Page 35 of Wolf Bound

“He really did. There was a flaw in his plan, however. The shifters that Adessa made were not only stronger than the humans, their love for Adessa and the blessings she gave themactually increased her magic and power. Poliaris despised this because it made her more powerful than him. So, he ordered his followers to kill the shifters for stealing power from him.”

“And that started the Holy War,” Talia correctly states with a sigh.

“It did. The humans refer to the crusaders in their texts, but not to the shifters or the magic that they were attempting to wipe out,” I explain and brush my hair back from my face. “During the Holy War, there were three mythical shifters that were referred to as the Champions of Adessa and their roles were vital in the continuation of shifter-kind.”

“How?”

“They were said to be the beginning, the middle, and the end. The first champion was a Chimera shifter that was a master warrior that could command armies unlike anything anyone has ever seen. She brought all of shifter-kind together and united those who could fight under her to take on the humans in all out war.”

“The second champion was a Unicorn shifter that was a leader in a different way than the warrior. They were kind and understanding, and they led those who could not fight into a secret location and watched over them during the war. The Unicorn shifter is said to be the reason that shifters are no-longer known to humanity, because their powers of telepathy and mind-altering were the strongest ever to exist.”

“The third champion was a Peryton shifter,” I say, pausing at her sharp intake of breath. “She was a healer that could not only heal mental or physical wounds, she could place people in a state of cryosis sleep where they wouldn’t age with time and would gradually heal magical soul wounds as well.”

Talia asks a question that I didn’t even think of when I first heard this legend. “Who did the third champion put into a healing sleep?”

“I don’t know,” I admit, rubbing the scruff on my jaw. “The legends that I’ve found about the Holy War and the Champions are vague, probably due to the influence of the second champion. I have Miles looking into more obscure texts that refer to that time period, but if I had to guess, it’s someone that will change the tides for shifters.”

Talia stands up and paces in front of my desk, twirling her hair as she sorts through all the information I dumped on her. I glance down at my notes, trying to see between the lines for what we’re missing. What exactly does all of this have to do with Talia and the Croises laboratory?

“The man in charge of the Croises called us abominations, but he was also trying to figure out how to separate our magic from our bodies. He said it was to take back the magic for themselves, but what if it’s not for them? What if they’re trying to take it for their god, Poliaris?”

“You think he’s telling them to find a way to steal the magic of shifters?” I ask, drawing up the files on the few named humans we know from their organisations. “That would weaken Adessa, who’s already greatly weakened since the Holy War based on the lack of extra magic new shifters are being born with. If they succeed, shifter-kind will cease to exist all together.”

“Adessa created the Champions for the Holy War, does that mean we’re headed for another war?” Talia asks hesitantly.

“Yeah,” I answer, my heart racing with fear as I look at my beautiful mate. “We need to figure out the rest of this legend and what the full scope of the previous peryton champion’s role was. Judging from what I’ve seen, your role will be the direct opposite of hers. She was the ending in those champions, but you, you’re the beginning.”

Chapter Twenty

Talia

After the whole war revelation between Wes and I, we knew we had to get all of the guys together to talk about this. All five of them are connected to me by fate and that means my destiny in this upcoming war is also theirs. We’re intertwined through better or worse for the rest of our lives, and I really, really hope that our lives will be long.

A freaking war. I thought everyone in the Croises were crazy, and they are, but I never could have predicted the full severity of what they were trying to do. In all honesty, though, there was no way for me to predict the involvement of divine beings and the fight for power amongst them.

All of this struggling, bloodshed, and contempt between shifters and humans has been brewing since the beginning of time. Somehow I’m supposed to be a part of ending it once and for all? That’s a lot for one girl’s shoulders.

I walk into the living room and twirl my hair between my fingers for the umpteenth time since Wes told me about the legends. I sit down on the big couch between Penn and Alaric, smiling at both of them as they press closer to me.

A quiet giggle comes out of me at the possessive, almost feral energy coming off of both of them. It’s like being trapped in a hot, sexy sandwich that I would very much like to live in for the rest of my life.

Wes winks at me from his spot on the loveseat, the heat in his gaze enough to respark the heat from earlier. I know we have a lot to talk about and figure out as a group, but I can’t lie and say the arousing distractions from all of them aren’t needed. The weight sitting on me only grows heavier with time, yet the moments with my mates lighten it just a little bit.

Forrester saunters in, glaring at Drayton standing in front of the TV. He glances at me quickly before dropping his eyes and shuffling his feet. My heart pangs in my chest, the hurt of his dismissal of me growing deeper every day. Pushing myself back onto the couch, I hide behind my other mates as much as possible.

A growl loudly rumbles out of Alaric, setting Wes, Penn, and Drayton off as well. I sit up quickly, not wanting a fight to break out because I can't take the feeling of being ignored. The two beside me are already on edge with Forrester enough as it is lately, they would probably start swinging before anyone could stop them.

"Oh, fuck off." Forrester throws himself down on the spot beside Wes, rolling his eyes dramatically.

"Maybe you should fuck off out of this group," Penn growls, gripping the arm of the couch and my hand. "Why are you even fucking here if you're going to act like this?"

"I was summoned to whatever fucking bullshit this is. It's not like I want to be here," Forrester sneers, his eyes darting to look at me before dropping back down just as quickly. "Let's just get this shit over with."

"Don't be a fucking ass," Wes groans in frustration. Even he seems to be hitting his limits with the tension in the group. He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "You know exactly what Penn meant. Why are you still on packlands, taunting Talia, instead of being a fucking man and committing to or rejecting the bond? You're hurting our mate and none of us will tolerate it anymore."

Heartache and anger fight against each other in my chest. I love that they all want to stand up for me and defend me against whatever they see as a threat. Who could ask for more in their mates, right? It's just that, this is one fight that's making everything worse. It's not only tearing at my heart even more, it's hurting all of them. This fighting amongst themselves is weakening all of us and it needs to stop.

Shaking my head, I stand up before this goes any further, holding my hands in the air. "Look, I'm fine. We're here to discuss the Champions of Adessa and whatever the fuck is going on in the pack. The rest can be figured out later. Right now, we need to sort out the stuff we actually came here to discuss."

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