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1038 Words
Kaden waited until everyone had taken a few bites of food before standing and addressing everyone. “I hope you see the severity of the matter now. The Leos and the Sun Witches plan to slaughter anyone who stands in their way. They won't spare anyone, and diplomacy is out of the question."
He didn't even know the full extent of it. Something twisted in my gut as I realized I'd have to reveal to them that they'd been pawns of the Sun Witches all along and that everything they knew was a lie. How would they react to such unbelievable news?
"It's worse than you know," I said, as I rose to my feet. "I have a lot to tell you."
"Is it about the bright light we all saw you make in the forest?" Amos asked, crossing his arms.
I nodded. "During the battle, the Moon Witches took me away to a place called Lunatera. It's a realm outside of time, where they can hide from the Sun Witches. A place where they can be safe. I was there for what felt like months, though they were able to bring me back to the exact moment I'd left.”
Wesley held up a hand with a worried expression. "Wait. The Moon Witches kidnapped you?"
"Not exactly. They trained me to use their magic so I could use it to fight the Sun Witches. It turns out my mother is their High Priestess." I gestured at Larkin. "Larkin is a Moon Witch too, and my cousin. She's come back with me to help us."
“Wow,” Stella said, her eyes wide. “So you know all sorts of Moon Witch spells now?”
“Yes, and Larkin and I can teach them to any of the pack members who have Moon Witch blood. We'll need every advantage we can get against the Sun Witches."
"How can we trust the Moon Witches?" Ethan asked, eyeing Larkin skeptically. "And how would this one teach us? She looks barely old enough to drive."
"I'm older than you are," Larkin said with a scowl.
"Larkin's body has been trapped in time. It's complicated." I sighed, realizing this would be a lot harder than I'd expected. "The Moon Witches are not the evil people the Sun Witches led us to believe they are. They just want to live in peace."
“What about the Moon Curse?” Amos asked.
"There is no Moon Curse," Larkin said. "We removed it long ago from all shifters."
"How do we know that?" Ethan asked, arching an eyebrow.
"The Ophiuchus pack doesn't suffer from it," Kaden said. "And we never get the Sun Witch blessing as babies."
I took a deep breath and looked around the room. It was time we began taking back our own power, and it had to start right here, in this room. "That's how they're locking away your wolves and your true mates. The ritual they perform on newborn shifters isn't to bless them and protect them from the Moon Curse, it's to make sure that they can't shift until the spell is lifted. They've convinced the Zodiac Wolves that you all need their spells to keep you safe from the Moon Curse when in reality they're using it to control you—all to keep us weaker and ensure we stay reliant on their magic."
There was a murmur of surprise around the room, and some of the shifters shared disbelieving glances.
"You're all welcome to meet our wolf pups while you're here," Stella said. "They begin shifting when they're toddlers, and learn how to control it by the time they're five or six."
"You said they're locking away our true mates too?" Mira asked, her eyes wide. Beside her, Aiden's jaw clenched, as if he was scared to hear the answer.
I swallowed, knowing this would hit her hard. We'd both talked about wanting to find our fated mates for so long, and she'd been ecstatic when she'd been paired with Aiden. Learning that was all a lie? I didn't want to tell her, but she had the right to know.
"Yes, the Sun Witches also lock away our ability to sense our mates," I said, my voice soft. "All so that the Sun Witches can create fake mate bonds, like the one they made between me and Jordan.
"No, I can't believe that," Aiden said, taking Mira's hand. "What I feel for my mate is real."
I gave Mira and Aiden a sympathetic look. "There might be a few that are real, but from what the Moon Witches have told me, those are rare."
"Why would they want to control the mate bonds?" Ethan asked.
“They've been breeding us like dogs for years, shaping and guiding each pack into what they want," I said. "All so they could make us weaker and easier to control."
“Prove it,” Amos said.
I lifted my chin and met his gaze directly. "I can't. Not yet. But we know my bond with Jordan is fake—Wesley already told you that he found proof the Sun Witches created that bond. But what he didn't tell you is that Jordan is my half-brother. We share the same father."
Amos's jaw dropped nearly to the floor. “Harrison had a child with a Leo?”
Others around the group also muttered their shock and outrage, but I held up my hand to request silence. "Yes, and we've captured him now to try to break the fake mate bond with Larkin's help. If it's possible, we'll be able to break other ones too and prove that the Sun Witches have orchestrated them all."
"We'll also interrogate him on what he knows about the Sun Witches," Kaden said with a dark tone. I had no doubt his interrogation of Jordan would be...intense.
“I don't think Jordan will tell us anything,” Wesley said with a snort.
Ethan leaned forward and met my eye. “If this is true, the other packs need to know. All of the Zodiac Wolves should have the opportunity to learn the truth and make the decision to leave the Sun Witches and join our side.”
- Writer
