Chapter 624 – She’s angry.
The shaman looked at them with deep sorrow, her ancient eyes reflecting centuries of wisdom and pain. "It’s time for me to transition to the ethereal realm," she began, her voice carrying the weight of finality.
Voren remembered the story Kylie had told them. Everything began to go wrong at the Centenary pack after the death of their shaman, and sadly, they never got a replacement.
"No." Voren’s voice was sharp, urgent. "You can’t leave us. We need you, shaman." His hands clenched at his sides. "What can we do to make you stay?"
The shaman smiled, a genuine one that softened her features. Voren’s demand touched her heart, the sincerity in his voice warming something deep within her.
"Because you have accepted, in spite of how powerful you are, that you still need guidance..." She paused, her eyes closing again. The silence stretched for at least two minutes before she opened them, her gaze clear and certain. "Your mother will take my place."
Voren’s breath caught in his throat. Before he could speak, the shaman continued. "For someone trapped between both words, she won’t return normal, and her powers will be greater than mine," she paused briefly before adding, "that is, if the right sacrifices are made."
"What do we need for this sacrifice?" Voren asked seriously, his jaw set with determination. He would do whatever it took, pay whatever price was demanded.
The shaman looked at Seraphine, her gaze piercing and unblinking. "A white wolf."
Voren regretted pushing for the solution instantly. His blood ran cold, his heart seizing in his chest. "No." His voice was absolute, brooking no argument. "There should be a way. My wife is pregnant with twins." He leaned forward, his arm protectively wrapped around Seraphine. "She needs her wolf, not just for herself, but for the pack."
"But I don’t mind —"
"Keep quiet, Sera." Voren’s voice was raised, sharp and commanding, making Seraphine coil back in surprise. His expression softened instantly, regret flooding his features.
"I’m sorry, but let me do the talking." His voice dropped, pleading. "Because everything you say will be used against you."
He knew how these things worked. The ancient magic of sacrifice was a negotiation, a dance between the living and the ethereal. If he kept pushing, there would be other ways, other options.
But if Seraphine accepted the sacrifice, offered herself willingly, then there would be no available alternatives. The binding would be complete.
Both women mattered to him. His mother and his wife, and he had to be wise about it. He couldn’t lose either of them.
"I didn’t mean to yell." His voice was remorseful, his hand tightening around her, drawing her close. "Please, let me handle this, okay?" His voice was pleading, almost as if he was afraid of losing her, of her slipping through his fingers like sand.
"Esperanza is another option," the shaman said, her voice cutting through the tension.
"No." Voren and Seraphine spoke at the same time, their voices overlapping in fierce unison.
They exchanged glances before Voren continued, his tone unyielding. "Espe is young. She hasn’t even gotten her wolf yet. She’s just a child."
"I mean her powers," the shaman corrected, her eyes glinting with ancient knowledge. "Her white wolf powers. They already exist within her, active and stronger, than her mother’s."
Voren remembered he hadn’t told the shaman about Espe’s mother. "How did you know that Sera is her biological mother?"
"I said it before. Long medication heightens my visions. I know more than I did before, and trust me, she can handle it.
But Voren refused, shaking his head firmly. "No." His voice was resolute. "I cannot allow my daughter to make that sacrifice. Her powers will be her value to her mate when she reaches the right age." He met the shaman’s gaze, his eyes burning with conviction. "They will be her strength, her bargaining chip, her protection. I will not strip her of that."
The shaman’s eyes watered, tears glistening in the candlelight. Voren was not saving Espe’s powers for himself, but for her future. If she didn’t find her mate at the Grimroot pack, then there was a probability of her joining another pack, and her powers would be her asset, her leverage, her way of standing up for herself.
He was thinking decades ahead, protecting his daughter’s future with the same ferocity he protected her present.
"We shall revisit that." The shaman’s voice was gentle but firm. "But because Olivia caused all of this, her life must be exchanged for us to get the vial that Vlad has to journey for three days to give to his real wife." She paused, letting the weight of her words settle. "They are twins, after all, and have both tasted the same man."
For the first time, nobody had any objection. The justice of it was poetic, karmic.
"We are fine with that." Vladimir’s voice was serious, grim. His eyes held no mercy for the woman who had stolen his wife’s life.
The shaman continued, her voice taking on a rhythmic quality. "The wolf she would have received has long been given to somebody else. So we need the sacrifice of a white wolf’s power to make your mother’s soul complete before she can journey back." Her gaze settled on Vladimir. "And that is, if Vlad is able to convince her."
"What do you mean by that?" Vladimir asked worriedly, his brow furrowing. He had thought it was enough to just journey to the ethereal realm to give the vial to his wife. The simplicity of the plan had given him hope.
"She’s angry." The shaman’s voice was flat, unyielding. "Because you didn’t fight for her. You moved on as if she never existed."
"I didn’t know." Vladimir’s voice cracked, tears streaming down his weathered face. "I was deceived."
The shaman’s voice was stern, ancient wisdom cutting through his grief. "That is between the two of you. But if you don’t return within seventy-two hours, then both of you will be buried together."
Voren was about to suggest something, to offer himself in his father’s place, but Vladimir beat him to it, his voice thick with resolve. "I will do it. I will bring her back."
"In that case," the shaman asked, her gaze sweeping across the assembled group, "which of the white wolves would sacrifice their powers for Luna Oriana’s awakening?"
Two she-wolf voices echoed together, strong and unwavering. "I will."