by Shay Laurent
She clutched a dark stone around her neck and gave Dom a sharp look that caused the butterflies in my stomach to increase their flight speed.
‘What sort of prophecies?’ she asked sternly.
‘Oh, you know, ones with the Crones in them. It’s for a task for Miss Stone.’ Dom grinned easily at the librarian. I envied him.
‘Everything we have on prophecies is in the scroll section. If you want to look in there, you’ll need written permission from one of the teachers, as usual. Miss Stone, in this case.’
‘Okay, no worries. Thanks, Miss Deerling.’ Dom turned to me and raised his eyebrows. ‘Let’s go sit down and do the rest of our assignment.’
I nodded and led the way back towards the chairs by the fireplace. I curled up on the one closest to the fire. Dom sat down opposite me.
It took a little while for the librarian’s eyes to stop wandering over to us.
OVER THE FOLLOWING week, Dom and I looked around the rest of the library with hopes of finding a mention of the prophecy. When that hadn’t worked we had decided to sneak into the library in the evening but, to our dismay, the librarian had locked the scrolls away. We’d even asked Miss Stone for written permission to access the scrolls, and were met with a resounding no, along with a stern lecture.
On a dreary Monday afternoon, I was sitting by the fire in the library doing my best to forget about the prophecy and get some work done when all hell broke loose.
BANG!
Glass and stone were blown everywhere. Part of the roof and wall had exploded. I hissed as shards dug into my arms, stinging. Kids and teachers screamed and coughed all around me. I looked through the haze and saw a group of shadowy figures right underneath the hole, standing on the debris.
‘We’re being invaded!’ screamed one of the students.
I crouched behind the end of the sofa, heart thudding, trying to stay out of the way as I watched what was going on. My heart stopped when I realised that one of the invaders was a Crone. Her wraith-like appearance was exactly as Miss Stone had described it in the story. I sucked in a ragged breath; she was terrifying. Shock froze me in place for a moment as I realised that meant there were Sorceresses in the Academy.
Please don’t let this be my fault!
The invaders wore cloaks that looked as though they were dipped in dark blood. The red lines that were smeared across their faces transformed them into a vicious vision of death. Potions were thrown and spells were cast; they looked like black and red lights weaving together then colliding as they sped through the air. The wolves touched by the magic froze or collapsed, their faces masks of fear.
A string of screamed instructions came from behind me, telling students to leave out the back exit, when suddenly the doors to the Library crashed inwards. More wolves flooded the room and attacked the Sorceresses. Teeth and claws and weapons flew everywhere. The Sorceresses were nowhere near as competent with their weapons and were not able to protect themselves once the wolves got close enough to attack them physically.
Forcing my heartbeat to slow by breathing deeply, I kept watch from my position, trying to take in all the details of the fight. The Sorceresses’s magic reached the Shifters within seconds of being cast. They needed to get closer. Too many of the Pack were being killed and injured.
After yet another wolf was blown away, most of the dust with it, I saw her.
Mum!
I stood and blinked, unable to believe my eyes. She was standing in the middle of the fight with her hands bound in a thick cord.
Look at me! Mum!
As if by magic her amber eyes turned and locked with mine. They widened, panic flooding her features. Within seconds she whipped her head away. A hand tugged on my shoulder. I ignored it, waiting to catch my mum’s gaze again.
Look back at me! Why’d you turn away?!
I started forward, desperate to regain her attention, when a hand pulled at me again. Furious, I turned. It was Miss Stone. Fear and concern were etched into her face.
‘You can’t, Elita. We need to go. I’m sorry.’
‘I’m not leaving her!’
‘You need to. Now. Our Shifters are starting to make traction. But her being here can only mean one thing. They know. They know you’re here. The Pack is being hurt and killed and they are looking for you. We need to go. Now.’
I squeezed my eyes shut tight, guilt filling my insides. Unable to help myself, I turned back to look at my mum, but immediately noticed she was looking at a wolf. A wolf that wasn’t moving. One with the peppered hair.
