The horror and despair of the moment crashed down on me like a wave, sending my heart tumbling into the churring darkness. And slowly, the horrible truth sank in—fighting the prophecy was futile. Despite everything I’d tried, there was no way to beat it. The words kept repeating over and over in my mind, like a bully taunting me on the playground: In seven days, he will walk the earth once more, spreading madness among the living.
Well, seven days had passed, and the entire city was going mad. But even as I sank further into despair, one phrase burned brighter than all the rest: The twin-soul will steal the wolves from every werewolf who resists them and will leave your people weak before the Dark God.
I still had a part to play. And it was, somehow, to betray everything I held dear.
Bitterness clouded my vision. But then, like the moment you see the other side of an optical illusion, when the goblet becomes two faces, everything changed.
My pulse began to beat faster and faster as the words of my damnation slowly transformed into a terrible glimmer of hope.
It was time to fulfill my fate.
Mind spinning, I staggered to my feet. “We need to talk to Laurel. Right now.”
I didn’t bother waiting for a reply, but rushed back through the barrier, with Casey and Jax on my heels. I found Laurel down the block, working through logistics with Sam and Regina.
I skidded to a stop, and she looked up in surprise. “Savy, what’s wrong?”
Sam, Jax, Casey, Regina, and Laurel. Their eyes were all on me. Chest heaving, I looked from one to the next. “Our position is hopeless. There are too many. They’re going to break through.”
From the expressions on their faces, they knew it was true.
“We have one chance, but it’s going to take an enormous amount of power,” I continued. “We’ll need all the sorcerers, and even then, I don’t know if that’ll be enough.”
“What are you talking about?” Laurel asked.
The horror of the words sitting on my tongue was almost too much to bear. I met Jaxson’s eyes. “We need to bind their wolves—all of them. A massive spell, to encompass all of Dockside.”
Their faces froze in shock.
Casey whistled. “Holy shit, Savy.”
“You can’t be serious,” Jaxson said, his voice practically failing him.
“I am.” I took his hand in mine and begged him to listen with my eyes. “The Moon warned us that the Dark God draws his power from wolves. He’s possessed half of Dockside. If we bind them, we free them from his control.”
“This is madness!” Regina said.
I didn’t look away from my mate, the only one whose approval mattered. “The prophecy said I would take the wolves of our people and make them weak before him. Well, in doing so, we take away his army and his power. Maybe without them, he won’t have the strength to come through the rift.”
Jaxson’s churning emotions were an open book: shock, horror, and despair. “Savy, this—”
“I know exactly what I’m asking, Jaxson, and how horrible of a choice this is. I’ve lived through it.” My eyes welled up as the truth sank in. “I think fate has been preparing me for this moment my whole life. I know how to cast the spell, and I know how to reverse it. I know what it’s like to have my wolf taken, and I know that it can be undone.”
Comprehension dawned, and shadows of deep sadness fell across his face. He entwined his fingers with mine but couldn’t find the words to speak.
“I have to become the monster of the prophecy to save our pack, to save us all. This is the path the fates ordained for me. I can feel it. Trust me.”
His jaw hardened while his fingers tightened. “I trust you to the ends of the earth, in this world and in the next.”
“You’re alpha. It’s your pack. But I believe it’s the only way we can hope to weaken him, and the only way to stop the barriers from being overrun.”
“You’re certain you’ll be able to reverse the spell?” Jaxson asked, his voice so flat, I knew he was repressing all emotion.
“I can. I’ve done it before. But you need to understand, if you have any doubt—those people out there have already lost their wolves to him. He’s the one in control, not them. We’re taking their wolves to give them back.”
Finally, Jaxson nodded. “We must do it. I’ll explain it to the wolves here in a way they’ll understand.”
Sam wiped her eyes and silently agreed.