by Jana Leigh
“I know, „The next was the child born in March, Pisces. This child would be the visionary of the group. They would be the one who had the ideas and ability to see what the future held for the Pack. Though they had the Seer from the European Council Pack, the Spirits intended for this child"s gift to surpass that of the Seer." Cloe has told me over and over again. I just don"t think it is me.” Blaine said sighing.
“You were found wandering as a pup. Your mother thinks you were not a year old yet.
When Jo was kidnapped as an infant, everything was in shambles. No one knew where half of the Chosen went. Our records show the Chosen who was born in March, disappeared just days after the incident. No one, not even the parents, have ever been found or shown up in a Pack. Do you know how odd that is? We have trails on everyone in the Chosen, but the one born in March. Having visions and being a Seer is not a common gift. In fact, according to Oliver and my father, there has never been another shifter that is a Seer but you. So, you tell me, what are the odds that you are the missing Chosen?" Quin said.
“About a million to one. Tell me, what are the odds that I wandered into this Pack?
Cloe's father would have recognized me, don"t you think? I thought all the parents knew one another. Besides how would I have gotten here? No, I think that you are going to have to accept that what I have are visions. I am not a Seer. I can"t control it. It just comes to me.”
Blaine walked to stand next to the window and looked out. They were building a brand-new compound in Milliken. When Cloe accepted her destiny as one of the Chosen, her father stepped down as the Pack leader in Milliken, and Quin stepped in. It had all been a mess the last few months.
Quin and Jaden found their mate, and all had seemed happy in the Denver Pack. Then Jo, Cami"s best friend showed up, and they discovered that she was the lost daughter of the Old Council Pack"s leader. She had supposedly been kidnapped and killed. When she was attacked, then shot, her wolf appeared and scared the shit out of everyone in the room.
Jo was a White Wolf, almost as rare as a Seer. When her father arrived in Denver, he brought with him the documents of the Seer"s Prophesy. Each month on the first day of the month for one full calendar year, a shifter child was born. Only one on that day.
That child was called one of the Chosen. They would have a special gift that would allow them to fulfill the destiny the spirits intended. A New Council that was to rule all the shifters. The New Council would take the shifters into a new age, one where they lived with humans in the open.
Many shifters would rather live in secrecy. With their increased powers, they could use them to control certain things. It was mostly money, which is what the Rogues were after. Quin learned through a series of channels that the Rogue leader wanted to build his own Council. One that would use their power to gain wealth and power.
They had had a shitty year so far, Blaine thought. Cami had been poisoned. Jo had been shot. Devon and Casey had been attacked. Reggie had been kidnapped, and Cloe had her town surrounded and almost lost her mates. All in all, not a real good advertisement for being one of the Chosen. Blaine sure was not rushing to sign up, but that was for another reason altogether though. If he could, he would be what they wanted, he would.
The problem was that he did not think he was one of the Chosen.
“Listen, what would it hurt to find out?” Jaden said softly. The man was usually the funny man of the group; right now, he was very sedate.
“How are we going to do that?” Blaine said dryly. Like there was a blood test or something that he was going to have to go through.
“We are going to have a meeting in the morning with the rest of the Council. Come and we will tell you.” Jaden said and stood.
Blaine nodded and left the room without looking back. Quin knew he was one of the Chosen, he could feel it. Now he just had to prove it.
“Well, how are we going to pull that rabbit out of the hat?” Quin said and looked Jaden.
“Oh, I already have the idea for that. I just have to call Oliver. We talked about this a few months ago when we were looking for any clue on the Chosen. It was something he said at the time that stuck with me. I was waiting to talk to you and Cami about it, but now it looks like I have to get the story quickly and present it to the Council.” Jaden said, kissed his mate, and walked out of the room.
Quin shook his head. This was going to be another bumpy ride. Why couldn"t any of the Chosen be easy to find? He thought and went to seek out his wife and children.
