Chapter 54

Bri

I had let Sadie sit on the sidelines today, let her observe what her Luna did as High Priestess. The two eastern covens had argued over the fact that one wanted to purge and bind their young male witches, and the other opposed it. I found the idea insane. However, there were covens that favored sexes. I let them argue with each other before I cleared my throat.

Priestess Jillian, the one wanting to purge her males, was fuming.

“So you want to procreate with males because you cannot otherwise acquire growth, but you want to reject the children born that do not suit your interests?” She was playing with the wrong person here. I had been a castaway baby. She may not have done her research; that was her fault. The room became hushed. “These young men have presided in your coven for all these years, presumably nurtured by your teachings, and you want to dispel them? It makes me wonder what kind of life they have lived under your control. Feminism has its place in our world; however, if you were teaching them properly and not oppressing them and their own power, I doubt you would be here asking to bind and nullify their power so that you could dismiss your misdeeds or your negligence in teaching them the true meaning of the feminine sects of our people. My ambassador will be visiting your coven tomorrow. You will stay here with no contact, and don’t think a phone call to your second will go unnoticed.” I glanced at Zoey, who nodded. She would have that conversation bugged if it happened. “He will take statements from the coven members and report back. The males will have the option to transfer, which I am surprised wasn’t your first request if they presented unaligned with your coven’s mission. We presided in a world dominated by the gifts we are granted from birth, denying access to the knowledge that will aid our youth is a desecration to the power gifted to them. Asking to force your young witches out and bind them from their birthright tells me a lot about how you run your coven, and it will be investigated.”

I folded my hands into my lap. “Understand, I am all for the diversity of belief and honoring traditions. However, we are all children of our divine creators, they chose to give your sisters sons, you are defiling your beliefs by dishonoring the gift of sons nature has bestowed upon you, instead of teaching them the beauty and reverence of divine femininity that you claim you so covertly covet. You are failing your mistresses. Our youth is our future, no matter which sex they are born into being.

Sadie

If I thought being a Luna was hard, being the head of the North American Witches was beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I did have to admit my new luna was smart. She used her brain and let the witches bring out their true colors all on their own; incriminating themselves with little to no effort. She was sly as a cat with her tongue and laid out verdicts like a badger with no room for retort. The fear she instilled was palatable in the hall as she sat at the head. Emotions never crossed her features; unreadable, until she laid out her opinion and verdict. She held a stern unwavering exterior. They would be shitting their pants if they knew what else she was. Her verdict is sound, wise and unflinching. She didn’t give a damn who she made her enemy and I admired that.

After the last of the grievances of the day were heard and ruled on, the blond Trent held a brief whispered conversation with Zoey before he left with his lover presumably to pack his bags. I walked with Brianna and Zoey to Brianna’s chambers. I had lost track of their conversation as I sat on Brianna’s bed back against the headboard and staring out the balcony window to the gardens below. My wolf itched to explore the grounds under my skin. It had been a while since she urged me to shift. Reilly didn’t like her and had forbidden me to shift once he found out I was pregnant. I didn’t have much time before it wouldn’t be possible again. My hand idly rested on my stomach as my mind drifted to unwanted places.

Part of Reilly asserting his dominance over me had been encouraging others, mostly young males to treat me like shit. If ‘Daddy’ didn’t want me as his heir then I must be a disgrace to him. I had tried once to express the treatment I was being given. The manhandling, the unsolicited comments of “whore” or “slut”. He didn’t even attempt to hear me out. He instead told me to get over myself, females didn’t belong in a position of power for a reason, that I needed to learn to submit to my future alpha and whatever lesson he wanted to teach me was his right. Of course he never knew how far those lessons went. I never tried a second time. I was alone in my suffering, even my mother turned a blind eye to Reilly pushing me around or slighting me at every opportunity.  She had her own problem keeping father placated. The only time he took notice was when Bastien has gotten involved and made pack relations “messy”. Instead of punishing Reilly for instigating the other pack members to harass me when he wasn’t around. I was forced to drop out of school in order to not become another issue stirring the pot between packs. He didn’t want problems with the rougarou, understandably; Alpha Wyatt could wash the floor with any of the neighboring Alphas. All they had to do was give him a reason not to keep his head down. Wyatt had simply apologized and threatened that if Rielly ever stepped foot on his land again after he trespassed, he would forfeit his life. Apparently my half brother didn’t give a shit because he tried to sell me to them by doing just that. I had a feeling if Brianna hadn’t been newly turned and in the mix he would have done just that. I smiled though, she had said she made the coward piss himself twice.

