The recreation center we were using as a meeting hall was packed with Manix. Dispersed amongst us was a handful of witches. Some seemed wary, some were fascinated—especially once they spied me—and some just looked bored as hell.
A female witch, who was probably in her fifties, walked up to where we were sitting with a smile. She seemed non-threatening, but my Alphas were still on guard. “So it’s not a myth? The males of the Manix species do give birth to the young?” Her eyes were sparkling with mirth. “I gave birth to triplet boys over twenty years ago now, and I would have sold my soul to have my husband carry them around for even a day!”
I winced as one of the cubs got a rib, and the woman winced right along with me.
“I remember that feeling well. Don’t worry—there’s not long to go, but actually…” She reached into a pocket and pulled out a handful of rocks. Picking a shining white one, she handed it to me. Corvin began a rumbling growl, but I put a hand on his knee to calm him. She gave Corvin an understanding, if slightly nervous glance.
“It’s a moonstone. There’s a river of them here, below the town, which is why the coven grew here. When I was having my sons, resting a moonstone on my stomach seemed to calm them for a few moments so I could just breathe. It may work even better with shifters, given your affinity for the Moon Goddess. It won’t harm the cubs, or you. It’s a feminine energy stone, but is also good for insomnia and balance. I figure it can’t hurt to try?”
I clenched the gift in my hand, inexplicably touched by her thoughtfulness, whether I believed in this stuff or not. “Thank you. And thank you for opening your home to us. I’m Darius, and this is my Pack.” I indicated my Alphas and Kitten.
“I’m Jeziya. And you are welcome here in Moonburst. I half hope you stay. What is the point of being in a coven that nurtures life and nature, if you are surrounded by empty buildings and a ghost town barely hanging on? This is the most energy the town has had in years.”
I gave her a sad smile. “We are here for as long as you’ll have us, I think. There’s nothing to go home to now.”
Jeziya’s eyes welled with tears, and she rested her hand over mine. “I am very sorry about your homes. The Goddess is mysterious in her workings. But sometimes in nature, everything has to burn in order for new growth to happen.”
Courtland stood up in front of the crowd, and Jeziya ducked back to the rest of her coven with a quick wave. Courtland looked somber, his face pulled into stressed lines. “The Manix thank the Moonburst coven for allowing us to stay in their homes and for making us feel so welcome. The Manix owe a great debt to you all.” He tilted his head at Wilbur and Electra, who were sitting in the front row.
“My fellow Manix, our home is gone. I returned to Maxton yesterday, and only the foundations of the Legion building remain. The fire went through fast and hard. We lost five of our brethren.” A sad noise flowed through the crowd. “It is a time for mourning what we have lost. However, it is also a time for decisions to be made.” I could see him square his shoulders, so this next part was probably going to hurt.
“It is my opinion that the Manix shouldn’t return to hiding. The feuds of the past are over. We are no longer living in secret to protect our numbers. In fact, this hiding has become detrimental to the Manix species as a whole.”
Noise exploded throughout the room. I looked over at my Pack, trying to judge how they were taking the idea, but they weren’t giving me much.
“Everyone, a little silence please. I’ll have time for questions in a moment.” Courtland waited until the noise was back to a reasonable level. “You all have autonomy. When it comes to your safety, the Legion Generals and I will do what is necessary. But when it comes to your future, and where you would like to reside, that is entirely a decision for you to make. However, we have had discussions with the Moonburst coven, and they have offered us homes here in Moonburst.”
“At what cost?” someone yelled from the back.
Electra stood up. “Witches work with the energy around us. Some energy comes from nature, some comes from the coven, and some comes from the people who surround us. Since the oil refinery closed and the workers left, our coven has been starved of energy. Many of us are expelling far more energy than we should be to keep our crops alive in winter, or to perform simple spells. By breathing life back into Moonburst, we would live symbiotically. Fully energized, we can protect you from outside forces, and provide for large numbers such as your Pack. In return, you have to do nothing but live. Provide the skills we are currently lacking in town. We will give you homes and buildings, out of which you can run businesses. Together, we get Moonburst back.”
