Chapter 278: Grace
I didn’t know what to expect, but when I opened my eyes, my heart warmed a bit when I saw soldier after solider drop to their knees in a bow. I had never seen anything even remotely like it in my life. I had never had anyone follow me like this.
My eyes met Adrian’s, and I knew I had won, even if he didn’t yet. The only people still standing were those who had helped build the program. The ones who had stood by him and knowingly let him torture those kids or helped him do it. But there wasn’t enough of them to even put up a good fight. I had enough people now to dismantle his forces. They had seen the horrors that those still standing had inflicted for the sake of power. They had seen what had happened to their children to some small degree.
The rush of power that filled me, made me nearly drop Claire. I fought to stand on my own two feet as I felt the rage of my pack. I didn’t blame them. I hadn’t even known the Program had existed, but I had practically lived under a rock. They had known about the Program, but they hadn’t known what happened under its authority. And they were outraged.
I cradled Claire close to my body, and we walked the opposite direction of Adrian.
“I WILL KILL EVERYONE YOU HAVE EVER LOVED GRACE! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I AM CAPABLE OF. YOU WILL FALL UNDER MY CONTROL. EVERYONE WILL FALL UNDER MY CONTROL. I HAVE THE CHOSEN ONE.”
I shook my head sadly. He didn’t understand what I did now. I didn’t know who he was calling the Chosen One, but I was the Chosen One. The gods had picked me as their champion. They had decided that a Lycan girl could unite the world she lived in, and I was determined to do so. Failure was not an option. It never had been. But I understood my dreams now. Why the Moon Goddess had pulled me into her realm. For this moment, right now. I would defend the good, the innocent. For every kid that went through that program. For every kid that lives in fear after all they’ve done. But most importantly, I would do it for the girl inside me that never thought she would have a chance to be free. That girl who lived under a rock, and in prisons. For the girl who didn’t know love but was now lucky enough to be showered in it. I would do it for the girl who was never supposed to stand a chance. I would do it for me.
“No,” I answered simply. “No, you don’t.”
“You will regret not siding with me! I will destroy this pack. Piece by piece. And you will watch it all burn to the ground before I take your life.”
“I won’t.” I told him gently, turning back for only a moment, giving him and his followers a final glance. “And you won’t.”
“You’re going to let your mate talk to me like this?!” He demanded of Rhys as he placed his around me, and I knew I had his full support. “I CAN DESTROY YOU AND YOUR WHOLE DAMN PACK!”
And maybe in a different life, Rhys would have listened to him, but he shook his head and said, “No, you can’t. I’m with her. And I trust her to protect our pack.”
My heart swelled again at Rhys’ words, but I didn’t say anything. I didn’t have to. He trusted me, and that was enough. He trusted me to protect his pack. He trusted me to protect myself. But even more than that, he believed I could. I remembered the ‘prophecy’ he had told me about, and I wondered if he was thinking about it too, or if he was simply just in this moment with me. I reached for our bond, but it hardly gave anything away. I knew he was locked into this moment, and I didn’t blame him. One wrong move could change everything for us, even if I did have complete and total faith in my plan.
“I can give you answers you crave, Grace. Why we made the choices we made. We can rule together as the most powerful!”
I scoffed at him. I am the most powerful. I didn’t need him or his program junkies. I didn’t want to even walk the same earth as him. The answers I craved? There were none anymore. I had always wanted to know why I had been so hated among my pack, but Kinsley had told me. It was all her and her mother. Her mother had bound me. She had kept me from my family. She had me ridiculed, tortured, and eventually even thrown in prison. She even made me a full household slave in order to keep me in line.
But I was the true heir. I held all the power. Not Kinsley. Not Adrian. Me. And I was no longer afraid of fulfilling my destiny. As I looked over the ‘battlefield’ that had existed only minutes before, I was in awe. The witches stood saluting me. The Vampires had all moved into position behind their Queen, who gave me a subtle nod. None of them were standing with Elijah anymore. And then Lycans and Werewolves alike were all on their knees. At least most of them. Still bowing to me as if I had any right other than my birth to lead them.
“No, Grace,” A small voice I couldn’t place said. “This was always your path.”
I didn’t know if it was the Moon Goddess or my mom or someone else entirely. And honestly, it didn’t matter who said it, I knew what they said to be true. This was always my destiny.
Staring out over all of them, I knew there would be no hesitation with my next order. They all knew the truth now.
I wouldn’t be the one to kill Adrian and his followers.
“Finish them.” I told them all, forcing my voice to hold steady.
They would.