Chapter 87: Chapter 87
~ Hadeon POV cont. ~
I couldn’t sleep the night before my birthday, but when it finally came, I sprinted outside to test if I had a wolf or not. As much as I wanted to be this spy and ‘bridge’ between the werewolves and humans, I truly did yearn to be like everyone else in the pack and have my wolf.
My father and I stood in the middle of the forest. He looked at me with sorrow in his eyes when I couldn’t manifest the shift.
“Son,” he said.
“Wait,” I grunted as I strained to push myself to shift. “I think I almost have it.”
He stepped over and held my shoulders. “No, you don’t. I still can’t smell your inner wolf.” He sighed, “I’m sorry.”
I frowned. “I knew this was likely to happen but…” I bit down on my tongue, refusing to cry. I exhaled, “I just hoped that maybe…”
“I know, son,” he said, putting his arm around me in a tight embrace. “But this doesn’t mean you’re not destined for greatness.”
I forced a smile. “Thanks, Dad.” He always knew what to say to make me feel better, but to be honest, nothing could have made me feel better in that moment.
A few days after my 18th birthday, neither my father nor I could wait any longer to hear the verdict the meeting of the various werewolves had come to. This was my fate on the line, and I was determined to do all I could for my people.
I had reached a level of strength that surpassed humans tenfold. Though I wasn’t technically a werewolf, I was still born of a werewolf bloodline, meaning my body would be able to handle a wolf if I ever got one. So I was stronger than humans to defend myself against them, but still had no chance against werewolves in comparison.
In Alpha Conri’s manor, we all gathered once again, and again I showcased that I still had no inner wolf spirit.
When everyone was satisfied with the confirmation that I truly was wolfless, Alpha Conri stepped in and announced, “You all now may offer your vote for or against this project.”
Remus Otake stood and interjected, “Apologies, Alpha Conri, but may I say something first?”
Everyone looked at him at once, but my eyes darted to my lap where my fists had balled tightly. I had a bad feeling about what was to come, but I closed my eyes and prayed for a miracle. Slowly, I looked up to him in time for his speech to begin.
“I understand how important this is in many aspects, and I respect how hard Hadeon has been training to get to a high standard of strength to be fit enough for this task. He should be very proud of himself, but I have to speak up about my thoughts against this.”
My father shot to his feet and snarled, “What?!”
“Beta Aetos, please, sit down,” Alpha Conri demanded.
My father’s jaw clenched, respected his Alpha and did as he wished.
“Continue, please, Warrior Otake.”
He bowed and breathed, “I know many of you don’t see me as worthy of even sitting in this room with you all. However, you all can agree that I am a noble and trustworthy warrior. I have kept the discretion that you requested but also communicated with various other warriors and civilians of our packs to understand their insight into what is best for our kind, and all arrows point to staying far away from humans.”
Murmurs emerged in the room. I could see I was losing them all. My heart thudded hard in my chest; I wanted to scream and yell at them about how wrong they were. I was going to be shoved aside and be treated like a pathetic little Omega – I would be a walking shameful reminder of my families and my own failure.
Swallowing my yearning scream, I stood slowly and pressed my hands against the table, leaning forward. “What about the witch’s vision about the destruction of all supernatural beings?”
An Alpha from a neighbouring pack barked, “How did you hear about that, boy?”
“You hear things when working amongst witches,” I smiled proudly. “There is only one thing that could ever threaten all things magical, and that’s humans.”
“Humans aren’t the only threat against us. Besides, we are still waiting for confirmation if this vision is even true,” Alpha Wilder added.
“True or not, I can ensure the humans pose no threat against us,” I echoed.
“Humans do not know we exist; they believe us to be fictional. We should keep it that way,” said one councilman.
A councilman from another pack contributed, “The boy makes a fair point, though. Now, more than ever, we would need an insider with the humans to ensure we’re a step ahead of any attacks.”
Remus shook his head. “No,” his voice was stern, powerful. “Now, more than ever, we need to ensure we stay strong together, and we do that by sticking to the ways we always have – keeping ourselves hidden from the humans and only diving into their world when it is absolutely necessary. We’ve hidden in plain sight for centuries; nothing has to change.”
More and more men in the room jump into the conversation until the room is booming with each of them all trying to get their say in. We were getting nowhere.
Alpha Conri roared, “ENOUGH.”
Everyone silenced.
“We will all take a few minutes to settle, then we will make our final votes on the matter.”
✧ ✧ ✧
They all voted no.
All of them.
Not a single one of them believed in what I could do to save the werewolves. Even my own father voted against me in the end.
All my training – down the drain.
It meant nothing.
As we all dispersed from the manor, my father put a hand on my back and tried to settle me. “It’s for the best, son. I’ve already spoken to Alpha Conri; you will still have an important place here in the pack. With your knowledge, we both agree that a place on his council will brilliantly suit you.”
I ignored him when I caught Remus in my line of sight. I rushed after him as he paced into the depths of the forest.
“Hadeon!” my dad called for me as I ran off.
As I caught up to him, I called out for him, “Remus.”
He turned around, confused, but as he locked eyes with me, his shoulders slumped. “Hadeon–”