𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁, ahs.

xxi | the alpha

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

"I'M APOPLECTIC!" MYRTLE EXCLAIMED, BURSTING THROUGH THE DOORWAY.

"yes, you mentioned that on the flight back. more than once." cordelia muttered.

"and you never finished a sufficient answer. how could you agree to allow a male to attempt the seven wonders?" myrtle asked, raising her voice, "you know the alpha is a child's tale, a lulluby impotent men tell flaccid little boys to make them believe one day they'll be someone special! time, and time again, history has shown the hubris of men knows no bounds. have we learned nothing from attila the hun, herod the great, mark zuckerberg?! men make terrible leaders."

"i've seen what's ahead. carnage. the end of the world. my girls dead." cordelia sighed, "i'm scared, myrtle. what if it's my hubris, my inability to cede my position to this boy that leads us down this dark path? i will not put my own selfish desires over this coven. i am not my mother!

"let fiona teach us one thing; passing the seven wonders does not inherently mean one is fit to lead the coven." myrtle explained.

"there will come a day when i have to identify my successor." cordelia said.

"when that day comes, cast your net wide. you yourself we're overlooked. no one even imagined that you would emerge until your power was undeniable. there's powerful magic within these very walls, my child. our own mallory, for example."

"i was out with some of the girls, gathering herbs for a ratatouille, and she evidenced something most extraordinary. mallory did not just heal the wombs, she undid them. it was unlike any magic i had ever seen."

"i was langdon who brought queenie and madison back. you cannot deny his power."

"why are you so eager to affirm it?" myrtle asked, "all i ask is that you delay the test, give another delia time to blossom."

"there is no time. i'm fading." cordelia said.

"nonsense! you've just been over stressed, my dear. nothing a little centrum silver couldn't cure." myrtle argued.

"my powers are growing weaker, i feel it. i'm dying." cordelia sat down.

"my dear, you've just reached your prime." myrtle rested her head on cordelia's lap and cried.

"miss cordelia?" mallory stepped through the doorway.

"yes?" she asked, standing up.

"sorry to interrupt, the new girls, or, the old girls have just settled. and your two o'clock is here to see you."

✧

zoe paced around the room in worry. she knew it wasn't her place to question the supreme, but she couldn't help wonder if she was making a mistake.

zoe's stopped in her tracks when her brown eyes settled on a framed photograph sat on her dresser.

it was a picture of billie, her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her pink lips were curved upwards in a smile.

zoe didn't realize she was crying until she saw tears fall onto the glass cover of the photo.