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"The Magpie came across a prophecy, and his interpretation is...lacking."
He reached into his robes, pulling out a piece of rolled-up parchment and tossing it on the table toward her. She inched forward, watching the old wolf carefully. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"So you just want to know if this is a warning?" she asked.
"Is it a warning? The Magpie seemed to think it was a foretelling."
"Nothing is ever really foretold. Everyone has a choice as to what —"
"Just fucking read it!" Ares growled, slamming his fist into the table.
Haxa repressed the urge to roll her eyes. The angry impulses of wolves truly made her wonder how they had survived this long.
She stared at the text on the weathered piece of paper, reading and re-reading it. The old wolf shifted, growing restless, and she could feel his sharp gaze on her.
"Get on with it!" he roared.
"It's a foretelling of how to preserve your empire," she said calmly, settling the parchment on the table.
Ares stood up, the Alpha practically shaking with anticipation
"How?" he asked.
"Kill the children marked by the blushing moon."
Revenge is a confession of pain.
—Latin Proverb
The Madra Village
Tzidal
I stoodat the edge of the field, watching the old woman sob and wail, her arms coated in a thick layer of sticky blood. She rocked to and fro on her knees, her hair falling from its tight bun and into her tear-streaked face. My wolf whimpered as she ghosted her trembling hands over the shredded remains of her only son.
An Alpha, one of the village guards, wrapped an arm around the poor woman's middle and pulled her away. Her painful screams sliced through the cool afternoon breeze, making my heart ache.
It was awful watching her grief unfold, but I couldn't pull my eyes away. The devastation pulsating off the poor woman was too consuming. It demanded my attention.
The hair along the back of my neck prickled as I sensed a familiar presence at my shoulder. I didn't bother to turn when my closest friend hooked an arm around my waist.
"It's just so horrible," Sade whispered. "I can't believe something like this could happen here."
Nodding, I watched the guards carry away the grieving mother, and tossed a few blankets over the mangled corpse.
Even though Madra was one of the larger werewolf colonies, our village was still very safe compared to many surrounding cities. Alphas settled fights and grudges outside the border. Things like this just didn't happen within our walls.
"Omegas!" the guard yelled, causing me to jump. "You don't need to see this. Go on."
"He's right, Tzidal," Sade whispered, pulling at my waist. "We don't need to see this."
I nodded silently in agreement and allowed my friend to lead me away, lacing our fingers together. My mind raced as she babbled and gossiped the entire way into the village square, but I couldn't focus on her words. I knew the dead wolf. Sander was a massive Alpha. Tall and strong. He was known for showing off the scars on his chest and back that he obtained from one of his many fights beyond the border walls. He would not have gone down easy.
What disturbed me the most was the state of his remains. Whoever did this had no compassion in their bones. Sander's body held deep, ripping gashes all over his torso and legs. The kind of wounds that injured but didn't kill. His attacker clearly played with the Alpha, inflicting a disturbing amount of pain before ending his life.
Why would anyone do something like that?
I tried blocking out my disturbing thoughts and focusing on Sade's excited chatter, but fear swirled within me, making my wolf whimper and skin itch.
