by Tamar Sloan
I shoot to my feet and head for the car. Orin and Caesar stay on the lawn, but somehow, I can feel their approval.
What could happen if I believed this was possible?
Once at the end of the street I stop. I suppose the Phelan home, the one with frowning Adam, is the most logical place to start. I close my eyes, calming...centering. I don't know if I can find Noah the same way he finds me.
But it’s time to find out.
33
Noah
I’m so caught up in my pity party that I don’t feel her until she’s practically on top of the Precept Rock.
A split second before I see her across the Glade I feel it fill me—the breath of life, a shaft of light reanimating my body. A bit like oxygen, you know theoretically you can't live without it, but it’s not until you experience its loss that you realize how essential it is. How much it hurts when it's gone.
But my lungs are loving it. They suck in hard, trying to get a taste of wildflowers, hoping to draw her in quicker.
Eden walks slowly, hesitantly, toward me. I open my mouth to find my lips aren’t cooperating. I try to move, to find my legs have lost the connection to my brain. She stops a few feet away, questions swirling in the forest green of her eyes.
My answer is the one thing I should have done months ago. With Eden standing there, beautiful and fragile and finally here, I grab the hem of my shirt and pull it over my head...let it fall to the ground.
And lose the ability to breathe and wait at the same time. I choose to wait.
Eden steps forward then frowns. She falters, her hand coming up to touch behind her ear in that I way I haven’t seen in ages. She pulls in a breath and steps again before losing momentum once more. Twice more she steps, stops then starts again. Three lifetimes pass until she’s standing before me.
Arms that want to hold her stay by my side. I just watch and wait, let her assimilate what I’ve known for months. Those forest green eyes find mine, so luminous surrounded by pine, an aching mix of disbelief, confusion, questions...hope.
Her bottom lip slips beneath her teeth as one hand comes up and hovers so close, so close. I don’t step forward, no matter how much I’m craving that touch. The warmth builds in the millimeters between her palm and my skin, my breath stops and soars at the same time. Then, her tentative, hot fingers brush over my chest. Over our mark. My knees consider crumbling, and hope breaks free as sweet sensation sparks and spreads. It’s a barely bearable torture I never want to end.
“When?” she whispers.
I swallow past the shattered glass shards clogging my throat. “When Dad was shot...and you came.”
Painful, poignant eyes look up. “How?”
“We were prophesized thousands of years ago.” Man, I want to touch her. “We’ve been centuries in the making, Eden.”
“Why?”
I finally move, stepping forward, pushing her trembling fingers firmly onto my skin. I trace her cheek, my hand touching what I’ve been bleeding to touch again. “Because no one has loved, adored, wanted, or needed anyone as much as I love and adore, want and need you, Eden.”
Eden’s face twists, emotions competing and wrestling for space. Every one of them I feel. Love. Adoration. Want. Need. “I know.”
At last, with nothing between us, no shirt, no secrets, I pull her in, so tight like I’m trying to brand her with our mark, and kiss her. It’s a sweet kiss. A profound kiss. A tentative touching of lips that reaffirms and reignites.
It’s a kiss I pour my heart into, only to find hers meeting mine in the place our souls connect. Lips grasp, mouths gasp. The love, the aching honesty eclipses everything. The sensation of one hand skimming up my arm over my bare shoulder to grip my hair is heaven. The one that stays warm and protective over the mark that will soon tell everyone she’s mine is the one that wrenches a groan from me.
This is what we should have been. This is what we will be.
Eden pulls back, that sweet, kiss-softened look I will treasure when we’re eighty. “I knew you were keeping a secret, and I realized what it was when you changed in the forest, after that Were attacked us.”
The day we returned. The day I was going to tell her. “Why didn't you tell me?”
“I thought you were choosing me over your pack, and I wasn’t willing for you to do that.” Eden's eyes drop to my collarbone. “But I think, beneath it all, I was scared of losing you.” She looks up then asks the question that’s been haunting her eyes since she arrived, the one that has made this moment so achingly painful. “Why didn't you tell me?”
