**Otto’s POV
It seed a bit strange to step outside in the morning and not see a dead body.
Every day since I’d first started hearing the fighting nearby, I’d co out to find their bodies littering the ground.
It’s nearly impossible to tell a friendly dead wolf from an enemy dead wolf.
I would spend a few hours dragging them away from my ho to keep the wild animals, the bugs, and the sll away.
But hopefully, that was all over.
This was the third morning in the past few weeks that I had been able to co out of my hiding spot in the morning and not see a dead wolf lying within a hundred yards of my cottage.
I took a look around before I completely revealed myself, but I didn’t see any suspicious wolves anywhere.
Perhaps the fact that the only howls I’d heard the night before had co in the distance truly did an that the war was being pushed back in the other direction.
It was almost too good to be true, but I wanted to believe it.
I wanted to believe that King Jas and his forces were being successful, and we were finally winning the war.
Living on the outskirts of the village would’ve been dangerous but I wasn’t willing to leave the cottage as that was the only thing my parents left . They died protecting , and this was my ho.
The thought of my parents brought tears to my eyes, but I told myself I needed to be strong. I was sixteen years old, and I was determined to beco a warrior and fight for my country. Warriors should not cry.
I took a deep breath of the fresh air and decided it was ti to venture into the village. I needed supplies, and even though the last ti I had been there, staples were in low quantities, I wanted to see how the situation was and what the villagers had to say.
I still needed to be cautious. Just because I didn’t sll any enemy wolves near my ho, that didn’t an none were stationed between myself and the village, which was a mile away.
Taking my ti, I stayed off of the road, winding my way through the trees instead, and ca to the village a different way so that if any soldiers were stationed at a checkpoint, I wouldn’t get myself into trouble.
When I ca into town between the tavern and the shoe shop, it seed clear to that the entire village had noticed a change.
A smile lit my face as I erged and walked among the other villagers. I didn’t see a lot of people that I knew there, but people who were out seed to be safe and sound.
“Otto! Kiddo!” one of the n I knew well, Mr. Benjamin, shouted. “So glad you were able to make it to town.” Then he gave a very tight hug and said, “So sorry about your parents! We were worried about you. Why didn’t you co to the village?”
“I’m fine, Mr. Ben,” my throat was tight, “I was able to hide myself.”
“Thank goodness,” he said. “It seems it’s all over now. The enemy invaders have been forced off by our Alpha Ethan.”
“It was Alpha Ethan’s army?!” I asked.
No wonder. He was said to be invincible and never lost a battle. Now I knew for sure we were saved!
“Indeed, several of them are still stationed here in the village to ensure that we stay safe,” he continued, gesturing toward the end of the main street. I saw a few soldiers in the distance.
“If you want to stay at our house to make sure you’re not hard, you know you’re more than welco. The wife won’t mind one bit!”
“Thank you, Mr. Ben,” I told him. “But I think I’ll be just fine at my house.”
I said a quick prayer to the Moon Goddess.
Alpha Ethan saved us. May the Goddess bless him...May the Goddess also bless us so that the situation stayed this way and the tides of the war didn’t shift again–
Then I caught a glimpse of soone. A stranger.
His moves held power and strength. He should be intimidating, but I knew he wouldn’t hurt .
He noticed that I was watching him, and he started to walk towards . I froze, and the mont I t his gaze, I found myself lowering my head uncontrollably.
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**Ethan’s POV
I wanted to find the seer who had connected with Rosalie earlier. Because of her, I witnessed the birth of my child and was sure that Rosalie was okay. I was grateful for what she did.
If there was one thing that Rosalie had taught , it was that gratitude was imperative, and I hadn’t shown much of it over the last few years.
The seer had done a great service to , so I wanted to at least thank her in person before heading back to the battlefield.
Walking through the streets of the village, I tried to find her on my own, but I didn’t see her anywhere. I decided it would be best to just ask.
I saw a young man just finishing his conversation with soone.
“See you later, Otto!” the other man shouted.
“Goodbye!” Otto replied and then he saw .
He seed like a pleasant enough fellow to ask.
“Otto,” I called his na.
“Y-yes, sir?” he said, bowing his head.
He was obviously nervous around , like most people would be.
I put up a hand to stop him from bowing down more.
“I was wondering... I spoke to a woman earlier. Soone called her a seer. Do you happen to know where I might find her?”
His eyes widened with recognition, and then he nodded. “Oh, yes. Gayla. She lives in a cabin a couple of blocks over. Head straight that way, and you’ll see it. The place is small with all kinds of charms and the like hanging from the windows and the porch.”
