Page 260

"No, you can’t go in there!" a nurse called out, her voice high with alarm as Adele barged through the double doors of the ward. But Adele didn’t even stop nor flinch, undeterred by the frantic protests

At her side was Asher and the puppeteer turned a fierce glare on the nurse, barking, "Rest your ass."

Immediately, the nurse’s defiance melted like a puppet cut from its strings. Meek and mute, she returned back to wherever she came from, powerless to protest further.

Adele saw the whole thing but said nothing. If anything, it confirmed that she’d made the right choice by bringing Asher along. His ability commanded compliance—and right now, obedience was gold.

They strode down the tiled corridor, the air thick with antiseptic and tension. Adele’s eyes briefly swept over an elite student perched on the bed, chatting with her phone. The girl hastily averted her face, trying to use her hair as a curtain to hide her face.

Classic.

It wasn’t uncommon for students, especially the elites, to hide out here to escape class. The hospital wing was like a safe haven for them. Indeed, it was for humans.

But Adele didn’t care. She wasn’t here for her or any of the others hiding out here. It was Jameson’s business to enforce stricter rules and control her students.

Mary wasn’t hard to find. She made sure of it with the loud, chilling voice echoing across the entire hospital floor:

"Night is coming.

Woe to those that sleep.

Woe to those with eyes but see not.

With mouth, but talk not.

The wheel is turning.

The war waits for no one."

The haunting words struck like a blade dipped in ice, lodging themselves in Adele’s spine. She stepped faster, urged by the frantic need to help the young girl from whatever they were doing to her.

When Adele arrived at the scene, her fury only escalated upon spotting a woman in a doctor’s coat, furiously scribbling Mary’s every word.

Something snapped inside of Adele and she strode over without pause, snatching the notepad right out of the woman’s hands.

"What the—You!" The doctor’s voice was high with outrage before she even looked up. But the moment she recognized Adele, she bristled with alarm.

"What are you doing?" the woman snapped. "This is not your territory."

But Adele ignored her. Instead, she skimmed the notes, her lips curling in disgust as she realized what they were doing. Then, with a single yank, she tore them to pieces.

Shock flared in the doctor’s eyes. "How dare—!" She lunged forward, but Asher took one threatening step, and the woman froze, his presence now dawning on her.

"You don’t want to start this," the doctor warned, her gaze trained warily on Asher. All of them knew what he was capable of and Adele bringing him here was a clear threat.

Yet Adele only stared her down.

"I’ve come to take one of our own." Her words were cold and final.

"Your own?" The doctor scoffed, laughing as if she’d heard a bad joke. "The girl is human."

Without missing a beat, Adele pulled a folded piece of paper from her pants pocket, brandishing it for her to see.

"You’d be amazed what research turns up," she said icily. "While the girl bears no markers from tests to indicate she has wolf blood in her, her genealogical records show that one of her ancestors had a child by a werewolf."

The doctor blinked, uncertainty etched on her features for the first time.

Adele went on, "Due to the racism and persecution at the time, the woman claimed her human husband fathered the child. They buried the truth and hid it so deeply by intentionally marrying her daughter into human bloodlines, generation after generation, until the wolf blood became diluted. But wolf blood can’t stay hidden forever, and now, it’s waking in Mary. "

Silence blanketed the room as Adele took a step closer, her eyes never leaving the doctor’s.

"The moon goddess blesses wolves, not humans. If her gift has awakened, it’s because her blood remembers what she is.

She clearly possesses all the traits of a seer—a fact you know deep down, judging by the way you greedily pocket her sacred words. " Her voice was thick with disgust now.

Even with the guilt, the doctor opened her mouth and argued with Adele, "She’s still human nonetheless, we’d be the ones to help her."

Adele let out a humorless laugh. "More like use her." Then she turned swiftly toward the girl and commanded, "Asher, take her."

"No, you can’t! I’m calling security, and Patrick would—"

But Adele hissed, "I don’t care about Patrick.

Let me spell it out for you in case you don’t understand—Seers are sacred to the wolves.

And if they should hear how the goddess’s messenger has been treated here, trust me when I say death would be too merciful for you and your people.

Even Alpha King Elijah can’t stop the wrath of his people if that’s what you’re banking on. "

The blood drained from the doctor’s face as she saw the truth reflected in Adele’s eyes. She didn’t even know what to do at this point, the fight having gone out of her. Adele helped her make the decision

"Take her now, Asher." She commanded.

Mary’s convulsions had stopped. Now she lay still in bed, murmuring words that didn’t make sense even in her sleep. Asher moved to her side, but the moment he touched her, the girl gasped, and then she was speaking again in that otherworldly voice:

Prince of chaos,

Prince of war,

He who weaves the stars with silken thread,

The goddess’s sharp-edged weapon.

The hand that pulls, the heart that plots,

Will find himself tangled in the very knots—

For tonight, your truth will gleam.

Blood of my blood,

The blood calls home.

The princess must be protected,

But she is not yours to keep.

For love unearned shall twist to chains,

And power seized may birth your bane.

But fear not—

The bond you long for will bind again,

But not before it births you pain.

Who defies fate and spits on the moon?

Who challenges the goddess?

The prince of schemes does.

But fate smiles, for his fate is cruel—

Even the god made flesh may yet be the goddess’s fool.

Asher was usually not one to show emotion, but at that moment, his face was so pale it was obvious the prophecy had rattled him. Even Adele and the doctor stood frozen, stunned by what they had just heard.

Then he carried the girl and said, steely and low, "We’re done here."