No! Our Alpha. Natasha’s father.
I allowed Miss Stone to pull me away, my gaze alternating between my mum and Natasha’s father. He’d Shifted back to his human form, but he still didn’t move.
Is he... dead?
‘Come, Elita. Now.’ Miss Stone hissed in my ear. ‘Your mother isn’t going to be happy if you get hit by a spell simply because you didn’t want to leave her there. Move!’
Painful as it was, I knew she was right. I forced myself to follow my teacher quickly towards the exit at the back of the Library.
Before we went out the door, I took one last look back at the scene of chaos. The Sorceress's numbers seemed to be dwindling as they backed towards the hole they’d come in through. Wolves surrounded them from every angle now. I knew they’d make their escape soon; the Crone seemed to be hovering from the floor already. I paused as I saw my mum being dragged aggressively backwards by her dress. Right at that moment she turned her head and met my eyes for a brief moment, relief flooding her desperate features before she looked away again.
She was watching. She really does care about me.
My heart swelled, though guilt soon followed when I thought about Natasha’s father and the other five or six Pack members who probably wouldn’t be walking out of here today.
I followed Miss Stone down the corridor and into what looked like a hall. It was cavernous and full of Shifter kids and teachers.
‘I need to go to the other teachers, Elita. Stay with Dominic.’
My head whirled around; I hadn’t even noticed that he was with us.
‘Where’d you come from?’
‘Miss Stone called me over when you came into the room. Didn’t you hear her? I mean, it’s pretty loud in here... but you know, Shifter hearing?’
I shook my head. ‘My mum is alive, Dom! I just saw her, just now!’
‘Your mum?’ His brow furrowed, concern covering his face. ‘But... I heard it was the Crone Sorceresses and one of the Crones. Does that mean...?’
Shock hit me when I realised what he must have been thinking. ‘No! No, she was a prisoner. Her hands were tied up with something. No, she’s good, like Miss Stone said, and she looked at me, Dom! I mean, she didn’t look for long, I guess she was trying to protect me, but she saw me. And I saw her!’
He grinned. ‘That is awesome! Well, awesome that she’s alive. Not so much that she’s a prisoner and probably gone again. But...’
My smile faltered a little and my heart started to plunge. I’d been so excited that my mother was alive and here that I hadn’t really thought about the fact that she was about to be taken away again, that the Shifters wouldn’t try to rescue her. I turned for the door and started weaving my way through a different kind of chaos, one where fear and grief reigned and kids shouted and sobbed and held onto each other. Within a minute, I’d slipped past a teacher and back out the door, Dom close on my heels.
He tried to call out to me but I didn’t have time to talk. I had to get back and stop my mum from being taken away again. They couldn’t take her. I ran up the stairs, two at a time. On the library level, I came to an abrupt halt. The sound of fighting was gone and there were Shifters everywhere, some in human form, some as wolves. Small moans escaped some of them as words of comfort were offered by those who kept them company. Others looked dead.
I felt all the warmth leave my body. There were too many dead.
This is all my fault. It’s my fa
ult they’re dead.
I felt Dom’s hand on my arm, he was saying something but I didn’t understand. My vision began to waver and the ground rushed up to meet me.
A SERIES OF GENTLE taps landed on my face and a voice called out to me.
‘Elita? Elita, can you hear me?’
I blinked repeatedly and my vision slowly came into focus. Miss Stone was leaning over me with a worried look on her face. Dom stood behind her buzzing with tension.
‘What... happened?’
‘You fainted!’ Dom called over her shoulder. ‘As soon as you saw everyone in the corridor.’
Miss Stone shook her head. ‘Do you think you can sit up?’
I thought about how I felt; besides being massively anxious and a little out of it, I thought I was okay.
The corridor was almost the same, but a few of the Pack had been moved.
The dead ones.
‘You look like a ghost, Elita. You need to move away from here and go downstairs with everyone else.’
