Chapter 303

We all sat in stunned silence for a moment before we cracked and started laughing. Wendy leaned back and wiped her face as tears fell. “The fuck, Amy.”

“What?” I giggled.

Hanna shook her head. “Today has been the most insane day.”

“What do you mean?” I turned to face her, leaning on the table.

“We woke up and got ready for graduation, your birthday, and we were so happy.” She smiled. “And then the bullshit with your dad, with the king, the attack, Carly and Carl, and then everything with Toya and Micca…” She sighed. “I’m exhausted.”

Micca nodded. “But I also know this will eat at Amy until she figures it out, and we are all about to go home in…” She looked at the clock. “Five hours.” I groaned, but nodded.

“She is right. Two of you are leaving, and we don’t honestly know when we will see each other again.” I sighed as I stood and walked to the kitchen for a cloth. I came back to the table and wiped it off. “We need to know if my thought is correct.”

Toya nodded. “I know that my line stems from Nut, so we worship the Moon Goddess and Nut. Keeping our relationship with both of our goddesses has blessed our line.”

Wendy tucked her foot under her leg. “Blessed how?”

“Stronger wolves in our line. Good luck with money. Amy’s father saving us.” Toya shrugged. “Just over all better blessings.”

Wendy picked at her nail, and I could see she was fighting with her thoughts. “What’s up, Wendy? Talk to us.” I reached across the table and grabbed her hand before she could pick so hard as to make herself bleed.

She looked at me. “I would really like to know if I came from a goddess. My line has been…” She looked away. “I won’t say I have been overlooked, but we haven’t had a ranked wolf in centuries. And every time a wolf comes of age, the elders look more and more hurt.” She met my eyes. “I was the last born and my coming of age…my grandfather nearly died of anger.”

Hanna sighed. “Knowing the goddess you come from doesn’t mean you will be blessed. I mean, my family came from Tsukiyomi, yet she has never blessed us.” She looked around the table. “I sound a little bitter, don’t I?”

Micca gave a tiny nod. “But it’s okay.”

Hanna wiped her face. “It’s not, because we are still here, and I don’t want to sound ungrateful. But my family has been the same as Wendy’s, full of disappointing looks anytime we come of age and we aren’t ranked.”

“You both hold a rank now,” I offered.

But both Wendy and Hanna shook their heads. “That’s because you pushed us.” Hanna smiled at me.

“You made us better.”

I opened my mouth, but Micca snorted. “I’m all for Amy’s appreciation here, but she isn’t magic.” She paused. “Well, she is magic, and that was a terrible phrase. But you know what I mean.” Both women looked utterly confused. I snorted a laugh.

“What she is trying to say?” Toya looked at them. “Is that while Amy made us stronger and better, she can’t make you something you didn’t have the capabilities of doing yourself.”

Chapter 303

I pointed at Toya. “Exactly that.”

Wendy and Hanna looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Wendy tilted her head and sighed. “I know you are just trying to make us feel better, but we both were tested long before we met you.”

I sat back. “Wolves come in two flavors.”

Everyone looked confused, but I pushed on. “Some wolves, higher ranked, or boastful wolves, push all of their strength into their auras. They do this for a few reasons: stupidity, ego, or to make them seem stronger than they are. Lower-rank wolves sometimes do this, and while it never levels them up much higher than they would have ranked naturally, it does give them an edge, making them appear stronger. But smart wolves, your wolves—and I mean all of your wolves—invested more in physical strength. When they were developing, they made the smart decision to grow their physical attributes: their speed, strength, size, things like that. And while these wolves initially score lower on the rankings, once trained, they rank up and can continue to rank until they are full grown.”

Everyone froze. “What are you saying?” Toya turned to me. “Are you being serious?”

I nodded. “Yes, I’m being serious. And what I’m saying is, you and I are stuck being alphas. But Micca, Hanna, and Wendy still have about a year to move up. Wolves settle around twenty-two to twenty-three. Once you settle, that is your rank for life, unless you mate up. But,” I met all of their eyes, “you have the ability to move up.”