Integrated

Marriage

Jackson was chopping wood while Crawford and I were sitting near him. Elias had gone back to Europe for a couple of weeks.

"You wanna stop playing mountain-man and explain why you kept this from me?" Hayley directs at Jackson.

I see her holding a leather journal. I look at Jack who sighs and puts down the axe.

"Why don't I jog your memory?" Hayley opens the journal and starts reading it.

"The werewolves' power can be traced back to the myth of the Unification Ceremony, a ritual that bestowed certain unique abilities onto every member of the pack." I look over at Jack who looks guilty but doesn't say anything.

"Do you believe this?" Hayley asks.

I look at Jack who sighs before he answers.

"I didn't at first. And then Ansel swore he saw it with his own eyes. And then he dies, and I found out he was resurrected from a thousand years ago, which means he was alive to see it!"

Hayley looks at us. "How did I not know about this?"

Crawford wraps his arms around me.

"You didn't grow up out here. Yeah, every kid grows up hearing the stories. Back in the day, werewolf bloodlines were all distinct, right? Some had speed, some had strength, some could sense enemies from miles away. Now, to evolve, we would perform a ritual. A shaman would marry the alphas of each bloodline, and then the special abilities of each would be... inherited, mystically, by everyone who participated in the ritual. See, after a few centuries, everybody had the same abilities, so alpha marriages became political. They became about... power, about territory."

I look at Hayley. Who looks at me.

"But I have a unique ability. Because I'm a hybrid, I can control when I change! So, if this mystical marriage thing works, then-- then our people get my power, and they can ditch the rings!" I smile at Hayley then look over at Jack who looks slightly torn.

"Which means Esther no longer has a hold over them!" Jack nods at her.

"Jack, this is exactly the answer that we've been looking for! Let's find a shaman, we'll say some vows. Hell, we'll make it a party!"

I look at Jack who shakes his head.

"It ain't just a party. If the vows ain't honored, it doesn't work." I look at Hayley and I know exactly why her face falls.

"It's gotta be a real marriage, in every way, for the rest of our lives. Are you up for that?" Jack asks her. She looks like she wants to speak but doesn't.

I look at Jack with sympathy. "Didn't think so."

Jack continues to cut wood again, leaving Hayley to think.

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Jackson, Crawford, and I had made it to St. Anne's where Aiden and the wolves were.

"Why the hell is she here? She's a blood sucker." A wolf asks.

"Oh, really?" I glare. I show my eyes as an amber shade that every wolf has.