Kate’s POV
The night was too still for comfort and it was the kind of quiet that settled deep into your bones, made you aware of every breath, every heartbeat.
Made it so that even as cold seeped into your skin it was hard to pay attention to that alone, so I stood there at the edge of the balcony of the pack house my eyes scanning the thick forest beyond, searching for something-anything-that could explain the unease twisting in my gut.
My wolf Lyka, growled low and I shifted on the balls of my feet urgency running through my veins.
I was supposed to be ok now, Sarah was gone her death, though expected, had sent a ripple through the pack.
She had killed herself and according to shifter religion she would never be able enter the after life.
Dimitri had done what needed to be done in sentencing her but in a way I was glad that he had not been forced to watch her die, that she had the decency to kill herself without him doing it. To see Dimitri broken again would have hurt more than anything else.
I was slowly falling for him, it wasn’t even about the mate bond anymore each day I spent with him I felt even more at ease than the day before.
But even with her gone and my father locked away in the Council’s prison, there was this lingering sense of dread that I couldn’t shake something was coming but I didn’t know what it was or how to stop it.
I turned my gaze toward the moon, half-hidden behind a veil of clouds and it’s pale light bathing the forest in a silvery hue making the leaves of the Silverwood trees on the west side of the land appear like star’s.
“Kate,” a voice called out, snapping me out of my thoughts.
I turned to see Dimitri striding toward me, his expression as worried as I felt.
“What is it?” I asked,
” I’ve been looking for you” he said and I smiled
” I’ve been here, thinking” I mumbled , he wrapped his hand around me, pressing a kiss on my hair
” What are you thinking about” he asked and I shrugged
” Something feels weird like something is happening here ” I said and he nodded
” Don’t worry about it, it’s just because of Sarah’s death”
There was some sort of commotion and then Dimitri’s beta rushed into the room
” Alpha”
” What is it” Dimitri asked pushing me behind him
“There’s been a disturbance,” he said, stopping a few paces from us. His eyes were dark, filled with an worry and another emotion that i couldn’t quite place despite my best efforts.
“we sensed magic that crossed our borders. The guards caught a glimpse of a man before he vanished into thin air.”
” Reports have been made to the council and they said that we do have a threat on hand”
” I thought all sorcerer’s were registered where did he come from” I asked and the beta shook his head
I looked to Dimitri and he sighed
” We need to go now” he urged leading me out of the room, he led me to a basement of some sort, it was warmer than I would have thought it to be and they seemed to be no trouble with anything in the space, I heard sounds like tinkling metals from a bunch of keys
” Where is this place ” I asked and he nodded ahead
” Every pack had a registered sorcerer, we are going to see Odette”
I nodded my understanding and followed him
” Welcome alpha” a voice greeted and Dimitri paused
” Ody” he called and she cackled coming into the light.
She wasn’t that old by any stretch of imagination, she looked to be in her mid forties thought the ragged clothes and bedraggled hair did her no favours
” I like my hair that’ way thanks” she mumbled at me and I flushed in embarrassment
” We have a breach” Dimitri said interrupting
” I know ”
“What do we know about this sorcerer? Who is he?” he asked and she sighed
“His name is Marcellus sly bastard,” she said her voice laced with tension.
“He’s one of the most powerful sorcerers in the region. No one knew where he came from, but his reputation preceded him. ”
” He’s known for his ruthlessness, for his ability to manipulate the very fabric of reality to suit his will.” she replied
I did not need the introduction, we all knew who he was, or knew of him anyway.
Marcellus.
The name sent a shiver down my spine. I had heard of him before, in whispers and hushed tones among the elders. He was a legend, a nightmare wrapped in human flesh but no one really completely knew him.
” And how can no one know him” I asked frustratedly and she grinned at me
” Darling, sorcerers are not a very close bunch, we prefer to stay out of each other’s way once we all were ousted from our home land after the uprising.
