Page 38 of Shifted Fate (Broken Luna #1)

Chapter Thirty-Seven

T

he sun was cresting over the trees as I broke out of the forest. I didn’t realize that the burning took so long.

It took the entire night. Megan’s voice sounded tired.

I nodded as I ran into the pack house and up the stairs.

I needed to see him for myself before I believed he was truly back to his normal self.

I made it to the landing, and I was hearing the pack house wake up, but I was only focused on one thing.

“Dad?” I slammed into the office and skidded to a stop. My father was there, sitting behind his desk. He looked like he was normal, but that didn’t mean he was. Ronnie was slumped in his normal chair and they both looked up to where I was panting in the doorway.

“Yeah pup.” His smile made me burst into tears.

“You scared the crap out of me, old man. I thought I had lost you.” I ran into his arms as he stood and he wrapped his arms around me.

“I’m sorry Amy. I should have listened to you sooner. I wouldn’t have hurt you if I had.” He pulled back to look at the faded bruises. His face grew dark, and he pulled me beside him. “Where is Aurora?”

“She’s back in her cell. Beck put her there last night when we were finished with her.” Ronnie yawned.

“Get her here now.” My dad growled out, but I heard the command go out to the entire pack. Pack meeting now. Wake up and make your way to the Agora.

“Fuck.” Ronnie stood and slapped himself. “You’re calling a meeting to the Agora?”

My dad nodded. “Go get Aurora yourself and bring her.” Ronnie nodded and left.

“The Agora?”

“Come pup. It’s time you learned more of our pack.

” My father stood and took my hand. He grabbed a bag on his way out and we walked out of the pack house.

He took a left, and we followed a pathway cut into the dirt through the trees.

“Our family has been here for a very long time, long before the humans of the land came here. We once lived as wolves, under the Moon Goddess’s guidance.

We survived off the land and only shifted to make decisions. ”

“What?”

“Our pack, our family, descended from the first wolves. From the Goddess herself. And the Agora is a magical place.”

“What are you saying?” My mind was trying to catch up with itself. “When I first spoke to Gran, she said something along the same lines. But I thought she meant the way that all wolves are descended from her. Not like literally.”

My father laughed. “Nope. Our line was born from the first family. The Agora is the very place where the Goddess blessed the first shifter.” My father looked back at me, when I slowed as he started his story. “It is our blessed circle, where we meet to make the decisions that affect the pack.”

I stumbled over my thoughts. “I thought the Goddess blessed humans with a wolf’s form…”

My father laughed and shook his head. “There are a few stories, and no one really knows the truth. One was that she gifted a man with a second soul and with it, the ability to shift into a wolf. Another, she gifted a pack the ability to shift into men, saving them from death by humans hunting in the area. I believe that story.”

“Can you tell me it?” I stared up at my fathers face and he nodded.

“We lived here as wolves for over a thousand years before the humans came here. They started hunting us. Even went as far as killing the Alpha.” My father turned and started walking backwards.

“The Goddess saw our destruction. Our people, our wolves, have always worshipped her. So she granted us our salvation. She offered us the ability to shift into humans, so we could survive. It became easier to survive as humans who shift into wolves, and here we are.”

“Why do other packs believe differently?”

“Because our stories are only told by mouth, and through the years, stories change, evolve. The only thing that has stayed the same through the years is the story of the first family. Wolves from around the world were created but it was the first’s line that remained unbroken since the first wolf shifter.

A fact we have kept hidden since the beginning. ”

“But why hide it?”

“Because the Agora holds power. Which means our pack holds power. Strong wolves are born from the first family, stronger than any other line. The only pack that was closer to the Goddess were the Lycans, and they were wiped out.”

My eyes snapped back to my dad. “Why were they wiped out? Why is the King the only one left?”

My father smiled. “That is a fantastic question. One I wish I had the answer to, but only the King himself knows.” He shook his head slowly. “I have my own ideas.”

“What are your ideas?” I pushed, but he shook his head again.

“If you want to figure out the answer, ask the King himself. I won’t add my own reasons to the mix. But I think it would be around the same reasons that we have been targeted here.”

“Wait, you have been targeted? Dad, what aren’t you telling me?”

“People crave power. They think if they take out the two highest packs, the vacuum left will be easy to step into, but without the Goddess, we are nothing.”

“I don’t know what that means…”

“You will.” He turned around and pushed through the last bit of trees and it opened up to what I could only assume was the Agora.