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Knox and I scaled the stairs of the dorm, walking into his room and taking our familiar places. Knox sat on his bed, legs stretched out in front of him, while I plopped down into his desk chair. My eyes scanned the room, reveling in the photos from home. Goofy grins and knobby knees adorned the pictures, a young Knox and I through every stage of life. Always together.
“How are you doing man?” I finally asked, looking towards him.
Knox took a deep sigh, running his hands over his short hair, frustration seeping out of him. I didn’t even have to press my powers towards him to feel the emotion. Whenever someone felt something too strongly, it often just cascaded over me, as if my power welcomed it.
“I don’t know what to think Eli. I mean, I thought the Council were the best leaders we could have, and the Hunters were the only threat we faced. Fuck, I wanted to be just like Jay. And now? Now families are being told their child died, the Hunters are still out there, and the Council may be the reason behind it all. How is any of this fucking right? How did this become our life?”
Knox’s eyes drifted to one of the photos on his desk, one of us and our parents, all smiling big. Knox and I were dressed in football gear, both muddy in the little league uniform. I couldn’t help but agree with him. Back then, life seemed so simple. We were confined in our bubble and knew we were safe. And now, it seemed that bubble was the reason for our fear.
“It’s not your fault the Council isn’t the leaders we thought they were, you know that right?” To me, it seemed Knox was putting too much fault on himself. Sure, I had no interest in being a Council member like Knox did, but I had followed them blindly, just as most of Divines had. No one was to blame for not seeing this sooner.
“What about the visions? I know Halley ran out before we could really discuss anything, but you said her mom knew about the prophecy.”
Knox nodded, taking a moment before answering. “Yeah, the vision worked. Whileseeinginto Halley’s past, I was able to latch onto her mother, and as if my power knew what to search for, it took me to the right part of the past. Lenora, Halley’s mom, was speaking with her father. Her father was the one to find the prophecy. According to the vision, the Council was going to hide the prophecy until the heirs were found. They were worried that it could fall into the wrong hands and be lost for good. Unfortunately, I’m afraid the people they were worried about are now the ones in charge.”
Following along with Knox, multiple questions popped into my head. I asked the most important one first.
“So, is the prophecy gone? If it was never fulfilled, did someone destroy it?”
I hated to think that was possible. The prophecy was our only way of returning to Agrum Di Vinum. The only way of taking our people home where we could be safe.
“I have no clue. Obviously, we’re missing some important information from when the prophecy was found and to now. I mean, maybe at first it was because they couldn’t find the heirs, but now? Someone knew that eventually the heirs would be found, and an Enchanter was needed. Hence why they were killed off.”
“Then what do we do now? We have no clue if the prophecy even still exists.”
Thankfully, Knox seemed to have a plan for everything. “According to the vision, the prophecy was hidden in the Sanctum library. A place where only the changed could enter. I figure, we go to the library and see if the prophecy is still there. After that, we figure out a plan as we go.”
Truthfully, the plan was smart. There was no point in worrying about who the heirs were or how to hide it from the Council until we knew if the prophecy had been destroyed or not. And with seven of us figuring it out, I’m sure we could do it. There was only one problem with the plan. Probably the biggest problem we could have.
“What the fuck is the Sanctum Library?”
Chapter Seventeen
Madden
I hated seeing the sadness in her eyes. While I craved the fire, I abhorred the tears. Instincts had coursed through me when Halley ran out of the room, and I had to follow her. Seeing her standing there, her shoulders hunched, something hit me. It wasn’t the sexual attraction or excitement I usually felt around her, but this time, I realized I actuallycaredabout her. I didn’t want her to get hurt, whether physically against the Hunters or emotionally. And so, when she asked me to help her forget, who was I to say no? But then I could see the feelings of despair come back. Maybe others wouldn’t notice, but I spent most of our time together staring into those beautiful bronze eyes and she probably didn’t even notice how expressive they were. You could tell everything she was thinking from a simple glance into them.
Walking back to her dorm, I figured my plan would kill two birds with one stone. I vowed to myself that I would help Kalani figure out her new creature and I’d be able to help keep Halley’s mind off her own struggles for a while. Silence met us as we stepped through the threshold, the fireplace crackling the only reminder that someone was still in here.
The large common room was empty of three people, Kalani spread out on the couch. Her head popped up with the approach of our footsteps and she took a moment to take us in. I knew for a fact Halley’s appearance left little to the imagination. I didn’t know what had come over me while we fucked, but I wanted to mark every part of her body. Let everyone know that I had a hold on this girl, and she had a hold on me. Maybe part of it was Shifter instincts, but I knew a larger part was my own feelings, especially after watching Eli comfort her right in front of my face. I had no clue what was going on there, but I wasn’t going to push her. She had been through enough in the past few months, that if she wanted to find comfort in multiple people, I wasn’t going to stop her. As long as she still sought me out, I was a very happy man.
“I didn’t want to leave before checking on you, Halls, but I see Madden made sure you were feeling better.” Eyeing Halley, I saw her skin flush red as Kalani smirked at us, clearly knowing what had just happened between the two of us.
“I appreciate you sticking around, we actually had something in mind for the three of us.” Halley said with a smile towards her friend, plopping down on the opposite couch.
I took a minute to eye the two of them, seeing the comfortability between the two friends. In a few months, you could tell they had grown close, developing a friendship many didn’t have. And as I watched them chat about my plan to guide Kalani through her shift, I realized the pang in my chest was loneliness. Even though by choice, I had pushed everyone away. I liked being alone. Craved my independence. But was I missing out?
“Hey Alpha, you going to stand there brooding or actually help out? Halls is awesome and all, but she barely knows about Divines, let alone about Shifters. That’s your domain.” Kalani snarked at me and I wondered when she had gotten comfortable enough to sass her Alpha.
Besides Halley, I was used to everyone being intimidated by me, avoiding me like I wanted. Maybe it was because I was here when she woke after death or maybe Halley talked about me more than I thought. Either way, I was happy with the situation. Halley may have thought I was helping her with distractions, but she was helping me realize that maybe I wasn’t so happy being all alone all the time.
Dropping down next to Halley, I rested my arm along the couch, playing with her hair, and smirked at both of them.
“Let’s do this.”
? ? ?
I wouldn’t say I thought I was god’s gift to Shifters, but in my head, working through Kalani’s new transformation would have been easier. As it stood, the three of us were struggling and the easygoing atmosphere from earlier had been replaced with frustration.
