Chapter One
Nyx
My eyes are wide as I stare at the aging witch, her own eyes hazy and full of disdain. The others behind me are deathly silent, likely processing her words as well. You can practically hear a pin drop in the room, except for the sound of increasing ragged breaths—my own.
I open my mouth to speak but before I get a chance to fumble out any words, she turns, stalking out of the office without so much as a backwards glance.
Panic fills me instantly, shock filtering through my system as I struggle to process her words.
The stock turns into thunderous bolts of electricity, a charge ricocheting through me and before I realize I’m doing it, my feet are moving on their own accord as I chase after her.
"Wait!" I call out to Lydiana desperately.
Behind me, I start to hear the telltale echo of following footsteps, but they stop, hushed voices barely audible.
I manage to catch up to Lydiana on the sidewalk outside, throwing myself in front of her frame as I force her to come to a standstill. She glares at me angrily, as though it’s my fault she’s here. Though, admittedly, there's also a fraction of expectancy in her gaze.
"That's all I have to say, wolf. Now let me leave."
I'm so baffled by the revelation, caught off-guard, as I will myself to calm.
Lydiana has made her stance clear—she doesn't want to engage with wolves. It’s physically painful for her to be in our presence.
But if she's here, I know it must be for a higher purpose—something she felt she couldn’t ignore.
No other choice but to go against her better judgement and beliefs.
I don’t want to make her feel trapped or threatened. But I also can’t let her just leave like that. We know how dire the situation is, and her words have only escalated the panic I feel.
Before meeting Cade, I would have made the assumption that witches wouldn't just waltz into pack territory, but now that I know how much power they possess, I have no doubt that she doesn't feel threatened. Heck, she incapacitated three alphas without even being near them.
Still… the severity hits home and an uncomfortable feeling digs deeper in my chest that she still felt the need to come into our pack’s territory to warn me.
Warn me of my impending death…
"I understand," I start, keeping my voice composed. "And I won't keep you. I know you wouldn't be here if it wasn't important."
Her eyes narrow in disbelief, but she somewhat relaxes—particularly since the street is oddly quiet and the alphas haven't given chase. I suspect that was a deliberate move on their part, a calculated step of their knowledge. If anyone knows witches better than another else, it’s the alphas.
"I have no issue with you," she grunts. "But I have no desire to stay longer than necessary."
I nod. "I apologize for this—truly. But as you can imagine, things in the cosmic universe have been very disruptive. We're trying hard to restore balance and stop a war but we're coming up short. Your presence here is a light of hope… even if it was ominous as fuck."
Internally, I cringe at my slip-up, my leadership persona clearly reaching its peak long ago and starting a downward trajectory. And these assholes still think I’m Luna material. Idiots.
But when Lydiana starts laughing, her voice cracking with amusement, I can't help but return a sheepish smile in her direction.
"You've changed," she points out. "There might be hope for your kind yet."
"I'm going to make sure of it," I say strongly, politely choosing to ignore the mild hostility in her tone. "But I refuse to lose people I care about. Please—is there anything else you can give me? Tell me?"
Lydiana straightens up, and around us, an out of place breeze suddenly sweeps through the street, whipping my hair around my face as leaves rustle along the road.
Just as quickly as it starts, it vanishes, sending a rush of coldness through me.
Chills rack my body and it has absolutely nothing to do with the wind.
"You're curious about the allies," she murmurs. It's not a question, but a definite statement judging by her tone.
Nodding, I frown. There’s no point denying that I’m worried about our friends. "From the information we've gathered, I worry you might be referring to Alpha Wyatt's pack."
She neither confirms nor denies it, but her eyes sparkle for the first time as she looks at me. "You don't appear to be the least bit concerned about the other part of the premonition."
Swallowing hard, I give a little shrug, averting my eyes to hide my true reaction.
To be fair, I’m trying to avoid focusing on that part.
I won’t pretend I didn’t completely start to spiral when she said those words.
But I’m quickly realizing that this situation—this world—is bigger than just me.
And the people I care about will always take priority.
"I don't want to die, Lydiana. But you also said that if I die, then there's no stopping the war.
That makes it sound like there's still a chance to turn things around.
We already suspected that I was the key to stopping another Great War or having the balance tip over.
Even if that wasn't the case, I'd still give everything I have to try to save everyone. Witches included.”
The two of us fall into silence. It's a little unnerving, and I dare to sneak a glance up at her, surprised when I find her smiling at me.
