by Jayme Morse
“I just inherited a house from my grandmother,” Julie explained.
“Can we please come visit you?” Branden asked.
“I’m pretty sure we can arrange that,” Julie replied.
“Summer reunion in Hawaii!” Maddie hopped up and down like a bunny with excitement. “You and the Darken have to come, too.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.” Even though I wanted to be able to say, for sure, that we would make it happen, I wasn’t about to get my hopes up, either. The past two summers, my mates and I had made fun and exciting plans, and they had never ended up working out. Something always happened to get in the way of the plans we tried to make. I was going to try to do everything in my power to make a fun summer actually happen for once, but I was afraid that it just wasn’t in the cards for us.
I realized then that the bad feeling I’d felt just moments before was beginning to set in. I couldn’t seem to put my finger on what it was exactly, but I was pretty sure that everything was about to go downhill… and fast.
I tried to tell myself that I was only being paranoid, that this was some sort of PTSD. But deep down, I didn’t think that was it. I was pretty sure this was my wolfy intuition trying to tell me something.
Trying to push the thought away to the back of my mind again, I tried to just live in the present. Even if things were about to go downhill, everything was okay right now. And if I had learned anything when Milos had kidnapped me last summer, it was that you needed to appreciate what you had in this moment because anything and everything could change in the blink of an eye.
“I want to ride the Ferris wheel with Branden,” Maddie told me and Vince. “But after that, I want to go on the Tilt-a-whirl with you guys.”
“So, I’m not invited on the Tilt-a-whirl with you?” Branden asked.
“Nope. This is a tradition that’s just for us besties. No mates allowed. No offense, Julie.” Vince shot an apologetic look at his mate.
“None taken. I actually want to go play some games, anyway,” Julie said with a shrug.
“Do you want me to come with you?” Vince asked.
She shook her head. “No, you’ll ruin my focus. I’ll catch you later,” she said, kissing him on the cheek and then heading in the other direction.
“You know what’s really weird? Not having Iris as a friend this year,” Vince commented. “This is our first end of the year festival without her.”
“I know what you mean,” I agreed with a nod. It wasn’t that I missed Iris, because I didn’t. In my mind, she was the very definition of a monster.
But what I missed was the Iris that she’d led us to believe she was, the Iris she had never actually been. The illusion of Iris was what I missed the most.
“It is what it is, I guess,” Vince said with a sigh. “I’m going to get a lemonade. I’ll meet you over at the Tilt-a-whirl.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I agreed with a nod.
Glancing around for my mates, I didn’t see them anywhere. Except for Rhys, who was heading in my direction.
He smiled as he approached me, and his dark blue eyes slid over to meet mine. “You know what today is, right?”
A smile hit my lips as the realization hit me. “Our anniversary.”
Two years ago, at the end of the year festival, Rhys had kissed me. He was the last of my original four mates to kiss me.
“Yup. You know, I used to take pride in the fact that I was your last first kiss.” He glanced over at me sadly. “But then the whole Kane thing happened.”
There would have been a time when I would have apologized for it, but honestly?
The truth was that I wasn’t sorry, and I wouldn’t have taken it back if I could have.
“It doesn’t mean I love you any less, Rhys,” I said softly.
“And the logical side of me knows that,” he replied quietly. “It’s just that being your last mate always made me feel sort of special, you know?”
“I get it,” I replied with a nod. “But you should know that you’re still special to me. It doesn’t matter what order I became mated to each of you in. Every single one of you has a special place in my heart.”
I was pretty sure that was why it was so hard for me to choose. I was afraid that by giving my heart to just one of them, it would never be complete again.
“I always thought you would have made a decision by now,” Rhys said. “Last year, I mean, I thought you’d have chosen Theo by now.”
“I thought so, too,” I admitted. My eyes found Theo as he shot darts at one of the game stands. As he flexed his strong arms, he, of course, hit every single balloon with a ridiculous amount of precision.
Last year today, I was pretty certain I would choose him.
When Milos had lured me into the woods that day, convincing me that he was Theo, I was positive that my mind was made. I planned to make my decision, once and for all.
And then last summer happened. Kane happened. And everything changed.
“What do you think you’re going to do?” Rhys asked me.
I glanced over at him. “Time will tell, but right now I just want to enjoy the fact that my junior year is over. My third years has been, by far, my hardest, so this feels like something worth celebrating.”
“I know it was a rough year, but it looks like you’re going to graduate at the top of your class,” Rhys said. “That’s silver lining, right?”
“I guess.” If graduation even happened. War was coming. That much, we knew for sure. And for some reason, I just had this overwhelming feeling that it was going to interfere with my senior year.
I had so much to be excited about: the prom, graduation, the possibility of me actually graduating as the class valedictorian. But I was positive this war was going to happen and ruin everything.
We walked past a booth where Gloria was holding psychic readings. It was a new service Werewolf Academy’s resident witch was offering at the festival this year.
