Keva, for once in her life, took the hint and remained silent. William, not for the first time, marveled at how she had been able to gain the loyalty of her pack and become alpha. Keva was capable, he had never doubted that. But she was a hot head, more apt to throw a punch then stop and think about what she was doing. He couldn’t help but remember that other night, in his room, when she had tried to seduce him. If it hadn’t been for Aceso intervening, she would have succeeded. He could really do without the woman and her bullshit. Her pack knew her and trusted her, but he never would.
Huan Li spoke, taking control of the gathering instantly, “It is true, the vampires have not been idle in their time.”
The old Chinese man looked very tired all of a sudden. As of the weight of everything that had happened had suddenly crashed down on his shoulders. To William’s eyes, he looked frail and brittle, like a strong wind could knock him down. He had lost a bit of weight as well, his once well-fitting slacks and button up shirt hung off of his shoulders and hips raggedly. His bald head was shiny with sweat. He took a deep breath and the frail façade fell away. Huan Li stood up straight and it seemed as if the man’s strength had returned. Gone was the feeling of the brittle, fragile old man.
He continued in a much stronger voice commanding those around him as he had done under the Mountain. “The vampires have ambition and a leader who is hungry for our destruction. There is no telling what Kenneth has his House bent upon as he prepares for our return.”
Huan Li looked around the group, sizing up each and every Shape shifter standing around him. “But we have used our time to our advantage as well. Have our Scouts not regained a better control of their ancient and thought to be lost abilities of prognostication?”
The group nodded as an infectious confidence seemed to ripple through them. Even Keva nodded in agreement.
“The new information that we have discovered has given us new leads. We will all soon leave this place and when we do, you will take your packs and travel to locations around the world. Each pack will have a very specific task.”
This caused a bit of a stir and a rumbling from the gathered crowd.
“How long will each pack be on their own?” Ryan Yamamoto asked. The somewhat shorter black haired Asian man stood silently next to Billy. His brown eyes were serious as always.
“I do not know,” Huan Li answered frankly. “If we fail in our mission we may never come together as one whole again.”
This was answered by a few shocked gasps. But no one spoke. Everyone seemed to be waiting for something.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“What about me?”
William turned to see the owner of the voice. Amanda Miller stood there quietly waiting for an answer to her question. He father, Elder Jacob Miller, had been killed in the attack on the Mountain and Amanda hadn’t mentioned her mother much. Her long black hair was very indicative of her Native American heritage though. When he had first met her she seemed to be a very fiery, head strong teenager. Looking at her now, she had matured in the year or two since she had cared for William when he first came to the Mountain. She had come into her own and now she was demanding answers from the two remaining Elders.
Huan Li didn’t answer her question as a strange expression crossed his face. He turned to Ansuya quickly and whispered something to her.
“Ryan, we need you now.” She said sternly brokering no arguments. The Asian Healer nodded looking around wondering what had just happened.
Huan Li offered his hand to the young woman, “Amanda come with us, please.”
The two elders and the Healer flanked Amanda, and left the courtyard quickly.
William stood there. The rest of the group shifted from foot to foot. No one had any idea what had just happened. They were in the middle of a meeting then Huan Li just grabs the girl for asking a question? That was crazy. Obviously Huan Li wasn’t a Gestapo and Ansuya wouldn’t condone anything like that anyway. Still, it was just plain weird.
“OK, so now what?” Nicolas asked to no one in particular.
Keva shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know. Acharya? You got any bright ideas?”
It wasn’t the Sage, Alpha of his pack, that answered her, it was his Tracker Malikah Samadi who responded. “We wait for the Elders to return. Huan Li hasn’t let us down or abandoned us before and I don’t believe that he will do so now.”
The tall woman had let her highlights grow out, letting her natural brown hair remain. Her fake breasts still stuck out from her chest, but she seemed to be more comfortable with herself. William had expected the Persian woman to start wearing makeup and lipstick again, and maybe she had, but tonight she went without it. The Tracker seemed to be much more confident now than at any other time he had seen her. No one seemed to want to protest or contradict her.
The courtyard was filled with soft murmurs and some shifting feet as the packs quietly commented to themselves on what had just happened.
Aceso was staring right at Ares and Physis across the small courtyard. The almost all brown furred wolf seemed to nod toward Aceso. Physis looked up into the sky and nudged her mate.
William looked up into the still dark night sky. He could see almost no stars, let alone the new moon that he knew was there.
“How old is Amanda? Does anyone know?” Tara Kitcheyan asked.
The Apache native woman was wearing a saree she had picked up. It wasn’t as intricate as what Ansuya had been wearing. It was a simple design of solid light purple with gold trim. Her long chestnut brown hair hung loosely down her back to her waist.
“I don’t know, around twenty or so I guess,” Acharya answered off handedly.
The answer to their questions dawned on William only a moment or two before the rest of the group seemed to have the same understanding. The reason Huan Li had looked at her with almost shock was because Amanda was twenty years old, roughly. William looked up into the night sky reflexively, even though he knew he couldn’t see the moon. He knew that a new Shape shifter was to be born this night. She would be a Healer, reborn under the new moon.
William looked down at Aceso. Their alpha was a Healer, as was Achelois. It seemed too impossible to be just simple coincidence.