Chapter 52

*****Phoenix’s perspective*****

I saw Strix fall to the ground. She clutched Billy in her lap. And then it happened. Everyone fell to the ground clutching their heads. Shawn and Ben crawled to her and snapped her out of it. The pain stopped. Then she stood up and looked over the mountain and I saw our enemies fall again. Clutching their heads as they began to explode. Our fight was over. We all looked at EJ. Khenzu got distracted by Strix’s display and EJ ripped his heart out and ate it. I almost threw up. I was not expecting that. We had won, but at what cost? Half of the Barnettes lay dead, Strix was remade. EJ ate the heart of a god, what does that mean for him?

We cleaned up the battlefield. The Barnettes took their dead home. The witches gathered their dead and did the same as did the lycans. I ordered my people to do the same. We would not leave our fallen behind. These brave men and women fought for the survival of all supernaturals. Before we left, I ordered a monument to be erected in their honor. No one would know what happened here except us and other supernaturals. We would never forget.

*****Shawn’s perspective*****

It’s been a week since I helped Strix and her family bury their dead. We had created a small cemetery on their estate. I didn’t know what to say to her. I lost my father, too, did not seem like the right thing to say. I was grieving and I could feel her grief, too. Hers was a bottomless pit of anguish and despair. But something about her had changed. The power she displayed on the field was not telepathy. It was raw emotion that she shared with everyone. I had to help her let it go or it would consume her. I have heard about this happening with empaths. When they feel something so strongly they can’t contain it, the emotions explode out of them. But Strix is not an empath. What happened on that field? I know what I saw and what I felt, but Strix changed. She isn’t the same person anymore. And not just because of the deaths she has suffered.

I took over the pack as Alpha. It was a lot of work. Kyle took his place as my beta and Jake Meyers took his place as my gamma. We had a lot of work to do. We had lost thirty-seven wolves in that battle. Twenty-three of our families would never be the same. We had to look out for them now. Wives and mothers grieved for their losses as the pack grieved the loss of our Alpha, my father. I spent as much time as I could with Strix and EJ but I had three funerals a day to preside over. It wasn’t easy. I asked Taylor and Ben to keep an eye on Strix and EJ. I couldn’t believe my son ate Khenzu’s heart. I didn’t have time to ask him why either. I would have to ask him later. I hated leaving them, but I had a job to do and I would make my father proud. Someday we would get past all of this. Until then, we have work to do.

*****EJ’s perspective*****

I was starting to worry. I ate Khenzu’s heart. I had read in one of our histories that eating the heart of your enemy gives you their powers. I didn’t actually intend to eat it. It just happened. Now everyone is worried about what it will do to me, except mom. She has been different lately. We all have, but she is more different. She’s kind of in a zombie mode most of the time. Like she is trapped in her head or something. Only dad seems to be able to snap her out of it. I can’t worry too much about her though, I have work to do.

I called for a council meeting. I wanted to discuss changes that need to be made and some new laws I want to implement. We would all be united as one or those who would oppose will die. It is the only way to protect ourselves. If we can’t be united, more fights will occur. We can’t fight among ourselves if we are to survive. Any and all disputes must come before the council. Also Aunty Rose is going to take over for Uncle Donnie on the council.

*****Strix’s perspective*****

I was trapped reliving the last moments of battle over and over again. I couldn’ believe they had died. I was lost and felt all alone. I knew I still had Shawn, EJ, and the others. But I felt like they didn’t understand. Maybe because I had spent the most time with Billy, Donnie, Karmen and Elizabeth. I was more attached. Every once in a while, Shawn would snap me out of it, but then when he left again, I was trapped all over again. I knew he had a role to fill and a job to do, so I didn’t blame him, but I needed him to keep me sane.

I still don’t know exactly what it was that I did on the battlefield, but it worked. I just wish it had happened before they died. I know it was triggered by my emotions, so if they hadn’t died, I would not have been able to do what I did. I thought I had screamed but everyone tells me I didn’t, that I just sat there holding my father when everyone collapsed and their heads felt like they were about to explode, the same way my head felt.

I hate being trapped in my head. I feel like I am missing things in the real world. I want to be there for Shawn. He lost his father, too. I want to grieve with him. Next week, we will be moving into the packhouse. I know he didn’t think we would be doing that this soon. EJ will start going to the pack school in the fall. We have to get him tested to see where he is at academically. I know he is smart. He will also get to know other kids. Shawn says he will need bodyguards, but after the fight with Khenzu, I don’t think that is necessary. But I will allow it.