Maddie and I had joked about getting our fortunes read, but honestly? I wasn’t really even sure that I wanted to know what my future held. Knowing that Gloria had the real ability to see into the future kind of scared me, especially when my future probably held a lot of darkness.
Just as we were about to walk past the witch’s booth, Gloria pushed back the navy-blue crescent moon and star curtain and stepped outside. Her eyes fell on me.
“Raven Gallagher, I really need to speak with you. Would you please come into my booth and shut the curtain behind me?”
“Sure,” I told Gloria. Then I turned to Rhys and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll meet up with you later so we can celebrate our anniversary.”
“Okay,” he agreed with a nod.
Ducking into the witch’s booth, I drew the navy-blue curtain shut behind me. The last thing I needed was for all of the other students to hear the details about my psychic reading. I did have five mates, after all. I doubted this reading would be an easy one for her. It was bound to be messy and complicated—and that wasn’t even to mention all of the other crazy things that my future probably held.
“Before we begin, I should probably warn you that this isn’t a typical psychic reading like the ones I’ve been giving the other students,” Gloria explained. “The reason I’ve asked you to come in here is because there’s something you really need to know, Raven. It’s something that I’ve been keeping from you for some time now. The first time I ever saw you during the Sorting Ceremony, I saw the future—your future.”
“You did?” I just stared back at her with wide eyes.
“Yes. I’ve also lied to you.”
“About what?” How could she have ever lied to me? I was pretty sure that this was the first time she’d ever even spoken to me.
“I’m not quite sure how to tell you this, but I knew from the very first moment I ever saw you at the Sorting Ceremony that you were a Descendant… and only a Descendant.”
“Only a Descendant? But I’m also a Crescent,” I replied, shaking my he
ad.
“That’s what I’ve lied to you about, Raven. You’re not actually a Crescent. I used my magic to fake your House during the Sorting Ceremony.”
“Wait, what? Why would you do that? Why would you fake my House?” I swallowed hard as the reality of what she was saying hit me. “I’m not actually a Crescent?”
“I’m afraid not,” Gloria replied, shaking her head.
“But this doesn’t make any sense. If I’m not really a Crescent, then why would you place me into that House, too?”
I wasn’t going to lie. I actually felt really angry at Gloria.
For the past three years, I had to figure out the truth about my Houses. Mostly, it had caused a lot of extra confusion for me. I had tried to understand how I could be a Crescent when I genuinely believed that I didn’t have a bad bone in my body. And now I was learning that I wasn’t even really a Crescent.
Gloria had falsely, and knowingly, placed me into the wrong House and into the wrong classes. But the only question was why? What was the point of sorting me into a House that I didn’t even belong in?
“I know this is all so much for you to take in right now, and I understand that you’re angry with me. But please just understand my reasoning,” Gloria said. “I placed you into the Crescents because I knew you needed to learn dark magic. You needed to understand bad magic users. You needed to understand bad wolves. I knew it would help make you more likely to beat the Triangle when the time came. I knew it would help make you stronger for this war that’s about to begin any moment now—this war that you’re about to be at the center of.”
Her decision made sense. As angry as I wanted to be with her, everything she was saying… It all made sense.
“There’s something else, Raven,” Gloria continued. “I’m ready for you to know about the prophecy.”
“There’s another prophecy about me?” I asked, trying to suppress an eye roll.
That was the downside, I supposed, to being the first natural-born werewolf in history; the very first Descendant. There were so many prophecies about me and so many curses. It was getting to the point that I could barely keep them all straight.
Gloria nodded. “Any time a Seer predicts the future, any time they have a vision the same way that I have, you can call it a prophecy. This vision is very clear and very strong. And I think you’re finally ready to know about it now.”
“Great.” I swallowed hard. I could feel my nerves wash over me. “Let’s hear it.”
“Before we do this, I want you to know that the prophecy I’m going to tell you about will alter your life forever,” Gloria warned.
“What if I’m not ready yet for this prophecy?” I swallowed hard. Even though a part of me secretly didn’t want to see this prophecy, I also knew I had to see it. I had to know how my future was going to change and why.
“Well, darling, in this instance, I’m afraid it really doesn’t matter if you’re ready yet or not. This war is going to start any day now, and you must be ready for it. I must show you the prophecy. I am going to transfer it to you, this vision. After you have seen it once, you will be able to watch it again, any time you want, in your own mind.” Her dark eyes locked on mine. “Are you ready, dear?”
I nodded, even though the truth was that I wasn’t sure if I was actually ready. I wasn’t sure if I would really ever be ready.
Gloria reached out and grabbed my hand then, and it hit me: an electrical jolt. The pain was so intense; as it ripped through me, it felt just like lightning.
And then I saw it all unfold before my eyes. It was the most bizarre thing; it was almost like I was watching a movie but with me as the main character.
I was sitting on a throne at the Royal Palace on Nocturne Island. I was wearing a gold crown, which was adorned in sapphire and ruby gemstones.
The part that stood out to me the most was the bump.
I was pregnant.
My skin was glowing with radiance, and I looked so incredibly happy. I was pretty sure that it was the happiest I had ever seen myself.
