Page 68 of The Wolf Moon

Cate nodded before gesturing her hand towards me. “Go on. Do it. I dare you.” She was always so challenging. I couldn’t help but smile just slightly at her words. It didn’t seem like her idea on how to shift would be any help to me at all, but I would humor her.

I closed my eyes and looked within. I could feel that beast just under my skin, stretched out comfortably and yet quiet. It only ever seemed to act up around Roman; probably because he was my mate and the beast knew this. But if I went by Cate’s wisdom, there was no actual beast within me, was there? It was just me.

I inspected it more carefully than I ever had before. Was this beast not something different from me entirely? It didn’t feel normal, but I suppose I wasn’t normal. Was there even a creature under my skin at all?

No, I thought to it, you’re just me, aren’t you? There seemed to be a deafening silence in response. Whatever beast had been there was suddenly gone, but not gone. I took a breath. I am the beast. I took another breath.

A feeling of cold washed over me and I felt as though gravity suddenly dropped me to the abyss. It was like the ground had opened up under me and I was left to fall into the Crone’s Eye, where the water was cool and yet comfortable. For a moment, I thought I would scream as my senses seemed to alter altogether. I felt my hands and feet plant solidly on the floor below me and despite feeling quite stable, something felt… natural, yet strange.

I opened my eyes slowly, blinking when my world seemed to look different altogether. My arms and legs trembled periodically and my breath was heavier than I could ever remember as I took in my surroundings. I felt entirely different; far more powerful and wild. I swallowed, opening and closing my mouth while running my tongue over my sharpened teeth in confusion.

I looked from Cynthia who had an air of being pleased to Cate who looked smug as they waited for me to say something. When I went to ask if I did something wrong, a strange sound of a beastly whimper came from my chest. I stumbled backwards over unusual steps; looking down to realized I hadn’t fallen to my hands and knees at all. They were the paws of an oversized wolf.

I lifted one up and then placed it back down, tapping the ground as though I weren’t sure it was my hand at all. Then I stumbled back further before collapsing onto my stomach to lie down, overwhelmed. I wasn’t human. I was a wolf, but I wasn’t a wolf. The urge to shift back wasn’t even there any longer. What if I would be stuck like this? It was all too much.

“Calm down,” Cynthia called to me, soothing. “You will learn to become used to new forms. It’s nothing to be afraid of. Come look.” She indicated to the water behind her. I didn’t want to look. I was afraid of what I’d see. What if I couldn’t even recognize myself? I wasn’t even Mila anymore.

I lowered my head to the ground as well, still both fearful and yet something else. I was curious. But I was afraid. But… I was curious. I crept forward just a bit, crawling with difficulty along the ground before pausing further.

Cate groaned and then suddenly took a step towards me, dropping to the ground in her own familiar black wolf. I lifted my head at her presence, feeling an immediate connection to her in this form.

“What are you afraid of?” Her voice suddenly echoed in my head. I froze.

“I can hear you!” I replied loudly, unsure on how this would work at all.

“You can hear any wolf in this form. Stop being a child and come look at yourself,” Cate demanded teasingly, moving next to me to nudge me onto my feet with her nose. I did as she requested, feeling more at ease now that I knew I could at least communicate, even if my tongue didn’t speak as I wanted to.

I took hesitant steps towards the surface of the water, glancing at Cynthia. She tilted her head when I paused and then she also abruptly breathed herself into a large wolf beside me. Even in this form, she was something otherworldly. Her fur was the brightest silver, like the blade of the weapon Roman had gifted me. She looked powerful and dangerous, much like Cate did in her onyx wolf form. And yet her eyes were soft, gentle, and soothing.

“I’m here with you,” Cynthia said to me sweetly, coaxing me forward.

I took a deep breath and then stepped further until I could see the surface of the Crone’s Eye. A wolf’s face reflected back to me; its fur a brilliant and almost translucent white. Yet, the eyes were my eyes; the jealous green eyes of the Young family. They spoke to me, reminding me of where I came from and who I was. It was me.

Cynthia stood to my right, looking down at the reflection as well, and Cate came to sit next to Cynthia’s other side before glancing towards me. I could finally see, despite my mortal eyes, the connection. Together, we were a gradient; white to silver to black; a cycle of birth, life, and death.

We were Trinity.

Twenty Eight

Chapter 27

The King Alpha is setting up the main army to meet here,” Cate explained, raising her hand over the surface of the water to make her own map similar to the one Roman kept in his King’s Corner. Within the center of three of the human villages was a large opening where the six packs he had mentioned before would converge before spreading out to take out the human villages, including my own. “The packs will be Trinity of course, along with the Red Moon, Midnight, Polaris, Moonstone, and Crescent packs.”

“

What’s our plan, then?” I asked uncertainly. I glanced at my hand as though not convinced I had actually transformed into a wolf not long before this discussion.

“Our primary plan is for you to get to the King Alpha, but we’ll also need to protect the villages. He’ll send waves and it will start at any time. We may be running late as it is,” Cynthia proceeded to explain with her own frown. “There are more wolves joining us now; Oracles from other areas and Rogues beyond that. Because we will be greatly outnumbered, I’ll gift them with temporary intuition. They’ll be able to foresee attacks and use this to their advantage.”

“I don’t want anyone to be hurt on either side,” I stated quickly, a concern growing within me. Was there really going to be a battle, not just between wolves and humans but also between the wolves themselves?

“This is a war. It’s inevitable,” Cate answered with a shrug. “We’ll push forward with our group. Selene and I will be with you to protect you. If there’s no resistance, no order for attack, then we’ll just stroll right in to see the King Alpha. But you can see how this won’t seem likely…”

“They’ll be guarding Roman?” I was looking at the image of the packs on the surface of the water thoughtfully. Roman wouldn’t be in any danger, being that he was immortal, but maybe not everyone knew this.

“They won’t allow you through because of what you are. His mate,” Cynthia confirmed solemnly, “You’ve changed his mind once already. They won’t want it to happen again. It’ll be the Alphas and Lunas you’ll have to watch for once we get through the actual packs. They have already shown an unwillingness to follow you as Queen Luna. You may have to force their hands.”

I was silent for a moment, thinking. Six packs would be there. We had fifteen wolves, probably more once the other Oracles and Rogues showed, but I knew it would be nothing to the packs waiting to attack. On the Wolf Moon, there had been hundreds of wolves there, all immersed in their hatred of humankind. Even if half of those would show within the other packs, it was possibly over a thousand wolves along with a handful of powerful leaders. I had strained just to stop the Trinity pack from harming me… what could I do with six packs?

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