Chapter 83
Chapter Eighty-Three
It seems that these Seers are taking the whole wedding celebration seriously. Once the main meal was
course of a few hours–they moved the chairs out of the way and turned up the music.
It is all so surreal.
Modern hits and ssic hip hop. These women are out on the dancefloor and partying like no one’s
watching. A couple of Seers approach me and try to drag me onto the dancefloor. I appreciate that they
want to include me. But I’m not up to it.
I watch for a few minutes. Any time you see seventy-something year-old women twerking…you’re
gonna watch. It’s like a car crash–you can’t look away.
When the music shifts to the “Cha Cha Slide,” I slip out of the tent and walk to the edge of the hilltop.
There is a bench and I sit. I stare out at the ocean.
The dancing was enough to shock me senseless, but what really has me numb…
I’m pregnant.
Vria had cheered about ‘the first dreamwalker to be born in a century’ which I’m not even clear on
what that means, but her confirming that I’m pregnant–and that it indeed happened in that ‘other
ne’…that I’m going to be a mother again.
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This changes everything.
I sit for several minutes, watching the waves batter the shore and feeling as beat up as that beach
below.
Erices over and drops onto the bench beside me.
“I bet you''re thinking we should’ve stayed in bed today,” I tell him.
He barks augh. He rubs his eyes as if he thinks he’s dreaming. Or stuck in a nightmare. “I got
mated.”
“I saw. I think I may have been a bridesmaid.”
We’re both silent for a long time.
I rest my hand on top of his. He threads our fingers together.
The connection steadies both of us.
“Are you okay?” I whisper after a while.
He doesn’t reply.
“The threats that areing…” He looks at me and his eyes are haunted. “I always thought I would be
the one to stop the violence. To unify our species and prevent cmity. But to hear these Seers tell it,
the war begins with me.”
That is a heavy burden to bear.
I don’t agree or disagree because words have too much power.
These ‘visions’ and prophecies… the fates of entire nations are guided by Seer words. Like it or not, I
am among them now.
I must choose my words carefully.
“I don’t think I can forgive her,” Eric says after another quiet stretch. “It feels too much like a betrayal of
my sister.” He nces at me. “Corinne liked you, you know. She told me once, she wished you two had
met under different circumstances.”
“She was really special, Eric.” My voice is thick.
He leans forwards and lets go of my hand. He rests his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.
I’ve never seen him like this before.
Vulnerable.
It breaks me to see this powerful man cut off at the knees.
I rest my hand on his back, letting him know I’m here. He’s not alone.
And what of his happiness? Ashley is evil. I sympathize with her plight to avenge her family, but she
possesses a singrity of focus that is sociopathic. A victim or not, she doesn’t seem to care about
who else she hurts to achieve her goals.
She destroyed Cam’s life.
His pack’s.
Mine.
“You should’ve let me kill her,” I tease.
His mouth twitches and he looks at me. “You’re not that mean, Mia.” He grins. “But I appreciate the
sentiment.”
“Why did you stop me?” It’s not fair to ask but I do.
“Because she is my mate.” He shakes his head and his mouth contorts with disgust. “How could the
Goddess do this to me!? My pack will want to execute her for what she’s done. Corinne’s warriors will
be after blood. And everytime I look at her, I’ll be reminded of how she betrayed our species and how
she could go to any length to punish me.”
“Hey, all rtionships have their problems.”
Heughs for a second, but then his gaze is reprimanding. “I can’t joke about this. This is the rest of my
life. This should’ve been a union to be celebrated. I wanted a partner. A true mate. Someone to stand
by my side and who would bear my children.”
“You can still have those things–”
“I wanted you.”
My gods, this man. He is… everything.
There is still a bond between us. It’s muted, but there. And the intimacy we three shared only hours
ago…
How can the body and heart–hell, the soul–change its focus so abruptly!?
And what the hell does that even mean!?
“Eric, maybe the Seer knows more than she’s telling us. We can ask Vria–”
“Don’t even say her name. These Seers are all the same. Manipting situations and moving us
around like chess pieces.”
He’s furious.
I’m just thankful he didn’t attack Ashley when we stood before her. If he had…would Vria have
stripped him of his wolf too? Could her powers extend beyond wolves that were marked? I didn’t have
any answers.
I suppose I should be grateful they didn’t do the same thing to me.
Or maybe they wanted me to attack Ashley. Our guide made some weakment about no violence
on the ind, but neither the guide nor Vria nor any other Seer moved to stop me when I was about
to tear out Ashley’s throat.
There was irony in this.
All those years ago, we were on a different mountaintop, when she tried to do that to me.
Violence begetting more violence…
It has to stop somewhere.
If not for us… for our families.
“Give it a chance, Eric. Surely you have to believe that there is hope. You’re mated to Ashley now. Not
just in words, but in bond. I can feel it.”
“Fuck this. She’s a wolf-less abomination. A terrible mother and worthless Luna. She’s a disgrace to my
pack and our species. It would’ve been better had the Goddess struck me down in battle than mated
me to such a heinous bitch.”
There’s a harsh gasp behind us.
Ashley.