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I press a hand over my mouth, choking back bile. It's too awful to comprehend.
When it finally ends, I turn to Fern with tears in my eyes. She looks back at me sadly.
"This is why I sacrificed everything," she says quietly. "Why I had to seal them all away, even at the cost of my own soul. I couldn't let this happen again."
"It's so awful," I murmur, tears rolling down my eyes. "I can't imagine going through that and surviving."
"Now you understand why I did what I did," she says. "The only way to make sure those horrors don't return is to seal off their souls in the wellspring forever."
I swallow hard. "I can't give up my mates. I don't know what I'd do without them."
Fern's eyes flash with sympathy and regret. "I know it is a difficult choice. But if you do not sacrifice those threads, the souls I sealed away will be freed again. And untold suffering could return to our kind."
Tears fill my eyes as I wrap my arms around myself. The thought of losing the four men I've come to love fills me with anguish. But allowing the horrors Fern showed me to resume seems equally unthinkable.
"There must be another way," I plead desperately. "Some solution where no one has to be sacrificed."
Fern sighs, her expression full of sadness and compassion. "If there was any other way, I would have taken it long ago. This is the only path that leads to lasting peace."
She steps closer, taking my hands in hers. "I know how much they mean to you, Caterina. But the lives and souls of all omegas hang in the balance."
Her dark eyes bore into mine intently. "You must find the strength to do what is right, as I once did. The lives of many depend on it."
I tremble, tears slipping down my cheeks. The thought of losing the gods fills me with anguish. But allowing the omegas' suffering to resume seems equally unthinkable.
I don't know how to choose between two impossible options. But I have to find an answer—one that prevents evil without requiring me to sacrifice those I've come to love.
“Giving up my mates is too much to bear,” I finally say shakily. "There must be another way, even if we can't see it yet."
Fern studies me for a long moment, then nods. “Let me show you more.”
ChapterTwo
“So there is another way?” I ask her, hopeful.
"Perhaps. If you're willing to pay the price.” Fern motions to the gently rippling pool. "First, you should understand where you come from, and how your destiny came to be entwined with mine."
As she speaks, images begin to coalesce on the surface of the dark water. Scenes from the past, ready to reveal their secrets. I step closer, compelled to watch the story unfold.
The vision shows a younger version of my mother, Talon. Her long hair streams behind her as she runs through the woods. She glances back nervously, as if afraid of being followed.
When she reaches a secluded glen, a lone wolf steps out to meet her. He has reddish fur and intelligent blue eyes.
My breath catches. Somehow I know this is my father. The mysterious wolf I inherited my jet black hair from.
I watch, riveted, as my mother shifts into her wolf form. She rubs affectionately against the lone wolf, nuzzling and licking his muzzle. He returns her gestures, nipping her neck and shoulders playfully.
Their intentions are clear. My parents, defying pack law, mean to mate.
Talon leads the lone wolf to the Mating Circle, walking up the steps to it. My parents shift back to human form and begin preparing for the illicit mating ceremony. Talon pulls a vial of glowing magic out of her pocket and pours it onto the runes, making them light up despite the lack of a pack alpha's presence.
My heart pounds. I'm witnessing my own origins, learning secrets no one ever told me.
As the ritual begins, power builds between them and makes the elder statues come to life. The mating cords between Talon and the lone wolf glow bright. But suddenly the light turns ominous, flashing red. A rumbling shakes the stones beneath them.
The wellspring itself intervenes, refusing to allow this unsanctioned mating of an outsider. Its magic lashes out, wrapping around the interloper, my father. He cries out as blinding light envelops him completely.
When it fades, he's gone. Sacrificed by the offended wellspring.
