Chapter 195
Orion rubbed his face and took a deep breath. ‘Our mother came from a family of what people used to call werewolf witches. They were wolves who could also drain life force from other living things.”
Sarah’s hand stopped moving on his back. I could tell this was new information for her too.
“The werewolf community saw them as dangerous,” Orion continued. “Too powerful. Too unpredictable. So they hunted them down and killed them. All
of them, or so they thought.”
“But someone survived,” I said.
“Our great–grandmother,” Orion nodded. “Her mother hid her when the hunters came and told her to run. She did. She ran for years before she met our
great–grandfather. He loved her despite what she was. He helped her learn to control it.”
“How?” Sarah asked quietly.
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“By never using it when she was angry,” Orion said. “By never shifting when her emotions were running high. There was a thin line between a normal shift and tapping into that power. Our great–grandmother learned to stay on the safe side of that line.”
I thought about all the times I’d seen Athena shift when she was upset or angry. How many times had she come close to crossing that line without
knowing it?
Or was it that she wasn’t that angy? Was it something Daxon had said to her?
“No one in our family had ever crossed that line, Orion said like he was reading my thoughts. “We thought the power had died out. That maybe the hunters had been right and it was too dangerous to exist.”
‘But then Athena was born,” I said.
Orion’s face crumpled. “The night she was born, the moon turned red. It wasn’t supposed to be a blood moon that night, but it turned red anyway. The midwife took one look at the sky and told our mother that Athena was special. That’s when Mom knew the power hadn’t died. It had just been waiting.
“Waiting for what?‘ Sarah asked.
For the right person,‘ Orion said. “For someone strong enough to handle it.”
I laughed but there was no humor in it. “Strong enough? Look what it did to her. Look what it made her do.”
‘She killed Daxon and Seraphine,‘ Orion said quietly. “But I feel there was a reason. Maybe she wanted to safe us. His voice came out broken
‘She almost died,‘ I shot back. “She drained herself so completely that she can barely breathe. How is that strong?”
“Because she fought it,” Orion said. “When I commanded her to shift, that thing inside her fought back. But Athena was stronger. She chose to come
back to us.”
I wanted to believe him. I wanted to think that what happened in that cave was Athena choosing us over the power. But I’d felt what that thing was like through our bond. It wasn’t gone. It was just sleeping.
“Is there a way to get rid of it?” I asked.
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Chapter 195
Orion was quiet for a long time. ‘I don’t know,” he finally said. ‘Mom only told me about our family history on her deathbed. She never had time to explain how to control it or how to make it go away.”
‘So what do we do? My voice cracked. “Keep her sedated forever?”
‘Dr. Graze is coming,” Sarah said. ‘Maybe he’ll have ideas.”
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‘He’s a pack physician,” I said. “Not a specialist in ancient werewolf magic.”
“Then we’ll find someone who is, Orion said firmly. “We’ll figure this out.”
I stood up and started pacing. I couldn’t sit still anymore. “What if we can’t? What if there is no way to get rid of it?”
“There has to be,” Sarah said. “There has to be something.”
“You didn’t see her back there,” I said. I stopped pacing and looked at both of them. “You didn’t feel what I felt through our bond. That thing wasn’t just
using her power. It was feeding on her. It was eating her from the inside out.”
*I did too. Incase you’ve forgotten I can feel her too. I’m not just her Alpha, I’m her brother” he said in a angry tone.
He was right. I could feel him hurting, just that he always have a way to hide how’s he’s really feeling.
Always in control of his emotions, but I can’t.
When I’m angry you’ll know. I don’t know how to be like him, especially when it has to do with Athena.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
