Page 57 of Cruel Alpha Beast
“Silence!” Sawyer yells out, and fortunately, it still works. “We have an infirmary full of sick members of our community. The nature surrounding the valley is rotting before our very eyes. And I have broken up far too many vicious arguments overnothing. Arguments that have led to bodily harm to myself and others. So, if anyone has a better solution to breaking this curse before it breaks us, I’ll open the floor.”
For a moment, the hall goes silent. I breathe out through my nose, feeling like a heavy load has been taken off my chest.
Until…
“So, the witches started this curse?” a man calls out aggressively.
“Awitch,” Sawyer corrects. “An ancient one who has possessed others to do her evil bidding so she can take over the forest.”
“Well, then I say we kill them all,” the man suggests, answering Sawyer’s rhetorical question from earlier. “Seems like the easiest, quickest way to get this shit done.”
I don’t know whose face falls quicker, Sawyer’s or my own. The weight returns to my chest, and this time, it’s much heavier. Considering how angry this crowd can get, I fear that something terrible will happen to my friends if this witch-hatred issue isn’t quashed as soon as possible.
“Enough,enough!” Sawyer calls out. “Onewitch has started this. She does not speak for the rest of them, and so we willnotbe killing a whole community of innocent people.
“Our people have lived side by side so quietly that for the last several generations, very few even knew they were out therestill. I didn’t even realize just how close they really were to our valley.
“Besides, the witches have their reservations about working with us, as well,” he continues. “I have had to build trust in our tentative allies, as they have had to do for me, and we are working together to find a solution to this. You may not respect this choice from me right now, but I think you’ll find that living to see where I’m coming from is a far better option than dying thinking I’m wrong.”
I’m proud of Sawyer for standing up to his people like this. It can’t be easy, especially when this town has known nothing but peace and boring suburban life for over a century.
I see the unfounded hatred for witches bubbling up even more in the crowd, and soon Sawyer’s cries for silence are unheeded. I know he can hold his own, but I have this nagging feeling that I should step in. Right now.
Pushing past the angry crowd in the meeting hall, I climb onto the dais and stand at Sawyer’s side. He puts his arm around me protectively, and soon, the vision of me standing there is enough to distract the yelling residents for a moment.
“What isshedoing back here?” someone asks.
“Sheis Lacey,” Sawyer snaps. “And she is my wife.”
My heart flutters at this. I want to reach out and kiss him for finally sharing our relationship with the public.
And doing it with pride.
But the crowd is as quiet as they have been in the last several minutes, and I need to take advantage of this to help them see reason.
“There is true evil in this forest, and in order to defeat it, we must put trust in each other,” I say gravely. “Even if thatmeans putting trust in the witches of the coven. Our kinds once lived together in harmony, and we can do it once again.
“I’ve been doing research into the curse,” I add while I still can. “For all I’ve seen, the key to our survival…islove.”
Sawyer stares at me, his eyes examining my every expression as I speak.
“Love of all kinds. Love for each other. Love for the strangers willing to help so we can all be safe. And most importantly, the kind of love that I have formy husband,” I say, making sure to catch his eye.
Sawyer wells up with tears, but I can tell he’s trying to keep on a brave face in front of his people.
“And aside from love, there is so much power in forgiveness,” I say, realizing this for myself at that very moment. “Sometimes the people who have hurt us the most, or the people we’ve been conditioned to hate for reasons we don’t even know, can surprise us. Change is a beautiful thing, and anyone can do it. Including you. I beg for you all to turn the other cheek to your inherent biases andcome togetherto help us break this curse instead of actively fighting against us.”
The silence is thick in the meeting hall. Sawyer is staring at me like he’s never seen me before. I squeeze his back, my little way of telling him that I meant everything that I said.
Everything.
Just then, I hear a small gust of wind, and a shimmering figure appears on the dais beside us. Sawyer pulls me closer, but I know exactly what this is. Penelope has astrally projected herself here, but it seems I’m the only one impressed with this feat.
“What the fuck is that?” someone yells.
“Is that a witch?” another calls.
While it seemed for a moment that my message had been received—or, at the very least, been considered—it clearly didn’t last for long.
