?” He couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.
“Everything I’ve done has been for a larger purpose. Luame’s purpose.”
“Why did you tell no one about this?” he barked. “If you’re truly preventing a war, why take up the charge alone?”
“Because no one else has the stomach to do what must be done,” I hissed. “Even now, you’re trying to justify and rationalize doing away with all the changes I’ve made to the academy.”
“Because they’re nonsensical!” he burst out, not bothering to deny it. “They’re obscene! You’ve allowed omegas to hold false trials against alphas, and punish them how they see fit. You’ve promised epsilons the highest, most important positions in our society. None of that will prevent war. If anything, it will ensure it!”
I didn’t outwardly react to his speech. “See? I knew you wouldn’t understand what I’m trying to do here. You can’t, because you didn’t spend a year living among the mundanes like I have. You didn’t witness the seedy, evil underbelly of the vampire nation. We wolves think ourselves above both societies, but we’re not,” I stated, making him bristle. “We’re just better at it.”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
“Inequality. Control. Injustice. Oppression. We’ve perfected it. We’ve planted, grown, barreled, aged, and bottled it, and then we got so happily drunk on it, we convinced ourselves we did something good.” I took a step toward him, then another. “We’re about to be proved wrong—in a big way—unless something is done about it.
“So I did something.” I swept out a hand, passing over the grand castle. “Corvin Academy is a beacon. It’s the one place in all of Wolf Nation where every wolf from every clan representing every power comes together. If we can change the academy and prove that we can create a fair and equal society here, then all the clans won’t have a hindleg to stand on when they bleat and whine that it’s impossible.”
Cygnus’s skeptical glare went nowhere.
I heaved a sigh, frustration coloring my voice. “Don’t you see? They need a voice,” I cried. “Epsilons and omegas. They need the power to choose their own paths in life, and to know that if anyone tries to throw them off that path, they’ll be held accountable. Giving them that choice starts here by letting them choose their tracks. Letting them work for the careers they want instead of being told what they want. All they want is to be heard, and if they are, there will be no war.”
He lifted his chin, staring down his nose at me. “You’re certain of this? Luame has told you this is the way to end the war?”
“No, she didn’t tell me, but—” I cut off at his smirk, instantly pissed off. “It’s not like I can ring her up for a chat, but this is the way. I know it.”
Cygnus laughed. “You don’t know. You just said you’re simply guessing and stumbling your way through.”
“Listen—”
“No, you listen!” he roared, shooting my heart up to my throat. “You know nothing! You are nothing but a stupid, vapid, petulant little girl who let delusions of grandeur inflate your head! Because of this, you killed my son, shamed all of Wolf Nation, and now you’re wreaking holy terror on everything we hold sacred and dear!
“Did it ever occur to you that Luame sent you that vision as encouragement? As assurance that you were doing the right thing in carrying out your duty as mother wolf, and bringing about the golden generation of wolves?”
“Why in the fuck would that occur to me! Omegas and epsilons weren’t slaughtering alphas and betas because the next generation was born mundane! That doesn’t even make sense!”
“Nothing you’ve said or done makes sense! You killed my son! YOU KILLED HIM!” Spittle coated my cheek. “For nothing! To prevent an imagined war that will never happen! Don’t you dare! Don’t you dare stand there and justify your actions to me! Nothing you did was needed, necessary, or wanted! And I can promise you this.”
He roared up on me, shoving his forehead against mine. But I didn’t react. I didn’t move. “You will complete the bonds, you little bitch. Tonight! I don’t care if I have to hold you down screaming and crying. The second it’s done. The second the new generation is assured, I’m going to bite your heart out of your chest!”
Looking into his eyes, I smirked. “Ahh, there you are. The real Cygnus Tahan. I was wondering when you were going to drop your calm-and-collected act.”
“Argh,” he growled, seizing my hair and snapping my neck back. “There is no act. Not between us. Not anymore. All this time I’ve waited so I can tell you this in person. It was me.” Malice glittered in his frostbitten blue eyes. “I hunted your father down. I clawed his tendons to shreds and laughed as he mewled and crawled in the dirt, and only after he pissed himself from the pain... did I kill him.”
His words were a knife through my heart. Stomach twisting, I whispered, “I know.”
“You’re next.”
