Page 3 of Oracle
Would we care more about living a life that fulfilled us instead of pouring our whole selves into others’ cups in an attempt to feel valued?
I huffed out a breath and opened my eyes once more. I supposed I'd have all the time in the world to ponder those thoughts after I took up my mantle here as Selene's Oracle.
Coming out of my thoughts, I realized Selene had never answered me, opting instead to allow me to work through it myself while silently holding my hand, her thumb stroking my skin tenderly. Maybe she knew it was unfair, or maybe she thought I was being a whiny brat. Either way, she kept her thoughts to herself.
Her silence was telling, in and of itself.
The truth was that nothing she said would change my situation. Only I was in control of my feelings, and I’d need to process them in whichever way brought me closure in order to move forward into this final chapter of my life.
There was one more question I had for Selene, but I feared her answer. I reached within myself once more, trying to find the answer myself before I voiced it out loud.
Lux?
She didn't answer me, and I forced myself to take deep, slow breaths to keep myself from spiraling at the thought of losing her.
I couldn’t lose her, too.
Dropping Selene's hand, I tilted my chin up, adopting a false bravado I certainly didn’t feel, and asked, "Where is my wolf? Why can I not feel her here?"
Selene's lips tugged down in a frown as she lifted her hand to my temple and closed her eyes. Her brows furrowed as if in deep concentration, and I felt an odd probing sensation within my chest. Finally, she opened her eyes and fixed me with a quizzical look. "Your wolf is within you. Why do you feel that she is not?"
No, she definitely was not within me. I wasn't crazy.
Maybe it was just being in this plane of existence that blocked her from speaking with me.
Suddenly, I was anxious to get back to my body to see if Lux would be there when I took my first breath. I needed to hear her voice. I needed her to work through this. I needed her advice and love.
No one understood me better than her, and with the decision cemented in my mind to not tell my mates or Morgan about becoming the Oracle, Lux's guiding light would be all that could keep me sane as I worked through everything in silence.
Something deep within me told me that Selene wouldn't understand if I tried to explain my connection with Lux. Supposedly, no other shifters shared the kind of connection with their wolves that I did. I just had a gut feeling she wouldn't have the answers for me—and would possibly just hold me within this reality to ask questions of me.
I didn’t have that kind of time to waste.
I backed away from her and shook my head. "Never mind. Send me back, please. I understand the terms, and I accept becoming your Oracle when the prophecy has been fulfilled and the wolves of the world are safe," I stated, my voice sounding a bit hollow as I accepted my fate. I resolutely squashed the resentment that felt like it had cracked my heart in two.
If our goddess herself couldn’t change my fate, then no one could.
Pursing her lips, Selene looked me up and down, concern etched on her face as she took a deep breath and blew it back out. "There's one more thing...I said that you would have until the prophecy was completed, but that is only partially true.”
I clenched my jaw, grinding my teeth together in an attempt to bite back a retort about how she was seemingly full of half-truths recently.
“You will have until the next full moon to finish the prophecy, otherwise the moon will call you back home, no matter what. The power you will hold within you isn't meant to be on Earth. The natural balance of life demands your return to this place, now that you will be reborn as my Oracle."
My jaw dropped open in utter disbelief. Was she fucking kidding me? How was I going to end a war in that time frame?
That only gave me roughly three weeks. I had just shifted under the full moon for the first time a week ago.Son of a biscuit.
It was seemingly impossible. But love had a crazy way of making the impossible come to fruition. It was a force unlike any other out there.
A thought came to mind. "What if I finish the prophecy early? Will I be able to enjoy the rest of my time with them until the full moon?" I queried, hopeful that I could somehow pull that off, allowing us a bit of time at the end to just soak up each other’s presence. A hint of a blush warmed my cheeks at the thought of just how intimately I wanted to soak them up.
I needed to know the full parameters of how this was going to work so I was prepared, no matter what the outcome might be. No more of these half-truths and vague answers.
Her lips thinned as she frowned slightly and shook her head. "No. Your magic will naturally know when its role in the world has been fulfilled. If you complete the prophecy early, you will return here immediately."
Fuck me.I should have expected that response.
Of course that was the case, because nothing ever slightly good could go my way, even in the most dire of circumstances. I shouldn't have assumed otherwise. Getting my hopes up only allowed me to feel more anger when they were dashed.
