False Prophecy

Two Years Prior

Two Years Prior - Zyanna

The wind blew through my long auburn curls, tangling them into a mess as I raced through the forest. I could hear laughing as my friend Sophie tried to catch up. I slowed down to lighten my steps along the soft forest floor. Hiding behind a tree, I waited for Sophie. I jumped out at her, and she screamed, tumbling back and taking me down with her. We laid in the soft spring grass laughing, catching our breath. “It’s a good thing we haven’t collected any herbs, they would be crushed by now,” I said as I rolled off my back over my backpack to stand up.

“It wouldn’t be an issue if you stopped scaring me every time we headed out to the forest” Sophie laughed.

I stood looking at the trees next to us, we were almost to the meadow. “Let’s gather the tree moss first, I can see some growing on this one.” Sophie looked at me with an incredulous look. “I’m not going up there. Did you forget wolves don’t climb trees? This one is all you.” she said sticking her tongue out at me. I laughed and determined the best branches to climb on.

The wind shifted, and a foul smell came through the breeze… rogues. I looked at Sophie, she had a look of panic. “I guess today wolves do climb trees,” I said through the mind link to stay quiet. I grabbed her waist and boosted her up to the first branch, quickly following behind her “Don’t look down, only look at the next branch I will guide you to.” I lifted her to grab the second one, pushing her along. We moved quickly and by the fourth branch heard rustling in the distance. We stopped and sat down. I held onto Sophie's hands as she sat with her back against the tree. I noticed the patrol wolves were not sounding any alarm. “Link the Alpha and Mitchell. I will link the Beta and Joseph.” I mind-linked her. I watched her eyes glaze over as I started to link the Beta but the link was blocked. I connected with the future Beta, Joseph, letting him know there were rogues in the south forest. He made a vague acknowledgment and cut the link. He has always been a rude prick, he hates mixed breeds, or mutts as he calls us and I am as mixed as they come. I looked at Sophie “The Alpha was blocked, but Mitchell is on his way.” She said as I cast a protective bubble around us to block our sound and scent while the rogues approached. The two we could see were in human form talking quietly. “Look, he’s paying us well. All we need to do is verify the girls, the description was clear…” his voice faded as I tried to listen. The sound of movement and howling stopped them as they shifted with their counterparts and raced into the pack, I noticed a few others retreating, apparently the money wasn’t that good. The sound of fighting echoed in the air for what felt like an hour but in reality, it was only about 20 minutes. I kept Sophie calm by breathing with her and reciting the herbs we were looking for and what they were good for. I loved potion work but Sophie had a true gift for herbs and healing work. Her heart was so pure you could feel love radiating off of her. Children were naturally drawn to her and a hug from Sophie always made your troubles feel as if they melted away. Her tan wolf even had a white heart shape on its chest. The fighting stopped in the distance. Sophie and I remained in place knowing the area needed to be cleared before the announcement to go back to normal activities.

We heard footsteps coming our way and saw the future Alpha Mitchell and the Future Beta Joseph walking through the area to the border, each wearing basketball shorts from their recent shift. “Look, all I am saying is try to get to know her before you reject her, she isn’t even 18 yet and the full moon is only one week away are you sure it’s her?” Future Alpha Mitchell asked. “I’m sure it is her, I scented her out last week. I don’t need to get to know her, she isn’t even a hybrid, she’s a mixed breed. You can’t even class her by scent, she has no wolf and she’s an Omega. As the Beta, I will need a strong mate, a warrior that can fight and protect the pack with me. You can’t tell me if you were mated to her or even any Omega you would accept them?” Future Beta Joseph said.

“I trust the Moon Goddess, if she gifts me with an Omega or even a human, I accept there is a reason for it. Alpha pups born to fated mates are the strongest regardless of the mother. You know I’ve been waiting for a mate. Why would I reject the bond?” Future Alpha Mitchell sounded indifferent on the subject even though his words were convincing.

“I respect that about you, but I don’t know how you can say that when you haven’t scented out your mate yet. It would be different if it was you, I am sure of it. Besides, she’s a redhead, which is a hard pass for me and she is really short. She could never be a fighter standing beside me. I have already decided to ask Jamie to be my chosen mate if we continue dating. She is a warrior and will be good for our pack.” Future Beta Joseph concluded. The conversation quieted as they walked away.

I could feel my heart break and looked at Sophie. She held my hands tighter; I could tell she didn’t know what to say. I was the only mixed breed redhead in our pack, so it wasn’t hard to figure out who he was talking about. All that excitement for my birthday in a couple of days is wasted. Why would the moon goddess pair me with such a horrible man anyway? My kids would be a.ssh.oles. I don’t want kids like him. Sophie started to giggle; I realized I was projecting my thoughts. “I don’t think kids are born that way because of their parents, Zy” Sophie laughed. “Hey, you don’t know that. This could be a first. That guy is a serious d***k. He has always hated me, so I’m not surprised. I just don’t get it, Soph. Why would the moon goddess pair me with someone like him? I always dreamed of having a great love like my parents.” I could feel the pain in my heart.

“I don’t know, but what I do know is you are one of the best people I know, and the Moon Goddess will gift you another more worthy, and then maybe your kids won’t be di.cks. I would hate to have jerks for nieces and nephews.” She giggled. Sophie wrapped me in her arms, and I could feel the tension and pain melt away. Sometimes I hated that she could do that. I wanted to be mad and hate him right now.

“I guess on the bright side I won’t be blinded by rejection”. There is always an upside to everything.

Me being mixed is an understatement. I am mostly a witch, but I have Bear, Dragon, Wolf, Dhampir, and Fae in my background. My mom is a Dhampir/Witch/Fae and a practicing witch while my dad is Bear/Dragon/Wolf and a wolf shifter. It’s unusual to be as mixed as our family is. My Grams, Mavis says witch magic is what allows me to exist when technically it should be impossible. Most shifters stick to their own kind and breed within their species. I couldn’t shift when I turned 16 so I am deemed wolf-less by the pack even though it does not make sense, since I could have been any kind of shifter. I’m happy with my life, I was always just worried about how my mate would feel, and I guess now I know. I looked at Sophie as the all-clear announcements were made, and I let the protective bubble around us dissipate.