I phased, breaking easily out of his grip. Grief and fury warred in my chest, but I let none of it enter my voice. “I’m not next. You’re not going to hurt me. You’re not going to hurt anyone ever again.”
“Is that so?” He straightened, eyes burning with hatred. “And why is that?”
“Because it’s me, bitch.” I flashed out, jabbing his neck with the syringe. “I start the war.”
Cygnus flew back, hands flying to his throat. Gasping, his face flushed deep reddish purple as he choked—falling to his knees.
“I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist this little field trip to see me.” I kicked him, dropping the shit flat on his ass. “And lucky for me because all this time I’ve waited just so that I could tell you in person—it’s me. I’m the someone from somewhere who creates an antidote to the alpha problem.
“An antidote that Nia tested when a simple pair of earplugs rendered Liza’s powers useless. An alpha’s command doesn’t work if you can’t hear it, and no one is going to hear you, Cygnus Tahan.” His eyes widened. “Ever again.”
“Agh! Mhh! Nyagh!” Cygnus sputtered and hacked, trying and failing to force words past his dying vocal cords. He swiped at me, claws sprouting free in a blink.
They sailed right through my body.
“I know what you’re thinking,” I said almost conversationally. “ Why is she doing this? Well, that’s a pretty stupid fucking thought because you know exactly why.
“Destiny.”
His eyes bugged. I wasn’t supposed to know that word. I wasn’t supposed to know a lot of things, but thankfully, Luame did send me that vision all those months ago. You know it’s fucking bad when a moon goddess breaks a thousand-year silence to warn you.
I circled him. “You know all about Destiny, so I’ll spare you the evil villain monologue explaining all the hows and whys, and skip to the part that interests you. You have no power now. You have no voice. In other words, you’re an omega now, Cygnus.”
“Aggh!”
“Since you know all about Destiny, you know what that means for you,” I murmured. “You know now that you won’t be leading the charge. You’ll be running away from it, and when they catch you, what they do to you will be...” I whistled. “Obscene.”
He kicked and flailed at me, uselessly attacking to the tune of his silent bellows.
“You see, this is what the mundanes call having skin in the game . Now the fate that you tried to force on me and mine is your fate,” I said. “If you want to stop it. If you want to save yourself, then you’ll go back to the council and tell them— Well, more like pass them a note saying that the changes stand.
“Wolf Nation is about to become the fairest, most equal dominion on earth because you are going to force the council to make my word law. Then and only then will I give you this...” Reaching into the folds of my sheath dress, I pulled out a vial filled with clear, purple liquid. “Your voice back.”
Cygnus leaped trying to grab it. I easily stepped out of reach.
“Do we have an agreement?”
“Aggh! Ah! Nya! Arh!”
“A simple nod will do.”
Cygnus howled—a horrible, strangled sound as weak and pitiful as he was now.
I spun around, throwing my arm up as blinding, radiant sunlight burst from his pores. My wolf burst free, ready for the attack, and the vial slipped from my paw.
It smashed on the walkway, the antidote staining the stone, and Cygnus’s strangled cry made me pity him even more. The great and powerful Sun alpha—crying in the dirt.
I shifted back as the light faded, leaving dancing black spots in my vision. “Well, that was pointless. Do we have a deal or not?”
Loathing leaked from his soul. I felt his desire to kill me like a living, palpable atmosphere surrounding me from all sides. He hated me. He would kill me the second the next generation was secured, but... he nodded.
“Wonderful. I’m so glad we settled this. Now come along,” I said, walking off. “Can’t have people thinking I’m a bad host. They’ll serve you tea and cookies in the mess hall while I get dressed.”
Cygnus made no move to follow me, and I didn’t make him. I left him kneeling in the dirt, went inside to change, then headed back outside. The shouting hit my ears before I reached the door.
“—impossible!”
Badr and Edric chased after Arabella. A whole crowd was forming on the lawn, mostly made up of alphas.
“Back off. Back off,” Arabella shouted. “You will not interfere!”
“I’m telling you he couldn’t have done it,” Edric said. “This is a mistake. He was framed.”
Arabella ignored him and spun her charge around, narrowing on Cygnus. “Sir, I have a suspect. I’m taking him back to Sun City immediately for questioning. Orion Hayes is under arrest for the murders of Warren Hall, Holly Fitch, and... Makena Dagem.”
