Chapter 87

Zane POV

I sat there in surprise having no idea what to say. I didn’t even know if I were expected to speak at all. No question had been asked of me.

“You seek counsel,” the head Oracle continued. “So it has been for centuries. Pack alphas some to the temple for counsel.”

She paused expectantly.

“Yes, that is true,” I said.

The Oracle gently held up a hand, a signal that I was to stop speaking and listen. The music grew somewhat hypnotic, and her voice rose and fell with its cadence.

“It is commonly known that werewolves and humans lived together for thousands of years without contact, but what is now known by only a few is that before that, wolves and humans lived together in harmony for many thousands of years before that. We do not know what changed peaceful coexistence into war, but we do know that the violence ended only when the humans and wolves had killed off their enemies so completely in their geographical area that they could no longer find a wolf or human to fight.

“Almost a millennia ago, a band of wolves found a human settlement in what is now called the Middle East and attacked it. The wolves were victorious, but the human response was genocidal, and again wolves and humans knew only war and bloodshed between them. If things had continued as they were, humans would have faced extinction.

“It was then our people saw the rise of the Moon Wolves. The may have first risen all those millennia ago. The knowledge has been lost to us.

“The Moon Wolves rose to power quickly with their power greater than the greatest of alpha’s, their ability to channel life energy at will, and their projections of the future that so often came to pass. Within a generation, they had ended the fighting, on the werewolves’ side, at least. They insisted that wolf and human destinies were intertwined, and they forbid the killing of humans for any reason other than self-defense.

“The humans cared nothing for the Moon Wolves, and they began to hunt werewolves down. In defense, wolves often enslaved humans, which the Moon Wolves first ignored, then tolerated, then regulated, then banned by establishing the Luna Temple, whose clergy, the Oracles, hold powers that echo the Moon Wolves’ only faintly. We have overseen wolf culture for over three centuries with the guidance they provided.

“It was the temple that established the rites of the moon as they are known today. We oversee the souls of our people, safeguarding the vital relationship of the wolves to the Goddess Luna, ensuring that her ways are done here on earth.

“Their work seemingly done, the Moon Wolves began to disappear. Pack alphas were born in their place. Within a few generations, there were only a handful of them left.

“Clara Maxim, the last known Moon Wolf, lived among wolves into adulthood. Then she walked into the forest and was never seen again. Word of her death came to us over fifty years ago.

“With the loss of the Moon Wolves, the Luna Temple has been losing its authority, and now there is unrest among the packs, human and wolf relations are strained, and we have felt the displeasure of the goddess.

“Over two decades ago, we began to experience visions of the Moon Wolves’ return, a family bred from Clara Maxim. It will be the duty of the pack alphas to recognize the authority of these new Moon Wolves, pack alphas like you, Zane Cavendish.”

Her hand dropped into her lap, and the music stopped. We sat together in the echoing silence for many minutes.

“I am a pack alpha,” I said finally. “I follow the counsel of the Luna Temple. If you tell me some new family is made of Moon Wolves, I will believe you.”

The head under the Oracle’s hood nodded. “That is good, but will your belief be enough when you are called upon to help them regain their control of the packs?”

“From what you’ve said of their abilities, they won’t need anyone’s help, but I certainly will not oppose them.”

The Oracle was obviously looking at me through that white fabric. “Acceptable,” she said.

“But what has this got to do with Sarah Astor?” I asked. “You said she wasn’t what I think. Is she connected to Moon Wolves? I know she bears an uncanny resemblance to Clara Maxim. Does that mean something?”

The three Oracles looked at each other for a few minutes, obviously managing somehow to confer with each other. The head Oracle looked back at me.

“We speak now as Oracles and you as our supplicant.”

“I understand.”

“Do you?”

“You’re saying what you tell me now is in confidence and that I should be willing to die rather than share it with another.”

“Yes.”

I waited.

“The Moon Wolves were not, technically speaking, wolves.”

“Were they half-human?” I asked.

The head under the hood tilted. “An excellent guess, but no. They were neither werewolf nor human. They were something else, something specific to themselves.”

“I see.”

“Do you?” Her voice sounded amused. “We are not sure we do ourselves. But we do know they did not die out. They chose to leave us, and now it would seem they are preparing to return.”

“To return us to a better peace with the humans?”

“We do not know. But if they are neither human nor wolf, then we cannot be sure where their loyalties lie or what their final goal with either species will prove to be.”

“But I assume—”

Her hand came up again.

“Your Sarah Astor, she is connected to this, but we do not know how or why. As your children’s goddess-mother, you must keep her close, protect her, and wait with us for the future to manifest. Whatever else involves the two of you is not our concern.”

As one, the three Oracles rose to their feet, a sign the counsel session was over. They left the chamber, and the musician followed them.

I was left alone with a million questions until an Oracle arrived and led me back to my clothes.

Whatever else involves the two of you. What the hell was I supposed to make of any of that?