Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
“What is it?” Julius asked, clasping his hands together as if he was trying to prevent himself from yanking the journal from my grasp.
I read the last sentence again, ensuring that nothing had changed. But no, the words glared back at me, mocking me. “This can’t be right.” My attention flicked to Bart.
I wanted him to tell me this was some sort of elaborate scam or that I’d wake up from this crazy dream. But he gave me a slight nod, confirming something that should’ve been unfathomable.
“What is Rosemary’s mother's name, again?” I was pretty sure she’d mentioned it in passing one day, or maybe I’d seen the name flash on her cell phone.
“Yelahiah,” Griffin answered, and he tipped his head back. “Wait…if Ophaniel was the angel that fathered the silver wolves, that means you’re related to Rosemary. Yelahiah is Ophaniel’s sister. She’s refused to talk about her brother ever since his death.”
I focused on the most important part of the sentence. “He’s dead?” Of course he was.
“Yeah, he died centuries ago.” Griffin’s forehead wrinkled, and his foot bounced. “I can’t remember how.”
“It’s all in there.” Bart pointed at the book. “Keep reading.”
I inhaled sharply, steadying myself. I read a few more paragraphs, and something hard landed in my stomach. “Apparently, the angels were angry that he had a child with the wolf. Angels can only reproduce every couple of decades, and Ophaniel had a child born only a decade before the silver wolf was born, so the timing was an anomaly, making it appear as if the silver wolves were destined to be created.”
“Things don’t happen at random.” Bart faced the statue and reached out, touching the moon that the angel held in his palm. “There’s a reason for everything, even if it’s not apparent at first.”
Maybe. I used to believe the exact same thing—that we all had free choice, though fate already knew what our choices would be. Would fate be that cruel?
Surely not.
A slaughtered pack, a kidnapped brother, attacks that rocked my entire world—these should never have been set in stone. Only those who had grown up privileged and never faced the cruelness of the world could think that such horrors were meant to be. When all you’d been given were minor trials and tribulations, it was easy to think something good was in charge. But bad things happened to good people, and communities unraveled or were besieged by terrible events.
The world had to be a crapshoot. Just a random series of events that happened, and you either got lucky or not. Your fate could change in an instant, but in my darkness, I’d found light. I’d found a part of me that I didn’t know existed.
I’d found my strength, my perseverance, and a new family.
I’d found something I’d never been sure I had inside me, despite Dad’s insistence it was there. I finally believed I was meant to be an alpha—the silver wolf alpha—and I’d take down whoever threatened our world.
“Whether silver wolves were destined to be created or not, we’re here.” Resolve coursed through me. “And they won’t kill any more of us. Not if I’m breathing.”
“Well, it’s not like we have huge numbers anymore.” Bart grunted. “There are only eighteen silver wolves left, outside of you and Cyrus, and our pack totals twenty-five.”
“Twenty-five?” There were seventeen here now, including Julius and me. “Where are the other eight?”
“Five of us found our mates, and Darrell and I each have one child.” He licked his lips. “We left them behind with one of the men as guard.”
Of course the children and the mates that weren’t silver needed protecting. They were mated to silver wolves, which meant they were regular wolves and not as strong as our kind. The children were full silver wolves—the magic of the moon was dominant and passed to them fully—but they were still young and vulnerable.
“What happens if they’re attacked?” We’d thought we were safely hidden here, and we weren’t. I’d hate for the others to be ambushed and butchered.
Bart’s body became more rigid. “The guard will alert us, and we’ll head back as fast as possible. We wanted to check this area out and bring them to meet the pack here if it was all clear. They’re all packed and waiting for the nod.”
“I wouldn’t bring them here—this town is compromised. But Dad was planning to move us to a new location not too far away that should be safe.”
“He told me.” Bart rubbed his temples. “That’s where I planned on us heading next.”
The book grew heavy in my hands, reminding me that I wasn’t anywhere near finished. “Good.” I flipped to the next page.
The once neat scribbling was now a jumbled mess, the chaotic swirls making my heart pound from whatever secrets they held. “Apparently, the angels weren’t thrilled that the male hybrid was able to reproduce and that his child was as powerful as him. But Ophaniel protected his son, his grandchildren, and his great-grandchildren. The wolves were able to reproduce every five to ten years, which angered the angels even more. Apparently, the wolf side of them made it easier to reproduce, and once again, their powers weren’t diluted. Each generation angered the angels even more.”