“It wasn’t me,” Orion bellowed, thrashing in the handcuffs. Those were made by metal wolves too. Werewolf strength wasn’t going to break them. “I didn’t do it! I didn’t even know Dagem was dead! No one did. We thought she fucked off and abandoned us.”
“Save your lies for the interview room. Her body was in your closet!”
Gasps rang out—loud and shocking enough to end the denials flung at Arabella.
“I—I smelled her, sir,” the officer continued. “I was told he was a witness to the first death. I asked to interview him in his room, and one step inside, I knew something was wrong.” Arabella looked at Orion with absolute disgust. “He wrapped her in plastic and stuffed her in his closet like trash.”
“It wasn’t me! I was framed!” Orion latched on to me. “Framed by her! She did this! She’s behind everything!”
“Is she also behind you losing your sense of smell? It’s not possible for you not to have known a body was in your closet!”
“He’s right,” Badr sliced in. “Volana did this. She’s framing him to get back at him. She got one of her minions to kill Dagem, and then she made them put the body in his room. Question her. Arrest her!”
“If what you’re saying is true, then the evidence will bear it out.” Arabella held up an evidence bag. Inside was a bloody knife. “This was found hidden in the closet. It’s the murder weapon. I smell Makena’s blood on it. Have you ever handled this knife?”
“No! I’ve never handled it. I’ve never even seen it before!”
“You just stated in front of witnesses that you have no knowledge of this knife,” she said. “Then your fingerprints will have no business being on it, will they?”
“They’re not on it. I didn’t kill her.”
“We can settle this right now, then. You,” she snapped at Edric. “Bring me my case. I’ll fingerprint him and we’ll settle this. Do you agree or do you wish to wait for your counsel?” she asked Orion. “As is your right.”
“No, do it,” Orion said. “We’re ending this shit now.”
“You all are once again witness to him rejecting counsel and giving verbal consent to fingerprinting,” Costas said. She was clearly a by-the-book person. “Bring me the kit.”
Edric hesitated, glancing at me. I felt him probing around in my skull for a clue of what would happen next, and if I was behind it.
My mind was as blank and bland as my expression.
Costas barked at him again, and he gave in, handing over the fingerprinting kit. Silence like knives dug into our backs, digging deeper and deeper with every tense second, and then when there was no coming back—
“The prints are a match.”
—the twist.
“No, that’s impossible!”
Badr spun on his father. “Sir, you have to do something. She framed him! She killed Dagem! It’s all her!”
I slowly moved through the crowd, falling in beside a stiff, silent Cygnus. “I had nothing to do with this,” I said clearly. “I didn’t frame Orion, and I most certainly didn’t kill Dagem. I thought she was packed up and gone, but it seems the killer”—I fixed on Orion—“got to her before she could.
“I wish I could say I was surprised by this, but it all makes sense. That’s why you let yourself get caught smoking and thrown into detention. You wanted an alibi for when Mr. Hall died,” I said, watching Orion’s face drain of blood. “And Holly. Who knows why you killed her. Maybe she found proof that you were the one who burned Mason’s body to ash and flushed him down the drain.”
“What? Mason?” someone cried. “But I thought he dropped out.”
“He left a note in his room.”
“It was a fake?”
“He was murdered?”
“Not by me,” Orion roared. He thrashed in Arabella’s hold. “It was her! She killed him!”
I shook my head, sighing. “If I killed him, where’s the body, Orion? I don’t have the means or power to make a body disappear.”
“Is this true?” Costas shook him. “Who is this Mason? What do you know of his disappearance!”
Badr shoved out in front of him. “It’s not what you think. She’s twisting everything. There was an accident, but it was self-defense. Mason was a vile piece of shit who was hurting someone, and we had to stop him—”
“By burning him?” Costas sliced in. “Did you or did you not destroy the body and cover up your crime?”
Orion tried to twist free of her. “Yes, but—”
“Yes!” Costas shouted. “That’s all I need to know.”
“That’s not all! I did it to cover up her crime!” All eyes swung to me. “Volana killed him, not me.”
I rolled my eyes. “This is getting more and more ridiculous. Orion hates me. He’s made no secret of that, and believe me, the feeling is mutual. If I killed Mason, why in the hell would you help me cover it up?”
