Page 169 of Shadow City: Silver Wolf

“Okay,” Killian said carefully. He tried to sound patient, but I could hear his frustration. “Which is?”

“That guardian angel, Ophaniel, impregnated a wolf who lived in Shadow City.” The words sounded foreign to my ears. I’d grown up just accepting we were stronger without questioning why. “She got pregnant, even though it was supposedly impossible. Their offspring was the first silver wolf.”

Griffin gasped. “But that actually makes a whole lot of sense. That’s why you’re tied to the moon and so strong.”

“Not to mention warriors.” Killian moved closer.

“But that’s not all.” The next part was the real kicker.

CHAPTER TWELVE

“What is it?”Julius asked, clasping his hands together as if he was trying to prevent himself from yanking the journal from my grasp.

I read the last sentence again, ensuring that nothing had changed. But no, the words glared back at me, mocking me. “This can’t be right.” My attention flicked to Bart.

I wanted him to tell me this was some sort of elaborate scam or that I’d wake up from this crazy dream. But he gave me a slight nod, confirming something that should’ve been unfathomable.

“What is Rosemary’s mother's name, again?” I was pretty sure she’d mentioned it in passing one day, or maybe I’d seen the name flash on her cell phone.

“Yelahiah,” Griffin answered, and he tipped his head back. “Wait…if Ophaniel was the angel that fathered the silver wolves, that means you’re related to Rosemary. Yelahiah is Ophaniel’s sister. She’s refused to talk about her brother ever since his death.”

I focused on the most important part of the sentence. “He’s dead?” Of course he was.

“Yeah, he died centuries ago.” Griffin’s forehead wrinkled, and his foot bounced. “I can’t remember how.”

“It’s all in there.” Bart pointed at the book. “Keep reading.”

I inhaled sharply, steadying myself. I read a few more paragraphs, and something hard landed in my stomach. “Apparently, the angels were angry that he had a child with the wolf. Angels can only reproduce every couple of decades, and Ophaniel had a child born only a decade before the silver wolf was born, so the timing was an anomaly, making it appear as if the silver wolves were destined to be created.”

“Things don’t happen at random.” Bart faced the statue and reached out, touching the moon that the angel held in his palm. “There’s a reason for everything, even if it’s not apparent at first.”

Maybe. I used to believe the exact same thing—that we all had free choice, though fate already knew what our choices would be. Would fate be that cruel?

Surely not.

A slaughtered pack, a kidnapped brother, attacks that rocked my entire world—these should never have been set in stone. Only those who had grown up privileged and never faced the cruelness of the world could think that such horrors were meant to be. When all you’d been given were minor trials and tribulations, it was easy to think something good was in charge. But bad things happened to good people, and communities unraveled or were besieged by terrible events.

The worldhadto be a crapshoot. Just a random series of events that happened, and you either got lucky or not. Your fate could change in an instant, but in my darkness, I’d found light. I’d found a part of me that I didn’t know existed.

I’d found my strength, my perseverance, and a new family.

I’d found something I’d never been sure I had inside me, despite Dad’s insistence it was there. I finally believed I wasmeant to be an alpha—the silver wolf alpha—and I’d take down whoever threatened our world.

“Whether silver wolves were destined to be created or not, we’re here.” Resolve coursed through me. “And they won’t kill any more of us. Not if I’m breathing.”

“Well, it’s not like we have huge numbers anymore.” Bart grunted. “There are only eighteen silver wolves left, outside of you and Cyrus, and our pack totals twenty-five.”

“Twenty-five?” There were seventeen here now, including Julius and me. “Where are the other eight?”

“Five of us found our mates, and Darrell and I each have one child.” He licked his lips. “We left them behind with one of the men as guard.”

Of course the children and the mates that weren’t silver needed protecting. They were mated to silver wolves, which meant they were regular wolves and not as strong as our kind. The children were full silver wolves—the magic of the moon was dominant and passed to them fully—but they were still young and vulnerable.

“What happens if they’re attacked?” We’d thought we were safely hidden here, and we weren’t. I’d hate for the others to be ambushed and butchered.

Bart’s body became more rigid. “The guard will alert us, and we’ll head back as fast as possible. We wanted to check this area out and bring them to meet the pack here if it was all clear. They’re all packed and waiting for the nod.”

“I wouldn’t bring them here—this town is compromised. But Dad was planning to move us to a new location not too far away that should be safe.”

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