Chapter 25

Lauren

"...And the public has been advised to be careful as they go about their business. The serial killer is still at large, and the police and FBI are yet to identify who it is.”

I watch the TV with nervousness. This was the same serial killer that Sebastian and the Wolf Council are hunting down. Unbeknownst to humans, they were dealing with a supernatural creature—a rogue. The death toll has risen with a new murder every other week. Given the severity of the situation, the FBI decided to warn people. The same was done on our side, with the Council asking us to be on the lookout for rogues.

Rogues were wolves that were banished or refused to submit to pack rules. Usually, they weren't dangerous, just free-spirited. But there were those that were killers and lived to cause trouble.

I was honestly scared out of my mind. The troublesome rogues were problematic but never in this capacity. They killed mostly those that got in their way, but this? This was something different. I couldn't shake the images of the mangled bodies of the victims. Whoever was doing this needed to be stopped before humans caught on to the fact that the person committing these merciless killings wasn't human.

“Mommy, can we go play outside by the pond?” Krystal's voice interrupts my thoughts.

I turn to reply but I find her frozen, her face looking at the TV. She looks ashen and terrified. Shit! She shouldn't have seen that. I scramble to switch it off before turning back to her.

“Krystal?” I call, but she doesn’t answer. Her eyes are still fixed on the now-blank screen.

I call her again, but she still doesn’t answer. I move towards her and her eyes roll to the back of her head, leaving only the whites.

"Krystal!" I shake her, but nothing happens.

All of a sudden, she starts speaking. Her voice is unnaturally deep. She was talking in a foreign language—one I've never heard before.

"Please, baby, you're scaring me,” my voice trembles.

I couldn't stop the tears that were falling down my face, nor the shake that had taken over. I see Monica running into the living room.

"What's going on?”

She comes to stand next to me and stills, her mouth open in a gasp, her hand on her chest.

“I don't know. She was asking me if she could play, and then this happened. She won't answer me,” I cry, terrified.

Krystal continues talking in that foreign language. She suddenly twists and looks at me. She continues speaking as if I understand her, but I didn't understand shit. Just as I was about to tell Monica to call Sebastian, she collapses in my arms.

“Baby?” I ask, afraid. Checking her pulse, I sigh in relief when I feel it strongly.

Seconds in, she opens her eyes and they're back to normal. Her eyes fix on me. She looks at me strangely before smiling.

"You haven't answered me, Mommy. Can we go play?” she says, before her eyebrows scrunch in a frown. “And why are we on the floor? Why are you crying?”

I wipe the tears from my face, registering that Monica was kneeling beside me, her breaths fast and ragged.

“Krystal,” I begin. “Where did you learn that language?”

I was so confused. She has never taken any foreign language except Chinese, Italian, and French. What she spoke was neither of those. Neither was it any language I've heard before.

"What language? I just came to ask if Jax and I can play near the pond, but you won't answer,” she replies in exasperation.

It then occurs to me that she doesn’t remember. The last thing she seems to remember was about playing in the pond, but nothing else.

Shaken, I nod my head. “Okay, sweetie. But be careful.”

She hugs me before skipping away, calling Jax. He appears running down the stairs and they leave through the back door.

“Max!”

He was one of the warriors who was on duty today. He rounds the corner and enters the room. When he sees us, he frowns a little, probably wondering why we were on the floor.

“Yes, Luna?" he asks with a small bow.

“Please watch the kids. They've gone to play near the pond,” I say shakily.

He stares at us for a while before nodding. He then leaves, following after the children. The moment he does, I collapse on the floor. I pull my hands through my hair, now realizing that they were shaking.

“The language she spoke,” Monica begins.

I look at her, worried. “What about it?"

She looks at me in question, or was it wonder? I couldn't be sure.

“It's the forgotten language of the gods and goddesses,” she says, shaking my already shaken foundation.

"How do you know that?” I question her.

She answers immediately. “The Oracle speaks it sometimes, either when she gets a glimpse of the future or the goddess or fates are speaking to her, giving her a message or a warning of things hidden, unknown, or what's to come. I asked her once about it when I went to visit; she told me it's the language of deities.”

If what she was saying was true, then it meant that Sebastian was right. Krystal was the next Oracle. It was the only explanation.

"Please don't tell anyone about what you just saw,” I beg.

The less people knew, the better. You have no idea what would happen if the packs found out that the next Oracle has been chosen. There are people who would want to sell the secret. Packs will start fighting to have Krystal. Some will try to steal her from me, and there are those who would use her for evil.