“I was petrified of losing you.”
She studies me for long moments, and I let her. I leave everything open and exposed, my skin to her touch, my heart to her scrutiny. What I’ve always wanted is, for us to be her decision.
And then she smiles. A wonderful blossoming of light that starts in her eyes and ends with my future. “We should have had more faith.”
It’s a good thing I’m a two-in-one package. One body couldn’t hold all the love I feel for this girl. It turns out, even that’s not enough because it overflows and spills. I pick Eden up, twirling her, spinning in the love that surrounds us. Her laughter squeezes my heart; her palms on my bare shoulders prompts another surge of emotion and spinning.
We slow and Eden slides down, her palm once again returning to our mark. Her smile is breathtaking as she shakes her head. “We did the impossible.”
She hasn’t realized…I turn her toward the granite slab that’s been sitting patiently beside us, waiting to be acknowledged. “Yes, we've broken the one rule that couldn't be broken.”
She looks to the Precept Rock. “Oh.”
“Actually, I think we’ve broken every rule on the Rock.”
Her rose red lips whisper the last line. He who is above the law is the law. I feel her body stiffen as realization streaks through hard and fast. “That means you're the—”
“It means we are.”
I watch as that bolt of lightning creates flashes of meaning, rumbles of implication. Eden’s bottom lip disappears back under her teeth. “Oh.”
I loosen my arms, knowing this was always the risk I faced. What that slithering, crawling feeling has always been. Fear. Slimy, terrified fear.
She runs light fingers over my cheek. “Noah, I would follow you even if it meant ruling the world.”
“Oh, Eden, don’t you realize?” I say my words slowly, so she understands. “It’s your smile that lifts me, your heart that moves me, your love that leads me.”
Eden’s eyes smile and shimmer, and I drown in the emotion I see there. Her hand slides back down, over our mark. “Then we do this together.”
“Together.” I breathe. I pull back, admittedly not far, but needing to be certain. For her to be certain. “Are you sure?”
Those tilted green eyes soften some more, crinkling around the edges. “Noah,” she breathes before pulling me down for another kiss. It’s a deep kiss, one of commitment and certainty. It’s lips as sure as the beating of our hearts, a hand that only presses more firmly on my chest.
Every cell in my body smiles. “I love your yeses.”
“I love you, Noah.”
I rest my forehead on hers, captivated by forest green and willing to live there for the remainder of my days.
“It looks like we’re going to Council.”
34
Eden
I wonder if going to Council will be as nerve wracking as returning to the Phelan household after these weeks of absence. From the moment I met them, Beth has had unconditional acceptance as perfected as Orin. Adam, on the other hand, has spent large amounts of time practicing distance and distrust.
Walking up the path, Noah grabs my hand, nervousness already zinging in his body. We both stare straight ahead at the door we approach. This step will be the first in claiming Prime Alpha.
We take the final step to the porch; the front door is closed and blank. One small step for Eden, one giant step for We
redom.
What would you do if you believed this was possible? Orin’s words rise up, the question that was the catalyst to going to the Glade. I suck some air into my lungs, pretending it’s some magical, calming tonic, and I hold it for a second. Who knows why I was chosen? But I was.
I squeeze the nervous hand clasping mine. “Let’s own this,” I say, my voice almost confident.
Noah looks at me, and that grin of his, the one that says, ‘I love you,’ blazes across his handsome face. I’m prepping my hostess-with-the-mostess face when a squeal sounds, barely dampened by the timber slab between us and Tara.
“It’s her!” The door flies open and releases an excited ball of red. “Oh my goodness, oh my great aunt, oh my giddy galloping goat.” I’m swallowed by Tara's body, the one that seems to multiply just by the power of her emotion, in an enthusiastic hug. “Where have you been? Council is two days away. Do you know what sweat does to my fair complexion?”
I open my smiling mouth with an answer I haven’t formulated yet.