Having always been a skeptic of magic and that sort of thing, I wasn’t sure what to think, but I nodded my thanks and headed on my way.
After all, it didn’t matter how skeptical I was before my experience. I knew what I had witnessed was real.
Otto’s direction was clear. It wasn’t difficult at all to find the house—especially since the seer, Gayla, was sitting outside. Several other won were there, and they were on the porch, visiting while they snapped green beans.
However, Gayla wasn’t snapping beans, she was sitting in a rocking chair, her hands on the armrests, staring off into the distance.
I wondered if she was even part of the conversation.
On my arrival, the conversation shifted. “Good morning, sir,” one of the won said, bowing her head, “Can we help you with sothing?”
Before I could say anything, Gayla spoke in a hoarse voice, “Girls, this is Alpha Ethan. Leave us.”
All the other won looked at surprised. Then they all bowed their heads to and left the porch montarily.
However, a couple of them didn’t go far. They just moved to the other side of the yard and waited for us to finish our conversation..
“Hi Gayla, I just ca here to thank–”
I was about to climb up the porch to see her when she got up out of the chair and walked toward , making her way down the steps and across the path to co to stand right in front of .
I was surprised to see that she didn’t need any help to move around, as if she was able to see everything without the use of her eyes.
Drawing in a deep breath, Gayla’s hand jutted out, and she placed it on my forehead, her bony fingers spread wide as they splayed between my hair. Her hand trembled slightly as she began to speak in a low, deep whisper, her crystalline eyes seeming to look right through .
“Great evil awaits you in the land of icy winters where the moose run thick and the queen has slept these many years. Do not proceed down your chosen path, Alpha Ethan Gray. If you do, the ground will be coated in crimson, and you shall see the world through orbs of the sa shade!”
With that, she withdrew her hand, gasping for air, her shoulders shaking violently, and her arms dancing like twigs in a violent storm.
“Gayla!” the won shouted. Two of them ran to stand on either side of her to make sure she was steady on her feet, their hands at the ready.
“I am unhard,” she said, waving them off. “But the words I speak are the truth, Alpha Ethan.” She pointed a crooked finger in my direction, her head tipped slightly to the side as she said with a determined tone, “Do not go north.”
A cold chill ran down my spine as if a northern breeze had just arrived to punctuate her sentence.
I wasn’t sure what to say. Whatever happened in the north wasn’t my concern right now– I wasn’t planning on going north.
With that, I cleared my throat, “Gayla, I ca here to thank you for helping earlier,” I said, my eyes shifting to the other won. I wasn’t sure how much of what had transpired they needed to know about.
Perhaps they were familiar with Gayla’s magic; perhaps they weren’t. That didn’t make any more comfortable acknowledging it aloud to strangers.
Gayla only stared at as if I hadn’t spoken to her at all.
Clearing my throat, I continued. “I appreciate what you did, giving the opportunity to... see... what I’ve been missing.”
Her face was unchanging as she said, “Unwillingness to believe will not change the unraveling thread, Alpha. Whether you choose to accept that these things will co to pass or not has no bearing whatsoever on how the events will fall along the continuum. Your fate can be changed, but you hold it in your own hands. Change your course to alter your destiny or else what I have foretold will befall you sooner rather than later.”
That eerie tone she’d used before was only slightly noticeable now, but her words were still clear.
She believed what she was telling . That was clear from her disposition. She also wanted to believe it.
But it didn’t matter.
“Thank you again, Gayla,” I said. “I appreciate your insight, and your ti.” I nodded at her and turned to leave.
One of the other won caught up with . “Excuse , Alpha, sir,” she said, placing her hand on my arm. “I don’t an to pry....” A middle-aged woman with curly dark hair tied up in a bright cloth wrapped around her head, she looked motherly, like perhaps she was used to giving people unsolicited recomndations.
I looked down at her hand, and she withdrew it. The old would’ve said, “If you don’t an to pry, then don’t,” but I bit my tongue and only said, “Yes?”
“Gayla is never wrong. Her visions are always right, and she’s been telling citizens of our village and the surrounding area what the future holds for many decades. She foresaw this war, and that’s part of the reason many of us were able to hide. Please, sir, I know it’s not my business, but please... consider following her advice.”
I continued to walk, and she walked alongside . “You’re right,” I told her. “It’s not your business. Thank you,” I told her. “I will take care of my own affairs.”
The woman opened her mouth again, as if she might try again, but then she closed it for a mont. When she spoke again, she said only, “Thank you so much, Alpha. We appreciate all that you’ve done for us. We only want what’s best for you.”
To that, I said, “You are welco,” and headed back to camp.
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