***
Blaine rode out of the compound on his Harley without looking back. He needed to speak to his mother. She would know what to do. It may seem stupid and weird to most people, but his mother was the one who always helped him sort things out. Also, she understood what his dreams tried to tell him. Blaine thought it was because she had a little Seer blood in her too. She was part Cherokee as well as a bear shifter, but when he asked his mother would scoff and tell him no.
His parent's den was only a few miles from where they were building the new Pack compound. Though he was a wolf, Blaine had grown up in a den of bears. They were not Pack animals. They stayed pretty much to themselves and only depended on family when needed. When they joined the Milliken Pack, it had been a huge deal. Blaine knew that his mother and father had only joined to get him closer to his own kind. They refused to hold him back from his nature, but at the same time, they did not want him to go too far.
His mother was in the garden when he drove up. She had her hair pulled back in the same bun, and wore the same gardening dress she had since he was small. Her hair was black and her body round, just like the black bear she was. He asked her once how it always looked like new, and she said because she washed clothes so well. His brothers said that it was because their mom was a tight ass. When the bolt of fabric had gone on clearance, she had bought the whole thing and made a million of the same dresses.
“Son, what are you doing here? I thought you had things to do at the Pack house.” She called and put her vegetables in her front pocket. He guessed she was making stew, Blaine was glad he chose this night to come. His mother made the best stew this side of the Rockies.
“I needed to talk to you and dad.” He said and leaned over and kissed her.
“Well, come on in, the boys are all in town tonight. With the new people coming in, they have decided to be sociable. I really just think they like hanging at the bar and drinking with the foxes.” She said and walked into the large cabin.
It had not changed at all. His father built it with his own hands, the summer he turned five. Blaine remembered helping his brothers cut trees and pull logs all summer. It was a large A-frame log home. He loved it; it held so many memories for him.
“Dad.” He said when he saw his father sitting at the table cleaning his hunting knives.
His father owned part of the supply store in town. He bought in with a human when they moved into town.
“Hey Blaine, what brings you home?” His father"s loud voice boomed.
“Needed to talk to you and mom.” Blaine said and sat down at the table. No one said a word for a long time. The best part was it was because his parents knew him. It took a while for him to gather his thoughts and get them out. They went about their business and knew when the time came, Blaine would talk, and they would listen. He began to straighten the things at the table when his mother grabbed his hands and held them.
His parents teased him all the time about how neat he was. It was probably because his brothers were slobs and never picked up after themselves. He was always cleaning trying to help his mother, and then it turned into a funny quirk that his family all teased him about. He had to have things neat and straight or it drove him nuts. When eating, none of his food could touch the other. Blaine often had several plates arranged so his food was neat. His friends learned to accept his weird quirks, but his family teased him relentlessly. His brothers thought it was funny to go to his house and move things around; it usually happened on the f
ull moon when he was out running. Blaine usually spent one night a month putting things back into place, and then driving over to his parent's house and beating the shit out of his brothers on the front lawn. It was the only time his mother allowed her sons to fight.
“So, Quin the new Alpha thinks I am one of the Chosen. He thinks I am the Seer.” Blaine said quietly.
His mother gasped a little, sat down, and looked at him with an astonished look on her face. His father kept cleaning his knife and nodded slowly, although he knew that he had surprised him.
“Why do they think that? I admit I don"t know much about the Chosen. Bears voted a long time ago to wait and see what the Old Council was going to do when that baby was taken.” His mother said quietly.
Blaine went on to explain everything he knew about the Prophesy and the Chosen.
When he was done, his mother had gotten out her documents and was looking for something.
When his first vision had come to him his mother made sure she wrote down everything.
She maintained this policy from that day on. His visions were always of the future.
Something that would happen in the next few days to years, he never knew. It freaked a lot of people out when he tried to warn them. But he felt it was his obligation no matter how nasty they were. One thing he could not do was see his future; it kind of pissed him off a little. The Gods give him a gift but leave him out of the equation, how rude.