“This planet is not made like Argermon, it can’t handle powerful sorcerer’s in the same place, we learned that lesson the hard way ” she mumbled somberly
” So what does he want” Dimitri asked, Odette huffed
” He believes that he can make another Argermon here on earth, it’s a ridiculous thought but he is determined enough to try”
The man who was dreaded as the most dangerous being in the planet was here and he was trying to make the place like his home town , he was here, on our lands
” Why is he here” I asked and she shrugged
” Like every good story to every villain there is a hero, and for Marcellus you are that hero. The one the prophesy foretold ” she said and I hissed a breath
” What prophecy” Dimitri asked, tensing
“Why now?” I asked ignoring him , I wasn’t sure if I really wanted the answer but I wasn’t ready to give him an answer either .
“Why is he coming after me now?”
” What is the prophecy” Dimitri asked again
Odette hesitated, her eyes searching mine.
“The prophecy,” she said finally.
“It’s coming to fruition, Kate. He’s here to stop you before you can fulfill it.”
The prophecy!
It was something I got to know if when my wolf became strong I had tried to push to the back of my mind, to live as if it didn’t dictate my every move. But prophecies had a way of catching up with you, and it seemed, mine was catching up with me too.
Since birth I had been given reasons why I could never be enough , my mother was a human hence I was an Half Breed but I was born in the year of the half moon, I was only gifted a wolf when I had finally been given one Lyka had not fit in with the typical description of a wolf, born all white but the one thing my father had not told me until the day my stepmother had furiously blurted out while she was hitting me.
I had been born with a prophecy, the child of the half moon to destroy the worldender.
“We need to protect the pack,” I said, stepping back from Dimitri, my mind shifting into battle mode.
“Marcellus can’t be allowed to harm anyone. We have to stop him.”
“Agreed,” Dimitri said, his voice firm, his eyes glinting, I knew he would still ask about the prophecy but he was going to let it be for now.
“I’ve already doubled the patrols. The warriors are on high alert. But we can’t underestimate him, Kate. He’s not like anything we’ve faced before.”
I nodded, my resolve hardening.
“I won’t let him take this pack from me, from us. We’ve fought too hard to let it all fall apart now.”
Dimitri’s eyes softened, his hand slipping into mine.
“I believe in you, Kate. You’re stronger than you know”
As much as I wanted to believe him, there was a nagging doubt in the back of my mind. Marcellus was no ordinary enemy.
The days that followed were a blur of preparation and tension, the pack buzzing with energy the kind of energy that preceded a storm. Dimitri and I spent every waking moment, fortifying our defenses, and ensuring that every member of the pack was ready for what was to come.
But even with all the preparations, I just couldn’t rest it was, like the heavy clouds hung over me.
It was dark and I still couldn’t fall asleep, but it was time to go to bed, I closed the balcony window and walked to bed, as I lay there staring up at the ceiling, I felt the weight of it all pressing down on me.
The prophecy, the pack, Dimitri- I had survived three lives, three chances at this. But each one had taken a piece of me, until I wasn’t sure who that person was anymore.
“You’re awake,” Dimitri’s voice came from beside me as he climbed into bed.
“I can’t sleep,” I admitted, turning to face him. His eyes were dark,
“I know this is hard,” he said, reaching out to pull me into his arms.
“But we’ll get through it, Kate. You’re not alone in this.”
” Not anymore” he said stiffly
I buried my face in his chest, letting the steady rhythm of his heartbeat calm me.
“I’m scared, Dimitri,” I whispered,
“What if… what if I can’t do this? What if Marcellus wins?”
Dimitri’s grip tightened around me, his voice fierce. “That won’t happen, I don’t know what this prophecy is yet but you’re stronger than he is, Kate. ”
” You’ve survived so much, overcome so much.”
” It’s your destiny” I nodded, his words blostering me
******
Marcellus stepped out of the shadows as if he had been born from them, and maybe he had. His eyes, scanned darkness as if trying to see through the night itself.
He watched from afar the little omega wrapped in her alpha’s embrace
“So, you’re the one,” Marcellus said, his voice smooth and mocking.
“The one who thinks she can escape her fate.”
He heard whimpering in the forest and he sighed, it stopped almost immediately
Marcellus chuckled, well this was getting interesting.