The White Claw Prophecy

Truths

“Kaia?! Kaia, hurry up or we’ll be late.” Lara yells from downstairs and I quickly grab my backpack and rush down to meet her.

“Sorry, sorry..” I yell back as I descend the steps “.. I overslept.”

“Again?!” She chastises as she crosses her arms and smirks up at me.

“What? I’m exhausted.. between Luna preparation, warrior training, and our temple studies I am completely burnt out.”

“I don’t think you need to stress this much, it’s not like there’s another to take your place. You are the only daughter of the Alpha and Luna, and the next Chosen Alpha is already smitten with you!” She says with exasperation as we leave the Pack house and trek up the hillside to the school.

And I smile a little to myself thinking of our next Alpha.. Hahn. He is so dreamy, I get completely tongue tied around him. And he looks at me with an intensity that completely overwhelms me. But I won’t lie, it also excites me.

He is our greatest warrior and that is way he is my Chosen. The year before a future Luna’s eighteenth birthday there’s a grand tournament that any able male in our Clan, within the ages of eighteen and twenty-eight, can participate in. The winner of the tournament is to be the future Alpha of the White Claw Clan and my future Mate. Hahn wiped out all the other contenders, and admittedly, it was very thrilling to watch. The tournament was almost a year ago now. And next week after I turn eighteen, my mating age, Hahn and I will be bonded and he will officially be my mate.

It is not too long after that when he and I will take over as Alpha and Luna of the White Claw Clan. And I don’t care what Lara says, it’s a lot. And the responsibility of it all weighs heavily on me.

As soon as the school is in sight Lara and I take off on a sprint, a ritual race we’ve battled in since we were children.

Lara was found as an infant at our borders and she was taken in by my parents, she’s been my sister and my best friend ever since.

“It’s mine this time!” Lara shouts.

“I don’t think so.” I chuckle back as I pick up speed and start to pass her. But as soon as a familiar mint scent hits my nose and makes it twitch I know for a fact I’m about to lose this race. For the first time ever.

Suddenly Hahn falls from the tree tops and scoops me up from behind, spinning me round and round.

“No!! Dammit!” I scream as Lara sprints up the steps and starts jumping up and down at the top.

“I won! I finally freaking won!” She laughs and cheers.

“That so doesn’t count!“ I shout back as Hahn chuckles behind me and sets me back down.

“It so does..” Lara shouts back “.. it’s not my fault your mate turned it into an obstacle course for you!” She taunts back before turning and heading inside the school.

“Dammit, Hahn! Why, for the love of the Moon, why?!” I complain and it only makes Hahn chuckle some more as he wraps his arms tightly around my middle.l from behind.

My heart starts to race when he runs his nose along my neck breathing in my scent, and suddenly how the race ended doesn’t matter so much anymore.

“Don’t be angry with me, my love. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on you, and I had hoped to steal you away for awhile.” He whispers, and his words send a shiver through me.

“I-I can’t..” I start to say, then Hahn ceases all other words from my tongue by gently placing a kiss on my neck. In the exact spot where he’ll mark me soon, and I melt instantly. Goddess, I don’t understand how this man has so much power over me. We aren’t even true mates and still I’m so enthralled.

Makes me wonder the kind of magic that must exist between true mates. There haven’t been pairings of such in centuries, some say the Goddess took away the gift to sense one’s true mate as punishment for all the rejections that transpired. Mother knows best I suppose, and Hell hath no fury and all that.

“Where.. where are you to steal me away to them?” I whisper back, and I feel Hahn’s lips smile against my skin.

“To the Moon..” he breathes out.

Which means he wants to take me to our secret spot. A place at the end of a hidden passage within the Moon Temple. A hidden cave that opens up over the sea and rests at the top of a cliff. It’s our most special place, and I secretly hope it’s where we claim each other for the first time. It’d be so romantic with the moon high in the sky, reflecting off of some of the moonstone imbedded in the rock and casting an ethereal glow throughout the small space.

“W-we shouldn’t..” I somehow manage to say “.. We have to wait, and that place is too magical. Our time is coming, Hahn.”

He sighs and holds me tighter, but eventually nods in agreement.

“As always your wisdom surpasses mine, my love. One day soon though..” he kisses me again in that soft spot and I have to bite down on my lip to keep from moaning out loud “.. we’ll go to the Moon, to our spot, and not even the Goddess herself will be able to stop me from devouring every last inch of you.”

His dark whispers send a needy quake through my whole body and I have to focus on my breathing in order not to give in and demand he do exactly that. Right now!

Somehow we manage to reluctantly pull apart and head out separate ways. Him to the training field and me to class. A class that I am now late for.

Oh well, it was so worth it.

Nothing of note happens throughout the day, if anything there seems to be an uneasy calm surrounding us. A sense of apprehension is lingering, as if something ominous is approaching.

