Wolf Queen - Book 1 of The Nightfall Series

Fifteen

The power of the divines had always held a mysticism that no one could fathom to understand. The true workings of the Goddess were unbeknownst to all but herself, she worked in mysterious ways.

Reincarnation was common within their world. Souls that passed on and then were re-born again and again. Adelaide had always had an aptitude for souls throughout her life. Conduits always showed a flair of a gift from a young age.

It was why she no longer held any connection to the pack. The tearing of her mother and siblings' souls had been magnified with her gift, it was what crippled her beast, and had turned her feral.

She could see the bonds between people, sensed them all around her. She could bind mates together, take away their choice or solidify it; if she wanted too. Her ability also allowed her to see strengths and weaknesses which she used to vicious effect after her world had darkened.

It also meant that she knew exactly who and what the boy was since their first meeting. She could see it in his eyes, the beast that prowled at bay. Locked away behind oppression and fear. His father the main reasoning for his belated maturity. For his age he should have manifested as a child just as she had. A re-birth, especially that of a High Alpha usually manifested young so that they could grow into their role.

In Adam's case it hadn't happened, and it was strange.

It had been a few months since her arrival back in her family home and Adelaide had found herself moulding into a routine with the individuals that now occupied it. She had lost her abilities since her connection to the Goddess had been broken. Her hair and eyes still held its silver hue but the presence at the back of her mind was no longer there.

Although her absence from the Moon Valley had caused her regression back to herself before her abilities she was still the most powerful beast on the food chain. And she still felt the presence of Adam despite him being miles away.

A connection had been made when she had looked into his mind. Woven by the Goddess herself. She couldn't push it away nor break it despite how much she wished to be rid of it. She had come to terms with the fact that she could not be rid of him, by order of the Moon, and instead keep close watch on him.

She could feel his strength and power as if it was dust resting within the air she breathed. Intoxicating and addicting to a power-hungry creature. He had grown, and she could only assume that her father was the reason for it.

The Alpha's would have needed a figurehead now that she was gone. She knew that they had discarded her once the announcement of a re-birth had reached their ears. They did not want to abide by the old ways and therefore had jumped at the chance of following a new symbol to lead their war.

Foolish men with vicious ambitions. Leonidas and her father would have had no choice but to guide the boy and push him through to his highest potential. They would have to teach him in months what she had learnt in years and he had no choice in the matter. Only a pre-determined destiny that was not his own.

Adelaide chuckled to herself lowly as she pulled herself from her thoughts. It was not even midday and she was already turning her mind towards things that would eventually lead down a dark path. She was trying to do better, to be better.

She sat atop the small cliff that sat at the top of a rocky hillside to the north of the house. It gave a perfect view of just above the treeline, over the entire territory. She had taken to coming up every day to meditate and survey for trespassers or changes to the land. She had bonded with Georgia and Theo and wanted to keep them safe, despite Theo's hardness towards her.

The rustle of leaves and the snap of a twig to her right didn't make her tense up or freeze. She simply sat still as her legs dangled in the air and took slow, calm breaths.