“It is with great pride that I announce to you that the war has ended. While we mourn the deaths of the ones we have lost, we are relieved that more lives weren’t taken from us. I promise you that, during my reign, we will never see a war as ugly as the one we are now free of.” At that moment, I watched as my mate walked across the stage. He, too, wore a crown, and people in the audience rose to him. That was when I knew.
He was more than just my mate.
He was my husband.
My King.
That was where the vision ended, and I allowed what I had just witnessed to process.
I was going to be Queen. And he was going to be King.
We were going to have a baby, and as a result of that, the war was going to end.
Somehow, I knew the reason Gloria was showing me this was because this was the only way the war was going to end: if I took a husband and had a child. It was as if we had just traveled through time. If these two things didn’t happen, then the rest of the vision wasn’t going to be true, either.
If I didn’t marry him and have his baby… our baby… the war wasn’t going to end so easily. More lives would be lost, and the portal between the human world and the paranormal realm would be lost forever.
The entire world as we knew it was relying on us. It was relying on me making a decision.
When I glanced over at Gloria, she asked, “Do you understand what you need to do?”
“I understa—” I started to respond, but before I could even get all of my words out, another vision began to play. It hit me just as quickly as the first, but it wasn’t quite as intense, for some reason.
I could see Iris and Milos. He was sitting across from her, rubbing his hands together. “The game has just begun.”
Her glossy lips curved upwards into a devilish smile. “Tomorrow, we set the fires. Then we begin the war.”
I wasn’t sure how I knew it, but I just knew that the second vision was happening now, in the present.
When I glanced over at Gloria, her eyes had grown really wide.
“That second vision is new,” she explained. “I’ve never seen it before. Meaning, there’s no way I could have transferred it to you.”
“What are you saying?” I asked, not understanding what she was getting at.
“When I transferred the first vision to you, I didn’t only transfer the vision, Raven. I connected us. Now, everything I am able to see, you’re able to see.” Her eyes met mine. “You’re a Seer now, but only because our visions are connected.”
“That vision felt so different from the first. It felt like it was happening in real-time. Is that right?” I asked.
“Yes, that vision is happening right now.” She shot a grave look in my direction. “Right now, they are getting ready to start the fires. Then, shortly after, they will begin the war.”
My heart pounded against my chest as a part of Ying Yue Lee’s prophecy echoed through my mind.
The fires will begin first,
And the war between the paranormal races soon will follow.
Chapter 28
“There you are,” Maddie said exasperatedly, as I walked out of Gloria’s booth. “We’ve been looking all over for you. You decided to get a psychic reading without me?”
“No.” Technically, that was the truth. I hadn’t decided to get a psychic reading. Gloria had pretty much dragged me in there to tell me my future.
“Oh, well, good. I want to get my fortune told later,” Maddie told me. “I want to find out how many kids Branden and I are going to have and what job I’m going to end up doing. Will we live in the human world or in the paranormal realm? These are important things to know.”
I was so shaken that I could barely find it in me to speak. And yet, somehow, I managed to say, “I really need to find my mates. I don’t see them anywhere.”
“Okay, well, let’s ride the Tilt-a-Whirl first. Vince is saving a place for us in line,” Maddie in
sisted. “We can look for your mates afterwards.”
Deep down, I knew there was no time to waste on rides. I needed to find my mates, and I needed to do it now. But I was feeling completely numb inside, and I wasn’t ready to talk to her about it yet. I had to talk to them first. So, I just nodded and let Maddie lead us to where Vince was waiting in line for us.
Thankfully, the line was so short that we moved forward right away.
I wanted to tell them everything. Keeping all of this to myself was too much. It was about to boil over, but I could still barely speak.
I also didn’t want to freak either of my friends out. I needed to talk to my mates first. We needed to come up with a plan before I could tell my friends.
“I’m so excited for the school year to finally be over,” Maddie commented as she slid into the Tilt-a-Whirl next to me.
“Girl, same,” Vince agreed with a nod as he climbed in on the other side of her. “This has seriously been the year from hell.”
“The year from hell is right,” Maddie agreed.
If only they knew that it was about to get a hell of a lot worse.
But I still couldn’t make out any words as the Tilt-a-Whirl began to spin into motion. All I could think about was what I had only just learned. The prophecy was already replaying through my mind.
The most valuable lesson I had learned since I’d started going to school at Werewolf Academy was about the future. I knew now that you couldn’t change the future—not every aspect of it, at least. You could try to change it, but what was meant to be was already written in the stars, in our destinies. And my destiny wasn’t at all what I had been hoping it would be. That much was for sure.
More than anything, the prophecy made me sad about what was going to come next.
I wished that things were different. If I could have chosen how my own future would go, I would have chosen differently.
If it had been up to me, I would have chosen all of them.
But the hard reality was that my life had been chosen for me long before I was even born. And the unfortunate truth was that it wasn’t just about me and them anymore. No, it was so much bigger than the six of us.