The bed dipped beside me and I snapped out of it. My Luna nudged me with her shoulder.

“Whatcha thinking about little mama?” she asked.

“You're making Reilly piss himself,” I admitted without acknowledging the rest. She snorted and the sound coming from the woman I had just witnessed in the formal chambers of the witch council, seemed so ludicrous. Brianna was growing on me, I found I liked her a lot. She seemed to genuinely care more than anyone else ever had and knowing who she had to be for her people was one thing but watching her relax into her own identity which was much more intimately herself made me feel privileged.

“He's a coward, the first time I sicked my darkness on him and his boys thinking they could tress pass and the second he tried to touch me when he came asking about you. He found me all alone and thought he might be able to sample the goods. Lets just say you can’t intimidate a newly evolving rougarou in a soulbond heat. I had my claws around his balls when he heard Wyatt coming. He took off so fast…” she shook her head and chuckled. “I’m going to enjoy eviscerating him one day.”

I found her bloodthirstiness didn’t phase me. I believed her and Reilly had it coming for him. My child would be safer without his father in the world. I didn’t even regret not giving a fuck about it.

“Come, its time to see what the Western priest thinks about my proposal,” she said.

The question I wanted to ask was on the tip of my tongue, but I bit my lip thinking better of it. Best not overstep on my first days under her protection.

“What?” she asked, looking at me over her shoulder as she stood. Her hair was down and the long bouncy waves cascaded in a torrent, framing her pretty face. I blinked realizing how young she was, she acted so much older with my mom and most of her interactions. Seeing her be real right now left me in shock.

“Aren’t you afraid your mates are going to be pissed your parading someone else around as a suitor?” I decided to ask my first question.

She shrugged. “What protects me in this world is allies. I doubt he will be pleased with the development; however, what keeps me safe here keeps the pack, and what we are protected. It keeps the boys and my men from becoming a target for my enemies. This is how we can be together. I stayed away for a long time, thinking my suffering wouldn’t matter and they would move on. Walking away from them was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and believe me, I’ve endured some difficult times. The thing was, we were all suffering. I went through some of the hardest moments of my life without them, only to realize it was futile. The heart knows what it wants, where it belongs, and if this is a means to maintain that, they will get over their egos about the farce.” She told me. They must really be in love. The thought pulled a soft smile across my lips. I stood to follow her. She had changed into a seafoam green dress that made the pale green of her eyes pop.

“Can I ask you something else?”

“Of course,” she said, holding the door open for me.

“How old are you?’

“Twenty-three,” she stated as we moved down the hall. Damn, she was young. Very young to be taking on so much. Not to mention how much I presumed she had been through from what I had learned about her so far.

“Do you think he will accept?”

“He needs this alliance as much as I do. He’d be stupid not to accept,” she pointed out as Zoey bounced down the hall to meet us.

“What are we talking about, girlies?” Zoey asked.

“Slade and how the Reds will take the news,” it was obvious Bri was being careful how she spoke here, and I didn’t blame her. I had seen the daggers staring at her all afternoon.

“Please,” Zoey said, rolling her eyes. “I’ve never seen men more in love. All you have to do,”—Zoey waggled her eyebrows— “is get kinky, then they won't give a damn.”

Bri playfully shoved Zoe just as Trent and Andrew were walking up. They fell into step beside us.

“So how do we think this is going to go?” Trent asked.

“Favorably till the wolves find out,” Zoey said, coughing around the word ‘wolves’ to cover it up. Bri elbowed her.

“This might be the time to ask why, as your advisor, I wasn’t made privy to this development?” Andrew asked, clearly annoyed.

“Because I didn’t know I was going to suggest it, I had to get a ‘read’ on him,” she said, enunciating ‘read.’ “The idea came to me at the moment, and it solves a few of my problems if he agrees.

“Well, let's hope he does because word is Camilla is arriving tomorrow.” Andrew said, clearly annoyed with the idea. “They have been on you for the last year because you haven’t settled for someone to procreate and make the witches' lines stronger.”

Bri huffed as we got to the dining room doors. “Leave Camilla to me, I’m sure you can dig up some dirt I can use to deflect as usual,” she said, rolling her eyes as she opened the doors.