rogue enforcers,
and the like. No other pack in the greater Northwest claimed that
level of combined experience. The Alaska pack was her only
choice.
“What is it you think you’re going to
accomplish by bringing her here? Why don’t you just ask us to
terminate her?”
“I believe I am in a unique position to teach
the Incarnate her true purpose. I am confident that, with our
intervention, my coven can rear this child into a savior for our
kind. With proper guidance, an Incarnate can uplift our world.
However, left to exist in the world with nothing but the erratic
whims of the mundane, she can wreak havoc to catastrophic
proportions.”
“You say that the Incarnate poses a threat
and we all know the stories about her incomparable power. If we’re
going to face her, then we know we’ll be doing so at great risk.
I’m not about to put my men on the front lines of some unwinnable
supernatural war.”
For this, Bernadette had no answer but that
the Incarnate was, of yet, only fourteen. She was still no more
than a little girl and that was her greatest weakness.
“It is likely that your men won’t be harmed.
Of course, it is possible, but it’s not likely. She is human , after all. I’m confident that you will find that this
child is no great threat to your lives.”
A glint shone in Bernadette’s eyes. The
fifty-some year-old witch raised a mocking eyebrow to Stephen and
smirked. This was not the kind old grandmother on those television
ads. The Bernadette that stood before them, spouting the perils of
allowing the Incarnate to live freely was an angry woman; aged more
so by her desire to acquire a necessary asset than by the years
that she had roamed on this earth.
“Are you telling me that your elite
werewolves are afraid of taking on a fourteen year-old girl who
hasn’t yet risen to her full potential? A mere child who is
in the care of nuns , and would likely be shocked to terror
by facing any one of you, even in human form?”
The witch leveled her mocking insult at the
Alpha, silently daring him to reciprocate. But Stephen, true to
form, kept a firm grip of his wolf, and let the woman try her best
and fail to incite him.
“Then how have you failed in taking her for
yourself?” Stephen cut back with a grin. “You’re Bernadette
Archer , great sorceress of the Western United States. With all
your witchcraft and all your millions, you come, instead, to my
men. How is that, Ms. Archer?”
The witch’s face reddened. No one referred to
her by her full name. No one. Bernadette was the name she
went by when speaking casually and, among her coven, she was Mother
Bernadette. “Ms. Archer” landed like a stone in her gut. Her jaw
clenched so loudly that the werewolves mouths salivated with the
urgency of fight. She was testing the Alpha, and no matter how much
they chose to contain it, they were still beasts of battle. As
Bernadette’s anger rose, the wolves threatened to tear free of
their flesh. For younger, less skilled werewolves, any insolence
thrown at the face of their Alpha would have led to a most certain
catastrophe, but the three Betas remained steadfast.
“We have failed,” she said, the words coming
out between her gritted teeth. “Only because her will is strong as
are the protections around her. Her magic is something that we do
not fully comprehend.” It pained Bernadette to admit it, but she
did. “Though we know where she may be and we know when she is most
vulnerable, she is impossible for us to find.”
Everything about what the witch was saying
frustrated Cyrus to the point where he could no longer stay quiet.
Before Bernadette could continue, Cyrus jumped in with a growl,
“Did you not tell us where to find her? Don’t you know where she
is?”
Stephen turned to glower and silence
Cyrus.
Cyrus dropped his eyes in a show of
submission to his leader, but not without continuing to speak, this
time addressing his Alpha.
“She is playing games. Our pack isn’t a bag
of
and the like. No other pack in the greater Northwest claimed that
level of combined experience. The Alaska pack was her only
choice.
“What is it you think you’re going to
accomplish by bringing her here? Why don’t you just ask us to
terminate her?”
“I believe I am in a unique position to teach
the Incarnate her true purpose. I am confident that, with our
intervention, my coven can rear this child into a savior for our
kind. With proper guidance, an Incarnate can uplift our world.
However, left to exist in the world with nothing but the erratic
whims of the mundane, she can wreak havoc to catastrophic
proportions.”
“You say that the Incarnate poses a threat
and we all know the stories about her incomparable power. If we’re
going to face her, then we know we’ll be doing so at great risk.
I’m not about to put my men on the front lines of some unwinnable
supernatural war.”
For this, Bernadette had no answer but that
the Incarnate was, of yet, only fourteen. She was still no more
than a little girl and that was her greatest weakness.
“It is likely that your men won’t be harmed.
Of course, it is possible, but it’s not likely. She is human , after all. I’m confident that you will find that this
child is no great threat to your lives.”
A glint shone in Bernadette’s eyes. The
fifty-some year-old witch raised a mocking eyebrow to Stephen and
smirked. This was not the kind old grandmother on those television
ads. The Bernadette that stood before them, spouting the perils of
allowing the Incarnate to live freely was an angry woman; aged more
so by her desire to acquire a necessary asset than by the years
that she had roamed on this earth.
“Are you telling me that your elite
werewolves are afraid of taking on a fourteen year-old girl who
hasn’t yet risen to her full potential? A mere child who is
in the care of nuns , and would likely be shocked to terror
by facing any one of you, even in human form?”
The witch leveled her mocking insult at the
Alpha, silently daring him to reciprocate. But Stephen, true to
form, kept a firm grip of his wolf, and let the woman try her best
and fail to incite him.
“Then how have you failed in taking her for
yourself?” Stephen cut back with a grin. “You’re Bernadette
Archer , great sorceress of the Western United States. With all
your witchcraft and all your millions, you come, instead, to my
men. How is that, Ms. Archer?”
The witch’s face reddened. No one referred to
her by her full name. No one. Bernadette was the name she
went by when speaking casually and, among her coven, she was Mother
Bernadette. “Ms. Archer” landed like a stone in her gut. Her jaw
clenched so loudly that the werewolves mouths salivated with the
urgency of fight. She was testing the Alpha, and no matter how much
they chose to contain it, they were still beasts of battle. As
Bernadette’s anger rose, the wolves threatened to tear free of
their flesh. For younger, less skilled werewolves, any insolence
thrown at the face of their Alpha would have led to a most certain
catastrophe, but the three Betas remained steadfast.
“We have failed,” she said, the words coming
out between her gritted teeth. “Only because her will is strong as
are the protections around her. Her magic is something that we do
not fully comprehend.” It pained Bernadette to admit it, but she
did. “Though we know where she may be and we know when she is most
vulnerable, she is impossible for us to find.”
Everything about what the witch was saying
frustrated Cyrus to the point where he could no longer stay quiet.
Before Bernadette could continue, Cyrus jumped in with a growl,
“Did you not tell us where to find her? Don’t you know where she
is?”
Stephen turned to glower and silence
Cyrus.
Cyrus dropped his eyes in a show of
submission to his leader, but not without continuing to speak, this
time addressing his Alpha.
“She is playing games. Our pack isn’t a bag
of
Similar Books
