Page 56 of The Alpha Wolf Defying Fate

“If I find anything that even hints to me that it would be a danger, you know I’ll get rid of it. But with the book translated out, I could study it and learn this mismatched language and anything else about this place for us to share outside of the Forgotten Realm. Maybe even identify the city. It’s a history that we’ve all forgotten, and it’s linked to our ancestors. The daughters and sons of the original witches.”

Baer shook his head. “Just because you can link your family tree all the way back to that time doesn’t mean the rest of us can. The first three witches may have been mothers to their line of witches, but there were others who picked up the talents of magic outside of the three bloodlines. And I doubt they had anything to do with this book.”

I gave a laugh. It wasn’t common knowledge what he said, but it wasn’t untrue. Even today in the modern era, we had normal humans step into our world as they discover the magic within them. Just as some humans came to our world as shifters by curse or by bite.

“Regardless of bloodlines,” I said, lifting the book back up to read. “It’s all of our history to learn.”

Baer let out a sigh and stood up with the half-eaten fruit forgotten in his hand.

“I can’t argue with that,” he looked towards the door, then back to me once more. “What are you going to say to her now?”

I followed his gaze to the door, a slight hiss leaving my lips as the movement twinged the wound on my back.

“I won’t say much more than what I already told her. If she is willing to hear me out and listen to what I’ve said, then I won’t need to say a thing. But I won’t apologize for telling her to fight like I know she can. She’s far better than what she’s shown since coming here, and I know she is more than capable of overcoming any obstacles that are thrown her way.”

Baer regarded me for a moment, respect glinting in his dark eyes. He gave a nod and his smile returned.

“Just don’t go making her cry anymore. I don’t know how much longer I can protect you from Rory if you do.”

He laughed to himself as he left the room. He turned away from the front door to move deeper into parts of the building I couldn’t see from my position on the bed. I could still hear him walking around, his footsteps echoing off the stone floors of the building.

From what I could tell going off of the sound alone, he had gone to another room just on the other side of the wall to my left.

I turned my attention back to the book. The pages fanning out in my hand as I shifted my body to a more comfortable angle as best I could. A flash of color on one of the pages caught my attention then, and I ran my fingers over the pages until I found just what page had caught my eye.

It showed a shadowy figure drawn out on the page as he stood next to three female figures with a loom and thread. I immediately recognized the women as The Fates, the very goddesses who were responsible for all mateships, including my own.

I frowned as I tried to understand the picture. I had never seen an image depicting The Fates with another god at their sides. At least not anything within the books that held a genuine history of magic.

I ran my fingers over the page to read the words below the hand drawn image, my brows pulling tighter the more I read.

“The four fates set out to lead the mortals along their paths in life, the sisters placing their full efforts into balance amongst all the children of the gods. Both humans and non-humans, they gave choices and wisdom along with warnings as they deemed necessary.” I read to myself. I continued to read about their brother.

Their brother, on the other hand, found more joy in leading the mortals to their darkest fates. He gave choices that all led the mortal to a singular doom, often impeding his sisters’ work and causing unnecessary strife amongst the mortals.

Angered by his interference, The Fates turned to their mother, the primordial goddess who decorated the sky with her stars each night. They told their mother of their brother’s interference and the senseless damage he caused in his actions.

The primordial goddess regarded her daughter’s complaints before sending yet another of her children to speak to their brother. Hypnos, the god of sleep, appeared to his brother during his work as he led a human to the underworld.

There, the god placed his brother under a spell of deep sleep. The dark fate drifted into myth and legends, though no mention of his end would be shared to the common public. And as he rested, his sisters felt their loom creak and groan, their eyes paling with visions of a future far off. When sleep would wane and darkness would flourish, just as it had during the time their brother walked beside them.

I looked back up at the picture. The four siblings looked joyful in this sunny scene, as the sisters wove the destiny of the world on their loom. Even their brother shared a smile that hid the darkness he apparently had thrived so well within.

I sat the book back down at the sound of the front door opening. Sasha’s eyes found mine as quickly as I looked up to see her, a stubborn tilt of her chin telling me she still wasn’t quite ready to admit I was right.

To my relief, she still walked over to me as Aurora disappeared out of my view. I could guess where she was headed without listening to the footsteps, but I didn’t care to give her all that much attention. Not when Sasha walked towards me.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her arms crossed over her chest. “I can’t promise you that I won’t still hesitate. It’s been hell since coming to this realm. As beautiful as it is, the things that I’ve felt happening to me without much explanation have affected me. I can’t deny it and I don’t want to deny it.” She took a deep breath and let go of herself, her arms dropping to her side as she kneeled down beside the bed, her nose rubbing gently against mine.

My eyes fluttered shut at the feel of her, her sweet scent filling my nose with how close she was. Desire began to boil in my blood, and the sensations seemed to stir my wolf in his sleep.

“What I can promise you is that even after hesitation, I will come back swinging. I will fight my battles and show the world that I’m not one to be taken lightly. After all, I am a warrior princess.”

I shook my head then, lifting myself up as best I could without nearly killing myself from the pain.

“I think I undersold your power a bit before,” I said to her, her brows drawn together as she stared back at me.

“What do you mean?”

---