“Tara, why don't you let her in?” Beth’s voice wafts from the hallway.
Tara releases me and I enter, only to be enveloped by Beth. “Hi, Beth.”
“Welcome back, Eden.”
Warmth swells in my throat. I know the next in the receiving line is Mitch, already armed for another hug. As I’m swallowed by brawny arms, he leans in beside my ear. “I’m glad my thick-skulled twin didn’t completely screw up.”
As I keep going I hear a distinct ‘oomph’ behind me, suggesting Noah just communicated what he thought of that comment.
I blush a little; this almost feels like coming home. Except Adam is last, and I can’t tell if the high of this beautiful welcome is about to plummet and crash.
Adam stands last in line; his face is serious, the weight of what he is about to say weighing heavily on his brow. “Eden. Forgive an old fool for not seeing what was blindingly obvious?”
“Adam. Your family, and the Phelans, couldn’t have a better person protecting them.”
For the first time in my life, I get a Dad hug. It’s big and warm and beautiful. I wrap my arms around this powerful torso, awkward, grateful, enjoying every moment.
I pull back, and Adam smiles. “I don’t know why I didn't see it sooner, but I’m glad it’s you.”
The certainty, the absence of surprise from the ones behind me, has me turning to Noah. His hand comes up to rub his head sheepishly. “They all know.”
“Right.” Being the last to know is not a good feeling.
Mitch grabs Tara’s hand and walks past us. He elbows Noah on the way through. “Only three quarters screwed up.”
Noah scowls, but doesn’t reply.
Beth slips an arm around my shoulder and begins propelling me toward the dining area. “I think I still have an eggplant in the fridge.”
I feel Noah’s hand tense around my own. “Mom, you need to be here for this conversation. Why don't we order in?”
Beth’s brown eyes look to me. “Would you mind, Eden?”
The insistent pressure on my hand doesn't need our connection to communicate its meaning. “That sounds great, Beth.”
Noah’s hand relaxes in relief.
Beth smiles. “Thai Lotus it is!”
We all head to the dining table as Beth grabs her phone. Even Tara’s bubbly personality has been muted by the seriousness of what we’re about to discuss. We all take our seats at the table. This is the first time I've ever had take-out at the Phelan house, telling me exactly how serious this conversation is going to be.
Adam leans forward, hands clasping on the table. “So, what’s the plan?”
Tara fidgets beside Mitch. “Seth’s gone.”
Noah looks to me to see what I think of that. I nod. “I know.”
“You know?”
“I ran into him at Wyoming State.”
Tara bangs her fist on the table. “What a stupid time to disappear. Coward.”
I lean back a little. “He’s probably gathering supporters.”
Everyone turns to me, but for some reason, my usual nervousness doesn’t surface. Adam’s finger is on his bottom lip as he nods slowly. “That makes sense.”
Noah leans forward. “It’s also concerning. We know there are Weres out there that are dissatisfied with the way things are.”
Mitch joins his twin. “They don’t see a point in hiding.”
Beth’s face is rumpled with worried lines. “Seth’s going to give them a reason not to.”
Noah turns to me. “What do you know?”
I frown, trying to recollect those hazy moments. I’d spent more time focusing on not feeling and not thinking rather than deciphering the meaning behind Seth’s words. “I’m not sure. We were at the memorial for his mother.”
Beth nods. “She was an inspiring woman. It was a tragic loss for Weres and humans when she was killed.”
“I think Seth was really close to her.” Beth nods again, sadness straining her eyes. I focus on the table, trying to dredge up details from those fuzzy moments. “We spoke about her involvement in the wolf reintroduction, the importance of wolves in the reserve”—I look up wide-eyed to the Weres around me—“about their role in enforcing balance.”
Silence moves around the table. The implications of those words weighing it down, keeping it there.
Noah moves, emotions lifting him out of his seat. “Seth’s right.”