“Well, they are kind of elitist.” Killian chuckled. “They think highly of themselves, similar to the fae.”
I’d never met a fae, though I knew they existed. Most of them stayed in their own realm and rarely crossed over to Earth. If you weren’t of fae blood, you couldn’t travel to their land.
“What else does it say?” Julius asked as he shuffled to my other side and glanced over my shoulder. He stiffened and blew out a breath. “What the hell?”
“Uh…” I had no clue how to answer him. “No?” That certainly wasn’t what the book said. I looked around, trying to figure out what had set him off.
“There are no words on the page.” He swiped the book and turned it upside down, making a few pages fall and land on the cement.
“Are you insane?” He had to be. I grabbed the book from him and clutched it to my chest. “You’re going to mess it up!”
Griffin squatted and picked up the papers. “Babe. He’s right.” He stood and held the papers toward me. “There’s nothing there.”
“This isn’t funny.” Now wasn’t the time for games. The letters seemed even more frantic, but they were legible. It took just a little bit of focus to make out the words. I took the pages from him and placed them back inside the book. I’d figure out where they went later.
“They can’t see the writing.” Bart smiled sadly as he pivoted toward me. “And this confirms what your father knew all along. Only angels and the true alpha of the silver wolves can read those words.”
“Is that why you didn’t tell me?” Another stupid-ass test that he needed to perform because he didn’t believe a woman could be alpha. “How do you know I’m not pretending?”
“Our father read the entries that day because neither your dad nor I were alphas yet.” He kicked at the cement as if he were ashamed. “We had him read the journal to us so many times that I have most of it memorized. You didn’t know anything about this room, and your dad’s letter confirms that he never told you about it.”
“Is it because I’m a woman?” I was going to make him admit it. Dad told me to never back down. Maybe he was preparing me for the first time I met Bart.
“No.” He grimaced and lifted a hand. “But I thought maybe the witch lied to your dad when she planned on stealing Cyrus. I just had to make sure.”
I guessed that made sense, but it didn’t completely settle me. However, the stench of a lie was missing.
“Another thing she gets that I don’t,” Julius grumbled, sounding jealous.
Maybe I wasn’t as safe with him as I’d hoped. He might have alpha aspirations of his own, which meant he could stab me in the back. He’d already done it twice. “Considering how much you whine, you could never handle being in charge.” I was done being nice.
Killian snorted while Griffin chuckled.
I waited for a smart-ass retort, but Julius’s face only turned red.
Not wanting to keep going down this horrible road, I read some more. “The angels grew disgruntled and tried to overtake the city. The silver wolves realized that the angels had to be stopped, and for more than just their own protection. The angels were trying to control everyone and using the city that had been built for refuge as a place to dominate and control. The silver wolves strategized and got the other supernatural races to work together and overthrow the angels.”
A smile spread across my face. “Ophaniel writes that it was the most amazing process to watch. The silver wolves had an even more cunning strategy than the angels because they were able to feel and relate to the pain of the races all around them. They energized an army that stormed the city and demanded justice for all.”
Julius bounced on his heels. “What happened next?” He sounded like a kid listening to his favorite bedtime story.
He must have had so many questions growing up as a silver wolf that he was thrilled to get answers. Questions I should’ve had but didn’t because I’d taken things for granted.
“Yelahiah intervened and called a truce, with the majority of the angels backing her, but at a cost.” I forced the next words. “Azbogah claimed the silver wolves were an abomination, stating that his judgment was final and that they all needed to die. Ophaniel tried to protect the silver wolves from the angel attack, but all the other angels were afraid to stand up to Azbogah. After all, the angels were forced to stand down to the other races because of Ophaniel’s offspring. The angels rallied and attacked, killing five silver wolves. Ophaniel helped the remaining ones flee in the middle of the night.” I paused, needing to collect myself. The past seemed like a deadly soap opera. “Who is Azbogah?”
“He’s part of the angel council.” Griffin frowned. “He’s the one who makes decisions for the whole angel community, overriding Yelahiah and her husband. He calls himself the judge and executioner.”
“Sounds like a stand-up guy.” Pricks like that had huge egos. “I bet he and Dick get along great.”
“You know what?” Griffin tilted his head as if something clicked. “They actually do.”
