Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 117 : Wolf of the Moon Goddess

*Lena*

Mara had her legs crossed, her foot tapping with silent rhythm and she flipped through the spellbook. I was watching her with marked suspicion, my arms crossed over my chest, not even hiding the glare fixed on my face.

Clare was pacing back and forth behind the couch Mara was sitting on, and occasionally Clare looked over her shoulder, peering down at whatever page Mara was studying. Maeve was talking in a hushed voice to Grandma and my mom, who were standing in the corner of the cozy sitting room near the dining hall in the Castle Drogomor.

Night was falling. We'd arrived around midday, and I'd spent the rest of the day listening to the news beginning to trickle in from the west.

It was all bad news–terrible news. Grandma and Maeve had immediately gone to the hospital in Mirage to donate blood for the influx of wounded and dying shoulders we were being carted across the sea towards Valoria for care. The Valorian army, those reserves who had stayed behind, were already setting up a perimeter around the southern tip of the territory to protect the great, bustling cities within.

I donated only a few vials of blood in the infirmary at the castle. I was pregnant, after all. The act made me dizzy and lightheaded for the rest of the afternoon.

But then Grandma and Maeve came home with Mara in tow, and now it was time to figure out what the hell we were supposed to do with this stupid book.

My mom, Clare, and Mara had their powers of sight. My powers of sight only came to me in dreams, which wasn't entirely helpful since I had little to no control over what I saw, and when. Apparently, we were supposed to use our combined powers to do… something.

“This is all in Prithen," Mara mused to herself, flipping another page and dragging her finger down the text.

“Prithen? What the hell is Prithen?" Clare leaned over the back of the couch to look at the page Mara had stopped on.

“An ancient language, something from before the time of Morrighan and Lycaon from what we know. The Church of the Moon Goddess has a few scripts but that's it, never a full… a full example of the alphabet those early people used. This is… priceless."

“It doesn't belong to the Church," Maeve said firmly as she rounded the couch and came to sit beside me.

Mara gave her a side-eyed look as she flipped another page.

“Can you translate it?" Mom asked from the corner of the room.

Mara let out her breath and nodded, then shrugged. “Some. I think I knew enough to get the gist of what this book is about. It's a fairytale."

“It's not a fairytale," Maeve retorted. “It's a book of spells."

“It's a book about spells; that's the difference. This comes from Leto's people before she was a Goddess. This book in particular is about a girl who is given the powers of a wolf so that she can effectively hunt during an especially brutal winter. There's a spell for it–"

Maeve interrupted,

think that's what happened, anyway. I already said there's only a few scripts left from

fairy tales?" I asked, my heart falling into my stomach. How was this

have the powers of wolves," Mom said absently, walking past

hunt, in particular, for food, and for protection against enemies," Mara added, pointing to a sketch on

jumped to her feet and snatched the book from Mara, staring down at it in

showed me my entire life. Everything. But they… they lingered on this moment," she jabbed at the sketch, her eyes pleading with ours for understanding as she looked around the room. “When I went into that circle of stones in Dianny, I thought it was you and me, Mom. I thought I was standing over you, both of us in our wolf forms. White wolves–Una and the rest of the women of Dianny interpreted that as you were dying, and I was ascending to the

choked. I didn't like the look in

trying to do something to stop this war, to stop the vampires. I could see it in your eyes when you chased me outside last night," Maeve said to

from ever accessing our realm again," Mom cut in before I could say

to her,

until she comes into her wolf powers," Maeve said, turning to

is going on?" I asked sharply.

this book," Maeve said as she held it up to show me

***

fine," I said sharply as Mom, Grandma, and Maeve argued about whether or not this was a good idea. People shifted all the time while they were pregnant. It wasn't

would activate wolf powers, regardless of my young age, was something

I would be going with Maeve and Mara while everyone else stayed behind.

ready. I'd had a sinking feeling in my gut all day long, and that tethered thread binding me to Xander? It had been tugging on me all day, pulling me

a pale purple glow over the castle behind us. I shivered, then crossed my arms defensively

time," I continued, pointing to the book. “Do it,

say the spell. All of them would need to tap into their powers, no matter how small and insignificant, and essentially pull my wolf powers out of me and put

painful, but again, I was

repeated, catching my mom's gaze. “And I'll be

voice, her eyes glistening with uncertainty.

to Mara to fetch the book. Mara murmured something, pointing to a

you.

ask why, but I did

reached out to

think it's customary to hold hands

forward, a mere foot from where