“When you came to us that first day, I took you to the doctor. He wrote down how old he thought you were. Your father and I have just always celebrated your birthday on the day you came to us. Here it is. The doctor said that you were roughly seven months old.
So let"s see, you came to us in December. So, seven months from then was around March. So I guess you could be one of the Chosen.” His mother said and looked at her son who was shaking his head and smiled. “Why is it so impossible to think that you may be one of the Chosen?”
“Because damn it, I don"t need any more shit on my plate. I already have these visions that come and go whenever they want to. People are afraid of me because sometimes I space out in the middle of a sentence. Can you imagine how they would react if they found out that I was one of the Chosen? No one would believe it. They would think that I was just lying to get my way into a position of power. Hell, half of the Pack makes a wide berth to stay off the same side of the street I am on.” Blaine said and ran his hands through his hair.
“Son, they are afraid of what they don"t understand. Most of them are scared you will have a vision about them, dying or doing something they don"t want people to know.
Your gift is a blessing. Something to be cherished.” His father said quietly.
Blaine looked up in surprise. It had always been his mother who told him that he was special. To hear his father say it made him feel happy. That still did not make him one of the Chosen.
“How are they planning on proving one way or another that you are one of the Chosen?” His mother asked.
“I don"t know, they are having some meeting tomorrow that I have to go to. Jaden, one of the Alphas, said he has a way. Probably want to do brain surgery or something.” Blaine grumbled.
“Well, I suggest you take this stuff with you, and we see if you can give them some information. There are blood tests and DNA tests in there. We wanted to be sure no one was looking for you.” His mom said.
“What if I am one of them? I don"t have the kind of power they are talking about. I can"t control the visions.” Blaine said. “I am not what they need. I like being an Enforcer. I always know where I stand. Go to work, kick a little ass, sorry mom, and then go home.
No muss, no fuss.”
“You don"t know that. I have always told you when you found your mates, that you may develop your powers more. In my tribe, they thought that Shamans, who were grounded, were the most powerful. As a wolf, you will not be grounded until you find your mate. She could be the key to everything. As for the rest of that crap you said, let me tell you something, you know as well as I do that you are not an Enforcer. You are too special to be a lapdog. You are stronger than most of the Enforcers, including your Beta. I know it and you know it. Cloe knows it; she has said many times that if she were going to step down, she would name you as her successor.” She said.
“Mate? I hate to tell you mom, but my mate is nowhere around here. I would have to travel to the ends of the earth to search for her. I think they have a little more of a demand for a Seer right now. Look at all the shit they are going through.” Blaine said.
“Take it as it comes. We will stand behind you. But if you do find your parents, what are you going to do?” His father asked.
Blaine knew what he was asking. When he was smaller, he vowed if anyone came looking for him, he would refuse to go. He wanted to stay with the bears. They are the ones who always took care of him.
“You are my parents and will always be my parents. I don"t care who says they gave birth to me. They walked away.” Blaine said and stood up and embraced both of his parents and then left.
He got back on his bike and decided he needed to clear his head out a little. Maybe he needed to go and get more cleaning supplies and have one of his monthly spring cleanings. It always helped to relax him. Feeling a little better having a plan, Blaine turned the cycle towards the town and smiled. Maybe he would even clean the carpets.
***
Cami and her friends were sitting in the Pack nursery. It was where they hung out these days since Jo and she had given birth. Casey was starting to get bigger and Cami knew that Cloe was pregnant, she was just refusing to accept it.
“Cloe, when your pants don"t button anymore, it doesn"t mean you ate a huge meal.” Cami said dryly.
“Don"t care, I am a doctor. I think I would know if I were pregnant.” Cloe said and looked around the room. Why the hell was she hanging with the girls when she could be with the men planning for the Rogues? Oh wait, she knew, because her stubborn ass mates had decided that she needed to focus on medicine not fighting. They had smelled a change in her scent yesterday and since then she had been nearly on bed rest.
