Chapter Fifty-Four

The Agora was breathtaking. The clearing looked like a natural stone quarry, if that made any sense. Rocks were staggered down toward the lower floor, like steps, and it was already filling up with the pack. There was a path that circled down the side wall of the crater until it ended at the bottom, where a chair, or should I say, a throne, waited. There was a smaller one to the side, which I could only assume was for the Alpha and Luna.

As I stepped down with my father, I could feel the truth settle in my bones. This was the birthplace of our kind. You could feel the ancient roots here wrap around you. The trees bowed outward, allowing the sun and moon to shine down on the people collected here.

This was where fates were decided.

My father and I reached the bottom, and he gestured for me to sit in the Luna’s chair, and I nodded. I settled in, and my father walked to the floor as everyone filed in. You could see the wolves that knew the truth of this place fill with a sense of pride. And those that weren’t privy to the knowledge settled, but trembled with the power that was wrapped around them.

Everyone was whispering, and my father raised his hands, quieting everyone down. “File in, find a seat.”

“Alpha? What is this about?” A wolf called down from the back row. I looked to see who it was, but I missed them.

“I will answer all of your questions, but settle, please.” My father waited for a few minutes. He turned to me and then nodded. He settled into his throne and raised his hands again. The Agora went silent. “I called you all here for a specific reason. I need the Williams family to step down,” my father called out coldly.

We watched as Amanda and her family slowly walked to the pathway and headed down to the ground. They made their way in front of us and bowed.

“Alpha? Why have you called my family down here?” Jay Williams, Amanda’s father, asked.

I scoffed as I glared at Amanda. “Do you feign ignorance as well, Amanda?”

Jay snapped his eyes to his daughter and then to me. “Amy, I don’t know what my daughter has done, but I swear I knew nothing about it.” Jay turned on Amanda. “What the fuck did you do?”

“Nothing!” she screamed and dropped to the ground. “Alpha, whatever was said about me was a lie.”

My dad stood and walked over to her, crouching and lifting her face. “Are you calling my daughter a liar?” Tears fell from her eyes as she darted her eyes to look at me and then back to my father. “No, Alpha.”

“So, you admit to using your aura to make weaker wolves do your bidding with the she-wolves in your friend’s group?”

Jay and his wife, Sheila, drew in a breath, obviously hearing this for the first time. My father looked back at me as I stared at the pair.

They didn’t know. Nix’s voice rang through my head.

“How are you so sure?” I whispered back.

I commanded their wolves to tell me. Nix growled back and I felt her slam my aura out. The Williams all dropped to their knees, and Jay bowed down to the ground. “Did you know?”

“No, Alpha.” Jay’s voice trembled as I released my aura, allowing them up. I looked at my father and nodded.

“Amanda?”

“They didn’t know. My father would have punished me,” she whispered, and Nix growled lowly, black fur rippled down my arms. “I swear it,” Amanda screamed as she looked at me. “They did not know,” louder this time.

“Who did?” I growled out. I fought to control my anger, but something in the Agora was making it almost impossible to control myself or my wolves.

I closed my eyes to refocus, and Nix and Megan were trembling. “What’s wrong?”

The Agora is a place of power, and it is pulling us to come forward, to bond fully, to shift. Nix’s voice was ragged with her effort to stay back.

You will have to shift. Megan panted. It has to be Nix, or else I will be forced to shift. She needs to stop fighting soon, or else we won’t have the choice of who comes forward.

“Okay.” I shook my head, trying to clear it. My father looked back at me, and there was concern in his eyes. The fur pulled back a little as I reined it in. I glared down at Amanda and stood. I stalked down to her with my fur rippling with my anger. “Who did, Amanda?”

Amanda shook as she tried to fight against the aura that was leaking out, but she failed. “Aurora.”

Jay and Sheila drew in another breath. “Amanda, why?”