“She’s right. It doesn’t make sense,” Andrew cried. “Why wouldn’t you give her up? Why would you put her on trial for Hall and the lunch lady, and conveniently leave out what she did to our friend?”
“He did it.”
“He’s a psycho!”
“Just like his father.”
“No,” Orion shouted as Costas hauled him away. “NO!”
Badr grabbed his father, shaking him. “Father, do something. Do something!”
Cygnus didn’t move. He didn’t react.
Giving up on him, Badr turned on Edric. “You can stop this. Tell them it wasn’t like that. Say something!”
I flicked to Edric, eyes narrowing. “ You see into my thoughts, lover, so you know what else I had in mind for him. Think hard about if you want to let this play out, or force me to go with Plan B. ”
Edric looked from Orion to me, then back to Orion. “Orion was doing a good thing for a good person that night,” Edric began, “but yeah, he burned the body so that no one would ever find it.”
“Edric!” Orion and Badr bellowed. Betrayal coated the cries like acid.
Stepping to my side, Edric took my hand and laced our fingers through.
Badr looked like someone punched through his stomach and ripped everything out.
“I don’t want there to be any doubt or any accusations of a frame-job,” I continued, “so I’m going to open the school to the secret police. Miss Costas, come back with however many people you want to photograph, print, test, and question everything. Don’t stop until you’re sure you have the right person.”
“You can be sure of that,” she gritted, straining to get Orion through the gates. “I’ll have the entire team here within the hour.”
I inclined my head. “I, your headmistress, will allow this because Cygnus and I have worked everything out. I will stay on as headmistress and all my changes to the school will stand—with the full approval of the alpha council. Right, Cygnus?”
Sweat beading on his brow, Castor’s father looked out over the anxious, bug-eyed, and angry faces... and nodded.
“What?!” Badr exploded. “What the fuck is going on?! What are you saying!?”
“In fact.” I raised my voice over his noise. “Mr. Tahan is returning to the capital right now to begin the process of turning my will into law.” I beamed at the red-faced councilman. “Right, Cygnus?”
Clearing his throat, he straightened to his full height, tried for a smile, and nodded.
“No! This doesn’t make any sense. You wouldn’t do this!” Badr grabbed his father and shook him—hard. “She killed Castor! Did everyone forget that but me? You should be arresting her and throwing her in a hole, not handing her a castle! Wake the fuck up, man! She’s crazy. She—”
Cygnus punched Badr in the face, blowing him off his feet.
I gasped—smile wiping off my face as I clapped my hand over my mouth, gaping at Cygnus in shock. I didn’t expect that. Not in a million did I expect, or want, that.
“Gods, you’re a bastard,” I hissed, knowing Cygnus would hear me loud and clear.
I didn’t need words to translate the look he gave me in return.
Badr shoved up, roughly wiping blood across his chin. He growled—wolf eyes glowing burnished gold.
Stepping over him, Cygnus left through the gates—not even bothering with a glance back.
Thick, awkward silence hung heavy in the air. No one knew what to do or say now, least of all me.
“That was unpleasant,” I forced out, sucking in a deep breath. “Actually, every day has been unpleasant since term began. How about this? Let’s start over. Fresh start.”
“What does that mean?” Tracy asked slowly.
“A party. Tonight.” Enthusiasm crept into my voice as the idea took me. “A party for everyone. Omega, beta, alpha, and epsilon. No fighting, no feuds, no drama. We’ll just get drunk, dance, hook up, and have a good time. Consider that mandatory.” I fluttered my hand at someone in the crowd. “My second-in-command will handle all the details. I’m thinking a royal theme.”
Nia stepped out of the crowd and fell in at my side. “Oooh, royals, I love it, Daze.” Her smile passed over the astonished crowd. “I’ll take care of everything.”
“Excellent. Now, back to class, everyone.”
Confused murmurings and resigned whispers filtered past my ears as my new subjects slowly but surely returned inside. Edric went last, his hands slipping through my fingers.
“ Go easy. ”
It didn’t occur to me to do anything else as I watched Badr slowly peel himself off the ground. Sitting up, he draped his arms across his knees, hanging his head.
My lips parted. “Badr—”
“Fuck off.”
“You lost this fight,” I said, not unkindly. “As bad as that feels right now, one day... you’ll be glad you did.”
I had my foot over the threshold when I heard—
“I can’t lose a fight that’s not over.”