Page 108 of Gift from the Stone

My chest is on the verge of bursting open with the swirling force inside it. Quickly calling my magic forth, I weave it through and around the power being held in place, tucking it into a tight round sphere, like a silvery ball of yarn. The growls grow louder, and a few shifters begin slinking their way closer. I see them slowly maneuver through the crowd, and their hatred slithers across my skin.

“Anytime now, Fortune Teller,” Lyker whispers.

“Almost there,” I grunt.

The faint sound of bones breaking fills the air, followed by a high-pitched scream as a massive milk chocolate wolf starts bulldozing and leaping through the crowd, heading straight for us.

Kael. You bastard. Shoulda killed him when I wanted to.

“Primary,” Caspian grunts as everyone around me calls on their gifts, preparing to jump right back into another small war.

“Any who bears the mark of the Mastery or carries the knowledge of them within this pack, kneel. Now.”

I lace my power with my command and release the hold on my restraint.

A thunderous noise pours from my lips. It’s a mixture of my most menacing growl and powerful roar. The shockwave that leaves my body is forceful enough to send me flying back into Tillman’s massive chest as it ripples through the crowd, flowing past those who are innocent like a gentle breeze and flattening those who are not.

Kael’s body twists and seizes in the air where he was jumping across the slew of tables to reach us. His wolf whimpers in pain as he slams hard into the ground.

The sound of birds squawking from the forest, branches of trees breaking, and the force of my command echo throughout the mountain range, stretching far and wide across the entire pack lands.

I slump in Tillman’s arms as the sudden drop in power leaves me exhausted, tired, just like when I created my pocket dimension.

“Open up, princess,” Corentin orders with two healing vials in hand as he presses one to my lips, blocking the crowd’s view of me. I greedily drink them down one after the other and give him a slight nod as they all place their hand on me.

“Terravile Pack, I hate that this is my first act as Alpha. As many of you know, I have been an E.F. member for years, and the entirety of my tenor has been spent hunting down this society who has swept through Elementra leaving devastation in their wake. I won’t let them continue to do that to this pack nor will they get their claws in us again.

“Those who are kneeling will be taken to the holding cells where they will be questioned for their involvement or knowledge of this society. I will be here with you every step of the way to clean our pack up and build us to greatness.” Lyker’s swear echoes through the community center loud and clear. The cries and murmurs hush as they all look at him with hope and a little bit of fear.

I have no doubt this scared the majority of them, regardless of their involvement or noninvolvement, but I think they’ll come to appreciate and respect him once they realize there’s no more poison spreading through their ranks. The silence amongst the center stretches on, creating a tense, awkward atmosphere before Rylan steps up and starts a slow clap.

Moments later, the pack joins in, whooping and shouting, starting their Alpha chant back up, and Lyker releases the breath he’d been holding. His brothers surround him, clapping him on his shoulders and pulling him into a hug, showing him their support.

“He’s going to be a good Alpha,” Aria whispers as she comes to stand beside me.

“Are you referring to the pack or…” I trail off.

“Both. I believe he’ll be a good Alpha for both.” She smiles, slowly walking toward her Nexus.

That’s going to be quite the story to see.

Between the two healing vials, and my men all still touching me, I’m feeling back to normal in minutes. Thank Elementra that worked because I don’t think I had another fight left in me today. It’s been both physically and mentally draining on me since I stepped foot onto these pack lands just a very few short hours ago and we’ve got so much shit to do now before it’s over.

“Let’s get to work so we can go home.”

I want my bath, bed, and my men.

Eighteen

Willow

“You’ll message me when you get home and get settled, right?” Aria asks as we say our goodbyes.

Lyker thought it’d be best to cancel the large coronation that was originally planned today since the entirety of yesterday, into the wee hours of this morning, was spent going back and forth to Rebel Castle, talking to the members of the pack and forming a plan for him and his Nexus from here.

So this afternoon, we held a small coronation and dinner with just our group, Rylan, and his Nexus, as well as the few other finalists who competed in the Alpha Trials. Once they’ve had time to get the pack back in order, establish a new council rather than Elders, and get settled into their new roles, then Lyker plans to have a much larger ceremony that we’ll return for.

“Yes, and you message me. You understand how the communicator works?” I say, giving her a teasing smile.

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