Chapter 497
I laughed. Because that was ridiculous. I would have remembered Garith was my grandfather. My dad talked about him enough. “Come on.
my
phone, and he clicked the email. His eyes
My dad just shook his head and looked at me. “Are you sure you heard the name
Garith
I nodded. “I’m sure.” I pulled my phone back out. “Rick found this I handed him darting back and forth over the screen as he read.
“This can’t be real.” My dad whispered to himself. “My father was killed by the King.
Thoth shook his head. “No, he wasn’t.” My father’s head snapped up.
“What did you say?”
Thoth sighed. “The old king had started the council by the time your father was acting up. He was sentenced to death, but it was the council’s duty to enforce it.”
I looked around the room. And I saw a ton of faces that I was unsure about. Nix, go to Loki and ask if I can use magic in front of everyone here. Nix took off as my father kept staring at the phone.
“The council?” Toya’s father turned to Thoth, who nodded. “They seem to be popping up more and more.”
Nix came back. Loki said yes, he has done magic in front of everyone here.
I stood up. “Grandma. I need you. I have questions.‘
Everyone else stopped talking and turned to me: “What is she talking about?” Someone whispered.
But I spun when I heard a soft. “Oh.”
“Grandma.” I faced her as she looked around the room.
“Well then.” She sighed as her eyes met mine. “By the look on your da’s face, I can only assume you have a lot of questions for me.” She sighed.
“Who the fuck is that?” One of the Alpha’s whispered and I laughed. Because what else could I do?
I turned to face the men sitting. “As you know, my father has magic. His magic stems from his parentage. As I assume, you all know. His mother, my actual grandmother, was the daughter of the first family. The first line of wolves. What you probably didn’t know was that the first wolf was a son of a witch. A powerful line that had settled in the area years before anyone else. The three faced goddess couldn’t save her son, so the moon goddess did. But his father…Garith, is the son of a witch who fell in love with a wolf.” I turned to my grandmother. “This is his mother.”
“The witch?”
My grandmother smiled. “Yes, that’s me.” She reached out to cup my face. “How are you, my love?” “Confused.” I smiled at her and raised my hand to hers. I couldn’t feel her, but I closed my eyes and pretended.
“That’s okay. Being confused just means you don’t have all the information.” Her voice was soft, and I nodded.
“Exactly.” I opened my eyes.
“Garith…”
watched her eyes flash as she took in a deep breath. Then she turned to my dad. “I wanted so much more for you, my boy.” My dad swallowed past the lump in my throat. “He’s dead.” He said it, but his words rose at the end like a question.
My grandmother shook her head. “No. He’s not.”
My dad sagged. “How?” His voice was a soft whisper.
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Chopter 497
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My grandmother walked over to him and tried to rest a hand on his shoulder. “You know how. He has magic, as much as you, even if he didn’t want to accept it.”
There were a few murmurs. “So he used magic to escape.” Thoth growled low.
She nodded. “Aye. He has been making the others that follow him dance like puppets. He was and still is a foolish boy.” She turned to me. “He hates you. He hates your father, but he has turned most of his wrath to you.”
My dad shot up. “Why?”
“Because she is a female who is stronger than he is. Smarter than he is. He hates anytime when someone is seen to be better than him.” She shook her head. “I raised my child to be forgiving, and sweet, and loving. But when his wolf came, he shifted. His mind became obsessed with the first family. With the king. The lycans.”
Thoth snorted. “So this was all because he wasn’t a Lycan?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know why he turned out this way. He was always accepted in this pack. Always cared for. But his obsession turned dark. And I knew we couldn’t tell him the truth.”
“The truth?” Alpha Tim questioned.
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My dad tilted his head. “That’s why my mother commanded me to never tell him we were the first line.”
My grandmother nodded. “He never loved her. He just wanted the power that came from this pack. But he was focused on finding the first. Or some way to trace back the power to the goddess. He never suspected that the thing he was looking for was right under his nose. Your ma’s father made sure of it.”
