Page 3 of Forbidden Devotion
Luther’s low chuckle caught his attention. His father was shaking his head, but his expression remained loving. “Don’t celebrate yet, young man. We still have to tell your mother.”
* * *
Article by SupernaturalTimes Reporter Keller McCray
The Preliminary Vote to Break the Edict of Secrecy is Only Two Weeks Away!
Tension ispalpable as we approach the first general polling on the controversial plan to make our presence known to humanity. Early projections reveal no clear outcome. Public opinion on the matter is deadlocked at 50/50.
The shifter species prefer privacy and warn of potentially major safety concerns as humans outnumber supernaturals nearly ten to one. Shifters warn that if humans feel challenged or take the news negatively, they could mount a massive threat to our kind.
On the other side, vampires support the initiative, citing the ever-present wave of technology that threatens to reveal us sooner than later despite our precautions. They’d prefer to control how the knowledge is made public now rather than risk imminent exposure at an unknown future date.
The potential gains in wealth for the vampire community are a key motivator for this contingent, as managing their expansive financial holdings would be exponentially simpler if they didn’t have to create new identities with each passing human generation.
Historically, shifters and vampires have often been on violently opposing sides of worldly issues, leading to the Great Wars. The tenuous truce between the species is at risk. Finding a peaceful resolution is paramount.
Minority supernatural groups are more difficult to predict. Opinion varies greatly. No one group is large enough to sway the vote on its own, but should they come together in unity, a tie-breaking vote could emerge.
Let your voice be heard!
Polling begins Saturday next at 7:00 a.m. sharp and ends twenty-four hours later on Sunday morning.
CHAPTERTWO
Mitchel
A messof clothes and toiletries lay in haphazard piles across Mitchel’s unmade bed. No matter how long he stared at the chaos, the blasted tie he was searching for failed to surface.
Ugh. I hate this.
He never allowed enough time to pack in an orderly manner. Something more important always needed doing, so he was left throwing together his stuff for the annual Alpha Gala at Rocky Mount at the last minute. As usual. And he needed that tie.
As he tossed his deodorant, toothbrush, and toothpaste into his duffel bag, a knock sounded from across the little cabin he called home.
“What now?” Mitchel muttered, secretly glad to leave the mess on his bed in favor of…literally anything else.
“Sorry, Mitchel.” Nathan barged through the door without waiting for him to open it. “I know you’re busy, but the pack needs—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Lemme stop you right there, buddy. You’re all grown adults. Whatever the pack needs, the pack can figure out without me this one time. I’m already late.”
Nathan’s face fell. “But—”
“No buts.” Knowing his pack as he did, Mitchell had second thoughts. “Unless… is anyone bleeding?”
“No.”
“Crying?”
“No.”
“Pregnant?”
Nathan widened his eyes. “I don’t think so?”
“Then that’s a no. In imminent danger of starvation?”
“No way. The kitchen’s fully stocked.”
