Page 47 of Forgotten Arcane (Broken Ashes #6)
Morana nods and then turns to look at the rest of us and explains, “When I became the shell in order to protect myself, I somehow severed the connection to my wolf. I haven’t been able to shift for a decade.”
“Go on then,” River grins.
“Really? I can shift?” she asks excitedly, and I can’t help but smile with her.
River nods, “Of course you can. I think it’s been far too long, don’t you?”
Morana grins. “Absolutely.”
Her magic grows and becomes stronger than I would have ever guessed. My eyes widen. She’s stronger than Derek by a lot.
“Wow,” Asher mutters. “She’s incredibly strong. We had no idea. Derek disappeared for a week about five years ago, and came back with a mate, and she was already incredibly submissive.”
I frown. I would be willing to bet that he got her from one of these traveling sales that Derek told us about.
That would also mean that she is considerably younger than he is.
Mate pairings, true ones, are usually between wolves of a similar age, and I would be very surprised if Derek and Morana’s mate pairing was a true one.
I share a look with Evander, now is not the time to ask her about it. It is something to bear in mind though, for when we look into it. She will hopefully be able to help us identify some of the supes involved, and know how they are managing to force mate bonds as well.
The more we learn about it, the more I hope that it’s going to be us that gets to look into it and put a stop to it, but honestly, it’s probably not going to be. There’s so much that we’ve got going on, we might not be able to find the time.
I push those thoughts to the back of my mind for now and focus on Morana.
“She has the potential to eventually be an alpha herself,” River says, sounding impressed.
It takes a moment for her to be able to shift completely, and I think it’s most likely because she hasn’t shifted for so long.
When she does though, all of us gasp. I have never seen a wolf like her. She’s pure black. Wolves are always multi-colored like the wolves the humans are used to seeing, but they’re a lot bigger.
Not only is she black, her fur seeming to absorb the light, but she has one piercing blue eye, which matches the color of her normal eyes, and one pure gold eye. She is definitely not the norm, and I wonder if Derek had any idea about how strong she really is.
She yips excitedly and wags her tail as she bounces around the small tunnel, and we all chuckle at her excitement.
Still smiling, Logan says, “I’m really sorry, but we need to get back up top and make sure that all of those who are still loyal to Derek have been secured.”
Morana suddenly shifts back. She looks at River with a determined look in her eye and says, “Ask me.”
“Ask you what, Morana?” I ask her.
She grins, “Rana.” She turns back to River, “Use your alpha voice and ask me if I am still loyal to Derek. I don’t want anyone to question it.”
Asher nods, “That’s probably a good idea. She’s been by his side for years, and although everyone knows how badly he treated her, they will still want confirmation.”
Rana nods, “Exactly. I don’t want any of them to worry about me or question me. I’m not a threat to them, and the only way to prove that is by having you use your alpha voice on me, and all of these people to stand witness to it.”
River looks at Asher and Amari, “It won’t hurt her?”
Amari shakes her head with a smile, “No. Now that she has rejoined with her wolf, it has healed that part of her. Obviously, she still has trauma and needs to heal, but she is no longer unstable.”
Rana shrugs and pulls an unsure face that makes me laugh, and she grins at me.
River chuckles, having caught our exchange, and then nods, “Okay. Are you sure?”
Rana nods, “Absolutely.”
River nods and his eyes change to his kitsune's, as he asks in his alpha voice, “Rana, do you hold any loyalty to Derek, the previous alpha of this pack?”
Rana shakes her head, “Fuck no. I wish I had killed him myself.”
Asher grins, “Perfect answer.”
“Alright, let’s go and ask the other wolves the same thing,” Amari suggests.
We all jog back up the tunnel, and Rana sticks close to me. As we come out of the cave entrance, the wolves closest to the buried door all turn to look at us, and to be honest, I am pretty surprised that they’ve all stayed. It just goes to show how much they respect Logan.
There is a hive of activity going on in front of us, and I am so relieved to see that some of the children are now running around and chasing each other, both in human and wolf form.
The sound of laughter after such a horrible experience is definitely healing, and so many of the wolves around us have smiles on their faces as they listen to the little ones play, even while they’re being healed.
River strides right into the middle of the clearing, and I walk beside him, as a hush falls over the wolves, all of them watching him nervously, apart from the ones who have already seen what he did to Derek.
River doesn’t waste any time, and using his alpha voice, he asks, “If anyone here is loyal to Derek, raise your hand.”
Only three of the women put their hands up, and I don’t miss that most people are looking at Rana with surprise, most of them clearly expecting her to have raised her hand.
Ransom steps forward, and before any of the women can even think about running, cuffs appear on their wrists.
“Put them in a separate jeep from the others,” River orders, and the wolves immediately escort the women to a car and shut them inside. River nods, “Alright, everyone who can walk, start heading back to the compound. Where’s Dare?”
“I’m here,” Dare says, looking slightly nervous.
“Good job keeping everyone here,” River says. He then adds, “Could you please lead all of those that are able to walk back to the pack house.”
Dare grins, “Absolutely.”
“Everyone else, help load up anyone who can’t walk into the jeeps and take off. We will follow behind you, we’re going to take care of the dead here,” River continues.
Everyone does as they’re asked, and soon the only ones that are left in the clearing are the guys, me, Rana, Amari, Asher, and Logan.