The Dual Claim のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 81 - チャプター 90

Everyone stood up when they heard the voice in the doorway. I tried to move my chair back and rise along with the rest of the table.A warm gnarled hand came down on my shoulder and held me in my seat.“Everyone sit down for Luna’s sake. I’m just a nobody compared to this angel right here.” The old woman said.I heard a cane thump as she moved to take the empty seat to my left. A young man, the spitting image of Seith, pulled out her chair and pushed it in.Her hand snaked across the corner of the table, grasping my fingers in hers.This woman was magick. I could feel her strength, her power, her grace.As much as I revered Elara and her magicks, hers paled in comparison to this woman… this crone.No one around the table listened to her, they all remained standing until she was seated, then they filed over to her one by one and kissed her cheek and grasped her free hand.“Grandmother Amyra,” Gabriel said, holding her free hand.

Elara and Halia exited our domain quietly, giving us a moment. Soree’s arm was still linked in mine, but neither of us moved. “Sometimes, I can’t believe this is real,” she whispered. “One day I was some orphan left on a doorstep, the next I find out I’m from a powerful, blessed bloodline.” “And mated to a freaking fabulous Alpha with a fabulous Pack, don’t forget.” She grinned and looked up at me. “That is the most important part. I could never forget that Alpha-mine.” “Better not, or I’ll just have to keep you locked in the bedroom until you remember,” I teased. “Oh, well in that case; who are you again?” she teased right back.

“Is that necessary?” I asked.I was answered with a chorus of affirmations around the entire room.Amyra patted my arm. “There are many magicks out there, good, bad, medicinal, protection, curses. Plus more. Within those, there are so many flavors that we can’t take the chance that the magick could be infectious.”“I had no idea that magick could do all that,” I replied in awe.“It can do more harm than good,” Elara said sadly, meeting my eyes. “As you already know.”The council members’ heads whipped in my direction, inquisitive looks on their faces.Gabriel stopped his pacing.I nodded at Elara, but felt Gabriel’s eyes boring into me. I glanced up and his expression was hard, but full of concern.“I’m okay,” I said. “We need to tell them.”He covered the few steps to my side in a blink of an eye. He held my hand in his and looked at everyone in the room.He nodded and cleared his throat, “Soree came to us from S

I grabbed a plate from the serving table, then shuffled along, putting some food on it.I felt like a damned invalid.Walking hurt.Moving hurt.Talking hurt.Thinking hurt.I couldn’t escape even in my sleep. The nightmares of me killing a wolf never stopped.The only thing that fueled me now was finding a way to end this curse… before Selwyn and Vanessa ruined Silverpine forever.No one else was in the dining room yet. I preferred it that way. If I shared a meal with those two traitors, I felt complicit. If they dined without me, at least it was a signal I didn’t want to be near them.I heard footsteps. I paused to listen. It was Kane.

It was barely dawn when I slid out of bed. Soree was dead asleep after her grueling last couple of days.I grinned.And Nights.I left her softly snoring and crept into the closet for my running gear.It felt like years since Seith and I raced back to the Pack House. It was barely a week. I couldn’t even wrap my brain around how much happened inside of that week.Tomorrow was the full moon and the Pack Run. Vell’s send-off. I mentally reminded myself to let Soree know she would be speaking about her death walk.As if the Pack wasn’t already completely besotted with her, this would forever cement their allegiance to her.I tied my laces and jogged down the back stairs into the kitchen where I knew Seith would already be waiting.