Jesse grabbed my hand and tugged me into a wooden gazebo with a pointed, turquoise-tiled roof. I trailed behind, half stumbling, half running, to catch up with Jesse's long strides.
"Why all the secrecy?" I panted when he finally turned to face me.
"It's considered taboo to speak of the prophecy so freely," Jesse whispered. "The wolf-shifter community didn't know what to make of it when it was first announced by the Empress – the woman in the moon whose speech you just heard – thousands of years ago when the Empress first made wolf-shifters."
My eyebrows furrowed as I wondered how the prophecy was prophesied so long ago.
"Apparently, the whole reason for wolf-shifters was to one day fulfil this prophecy: when the Empress decided to make a hybrid human-wolf species, it took her many tries to get the balance of the human and wolf soul right. Those unbalanced souls got released into the world to either become wanderers, or a destructive subspecies of wolf-shifter called Cave-shifters. When she finally got the perfect mix of human and wolf souls, instead of immediately releasing them into the world, she saved the first male and female wolf-shifter soul."
"Are you saying human and wolf souls are paired together long before the birth of the wolf-shifter?"
Jesse shook his head, eyes sparkling with amazement as he re-told the history of wolf-shifters. "No. Just the first male and female human-wolf soul. All human-wolves who came after were immediately released into the world. When released, the human-wolf soul would find a suitable carrier foetus, strong enough to hold the soul's power, and bind itself to the body."
"Any type of foetus?"
"Human-wolf souls naturally prefer wolf-shifter children, as they are naturally stronger. But sometimes a strong human foetus will be selected by the soul. That's why wolf-shifters can have children who are plainly human – though very rarely."
I nodded slowly as I took in the information. "You good?" Jesse asked, concerned. I carried on the creepy nodding.
"What about the actual prophecy and today's announcement?"
"During the announcement, the Empress confirmed that she has released the first human-wolf male and female soul. This means that they will be, or have been, born and that their prophecy will begin. The first human-wolf souls are as destined-and-fated as destined-and-fated can be. When they mate, they will become the Prince and Princess wolf-shifter. It is prophesied that wolf-shifters will encounter a deadly danger, and it is the Prince and Princess who will save them, also rising to become the next King and Queen."
I felt my face move between different emotions: surprise and awe, confusion and worry.
"What's the danger?"
Jesse shrugs, but just as he opens his mouth, a brunette girl appears between us.
"Hi, I'm Lily!" she introduces herself to Jesse, completely ignoring Katie.
Oblivious to Jesse's annoyance of being interrupted, the newcomer slid up to Jesse's broad chest, fingers crawling up to his face like vines on trees.
"What's your name?" I roll my eyes at her sultry attempt of getting Jesse to notice her; he shoots an exasperated look over her ponytail.
"This is Katie," he says, "and we're in the middle of a conversation right now."
Lily finally lets go before standing too close to his side, shooting me a nasty scowl.
"I hate that brat."
Me too.
"I heard you're human," she says haughtily.
My guards immediately raise; I carefully nod.
"I know a lot of the shifters here and they're all not very happy with a mundane human at the Moon Celebration, to say the least. We all don't trust you and your loose mouth – you'll tell the entire world about wolf-shifters," she spits.
I blink. "Excuse me?"
"You trailer trash with your dirty blood shouldn't be here. No human should be here."
Jesse protectively places an arm around me and tucks me into his side. I sigh in comfort and relax. "I think you should leave."
The coolness in his tone was unmistakable, leaving chills down my spine.
"Glad that wasn't directed towards us."
Lily huffs and sticks a pink manicured nail in my face. "If you even say a word about wolf-shifters, the Empress will give you what you deserve."
After Lily flicked her hair and strutted away, Jesse placed his hands on my cheeks. "It's okay. She's always been like this."
My head tilts. "Like this?"
He nods, "she's been trying to get my attention for years. It's repetitive and frustrating. She's just angry because I protected you, earlier."
Lips curled in a shy smile, I mumble thanks before quickly looking away, cheeks pink.
A finger directs me back to his stunning blue eyes.
"My pleasure, darlin'."
***
A/N:
I decided to make Katie have some one-on-one time with the wolves, starting with Jesse. How do you feel about that?
Again, I'm so sorry for not updating for so long. As for any weird tense changes in this chapter - I wrote this in multiple sessions. I'm sorry!
QOTC: What are you doing for the summer?
I'm doing a STEM-related summer program in Toronto. It's really fun and the people are amazing! Last week was about cryptography and blockchains, this upcoming week will be about technology in surgery.
The juicy part will come soon so run wild!
- Hilda
Chapter 19: date TBC (though should be on 16July2022)
YOU ARE READING
My very own wolf family
Teen Fiction"Hold up." Amelia gave me a look of disbelief. "So, you're bonded with five wolves? BONDED?" My limbs felt limp, but I nodded in affirmation. "Holy macaroons! That's why you were barely around most of the time!" ⩕⩕⩕ It's not every da...