I shook my head and looked at the Library.
‘She’s not there, Elita. I’m sorry.’
‘But surely someone saw she was a prisoner? Didn’t anyone try to help?’
‘I don’t know. I had to leave and take you and the last of the other students downstairs. Everyone who was left behind was fighting for their lives and the lives of the Pack. I doubt they considered any of the Sorceresses.’
‘Did she... make it out?’
Miss Stone looked me in the eyes as she spoke, her tone soft but reassuring. ‘I think so, Elita. She wasn’t here when I got back. I’m sure she’s okay.’
Yeah, she’ll be fine. She’s survived for this long. She’s okay.
Even as I tried to convince myself, I felt my body begin to shiver and my teeth chatter.
‘Dom, can you please take her back downstairs. I really need to see what I can do to help up here. We have a lot of Pack issues right now because...’ She looked away without finishing her sentence, but I knew.
‘Axel didn’t make it.’
Her head whipped back to me, surprise clear on her face. She obviously didn’t think I’d noticed with everything going on and my mum being in the room, but I’d been trained to notice.
‘Yes, and that means...’ She turned and looked at Dom.
‘My Dad is Alpha now,’ Dom said quietly.
When Miss Stone nodded, he looked grim. Dom straightened his shoulders a little and thanked her before turning to help me up.
‘Come on, let’s go Elita. We’ll be in the way up here. They’ll fill us in later.’
Seeing that I was on my way, Miss Stone left and disappeared into the Library.
‘You okay, Dom?’
He smiled tightly at me. ‘Yeah, sure. Things will probably be a bit different around here now. This wasn’t really meant to happen. A Beta has only ever needed to be initiated into the position once before. This will only be the second Alpha not of the original lineage.’
‘What do you mean, the original lineage?’
‘It was a pretty big scandal, Dad told me. It happened when he was younger. The Alpha of this Pack has always been from Salvatore’s line until, like, fourteen years ago. The Alpha’s heir ran away and hasn’t been heard from since. When his father—our Alpha—passed on, Axel took the position. He was the first Beta to take it. My father was made the new Beta because our family lines have also been around since the beginning, though I think our families used to be sentinels. But now Dad will take up the position.’
‘He’ll be great at it. Don’t worry,’ I said.
Dom gave me a small smile and nodded. ‘Thanks.’
Chapter 8
Inside the hall, the teachers had managed to rein in the chaos. Students sat quietly in small groups and comforted one another, but I was sure that it would get crazy again as soon as they heard the news.
I spotted Natasha sitting with her friends, looking irritated as usual.
She doesn’t know.
My stomach twisted. Naturally, she chose that point to meet my eyes and give me a sneer. I couldn’t even manage to make myself return it. Instead, I felt like crying. I saw a puzzled look on her face as I turned to Dom. I tugged frantically on his sleeve to get his attention. ‘No one has told her, Dom. Who is going to tell her? She can’t find out in the general announcement.’
He gave me a small nod and looked around the room. When relief crossed his features, I followed his gaze. His father had come in.
‘Give me a sec? I’ll find out before he makes it to the front.’
Before I had time to reply, Dom shot off to his father. I watched from a distance as they spoke. There was no chance of overhearing a specific conversation in this room. When Dom came back, he let me know the plan.
‘Since we know what’s happened, we need to take her to Miss Stone.’
I sighed. As cowardly as I knew it was, I didn’t want to be there when she found out. I’d already had a slice of losing a parent in my life, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Not even Natasha.
Dom led the way and I trailed a little behind him until we reached her. I glanced at his Dad and realised he was looking this way, probably waiting for us to take her before he addressed the Pack.
Natasha scowled. ‘What do you two want?’
‘We need you to come for a walk with us,’ Dom said, a serious tone in his voice.
A look of incredulous disbelief crossed her face. ‘I’m not going anywhere with you two.’
When she turned back to her friends, Dom tapped her lightly on the shoulder. ‘I’m afraid you need to. It’s Pack business.’