All four heads—Adam, Beth, Mitch, and Tara—turn to Noah. I wait, sensing the excitement that has just begun morphing within him.
“It’s time Weres made a difference. And the Earth that we have two feet and four paws planted on is our responsibility. The natural world and the human world are one and the same. We embody that.”
For the first time I sit forward, leaning toward Noah. “Yes, he’s just going about it the wrong way.”
Noah’s summer eyes are intense, serious, exhilarated. “It’s the wolves’ presence that maintains the balance. That’s the connection between it all.”
I want to leap into those sky blue pools. “That’s what the Prime Prophecy is all about.”
Two hands clapping snaps us out of our bubble. Noah and I separate. Over the course of the conversation we’d leaned away from the table, turning to face each other, leaned toward each toward the other. Tara bounces in her seat, a testament to her dancing toes.
Adam smiles as he repeats his original question. “So, what’s the plan?”
Beneath the table our hands find each other. Our connection pulses with the drive to do this. We face the Phelan and Channon Alphas before us, the emotions slowly morphing to determination.
Noah rubs his lower lip, completely unaware he just mimicked his father. “We let Seth hijack Council, find out what his plan is, then surprise the crap out of him.”
Mitch crosses his arms. “Seth won’t accept this easily.”
Tara sinks a little in her seat, finally looking like her real height. “And he’ll have supporters.”
Adam nods. “It’s going to take some people time to adjust to a human Alpha.”
In other words, not everyone is going to be happy to see me. Feelings of not belonging clamber up my consciousness, threatening the stirring emotions that were just there.
“They’ll love her once they see what this will mean.”
I shoot Tara a grateful glance, and although I’m not sure I can mimic her optimism, knowing I’ll have my own supporters is enough to squash the doubts. If I am chosen for this, I need to start believing it. And acting it.
Mitch nods, and I don’t know how his own finger isn’t doing the thoughtful stroke. “Eden will have to come in once Seth has said his piece.”
Tara has finally stopping jiggling. “You’re right. Her presence is going to cause a stir. We need to hear Seth's plans first.” She turns darkened hazel eyes to me. “I wish I could wait with you.”
I look around the table. Everyone here needs to be there; they’re all Alphas. What an int
imidating thought. I didn’t even have to enter the Phelan house alone, and I knew at least one of them would be glad to see me.
I open my mouth to say I’ll enter on my own, figuring now is as good a time as any to start this confidence-built-on-faith thing.
“I’ll go with her.”
We all turn to find Dana coming down the hallway. Five shocked Were faces register they never heard her enter, and I realize how absorbed in the conversation they must have been. I wonder if they’re all asking themselves how long she’s been there.
Dana takes two more steps into the room. “I’ll wait with Eden in the carpark. Give me a signal, and we’ll come in.”
Tara beams at her sister. “Fantabulous idea.”
There’s not the same level of enthusiasm beaming from Noah. “Okay.” He draws the word out slowly, a little reluctantly.
Dana grins like they've laid down a gauntlet. “Not to mention I’m a bit partial to a grand entrance.”
My stomach quivers a little. Angry Seth and his collection of followers. Disbelieving and distrustful Alphas. A human, her royal Changeling blood a secret, claiming her place as the Alpha mate. How does one fake confidence in the face of that?
No one around the table sees when Noah goes stiller than still. But I feel it; I see it. I look up to find him watching me, asking me a question. He can feel my nervousness; he knows what I’m being asked. His emotions tightly reined, he’s confirming this is what I want.
I turn back to the table, disengaging from the intensity of his gaze. There’s only one way I can answer his question. “Let’s own this.”
Noah nods, and deep inside I feel his smile. “We already do.”
Outside, the boughs of Grandfather Douglas blocking the almost-full moon, Noah holds me like goodbye doesn’t want to pass his lips. With my hands wrapped around him, my head resting on his shoulder, I don’t really want to hear it.
His lips brush my hair. “Where were you staying?”
“Orin’s, on the other side of Cheyenne.”