She sold it well. Courtland nodded to her. “I should warn you that it is the intention of my Pack to stay in Moonburst. The children of the Sanctum will also remain here. If you return to Maxton, we would essentially split into two separate townships.” More gasps, and maybe one of those came from me. “The Maxton group would have to elect a new Alpha General, or adapt to a new leadership structure. It is my hope that this will be the beginning of a new era for the Manix, one out of the shadows, where we can properly flourish as a species.” His nose flared, the scent of anxiety in the room almost noxious. “I’ll take questions now.”
Thus began two torturous hours of Courtland essentially answering the same questions on repeat. The other Legion Generals answered some questions, including whether they would return to Maxton, of which they were almost split in half. There were more questions about the coven, including their numbers, why they didn’t all live here in Moonburst, whether they were minions of the devil. Wilbur laughed uproariously at that last one.
But there were also more thoughtful questions, like how we would be able to shift into our Beast forms here where there were no trees to shelter us from prying eyes? Would our cubs be safe if we were so easily accessible? All of these were completely valid concerns.
It was Electra who assuaged these fears. She held out a hand to Courtland. “Alpha General, if I may?” He put his hand in hers, and then they disappeared. Like, fully gone.
“Holy shit,” I whispered.
“We are still here—we are just mirrored with magic,” Electra’s voice told us. “This would be cast over the whole town at certain times of the year, and over a particular portion of the grasslands. This would allow you to run and, uh, do whatever it is Manix do in their fully shifted form, without worrying about humans accidentally spotting you. Once cast, this magic tethers itself to the unique geological features of Moonburst. So long as there is energy in the town to maintain the illusion, it will stay. Also, we will set up alarm systems to alert us to outsiders entering the town. It will be as safe and secure as we can make it, perhaps even more so than your mountain home. There's always a chance a rogue hunter might see you there, no?”
“Where do you think the Bigfoot legends come from?” someone shouted from the back, causing a ripple of laughter.
Electra dropped the illusion, and they both reappeared. Courtland smiled at the heckler and nodded. “You can all make your own decisions. The Manix’s financial assets will be divided between the two townships, so you will have something to start with. I would ask for your decisions soon, so we can get reconstruction plans for Maxton underway, as well as Alpha General elections held, and for those of you staying in Moonburst, we will be organizing permanent jobs and resources you’ll need to start your lives again. And again, if you just want to talk, my door is always open.”
With that, we all began to disperse. Beckett helped me to my feet, and I stood with a sigh. I felt huge. That was my other worry. The unknown factor of when I was about to give birth was sending my Beast into anxiety overdrive. I couldn’t live like this. We needed to make decisions and we needed to make them now.
But it wasn’t just me in this Pack. Cooper loved his family, and I knew he’d be unsettled if they chose to go back to Maxton and rebuild. Gatlin and the Huxley-Grey Pack had always been loners—would they go home, taking with them the chance for Kitten to have kin?
So many moving pieces. We had a week to decide, otherwise the cubs would decide for us.
Like most things,my Pack turned the life-altering decision of where we should live into a game, but with a pro-con list. Every time you listed a pro or a con—for either staying or leaving—and it got shot down by someone else, you had to remove a piece of clothing. For instance, when Cooper said that Maxton had been where we’d lived for generations, Beckett replied that while we’d been happy there, Maxton had always had its share of problems, mainly because it was so steeped in the old ways. This was a chance for a fresh start.
If you made a point that no one could argue with, you got to nominate who had to get naked.
Needless to say, we were all pretty nude after a while, but the pro list for staying in Moonburst was considerably longer than that for rebuilding in Maxton. Kitten had been pretty ambivalent about either option, but I’d seen her heart swell when Beckett had suggested we could rebuild our Packhouse where her cabin had once been.
