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One problem at a time, Rosie.
I climbed down the stairs where my twin boys and Rowan waited for me. I guess everyone else was already outside, judging from the sounds going on. When I was close enough, I stretched out my hands for Kao and Kai to take. They guided me down the rest of the way, taking turns giving me a kiss which helped to relax me further.
"It's going to be okay, my love," Kai said, the endearment giving me butterflies.
"Smooth talker," Kao deadpanned, then fixed me with one of his boyish smiles. "Don't worry about anything, Rosie. You'll have me to look after you. Oh, and I guess these guys too."
I rolled my eyes, glad to see Kao returning to his normal, playful self. Being on the run dampened the mood for everyone. Hopefully this could be the start of returning to our normal lives. Hopefully. "Let's do this."
I walked out of the lodge, my twins on either side of me, and Rowan and Byron standing behind me. This felt right, but the lack of Joaquin stung. I hoped he'd wake up soon. Putting on my game face, I faced the crowd of shifter residents of Kingsrose. They huddled around their vehicles, some eating from the buffet area my grandmother threw together, all of them curious about what's going on and where Pierce was. I noticed how the betas that made my pack stood off to the side, separating themselves from their former pack mates since their connection to them had been cut off. Not for long, I hoped.
As soon as I stepped through the door, all signs of conversation died down as everyone's attention were directed to me. I gulped, feeling as if the hundreds of eyes were a tidal wave threatening to drown me. I started to forget everything I was going to say until I felt a gentle squeeze from both hands. I looked to Kao then to Kai, both giving me their encouragement. I also turned to Rowan and Byron, both men giving me their support as well.
I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.
"Good evening, everyone," I said, grateful that my voice only shook slightly. "I'm sure you all remember me from our last full moon run. I'm Rosie Mendoza."
"Yeah, the traitor of the pack," someone in the crowd shouted.
"And we see you've coerced the betas into betraying us too," someone else said.
Soon enough the crowd was in an uproar, agreeing that I was, in fact, a traitor, and how I had a lot of nerve demanding a pack meeting when I wasn't fated to Alpha Pierce. Not that I would've gotten that privilege if I did mate with him, or that I would still be alive to try. I was starting to lose my conviction, and my nerves. Maybe this was a bad idea after all.
"Silence," I heard Byron shout from behind me. He stepped over us, teeth bare and golden wolf eyes shining by the open flames of the bonfire. The crowd hushed instantly. "Rosie hadn't betrayed us. She's here to warn you about Pierce's plans."
The crowd murmured to themselves, wondering what plans Byron was talking about. I tried again and got to the point. "Pierce, your alpha, is planning on leading a pack of rogue wolves to come and kill everyone in Kingsrose; both shifter and humankind."
As expected, my audience erupted in outrage, calling me a liar. That Pierce would never do such a thing. He would never turn against his own pack.
"It's true," Byron shouted to be heard over the uproar. "Alpha Pierce has told me, personally, what his plans were. Any shifter he deems unworthy will perish by the hoard of shifters, as will all the humans living in Kingsrose. Only those whom Pierce deems strong enough to keep are spared."
"You abandoned us to join her! How do we know we can trust you?" someone said to Byron.
Before Byron or I could say anymore, Roxanne stepped up to center stage, a lit cigarette between her fingers, but her other hand had wisps of violet light swirling with magical energy. "I've had enough of this pointless arguing. Allow me to shed some light on the matter." She lifted hand full of magic and twirled her hand, expelling a ripple of purple energy. Soon, everyone's eyes flashed amethyst and stood tall with vacant stares.
"What are you doing?" I asked in a panic, thinking she was attacking them with her mind magic.
"Relax, I'm showing them what was in Whitney's memories. After all, she was also there when Pierce relayed the plan."
I kept quiet after that, letting Roxanne do her thing. I didn't know she was able to do something like that, but it was a great idea. Now they could see for themselves that we were telling the truth. Ten seconds passed before the purple lightshow faded, and people woke from their stupor, but now in alarm. From the sounds of it, some were still in disbelief, but most were now fearing the worst. But all were feeling uneased at hearing Pierce's plan for a mass genocide.
"Now you've seen it with your very eyes," I said, getting the focus back on me. "Pierce is working with some unknown man to kill off anybody that doesn't fit with their new army of dangerous shifters."
"Why would he do something like that?" someone asked.
"What is he after?" Another voice spoke up.
Now came the second topic of this meeting. "He wants me. Or rather, the gift inside me. How many of you know of the Wolf Moon legend?"
When only a handful of shifters responded, I began to relay the full story surrounding Selene, her mates, and the Wolf Moon's gift. Not just the fairytale version, but the hidden details that we uncovered with Del, Roxanne, and Rowan's help. "If Pierce gets his hands on the Wolf Moon's gift, he'll have complete control of any shifter he chooses to bend to his will. Nobody will be able to stop him. Nobody will be able to resist his orders. He wants to assert his dominance here, so he'd have an army ready to come after me and my pack. Instead, I'm marking Kingsrose as the territory for the newly formed Kingsrose Renegades Wolf Pack. We plan to stop Pierce before he can harm another soul here."
"You expect us to believe that a silly little fairytale is real, and that you suddenly have some magical power that Mother Moon gave you?" someone in the crowd asked snidely, and a cacophony of chuckles sounded.
I gritted my teeth, getting tired of people calling me a liar. Did they really think I would make up some shit for shits and giggles? You'd think they'd start to listen to me after Roxanne showed everyone Pierce's plan, but their trust only went so far. I wanted to lash out, but bit down my tongue before I said something that would lose any progress I made. I needed to approach this with a level head. Losing my cool over snide remarks wouldn't win me any brownie points.
I sensed Rowan moving next, standing in front of me to address the crowd. First Byron, then Roxanne, and now Rowan. I was grateful to have their assistance. Without them, I didn't think I'd get anywhere with these people. Rowan didn't speak up, which had me wondering what he was up to, but then I saw the faintest flash of turquoise light coming from his forehead. It grew brighter as his Wolf Moon mark glimmered to life.
I hissed when I felt the familiar burning sensation at the top of my head. Sure enough, my own marking was reacting to his. When I looked to my twins, their faces scrunched up with pain and their marks appearing as well. It was amazing how much control Rowan had over his gift, to be able to summon the marking at will, and with little effort.
