Shadows of Destiny

Brighton’s festival ~Tamia~ 1 Avery and I insisted on sharing the same room.

Alpha Jake offered to have his pack doctor examine me, but I refused.

I planned on managing the condition until I got back to the north.

“That went well; too well, I must say,” Avery linked me, trying to be cautious, and I smiled at her.

“He believed Leo when he told him but still felt insulted until I showed up,” I linked her back, explaining my deduction.

“Alpha Jake Brighton is an old-fashioned man.

He expected word to have gone to Sylvester’s ears of the atrocity in Brighton, and he expected Sylvester to apologise personally even though he had no hand in it.

It is an ego thing for the old man, nothing more.” I linked Avery, and she laughed.

1 “What do you think about Councilwoman Pamela? The woman reeks of treachery,” Avery said aloud, and I laughed.

It would be unwise for us to remain silent all through the room.

Being former Lunas of top packs, we understood the politics.

Alpha Brighton wanted to keep an eye on us and our activities in his territory, so he offered we stay in his house; I was sure people were listening to our conversation.

We had dinner with Alpha Jake, Mikail, his nephew, Iris, his daughter and Donald, his son.

His son and nephew were about my age, and I figured Donald would succeed his father soon.

His daughter, Iris, kept staring at us during dinner, and I was a bit uncomfortable, but I let it be.

We ate in silence and returned to our room.

“Donald did not seem to like us.

I do not know what his deal is.

Jake’s nephew, Mikail, was worse.

He kept staring at us.

Honestly, I can’t wait to be out of this place,” Avery said, lying next to me, and I smiled.

The feeling was mutual.

“I am missing Marcel,” She said and sighed.

“He didn’t want me to come, but I insisted.

Right now, I just want to head back to the north and never leave his side.

It has just been a few hours, and I am missing him so badly,” She said, and I smiled because I felt the same way.

I wondered what Sylvester was doing.

As much as I wanted to place a call, it was best I didn’t.

I was about to fall asleep when my phone.

rang.

I did not need to guess who it was.

I answered in a heartbeat.

“Miss me already, Green eyes?” he said, and I giggled on the phone.

“More than you can imagine.

Would have returned in the morning, but Alpha Jake invited us to a festival tomorrow evening, so we will return after the festival,” I said, and he grumbled on the phone.

We talked about his day, and I handed the phone to Avery to speak with Marcel.

Apparently, she did not come with her phone.

We said good night and fell asleep.

We had breakfast in the morning with our host and his children, and it was a very uncomfortable one.

“When are you two leaving?” Donald asked with a very disrespectful tone, and his father cautioned him.

“You might choose to be silent, but I won’t.

They are marrying the men that attacked their people and took them away from their husbands.

desperate act of social climbing, then I do not

welcome them to our home, allow them to eat at

Alpha; my mother was taken from me

Yet we are here.

I say these eastern.

be ashamed of themselves, “He said, and I put down my cutlery and wiped my

was going to

people names and judge them

speak about loyalty and moral values when you have not experienced certain things, and

call us whores and

call my mate vile and evil, but he was our

moral compass when Avery’s husband abused her

faith in love and gave us the strength and

away my tears and gave me hope when I thought all was

not give me up; I gave myself up to get away from

mother and aunt, I sympathise

the mirror and question your morals,” I said, picking up

No one said anything.

us

things that needed

to Sylvester when I got

has offered my people part-

truly a nice man.” Jake said, and I smiled at

known Leo to have a big

was glad the things that happened didn’t take

to know how he

days; Alpha Corrigan

I was hurt to

you told my son during breakfast, I figured he did it

finding it

you can

you seem pretty

you love Volkov, or you would have used this

Jake said, and I

Mikail will

I haven’t handed the pack over to Donald yet; he is about twenty-six and ready to take over, but I am afraid he would make a bad decision that would get him and our people into trouble.”

“He will heal, Alpha.

I

about the

eminence that I truly feel honoured that he sent you,” he said,

looked at

a lot and are

need all the strength you can manage

jungle of people wrestling

places as lunas are never secure, so you have to be

people want to be affiliated

that has happened, the council is only partially

to

and that was why

I do not have a grudge against

needed to be a certain way so there

but someone has to be stern, keep an eye open, and ears to the

might be suffering a spillover

know of the power struggle between the six ruling houses of the north,” He said, and I absorbed every word and then used that opportunity to ask him to

you mind telling me about the power struggle?” I asked, and he

with Stephanie Volkov,” He said, and my

a nice woman, wasn’t treated well by her family and her mate, but

more about her, and you seem to be in the best position to tell me since you experienced when she was

nothing special

She wasn’t so bright.

Maurice preferred his fated to her,” he said, and I was

Maurice had a fated or that Stephanie had

asked the man, and

was a

member of the Belyaev family, so no one would dethrone

name was Lady

a small merchant family in

Stephanie would not share her title even though the Lord was and still is allowed to have

always ensured the woman was presented as one of his

about it often, but when the Belyaevs threatened to divide the north, Maurice had

became

believe the man wanted to be so

no one would be able to threaten him as the

to take over completely and subdue them by wiping out the Belyaevs and their supporters, which were