Golden Destiny

Chapter 5. - Royalty

It's almost time now. The last of the three stepped onto the ledge, countless wolves behind them. Here, they will make their stand. They will either perish or emerge victorious. There is no in-between.

The three share a silent thought. A prayer to the Moon Goddess, to protect them and theirs.

The world is quiet. No breeze stirs. No sound can be heard save for the breathing of ten thousand wolves. Ten thousand waiting to face off against tens of thousands who were bred to do one thing: destroy everything for naught but power for their masters.

Suddenly, a murmur begins to travel through the crowd. Beasts of the land, the air, and the sea begin to arrive. The three share a smile and as one, look to the heavens for this turn of events.

It's almost time now.

———0———

"Mia! Mia!" I heard as I felt myself being shaken awake.

"Mia! Oh my Goddess, you sleep like the dead!"

I slowly opened my eyes and lifted my hands to rub the sleep from them. "What time is it?" I mumbled.

"We have to leave in fifteen minutes! Come on!" Harper said as she exited the room.

I quickly got up, ran to bathroom to get ready and I was waiting for her by the door in ten minutes. Yeah, I was never really the high maintenance type.

When we got to school, I was surprised that there was absolutely no one at the parking lot.

"Um, Harp, you think your clock might be broken?"

She was busy fiddling with her phone again.

"What? Yeah, maybe. Sorry about that. But hey, since we're here, maybe you could help me with that math homework," she wiggled her eyebrows at me.

I shook my head and got out of the car. By the time we reached our lockers, some students had begun to arrive. Harper and I made our way to the tables outside after getting our books. I helped her with her school work, although why she asked for my help, I did not understand since it was clear she had a good grasp on the lesson.

When she was done, we stood up and I noticed a large group of students congregating on the school lawn.

"What do you think is happening there?" I asked Harper.

She wasn't saying anything so I looked over to her and saw she had a goofy smile on her face.

"Let's find out," she said excitedly while grabbing my hand and heading towards the building.

"Harp, hold on, my bag's still unzipped," I told her, pulling my hand from her grasp and closing my bag. "Seriously, what the hell got into you today? First, the early commute to school, and now, this cheerfulness so early in the morning," I groaned. Clearly, this was one of the rare days I needed coffee.

"Come on!" She chirped and grabbed my hand once again.

"Alright! I'm coming!" I laughed.

As we were power walking to where the crowd was, my bag slipped off my shoulder and I barely managed to hook it by the crook of my elbow. It swung wide though and hit someone.

"Oh my gosh, so sorry!" I said, as I managed to slow Harper down.

I felt my heartbeat start to pick up as my victim came closer. I looked up and saw familiar eyes glaring at me. It was Adam. I quickly bowed my head in deference to his position in the pack, and willed my heart to slow down.