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?”

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

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

in her long skirt, she withdrew a tiny

poured a drop into Cassandra’s slack mouth, then another, and another, until the vial

put her weathered hands on Cassandra’s stomach, felt the frantic beats beneath her

she smiled. “Strong little Alphas,” she murmured, sighing when she realized she would never know them. “You will do your kind

babies’ position and frowned. Breech. Cassandra’s eyes opened slowly as the magic of the Mother Goddess counteracted the poison but a different threat loomed. Iona looked into Cassandra’s blearily focused eyes

eyes were glazed with pain but she managed a short nod. She struggled to her feet, clutching her stomach

will or they will die,” Iona said

short as her body ripped apart and knitted back

collapsed to the floor and Iona quickly followed. “Now push them out, Cassandra. Let

but Cassandra managed to birth

cleaning the babies who had come

shimmered and changed into infants. Iona marveled at the olde worlde magick that

it pulsed like a living thing, a God vine to the eternal and immortal. The Mother Goddess granted Iona one last vision as she saw the twins, hand

She retrieved the vial from her pocket again and gave each baby one drop, finishing

asked, her voice weak. “What are

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

“What?”