Page 92 of Dark Moon Secrets

It’s part of the earth, an element, a source of life. You can’t live without it. You will find your strength more if you work it out yourself. Hurry… hurry… hurry.

Then I was released and moaned with relief and exhaustion, falling to my knees. It was over. The ancestral spirit who gave me the message fled from my mind.

I stumbled to my feet. Not wanting to show weakness, I looked around to see what the other members were doing. The pack members weren’t affected, watching in a trance-like state, eyes glazed as if they were present but not present, their spirits helping to form the bridge between life and death.

I had to learn who else had a message. I couldn’t be the only one. This wasn’t what was asked, anyway. Rafe had done the asking.

Had I asked unknowingly?

Had my questions lingered in the air, and I didn’t know? This was a weird experience to say the least. It was unhinging and wasn’t going to be something I’d rush to be part of again.

Glancing around, no one else was reacting like I was. Then my eyes caught with my mate, Tyr. My pulse changed. He was unaffected, eyes sharp. What did that mean?

Something about the message, but it blurred as a yelp caused me to face the dying flames. What had felt like seconds was longer as most of the wood had burned to embers. What an odd time warp we’d been in. Except Tyr.

I struggled to get my bearings.

Another yelp and I located who was yelling out in pain.

Rafe stood, his hand in the flames, pain clear on his face, but he refused to move. This was the sacrifice, the way to drive the connection to the ancestral ghost. I rushed to him.

His teeth grit tightly, and he trembled but barely moved as if his entire body was locked into this position.

My hands on his shoulders, I went to pull him from the flames, but he didn’t move. Using all my strength, I slammed into his side, sending him tumbling to the ground. I reached out, grabbing him just in time before he fell into the embers and ash.

Struggling with his weight, I eased him to the ground.

“Rafe, it’s over. The message was delivered.”

His eyes fluttered, and he cradled his burned arm to his chest.

“Rafe, you need to stand up and tell the pack what you heard,” I hissed at him, kneeling beside him, trying to pull him into a sitting position.

I sensed the others were coming out of their trances. They needed to see their alpha on his feet and be a leader.

“Rafe, get up, or I’ll punch you,” I growled out at him.

My tone managed to reach him and pull his awareness back to the present.

Rafe moved to get up, and I assisted him to his feet. Then he shrugged my hold on him, and I let go. I might still be learning about how things were done in the pack, but I didn’t have to be told of the importance right now of him standing by himself.

“The ancestors have spoken,” called out Rafe.

Murmurs of excitement whispered between pack members. I saw Tyr standing over to the side, close to the scrub as if he were about to run away. I wanted to go to him and question him, but my priority was with Rafe. My head was still a blur of what I was told, and I struggled to work out what was real and what wasn’t.

“They have told us there is a witch who will unite them, strengthen the coven. She is coming. If we want our freedom, we must kill her. This is the sign we were waiting for. Now is as good as any time to defeat the witches.” He punched his healthy arm in the air, and I followed with a yell of excitement, along with the other pack members.

My mind raced. This was a good message, but it didn’t sit well with me.

“Let’s get some healing herbs on your arm,” I said.

“No way, it will heal. We are wolves, and the scar will be a reminder of this night and mark the start of the changes in our lives.”

His eyes reflected a powerful and half-crazed vibe that I stepped back from, unsure what to do. Rafe went forward, greeting the pack members, who slammed him on the back in a celebratory gesture or shook his hand. The pack was united and happy.

But I knew that we weren’t. I went to look for Tyr.

Fuck, he was nowhere in sight. At the risk of angering my father more, I went after him. I had to know if he was the one or not.

---