All Chapters of Now, The Alpha Wants Me Back: Chapter 111 - Chapter 120

Cassian's POVLyra's physical form completely dissolved before my very eyes in a whole mess of raw light. One minute she was corporeal and present and, unmistakably, a woman I had known and disappointed and been educated by. The next, she was splitting apart into glimmering specks that fanned out across the air like a shower of stars exploding in infinity.The forty-three tenor Lunas shrieked in terrible perfect unison as divine essence poured violently into their mortal shells. Not a gradual planned lumbering transfer but a disastrous uncontrolled flood. Many fell to the ground instantly, unable to bear even a mere fraction of the goddess' power suddenly pressed into mortal vessels not designed or attuned to confining powers of its scope and significance.It was obvious, and clear, that the ritual was failing catastrophically. Too much pure concentrated power passing too quickly. Not making a thorough effort, much too many recipients at the same time. Not enough of the underlying mag

Lyra's POVThree days later, I was still desperately grappling with adjustments to being subsumed in a collective divine consciousness. The change had seemed miraculous and radical in the moment. Now it was feeling daunting and intrusive in ways that I had not foreseen.The other forty-three Lunas lingered near the fringes of my consciousness. Always there. Always present. Like living in a house with forty-three roommates who never moved out and whose emotions and thoughts seeped through the walls no matter desires for privacy.Some Circle members had unlocked the secret of how to be a tough nut to crack. Mental barriers that preserved individual privacy. Others broadcast emotions completely unintentionally. Fear. Joy. Anger. Loneliness. Sending interruble all of it bleed through connection uncontrolledThe telepathic bond was intensely intimate and deeply exhausting. There's really no real privacy anymore. Even when I wanted to be alone with my thoughts, I sensed the others. Sense th

Draven's POVI reached the fortress with considerable reinforcements just as Cassian's first wave of assaults was obviously starting to buckle under sustained vicious enemy pressure. The forces of the old order were far more numerous, and much better prepared than any of our intelligence had indicated possible. This was not an impulsive opportunistic kidnapping operation. This was a coordinated military operation that had been executed systematically over months, if not years.Someone knew the Goddess Circle would be born long before there was an “it” to give birth to. Had predicted its particular vulnerabilities with alarming precision. Was creating this elaborate trap specifically to use the collective consciousness connection.I pushed through several defensive positions in order to rejoin Cassian’s beleaguered forces. We collaborated to launch a reinvigorated attack on the central chamber where intelligence suggested the artificial goddess was being assembled from pilfered divine

Cassian's POVDespite desperate early efforts to keep it from getting out, Thalia's confession about the visions was swiftly leaked beyond the Goddess Circle. Such explosive and theologically disturbing information there was no way it could possibly remain a secret in a world of interlocking pack networks, telepathic connections between Circle members who regularly spoke to their own packs and families.Eager to know the truth about these revelations, I immediately investigated the claims. I drew from ancient texts locked away in archives that had been forgotten by most wolves for centuries. And talked a lot to the oldest wolves in the territories who told me carefully maintained oral histories that spanned generations. Consulted with obscure scholars who specialized in divine history and mythology instead of practical pack governance.What I found haunted me deeply, if not fundamentally. There was a great deal of credible evidence that the origin story of the Moon Goddess had been sa

Lyra's POVI scrutinized Astrid’s intelligence myself and closely, needing to confirm the assertions before making any decisions that might lead to war. The evidence was deeply troubling but maddeningly not definitive in any straightforward sense. Communications that could be read in various different ways depending on your conclusions about intent. Reports from intermediaries whose credibility I could not judge without revealing our own intelligence networks. Intelligence obtained through enchanted surveillance that could have been compromised, or purposefully warped, to prompt precisely this kind of reaction.It could be actual evidence of Pure Packs treachery and prospective aggression toward the Goddess Circle. Or it might be cherry-picking by Circle members who, at heart, were opposed to any co-existence with non-devine wolves and simply wanted rationalization for military action first.I extended my Guardian senses and reached carefully into the Pure Packs territories myself. At