Ruby sighed and looked out the window. “Well, we have been trying like crazy to get pregnant, and nothing. You should feel lucky.”
Cloe laughed, “Yeah, we know. Ruby, you and Reggie are not the quietest wolves when you orgasm.”
Ruby blushed and said. “Damn wolf hearing.”
“Stop teasing her.” Casey said. “It will happen. Cloe checked you out, and you are good to go. Maybe the spirits are spacing the births out so we don"t freak out. I mean shit, Cami had triplets, Jo had twins, and I think I have a litter in here.” Cloe laughed and said. “I can do an ultrasound right now if you want to know.”
“Why didn"t you say so? Strap her up!” Cami said and jumped up and down clapping her hands. “We need to know how many more cribs to buy and what colors of clothes.
Plus, we are planning the future and need to know who is having possible mates for our children.”
Jo laughed and said. “Yeah, Cassandra is smitten with the twins.” Cloe went to the room they set up as the birthing room in the Pack house and rolled the portable machine into the nursery. “This is accurate only if we can see the little guys. So chill and let me do the test.”
“You are a twin, so your chances are higher for a multiple birth.” Ruby said.
“I am looking for Teagan, Cloe do you know where he is?” A deep voice came from the doorway, and all the woman turned and looked at Blaine filling to entrance.
“Yeah, he is with the other big bad wolves, in the special male room, where women are not allowed.” Cloe said sarcastically.
“Okay and that would be?” Blaine laughed.
Cami stepped forward and smiled. “It"s down the hall, third door on the left.”
“Thanks, and Cloe, why are you hooking that up. She is having twins, a boy and a girl.
She is thinking of naming them Sidney and Shad.” Blaine said and w
alked away, but not before making sure the nursery sign on the door was straight.
“Damn it.” Cloe said and looked at Casey, who was smiling and nodding. “Sneaky Seer.”
“I think he is one of the Chosen.” Cami said quietly.
“Me too, I can feel all of you differently than I can feel the rest of the Pack. I told Tey and the Alphas yesterday. But there is something else there. I am not sure what though.” Jo nodded.
Cloe looked at her friend and then grimaced. “I don"t know. He has always been secretive, but if he is the child of March, he is in more danger than we know. I heard Darien and Devon talking, and the Rogues have been talking about finding the Seer"s mates.”
“Crap, men are so stubborn. I am going to see what they are doing about this.” Cami said calling for the nurse who was supposed to look after the children back into the room. As she walked toward the door, Jo screamed loudly.
Cami turned in enough time to see that Hope, Cami"s daughter, and Christian, Jo"s son, were glowing again, but this time they were connecting to each other. Cassandra, Christian"s twin, and Cami"s twin boys were crying and kicking out their legs. They did not stop until Cami placed them with their sibling who soothed them with a touch.
“What the hell?” Cami said. “Get my husbands.”
The nurse nodded and ran out the door. “Well, this will make interesting dinner conversation.” Casey laughed.
“Wait until yours are born, one of them will turn into a glow worm, you just wait.” Jo said and pointed to her stomach, “Ha, so much for waiting.” Casey looked down, her stomach glowed, and she sat down heavily and started panicking. “Not cool.”
“Casey?” Devon said and ran to her side and looked around the room. The men flowed into the room looking for a threat. Finding none, they looked to where the women were pointing.
Hope and her siblings and Christian and his twin, had an arch of color coming from them. Cami"s children had gold, and Jo"s children had silver. They were giggling and wiggling like they were happy. Casey cried out when she saw a shower of green sparks join the children"s colors, it was coming from her. No one had been paying attention, and suddenly Cloe swore. “Damn it.” And they all turned to see a small glow coming from her stomach; it was red and very small, but still there.
