THE AWAKENING

Iona’s old bones creaked and rattled beneath her thin skin and she wished she could still transform. She missed the feel of the ground beneath her paws, the feel of arterial blood gushing into her mouth as she took down prey.

Ah, those were the days.

Now she was stuck in this old woman’s decaying body, her mind still as sharp as ever, but her ability to do anything more than shuffle and limp was lessening by the hour.

She’d known the minute she saw Cassandra, she’d be The One. Relief and sadness followed the knowledge but when one has lived as long as she, the relief was a bit more pronounced than the sadness.

And now the time was here; albeit a bit more quickly than she’d anticipated. Thankfully, she’d already paid her homage to the Mother Goddess for all the years she’d given her and she was ready to pass the torch.

Cassandra was dying.

She pushed aside the wall of men standing helplessly around Cassandra’s inert body, shocking everyone with her sudden appearance. “Seer!” Tieran exclaimed. “Serra—“

“Has poisoned Cassandra with wolfsbane,” she cut in irritably. “Yes, yes, go make yourself useful and get me my bag as well as a sharp knife.”

“A knife?” Tieran repeated but Iona’s no-nonsense stare quelled his questions and he left quickly.

To Jandin, she said, “You must keep Tieran from this room. I must be allowed to complete the ritual in order to save her life. Do you hear me?”

Jandin nodded fearfully. No one would gainsay the Seer. “Yes. Can you save her?”

her survival, I damn well better try,” Iona said, surprising Jandin

of this but you’ve handled yourself well. I know you will shoulder this next

pocket in her long skirt, she withdrew a tiny vial with a

murmured as she poured a drop into Cassandra’s slack mouth, then another, and another,

hands on Cassandra’s stomach, felt the frantic beats beneath her palms and

smiled. “Strong little Alphas,” she murmured, sighing when she realized she would never

magic of the Mother Goddess counteracted the poison but a different threat loomed. Iona looked into Cassandra’s blearily focused eyes and instructed her firmly, “Your babies will die if you do not transform right now. You must birth them out of your human form. Can you do

she managed a short nod. She struggled to her feet, clutching her stomach as waves of pain racked her body. “I

will die,” Iona

body ripped apart and

the floor and Iona quickly followed. “Now push them out,

managed to

began cleaning the babies who had

and changed into infants. Iona marveled at the olde worlde magick that wove itself around the babies, tying

The Mother Goddess granted Iona one last vision as she saw the twins,

retrieved the vial from her pocket again

that?” Cassandra asked, her voice

as they are yours. They would need their ethereal mother’s milk

“What?”