Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 103548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
“Something hard to believe.” Nia pulled the desk chair and sat. Rubbing her temples, she seemed to age ten years in front of me. “Daze, how much do you know about the epsilons and their true power?”
My forehead crumpled. “True power? What are you talking about?”
“Ugh, just as I thought. Nothing. You know, it’s outrageous the way the alphas have treated you. The way they’ve used you and kept you ignorant all for their own greed, fear, and gain.”
“Kept me ignorant?” If I was confused before, I was ten times so now. “Nia, did whoever called you tell you something I should know?”
“I was told a lot of things you need to know, Daze.” Sincerity etched into her pores. “And I won’t let you be kept in the dark for a second longer.”
“Okay, go on,” I said, pulling up Edric’s desk chair and placing it next to Hope so she could keep gnawing on my hand. Werewolves teethed hard, so lucky for me, I was a fast healer. “I’m listening.”
Nia leaned in. “Okay, you know that our powers and our ability to shift all came from Luame and the part of her that lives inside of us, but I assume what you didn’t know is that epsilon wolves are special, because they have more of her inside of them than any one of us.
“Daze, do you remember when you took over the school and you said it didn’t make sense that epsilon wolves were shut away in temples, when they should be leaders, judges, councilwomen, lawmakers, and the rest? Of course they should because they’re the only wolves that can’t be pushed around by alphas and betas.
“Well, you have no idea how right you were,” she said. “That is how it was always supposed to be. It’s why Luame created the epsilons, and it’s why alphas separated you, locked you away, and didn’t let you all do anything more important than sitting on your asses in a cold temple. Luame didn’t ordain alpha dominance,” she spat. “She never wanted the backwards oppressive world they created.
“She wanted the epsilons to be in charge, and she wanted her children—the ones marked with her sign—to lead them.”
“Wow,” I breathed, flopping back in my seat. “That... makes sense. My gods, when you really think about it, it makes perfect sense. Which is why I stumbled on that conclusion all on my own!” I tossed my head. “So you’re saying the alphas in the beginning knew this? They knew, and they turned their back on Luame just for power.”
“Cygnus Tahan and the alpha council turned their backs on her just for power,” she replied, voice hard. “It’s not that surprising.”
I couldn’t disagree with her even a little bit.
“Wow. Just wow.” I flicked to Hope who currently had pinpricks of my blood dotting her brand-new growing fangs. “Is that what they wanted you to tell me?”
“That and more, Daze. So much more.” Nia took a deep breath and released it. “What do you know about Ola? Luame’s mate.”
I shrugged. “I know that he was her mate, and he was a god of men. That’s why we’re equally wolf and human.”
“But do you know what kind of god he was?”
“What kind?”
“He was a god of destruction, Daze, and Luame was a goddess of creation. Opposites. Yin and yang. But”—she slapped her hands together—“perfect for each other, because together they made something perfect—us.”
“Wow,” I replied, wishing I could think of another word. “A god of destruction? Really? I wonder why no one ever told me.”
“For the same reason no one ever told you who you are. Daze, your power is no accident or trick. You have so much more purpose than screwing your mates on a rock one night and then going home. The werewolf race only exists because of you.”
“Yeah, I know—”
“No,” she cut off, eyes intense. “I’m not talking about all that mother wolf stuff. I mean it’s you, Daze. Gods and goddesses are nothing without belief but who can believe in a floating memory in the sky? It’s you that we see. You that we trust, and you we believe in. You’re not here because of Luame. Luame only survives because we believe in you.”
“Uh, okay—”
“And it’s because you loved six men so fiercely and so absolutely that you wished for your children to be all of their children in every way. Not one father, but six. And because you, the living goddess of creation, did that, your children were born with all the powers the seven of you were meant to create. And again because it’s impossible for a human to have more than one power, you wished them immortality and”—she snapped her fingers—“Hope was born.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “That all sounds nice, but that’s not how it went. I didn’t even know Badr, Nyx, Paxton, Orion, or Edric when I got pregnant with Hope. I hardly wished for her to also be the children of five guys I didn’t know.”