The feeling makes me anxious, and eager to receive my gift from our Great Mother. Perhaps I will receive the gift of sight from the Goddess, so that I may be able to foresee bad things before they happen.

Not that I can recall anything bad ever happening. Our clan is very reclusive and we stay out of the affairs of other shifters. The only other shifters I’ve met are the ones who have traveled here to visit the Moon Temple, and the ones who have come to seek guidance from my mom. She is after all the High Priestess of the Moon Temple.

Another moniker I am to inherit one day.

My mother told me that the gift of sight was bestowed upon my grandmother, and that it was a very powerful gift. And my mother herself has a very intimidating gift. Once she’s ingested the blood of another, animal or man, she can in turn shape-shift into them.

She’s had very little need to shift into any other human being, but she does enjoy shifting into other animals. Her most favorite being a raven, so she can soar through the sky and keep watch on our lands.

My father has the gift of discernment, you cannot lie to him without him seeing the truth. Believe me, I’ve tried.

Hahn’s is also quite unique, he has the gift of enhanced speed. It makes him a force to be reckoned with in combat. It also kind of made him a shoe-in for the role of future Alpha. Though I’m certainly not complaining.

I do know that whatever the gift I am given that I will be immeasurably grateful. That is the one thing that my history lesson’s have taught me, to always acknowledge the blessings and to never squander them.

Later that night as these very thoughts plague my mind I hear a soft knock at my bedroom door.

“Who is it?” I ask, even though I’d know that scent a mile away. That freshly baked bread and rosemary scent is one of my favorites.

“It is your mother, of course.” She says as she opens up the door and steps inside.

“Hey you.” I smile up at her through my vanity mirror and she smiles back at me as she comes up behind me. She then grabs my brush and starts to untangle my wet locks with it.

“How was school?” She asks as she arches her brow in suspicion and I can’t even hide my annoyance.

“Oh, for Goddess sake. Mrs. Pock needs to get a life so she can keep her nose out of my business. School was perfectly fine, I’ll have you know. And yes, I was a good ten minutes late to first period. But it was wholly worth it, so I will be making no apologies or excuses.” I state matter of factly with my chin raised proudly.

My mother merely chuckles and shakes her head at me.

“Your father and I moved much slower than you and Hahn have. I do hope you’ve saved some things for your claiming night though..” she trails off as she eyes me in the mirror.

And no amount of pride could’ve kept my cheeks from burning up in that moment.

“Jeez, Mom.. way to put me on the spot.”

“It’s my job, so..” she pauses and continues to watch me closely through my reflection in the mirror “.. have you two saved mating for your claiming night?” She asks outright.

“Yes, of course! You sure are making a lot of assumptions! I’ll have you know we’ve behaved far more than you’ve imagined.” I poke back and she smiles softly as she looks down at my hair and continues to brush it.

“I’m glad to hear it. Anyway, there is another reason I came to speak with you..” she sets the brush aside and looks back at me through my reflection “.. I’d like to show you something, will you come with me?”

I don’t say I anything and instead just nod in response. When I stand up Mom hands me my robe and I wrap it around me snuggly before following her out to the hall and down the corridor.

When we get to the end of the hall, or what I thought was the end of the hall, she pulls aside a huge tapestry hanging from the wall to reveal a hidden door. She then retrieves a key from her pocket and unlocks the door.

“What the..” I gasp in shock “.. what the heck, we have secret passages? How did I not know about this?!” I ask as she opens the door and ushers me into a small hallway.

“If you had known it wouldn’t have been much of a secret, now would it?” She teases as she flicks a switch to turn on the lights and then closes the door behind us.

“Is that a dig at me and my secret keeping abilities, or do you mean it in a bigger picture kinda way.” I demand as I cross my arms, jut out my hip, and glare at the woman who gave me life. Because that’s just what daughters do when their mothers make such “all-knowing” comments.

“I’ll let you decide what it means dear..” she says as she walks past me and starts up a long spiral staircase “.. though I will say, I am not the one who ruined Lara’s surprise party.” She adds.

“Ugh! I swear Lara inherited Dad’s gift of discernment. I didn’t do it on purpose, Mom, she saw right through my attempt at misdirection and I never stood a chance.” I defend.

“Dear, you know Lara doesn’t have a gift, she isn’t from here so she never received a gift from the Goddess. She is, however, very perceptive. Especially when her sister is so excited she can barely contain her own enthusiasm.”

“Exactly!! I was excited because I was positive that Lara would receive a gift. I mean the Goddess is the one who’d make that call, right? And Lara’s been here since she was a baby. She doesn’t belong to any other family or pack. To be honest, I’m still a little salty on Lara’s behalf about her not getting a gift.” I prattle back.

“There is a reason for everything that the Great Mother does or doesn’t do, Kaia. You know this.” Is all Mom says in response as we come upon another door at the top of the staircase. Then she once again pulls out the same weird skeleton key from her robe pocket and unlocks the second door.

And Goddess help me, I am not prepared for what I see on the other side.