The goddess shook her head, “You saved yourself.” she leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead. Then she turned to the others. “You are all devoted to my path, or the path of my sisters of brothers.” she looked at Toya’s father. “Your daughter has done well, and will be rewarded if she survives the final battle.”
He swallowed, instantly alert. “It?”
The goddess gave a sad smile. “I cannot see the future. I just lay the path.”
Thoth shifted, and she turned to face him. “Hiding behind a mask cannot change anything.” His head snapped up.
“Me?” His voice, confused.
She chuckled. “Who else is wearing a mask but you?”
Thoth scratched his head. “No one.”
“Exactly.” She walked to him and leaned down. “You hide yourself to protect yourself. But you are only keeping yourself away from what could be. You are hiding away, and I am worried you will miss your chance. If you don’t confess the truth. All of it. Then you will miss the thing you want most in this world.”
Thoth swallowed. “But what if I mess up again?”
She raised a shoulder. “Then you mess up. But holding back won’t do you any good.”
She turned. “Stay on the path, or don’t. It is up to you all.” Then I was back. I staggered a step, and Thoth steadied me.
“Are you okay?” His question was soft.
“Yeah.” I patted his hand and I felt a spark jump between our skin. I furrowed my brow as I pulled away. I turned back to the others. “So I am sure you have questions.” I tried to smile but it was forced. 1
The others were staring at me. “That was the goddess.” Alpha Chris was pale.
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Could that have been magic?” Alpha Tim looked at the others, but they all shrugged.
I blew out a breath. “Magic can do a lot.” I smiled. “I can change my appearance. I can change how I sound. But there is one thing forbidden.”
My father nodded. “It’s forbidden to imitate a celestial.”
I nodded. “If any pretend to be a goddess in any way, they will lose their blessings. Magic, shifting, or whatever else was gifted. Rank, power, aura. All stripped instantly.”
Toya’s father shook his head. “There is no way that was faked.” He looked at the others. “I have felt the moon goddess before. I know you have to.” The others nodded. “I need you to look at me and tell me that what you felt was not the goddess.”
Tim looked away. “She felt like the goddess. But I just wanted to offer any explanation.”
Inodded. “That’s fair. But I want to ask a question.” I tilted my head at him.
He met my stare and then nodded. “Okay.”
“Since you have come into this office, you and a few others seem to be almost against my father.” Everyone snapped their attention to me. “He saved your pack from death. Made sure you had places to live. He took care of you and welcomed you into his confidence, while still giving you the dignity and reverence deserving of an alpha.” Alpha Tim opened his mouth, but I held up a finger. “When there was yet another attack meant to kill everyone here, he took you to our sacred meeting place. Somewhere no one outside of our pack has ever been. Yet you still question him.” I felt my eyes tighten as I glared at the man in front of me. “Why?”
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The question hung in the air. Alpha Tim looked at the others, but it looked from one to the next. “It’s not like that? He finally spoke up.
Thoth stood, coming behindane and silently showing his support. It is like that.” He looked around the room. “I have met with you multiple times, and every time I see some pusli back. When Gavin leaves, there are always some murmurs. I bit my tongue because Gavin asked me to but Amy is right. After everything he has done for you, for your packs, you still act like this. Why?”
Toya’s father stood and spun on the others. “I have kept quiet for peace. But the Macleans have been nothing short of saviours for my pack. My wolves look up to their example.” He turned to my father and bowed. “I should have said something earlier”
“You have Broderick.” My father’s voice was a little tired.
“I have spoken to you about it all, yes, but I should have said my peace to the others long before this.” He spun around to look at the men. “You mumble about Gavin taking our power, our pack, but he has never tried. You mumble about being weak alphas, and you are correct. We are weak alpha’s but that is not Gavin’s fault.”
I stepped over to Toya’s father. “Not weak.” He turned to me with soft eyes. I shook my head. “Never weak alphas. You are just new. Your packs are small, but we will help you become stronger.
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