"You're more like her than you realize."
Her?
My stomach flips anxiously. "Who?" I ask.
"Ophelia," she answers, so quietly that I have to strain my ears to hear her.
"She's my ancestor," I respond awkwardly, unsure how to take her confession. "Apparently."
Lydiana nods confidently. "I'm aware."
My eyebrows furrow at her admission, instantly connecting the dots. "You knew all along."
She smiles again, throwing me off with her unusual, expressive behavior. "Keep searching, wolf. You'll find what you're looking for."
Turning on her heel, she makes tracks along the road. I continue to watch her, not moving from my place until she becomes a tiny speck in the distance. No one from Shadow Creek will bother her, yet I still feel compelled to make sure she reaches the treeline without disturbance.
As soon as she's fully out of view, people start crowding the street, emerging from buildings and continuing on with their day.
But it's as if they were oblivious to her presence, not giving me unusual looks at our impromptu meeting. It almost seems coincidental that they are now bustling around the main street as soon as she’s gone, but I know better though—nothing is coincidental when it comes to things like this. Everything is planned, intentional.
Powerful.
There’s so much to this world that is beyond us, even beyond the power of alphas and ancient packs.
In a world full of predators and prey, we are quick to be reminded that even apex predators aren’t completely safe and secure.
Everything comes back full circle to cosmic balance, the universe ensuring that no one species can ever become too big for their own good.
Except… not every pack and alpha believes that.
Slowly, I start to move when people give me strange looks at my frozen stance, heading back into the building.
The office door is still wide open, the alphas back in their chairs, exchanging quiet, heated words.
At my appearance, they all fall silent, eyes snapping to my lingering frame in the doorway.
"Well?" Maverick asks first, standing up. "What did she have to say?" There’s an edge of urgency to his tone. And something else too… an unusual almost begging plea to his question that should scare the shit out of me.
"Nothing," I admit honestly. "But she didn't need to. I think we can all read between the lines here."
If they are taken aback by my monotone response, none of them show it.
Cade flashes me a warm smile while Lex moves toward me, embracing my torso with his strong arms.
"I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he whispers angrily, stubble brushing against my cheek. “There’s no universal force that would be able to stop me from protecting you.”
Pulling back to survey my face, I force a soft smile to appease him.
"I know," I answer quietly. I’m not entirely sure I believe him. Not because I don’t believe he’s strong, but because the universe has proven time and time again that we’re just creatures in a game.
We could be wiped out of existence in a single blink, and none of us would be able to stop it.
Raising my voice to address the others as well, I continue. "We need to warn Alpha Wyatt and Luna Eve immediately. I think they are the most at risk if Orson decides to attack."
"I'll take care of that," Alpha Daxton offers. "I think we are all in agreement that the culprits are the Seventh Circle Pack."
I nod, heading to my seat once Lex steps back. When we're all seated again, I wait for one of them to speak. It's Cade who starts much to my surprise, his leg hanging casually over his knee.
"Our best course of action is to take out Orson. We can't wait for him to strike. Plus, we have a rough timeline to follow now—a deadline at least.”
An unfortunate choice of words, but he’s correct.
"How long until the next new moon?" I ask, glancing around the room, completely forgetting what day it even is now.
Maverick clears his throat. "Twelve days. Enough time to prepare."
“Barely,” Cade interjects quietly with a touch of humor as he attempts to lighten the mood.
Maverick side-eyes him with annoyance. “Speak for yourself. My pack is well and truly capable of preparing on short notice.”
Frowning, I watch as the other alphas nod, including Cade as they all start discussing preparation tactics.
It's moments like this where I feel like an outsider again.
Where would I even start? How the hell do you prepare four—no, five—entire packs to enter a war.
Well, not a war, I guess. A fight to avoid a war. Tomato-tomato.
Even though I feel worthless as a meaningful contributor to the conversation, one thing is for sure.
Gone are the days where I was just a normal omega wolf.
If only I knew what my life was going to become once I turned twenty-one.
Instead of leaning into the awkwardness, for once I turn away from it.
"What does preparing look like in a situation like this? What can I do to help?"
The four of them turn toward me, each exhibiting a look of what I can only surmise as gratitude and… pride. It stirs something in me, and I brush away the last lingering fears of doubt.
Ophelia’s blood runs deep, a bloodline as old as time. And I refuse to let myself become a statistic or disappointment.
This is my destiny, my fate. And I don’t care how ruthless I have to become if it means saving everyone from the next Great War.