“Of course.” Killian rolled his eyes. “I’ve been telling you forever that Dick’s an asshole. Assholes stick together.”
Hoping to keep the insults from starting, I turned the page to find different handwriting looped across it with a date a few days later. Red-hot anger filled me. “Apparently, after the silver wolves escaped, Azbogah called a meeting of the angels and declared Ophaniel a traitor. He proclaimed the only acceptable penance was death.”
“For protecting his family?” Killian sounded shocked.
I nodded, needing a moment before I could continue.
Griffin interlocked his fingers behind his head. “Did someone stand up for him?”
“No. The silver wolves weren’t there to help them regain control, so they let the angels proceed.” Cowards. That was what they all were. “Yelahiah says she tried to stop the execution, but it was too late. Azbogah chopped off Ophaniel’s head, and Ophaniel didn’t even try to fight back, wanting them to take their wrath out on him instead of his family.”
“No wonder Azbogah and Yelahiah are at odds.” Griffin sounded disgusted.
And I couldn’t blame him. For Yelahiah to watch her brother die, knowing she’d done nothing to stop it…I imagined that would make her hate not only Azbogah, but herself, too.
A low growl emanated from Griffin’s chest, and he cleared his throat. “I hate to interrupt, but we have a situation.”
That was just a variation of us having a problem, and I’d lost count of how many times I’d heard it today. “What’s wrong?”
“There’s trouble within Shadow City’s gates.” Griffin pinched the skin at his throat. “We’re needed there immediately, along with Killian.”
I shut the book. “Then I guess we need to go.” I turned to Bart. “How do we contact you?”
“Easily.” Bart walked to me and lowered his head, submitting to me. “I am now part of your pack, and you are my alpha, as it should be.”
A warm spot popped into my chest, followed by twenty-four more. My heart swelled until I thought it might burst. I could feel not only a connection to them but also their well-being. I hadn’t expected him to do that. This must be how my dad had felt every day. I sensed anxiety, worry, and love wafting through each connection, identifying each person’s mental state. I couldn’t hear their thoughts, but the general gist of their mental states flowed into me. And my uncle pulsed with pride. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know, but I wanted to,” he said and closed the distance between us to hug me. “You’re even stronger than your dad realized, and I’m so lucky I finally got to meet you and Cyrus.” He released me and hugged my brother.
Julius stiffened and patted Bart’s back awkwardly, but then he stilled and looked at me. “I can’t come with you to Shadow City, or people will see me.” He gestured at Bart. “Why don’t I stay with him?”
Ugh, he was right, but I didn’t want to put that burden on Bart. “We can drop—”
“No, it’s fine.” Bart tapped his head. “I’ll link you and tell you where we land. He can stay with us. In fact, if you bless me, I should be able to help him shift and run for the first time.”
“Bless you?” I had no idea what that even meant. “Like sneezing?”
Killian burst out laughing. “I’ve never heard you sound anything less than smart until this moment.”
Nope, I was not taking any shade from him. “Then what does it mean, asshole?”
His laughter cut off as his face smoothed. “Um...I’m not sure.”
“So I’m not the only idiot.” I stuck my tongue out at him. It’d been a while since he and I ragged one another. It felt nice, even though this wasn’t the best time.
“But I didn’t—”
Bart pinched his lips together like he was trying not to smile and cut off Killian. “Just push some of your alpha will toward me, allowing me to borrow a little bit of your power until the shift is over.”
That sounded so simple, but I was clueless about how to do it.
“Let your wolf guide you.” Bart encouraged. “She’s mixed with your angel side and knows exactly what to do.”
“Like an angelic wolf?” Killian asked, wide-eyed. “With wings and all?”
Now I couldn’t not give him shit. “And I sound like an idiot?”
“Hey.” Killian frowned, but there was warmth in his eyes.
Griffin took my hand and chuckled. “She’s got you there, man.”
I closed my eyes to focus, tuning everyone out. I needed to get this done. I tugged on my connection with Bart…and my wolf pushed a little bit of our magic toward him. Use this to help Cyrus shift and send it back to me. Alpha will laced the words, and a small part of me passed to Bart.
“Perfect.” Bart squeezed my arm. “Take the book and go. I’ll handle everything here.”
His sincerity flowed into me, and I turned without hesitation. We had another crisis to face, and the longer we took to get there, the more Dick would take control, which was unacceptable.