Destined for Vengeance ✔️

Chapter 15

Reconciliation Day, four years ago 

It was the first time Jade attended a Reconciliation Day. It was the first time any of them – Jade, Ryleigh, and Parker – had attended. They had never even been in Royal Wolf territory at all. Before the battle, they'd all been too young, and afterwards it was too dangerous. But Reconciliation Day facilitated actions that otherwise wouldn't have been possible. 

The goal wasn't to get into the prison – in fact, their goal was to stay out of prison no matter what. But with thousands of people walking about, they'd have a greater chance of sneaking to the heart of the territory unnoticed.

"I still think we should just kill Alder now," Ryleigh said. She gazed up at the castle that rose up high above them. Parker had teleported them to the foot of the hill, and they'd dissolved into the crowd without raising any suspicion.

"Alpha says no," Parker said. "We're only here to meet Corbin's informant. We meet him, we leave. Simple as that."

"This is our chance," Ryleigh said. "We might never get this close again."

"Father said no," Jade said.

"Father is wrong."

Jade drove her elbow hard into Ryleigh's side, making her double over with a gasp and a hastily swallowed curse.

"Don't talk like that," Jade said. "So, what's the plan here? Where is he meeting us?"

Ryleigh rubbed her ribs, glaring. She jerked her chin up towards the hill. "He's meeting us at the top. There's a theatre company performing at the market; he'll meet us behind the stage. It's a castle guard. Parker, do you have the money?"

Parker patted his pocket, the gentle sound of clanging coins reverberating from inside. "All good."

"Then let's go." She started up the road that led up the hill. Overall the hill wasn't very steep, and where it was, the road had been chiselled into something closely resembling a giant staircase.

"You know I could just teleport us up there, right?" Parker said.

"O, yes, and then they'll smell you're a werewolf and not human, and then we're dead," Ryleigh said. "We're walking."

No one dared argue. Ryleigh might only have been twenty-one at the time, but her tone was as authoritative as that of any alpha. She was in charge.

Houses and other buildings freckled the hill. People shot about like fish in a river. Jade's head pounded with the thoughts of thousands of strangers. Most of the people were members of the Royal Wolves, but there were also many visitors of Reconciliation Day. Days like these weren't merely an opportunity to retrieve loved ones; it was also a perfect chance to take a peek into the life of Andior's most powerful pack.

The market wrapped around the castle, covering the top of the hill, which was mostly flat. There were dozens and dozens of stands, and each one had such a crowd in front of it that it was impossible to see what they sold.

Jade rubbed her temples. "I don't get how people can think so loudly."

"Just focus on the task at hand. You can control it if you put your mind to it. Tune them out."

Jade nodded and frowned at the ground, diverting her attention to shutting out any unwanted minds. It was hard and she was largely unsuccessful, but she held her tongue.

"There's a stage over there," Parker said, nodding to a platform on which some people were performing a play.

Ryleigh pulled up her lips, shaking her head. "Somebody ought to tell them they're werewolves, not humans."