Page 94 of Pack Captive

Looked like there was some truth to the campfire stories.

"They took down the Berserker together, but..." Yasemin stared down at the table. "My husband did not make it through that battle alive. The wall of Lykos was breached, and we haven't had the manpower to rebuild. Calian left the Claws to become the Second, and if Ryden ever falls, he will take his place."

I swallowed hard. It was too easy to imagine that happening, and I would do anything to prevent it.

"But this story matters to you, because you must feel the same thing." Yasemin poured herself a cup of water and took a sip, squinting at me over the rim. "When you are with the pack you were destined for, your power grows—your strengths and destinies intertwine with each other. I believe that while you may love Vesper, it was never your destiny. If you had stayed in that valley, you may never have learned you were a Spirit Caller."

"So there could be hundreds of Moon Callers out there with this same power, but they're not with the right pack to bring it out," I said, thinking aloud.

Yasemin snorted. "Hundreds? Try tens, if that. You, Kadin, and I... of all the packs Azura has contact with, we are the only ones I know of. Only us three."

"And that's why my Warriors were never this powerful. Right? Until Ryden came to my village, I'd never seen lunar runes glow like that." I nibbled my fingernail as I thought, and Yasemin smacked my hand.

"Correct. They've brought out the best in you...and you bring out the best in them." Yasemin gave me a sidelong look. "And I don't mean only Calian."

"Are you angling for more baby Callers?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.

She shrugged, looking at me angelically. "Perhaps. Our pack will only survive if your generation pulls through."

So Calian was what I was destined for...and Ryden, too.

They both lit up like the full moon when I touched them, and my power had grown by leaps and bounds since meeting them.

This must be what it felt like to find a true home.

Except for the part where most of the people here hated me. I'd done my best to be nothing like Tyra, and I'd somehow managed to become even worse to them.

And as for Ryden...he had to prove he was going to let me run with them and take full responsibility before I let him in.

I didn't want pretty clothes as much as I wanted to be useful and keep my people safe.

"Well, that'll have to wait," I told her. "I'm not even considering that until Fenris is dead."

No pups for me. It was hard enough to worry constantly over pups of my pack, let alone one of my own flesh and blood. I'd been taught enough lunar magic by my mother to know the spell that kept me from getting pregnant and performed it faithfully every full moon.

"That could take some time." Yasemin's face crumpled, and for a moment, she looked older than I'd ever seen her, like the weight of years was dragging her down. "I've lived in this temple for most of my life, read every book...and I still cannot fathom how he has lived twice as long as the average wolf. The magic he possesses...it's not of lunar nature.”

"Well, I brought back Trion’s spirit." I looked down at my hands, remembering how cold they'd felt despite the flames. "Only one ghost, but...I'll just have to try harder to become a Spirit Caller, and with all of us together...we'll find him and kill him for good."

"Try?" Yasemin looked at me gravely. "Youmustbecome one. This is the end of the line, Ayla. Lykos is the last stand, and all the remaining packs are wandering and afraid. There's no hope of them banding together against him anymore. Pack Azura, and an army made of every ancestor spirit you can raise, are the only chance we have now."

She put her hand over mine, meaning to comfort me, but the weight of this commitment, the protection of all wolfkind...I'd never felt anything so heavy in my life.

"Because if you fail...Fenris will eat the world."

29

Ayla

I didn’t getmuch time to practice before my time finally came.

Nearly four days passed before the bells began tolling again, echoing through the amphitheater and slamming into my eardrum. I’d only ever heard them from the temple before.

Down here, with the relentless sound bouncing off the wall, it felt like my head was going to explode from the noise alone.

Calian was with me, running laps and making it look absolutely effortless, when the ringing began.

I was once again looking like a mess as Eryn ran me through my paces, making me shift from human to wolf on the fly during sprints. I also had a suspicion that Calian was showing off, trying to distract me, because he was running shirtless on the same track and every time he passed, he gave me a quick smirk.

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