I didn’t know how Dom was keeping his voice so even. My thoughts were in turmoil and my dad wasn’t even the new Alpha. Natasha huffed and rolled her eyes at her friends before directing us to lead the way.
I walked beside Dom, but I couldn’t help glancing back at Natasha a few times. When she started to lose a bit of her usual snarky demeanour and began looking concerned, I scolded myself.
Eyes forward. Stop looking at her. This will be horrific enough.
She followed us without a word until we got to the library corridor. When she saw where we were, she stopped abruptly. Even those who hadn’t been involved had now discovered there had been an attack of some sort.
Natasha stopped and looked at us with wide eyes. ‘What are we doing up here?’
Dread had crept into her voice and I couldn’t stop the tears that started to form in my eyes. I kept looking ahead and let Dom speak to her.
Gently he said, ‘We need to take you in to Miss Stone.’
When we didn’t move, I turned a little to look at her, trying to hide my tears. But it was no use. She knew something was wrong now. There were tears on her face. She shook her head back and forth. Stuck. I reached out a hand to her, but she shoved it away.
‘No. No, no, no.’
Miss Stone walked out of the library doors and over to us. The look on her face was heartbreaking, but it was nothing compared to the horror on Natasha’s. Natasha dropped to the ground and screamed. It was a sound so desolate and loud that I was sure every Shifter would hear it and feel her pain.
I went to step forward again, but Dom grabbed my hand and held me back. Miss Stone knelt down on the floor and embraced Natasha.
‘I’m so sorry, Natasha. He fought bravely and saved many lives of the Pack. He protected us fiercely from the Crone and her Sorceresses. I’m sorry.’
Natasha howled and sobbed and clung on to Miss Stone for dear life. I was glad I had Dom there. I looked up at him through my tears and saw them trailing down his cheeks as well. I hugged him and rested my head on his chest. This was going to be a devastating day for the whole Pack, but not as bad as it would be for Natasha.
We stood there for what felt like an eternity. Then suddenly Natasha shot up out of Miss Stone’s arms, her shirt wet from the tears still streaming down her face.
‘I want to see him. I want to see my father.’
‘Natasha, I don’t think that is a good idea.’
‘He’s my father. I want to see him. I—’ Her voice broke. ‘I need to see him.’
Miss Stone looked conflicted but, after a few moments, decided to take her in. Natasha walked past us without making eye contact, but after she’d gone a few feet she stopped and looked back. ‘Thank you,’ she said quietly, then turned and kept going. I knew the haunted look on her face would stick with me for a long time to come.
Feeling shaken, I turned back to Dom. ‘Come on, let’s go back down. We aren’t needed here now.’
He nodded and led the way. We walked slower than usual and I wondered how much his life was about to change with his father being Alpha.
I wonder if that’ll mean he’ll have other duties now. Surely not. Natasha always seemed to be around.
I was shocked I could even think about that right now.
Stop being so selfish. Natasha lost her dad, Dom’s life is changing. Hell, I have enough on my own plate with my mum and everything.
Before I realised it, we were downstairs and back in the hall. It looked like the speech had finished and Dom’s dad had left the stage; I looked around but couldn’t see him anywhere. What I did see was sadness. So much sadness. All the kids, and even the staff, were mourning their Pack leader and the others who had died. I began to feel a little glad that I hadn’t been here for very long and that I didn’t know any of them as well as the rest of the Pack did.
Dom told me he’d catch up with me later then disappeared to find his dad. I thought about sitting with Harper, but I needed some time in my own head, so I left.
AFTER I PULLED ON MY training clothes, I left the dorm. Sticking to the tree line, I started jogging. When it wasn’t enough, I ran. Once I cleared the Academy grounds and made it to the forest, I let instinct take over and sprinted, weaving in and out of trees, ducking branches, jumping off rocks.
I stopped at the stream and splashed water on my face. The icy temperature broke through my feelings. It felt so good, I took my shoes off and walked in.
