Page 57 of Luna Rising

I shook my head, confused as to her point. “So, you think we should disregard the prophecy?”

“Not at all. This eternal king believes the prophecy is real, so we must operate under that same assumption. But if you want to know what this is all really about, the crux of it all, look no farther than this room, child. Mark my words, two pairs of soulmates is not happenstance. Gaia may have marked you to restore balance, but that’s not why you’re all here now.”

No one spoke after Frann’s speech. Maybe it was the poison combined with the lack of sleep and the hunger cramping my stomach, but I felt like I was missing something. Mat had started this. He wanted all the eternals and protectors to rise, including the four of us—counting Archer—in the living room. But it wasn’t specific to us… was it?

A cellphone alarm shattered the silence. Charlie reached into his pocket to turn it off. He met Ewan’s gaze. “One hour. We should get in position.”

“I still think I should—”

Three resounding nos cut off Winter’s words. I hated to side with Walter on anything, particularly against his daughter.

Winter glared at me and then turned a pleading gaze on Ewan. “What if you need a speedy exit, hmm? Wouldn’t it be better if I’m there to open a portal?”

“No.” His eyes cut to me. “You’re not going either. But you’ll be able to watch everything go down. Every alpha will be there with a contingent. Your father will bring Zach and Brooke, so you can use the mirror.”

“I left it in your bedroom, Zara, dear,” Mrs. Wynn said. “The cleaners should be finished by now if you want to retrieve it.”

I didn’t love the compromise, though I supposed it was better than twiddling my thumbs and imagining the atrocities.

Ewan folded me in his arms and dropped a lingering kiss on my hair. “You’re in charge until we return.” He spoke in his normal voice, so that everyone in the room could hear him. It was a statement that would reverberate through the pack, letting everyone know I was top wolf.

My father had never entrusted the pack to my mother. If he left the pack lands, command transferred to the highest-ranking male wolf. I caught Ewan’s mother in my periphery and saw her nodding approvingly.

Charlie clapped his hands once and then rubbed them together. “Gaia, what I wouldn’t give to hear the fight about to erupt at my parents’ house.”

I rolled my eyes and tried to downplay my pride. “It’s, like, two hours at the most.”

Ewan gestured to Winter. “Open a portal?” It was half-question, half-command, which was big for him since he barked orders at everyone else.

“Since you asked so nicely,” she muttered as she stood and started weaving a doorway.

I gave Ewan a quick kiss and then grabbed the front of his shirt. “I’ll see you soon.”

He ran his nose along my cheek, breathing in my scent. “You will,” he promised.

Charlie and Birch accompanied him through the portal, as did Walter. I had thought Colleen was part of the watch party, but she hung back, leaving just the women and the silent teenager in the corner.

“If you get the mirror, Zara, I can project the images,” Colleen offered, nudging me in the right direction.

“I’ll open a portal,” Winter said.

She created a doorway straight into the bedroom that I shared with Ewan. I didn’t want to look downstairs and see the bloodstained sofa, and yet I just couldn’t help myself. I peered over the railing, pleasantly surprised to see a brand-new leather couch. The evidence of my crime was gone. Mrs. Wynn had mentioned the cleaners.

Relieved my house didn’t look like a scene out of a B-horror movie, I grabbed the box off my nightstand and hurried back through the portal. In the short time I was gone, Colleen had set about rearranging the chairs in the living room to form a semicircle.

She pointed to the seat that Walter had previously occupied. “Sit there, Zara.”

I finally understood why Ewan grumbled so much about the women in his life not giving him the alpha respect he deserved. Colleen had no qualms about ordering me around, which made me bristle even though I did as she said.

Winter sat on my left, Mrs. Wynn on my right. Colleen and Kiernan took the end seats. I opened the box on my lap and wrapped my hand around the cold metal handle. Thirteen jagged sections appeared. I located Brooke.

As predicted, she was with my family. Seeing my parents in their ceremonial Gemini robes nearly broke me. Did they even miss me? Were they glad I had left? The debacle of my almost-marriage to Hayden had brought shame on the pack and, specifically, my father. Did he hate me?

I asked myself these questions because they were easier to handle than the one I really wanted to ask: Would my father have handed me over to the Zodiac Councils? I hated that I didn’t know the answer.

Mrs. Wynn touched my arm. “Whenever you’re ready, dear.”

“Yeah. Sorry.” My gaze landed on Colleen. “I’m ready.”

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