“My lips are sealed, Luna. She's still just a child and should remain so until her time of ascending,” she replies. She pats me before leaving.

I get up on shaky legs and make my way to our bedroom. It was a Saturday. I was at home since I don't work on weekends. Sebastian wasn't around. We haven't spoken to each other since I stormed out of the restaurant.

I have avoided him since then. It was so embarrassing that I told him I wanted him and he told me he would never sleep with me. A good thing for me is that he made it easy to avoid him since he was rarely home. I didn’t know if that was on purpose, or if he was genuinely busy with the serial killer case. Either way, it suited me because I never want to set my eyes on the arrogant man ever again. I reach our bedroom just as I hear my phone ring. I cross the room and pick it up. I didn't recognize the number but I still answer it.

“Hello,” I say in a monotone voice.

“Hey Lauren, it's Lilly... Micah’s mate,” she sounded really nervous.

“Oh, hi Lilly. What can I do for you?” For some reason, it felt awkward speaking to her given the last time we spoke was weeks ago, when I first met her.

“I was wondering if you'd like to meet for lunch and maybe go shopping. I'm in town and I was hoping we could catch up.”

My heart drops at that because I usually met Claire on Saturday for our weekend out. Lilly seemed sweet and, by the way her voice was nervous, I could tell it took a lot for her to call.

“Shoot. I always have plans with my best friend on Saturdays, so I'm not sure I can make it,” I reply, feeling a bit guilty for turning her down.

"Oh, okay. That's alright. Maybe next time,” the disappointment in her tone pulls at my heartstrings. I hated hearing it.

“Maybe we can make it a threesome. Let me call Claire and get back to you in a minute. Okay?”

"Okay,” she says, hopefully.

I call Claire and just like I knew, she agrees and says it's okay for Lilly to join us.

I immediately call her back and she picks up on the second ring. “Meet us at La Vier.”

She replies with an okay before we both hang up. I get ready and soon I'm outside waiting for Hunter after bidding the kids goodbye. I get in the car and we drive off. We don’t say much since my mind is still on what happened earlier.

I can't help but wonder what the message was. Krystal had the episode after seeing the news on TV. I wondered if whatever she said was related to the murders. Did the goddess communicate something to her?

When we get there, I am lucky that there weren't too many paparazzi and that Hunter managed to deal with the few. I spot Lilly first and go to her.

"So glad to see you, Lauren... Hi, Hunter,” she hugs me before hugging Hunter too, who smiles at her. I grab her hand and lead her to where I knew Claire would be, since it's where we meet every Saturday. We find her seated, drinking a smoothie. Once she sees us, she stands up and starts walking, meeting us halfway.

“Claire, meet Lilly. Beta female to the Black Mist pack. Lilly, this is Claire. My best friend and the female Beta of the Silver pack.”

"You look oddly familiar,” Claire says, studying her.

I chime in with a smile. “That's what I said.”

Lilly laughs and they greet each other. I already could tell that the three of us were going to be great friends.

"So, where do we begin first? Shopping or lunch?” I ask, and they both shout "shopping," making me laugh. I laugh even harder when Hunter cringes.

I link my hands with each of them and we begin our shop-fest. This was just what I needed to get my mind off what happened with Krystal. I had no answers and there was no use obsessing over it. An hour later, we each had multiple shopping bags while Hunter carried the rest. We decide to finally have lunch. We were on our way to eat when we passed a sex shop. I skid to a halt, making the others stop too.

"What is it?” Lilly asks.

I wanted to get in, but Hunter was with us. I turn to look behind us and see that he is a bit far behind. Without thinking, I drag the two women in with me.

"What the hell?” Claire yells.

“Shut up! I need something to spice things up and most humans say toys are the best way to do that,” I lie.

There was just no way I was going to tell them that my sex life was basically non-existent and I needed the toys for relief.

"Oooh, I've always wanted to try a vibrator,” Lilly chimes in, making me relax a little. At least I didn't feel like a weirdo.

“How may I help you, ladies?” The voice makes us jump in embarrassment. It was as if we were caught doing something naughty.

“I, uh—we were looking for sex toys,” I reply, nervously and with a bit of embarrassment.

The guy with the pink Mohawk regards us; it was so unnerving. “You've never shopped for sex toys before, have you?”

I shake my head.

A big smile takes over his face before he ushers us deeper into the store.

“Well, my name is Tom and let me introduce you to this amazing world.”

We stop in the middle and we gasp. I feel like I've just stepped inside a porn shop. What the hell have I gotten myself into?