Page 25 of Sinful Shifters

"That isn't what I meant, and you know it," says the old lady, Minnie, with a harrumph. "Who will be our alpha now? We have no warriors left in our line of succession, and Morgan had no children. There isn't an obvious choice. Unless..."

Her words hang in the air.

I feel the heavy taste of fate all around us, promising a thousand new futures, all of them very different from the past.

And I know, no matter what the gods might say to me, what promises they make, that the future Teller showed me could very well come to pass. If they change everything—if omegas and alphas return—then violence will be inevitable. Everything they've told me confirms it.

The image of the pack rune, representing four different elements, is burned into my mind's eye.

"I will step up to be your alpha, if you will have me," Thale says, his mild voice booming out across the pack and into the valley below. "And I will be alpha to all of you, from the current pack members, to the coven, the lone wolves who joined us, and any others who wish to join."

He raises his voice, and I scan the faces of the crowd, gooseflesh breaking out on the back of my neck.

"We will be strong, and as one with the earth, as werewolves are meant to be. The age of werewolves will come again, and our enemies will know to fear us once more. Our strength will turn vampires to dust, make humans set their weapons down, and serve as an example to all the packs. If I am your alpha, you will have all you've ever wanted and more."

As he finishes, the pack is so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

For long moments, I wonder how they'll respond.

Then a holler of joy goes up—and is carried by the wind. Cries of jubilation and warrior howls break out. A few of the coven members throw sparklers of magic into the air, and I see them turn to the werewolves in celebration, united more now than they ever have been before. Even Morgan's mate, Laila, is swept up in the excitement.

Talon puts her hand on my arm and leans her head on my shoulder, beaming with pride. "I always knew you were going to be special. Look at what you've done, Caterina. Our world will never be the same."

She says it with joy.

I hear it with fear in my heart.

And though I smile and whoop with the others, knowing Thale will follow through on all his promises, it's hard to let go completely.

Some inner voice in my head whispers that once I go down this path with the gods, there's no going back.

The new future will come.

No matter who suffers in the end.

Chapter20

Thale

Standing in the middle of the Mating Circle, which unites the Mountain Pack together, I feel an eerie sense of déjà vu.

Of course, Ihavebeen here before. For centuries, my soul resided beneath the stones of my feet, on a metaphysical plane. Though the other gods and I often had to intervene in matters here on Earth, we were never truly here. Part of us always rested within the wellspring.

Now that I stand on top of it, I can feel the weight of it all. There's my body, the press of bodies all around me, and their sense of hope. Ever since we changed the bonds of the pack, I've felt them, but never so keenly as I do now.

They're frightened and uncertain. Exhausted yet hopeful. They're in mourning for all those that they've lost, including their warriors and an alpha. Loved ones we'll put to rest once things are right again.

I've given them my best rousing speech already. Now it's time to begin fulfilling my many promises. Before I do, I gather Rina to me, tilt her chin up, and kiss her thoroughly.

By the time I'm done, there's no breath left in her lungs, and she clings to me sweetly.

"I promise that I won't lie to you again," I tell her, my heart twisting at her pain. "It never should've happened in the first place. This—all this pain and suffering—I didn't want it, either."

"I know. From the beginning, you wanted to go down another path. I just wish you had told me all my options."

The disappointment in her face is enough to make me beat myself up for centuries. So I promise to myself that I'll make it better, no matter what.

Stepping up to the pack plinth, I face Rhea, who stands on the coven's plinth. We exchange ceremonial words. Together, we summon the power of the wellspring.

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