Cheryl’s stomach churned. A few weeks ago, she’d gone to see Gerri Wilder, the matchmaker who has never been wrong, which meant Cheryl was doomed to a life of being alone. “According to Gerri, either my soulmate hasn’t been born yet or is dead.” If she couldn’t be honest with her brothers, who could she be honest with.
“How can that be?” Coral rested a gentle hand on Cheryl’s leg. The love in Coral’s heart filled Cheryl like an overflowing waterfall.
True visionaries, which were more like oracles, were a strange breed. Their essence was almost always filled with robust kindness. It didn’t matter what they saw, they spread their delighted souls to all.
“It stumped Gerri too. She said she’d call me if something changed.” Cheryl waved her hand. “It doesn’t matter. I’m just glad it wasn’t Aron. That would have sucked.”
“He’s not that bad,” Chaz said.
Cheryl rolled her eyes. Aron had been hot on her heels for years. She thought he’d given up when she left for New York City, but the second she set foot on the farm, Aron was all paws. “He’s not that great, but that’s not the point. Our focus needs to be on the current threat.” Reaching across the coffee table, she snagged a red folder and held it in the air. “I did find something on a mythical creature during King Lear’s time.”
“What kind of creature?” Nico leaned against the doorjamb with his arms folded across his broad chest.
Drew had joined them on the sofa while Chaz still fiddled with a vase that seemed to constantly rattle. She loved her brothers and trusted them with her life. She’d do anything for them and anyone else in her pack. Or even the fairies. It’s why she moved back home. But she had expected that after they defeated Apep, she’d be able to return to her job and move back to New York City.
She let out a long breath. Her leaving the farm wouldn’t happen until the Wolfairies could use their power off her family’s land, and at this rate, she suspected it wouldn’t be until after Coral gave birth and that wouldn’t be for at least seven months.
“A wolf with no soul.” She opened the folder, setting a couple of images on the coffee table. The creature stood at least six feet on all fours. Its fur was black and its eyes as dark as night. “The Royals referred to him as Odon, which could be translated to death. It was believed that the wolf’s soul had been banished by a visionary, and it roamed the earth seeking revenge and going mad at the same time.”
“Was the creature destroyed? Or does it supposedly still wander around?” Nico had been charged with being protector and second-in-command to Chaz. No one could say Nico wasn’t the right wolf for the job. He had a deadly combination of brawn and brains.
As did his mate.
“I’ve found two written stories about Odon. One depicts him as a misunderstood creature. That he didn’t seek to harm people but instead wanted answers. The second story is that he led the march into the Royals’ castle and that it was Odon who killed King Lear’s wife and unborn son.” Cheryl had to admit that the wolf in the woods around the farm had the same lifeless eyes as this creature, but something about the wolf called to her in a way she thought she should understand.
But she didn’t.
“Those are two very different ideas,” Chaz said. “What are we to believe?”
“I have only seen the wolf in two visions,” Coral said. “The first one is him being injured, but I have no idea how. The second is of him walking with Cheryl’s wolf form on the farm.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Drew said with wide eyes. “I don’t want that thing on this land.”
“I have to agree,” Chaz said.
Cheryl didn’t care what they thought. She knew what she needed to do, and no one was going to stop her. Actually, she was going to get them to help her, even if it meant tricking them.
“The visions don’t indicate danger,” Coral said. “But we all know the other vision that Drew and I both had.”
Cheryl shivered. Ralph had explained that often visionaries had premonitions and that they were only possible outcomes. The research into King Lear and his visionary indicated the same, only the visionary of centuries ago had been fully developed. Coral was still growing and learning. Carrying twin Wolfairies had to mess that up since they were powerful creatures on their own. Daphne couldn’t control her twins when she’d been pregnant, and Finn and Ivy continued to be free spirits. Isadore had learned from Daphne, and so far, her pregnancy had been easier. Of course, Drew had an uncanny ability to diffuse hyperactivity, but it still wasn’t enough, and Chaz ultimately worried that the Wolfairies would somehow manage to permeate the protective layer, exposing themselves to the cruelties of the outside world with no powers at all.
“Your visions remind me of the books by Stephanie Meyer,” Cheryl said.
“You mean Twilight?” Coral asked.
Cheryl nodded. “Specifically the last one where one of the vampires shows a chosen future, and the other vampires decided the opposite is the better choice.” She took the images of the king-sized wolf and tucked them neatly back in the folder, making sure she didn’t glance into the beast’s eyes.
Every time she did that, her heart beat a little faster, and her body yearned for the kind of connections her brothers had found. It made no sense, other than she’d never seen a wolf the size of the one in the woods, which matched the one in the pictures. And if she was being honest, the wolf’s size really had nothing to do with it. It was what she saw when she dared look past the emptiness in his eyes.
“So, big sister, what do you suggest we do?” Chaz asked.
It was rare that an alpha of any pack,
