The Rise of Venus

Reading the Signs

Song: dark academia playlist by oliviaalee

"This is nauseating."

"This is politics," Mera chuckled. I rolled my eyes and slouched deeper in my chair. Wooden splinters poked at my back and I shifted for what must've been the millionth time. I'd been sitting in this very seat since I was old enough to attend Pack meetings at thirteen and I still hated it. One of my many great grandfather's had built it during the early conception of our Pack and it'd been here ever since. Hell, every chair and piece of furniture in the Pack House had been here for a long time.

Now, don't get me wrong, I adored the physical mark my family left behind on the land.

But it wouldn't kill us to make new chairs.

"Enough!" Mother shouted. At the sound of her rough voice the arguing ceased and the surrounding Werewolves sat back down. The intensity of my Luna's bright blue eyes caused me to bolt upright in my chair. Mera snickered at my change in posture and I kicked her under the table. "Arguing will get us nowhere."

"Neither will attacking," Father agreed. His pale thumb ran alongside Mother's clenched fist, soothing her sudden outburst. Strands of silver clung to her body, signalling her rising agitation. "We need more information before we wage war against the wrong Coven."

Father's brown eyes found his angered Beta and he said in a gentle tone, "Listen first, Ivar. I know you want revenge. But first, we must talk."

Beta Ivar, in my opinion, had every right to yearn for blood. After all, it was him who almost lost the life of his Mate and their unborn child. Sure, they'd made it through the worst of it and the Healers had managed to stabilize both mother and child. However, the impact of magick on the fetus was still unknown. The odds of her losing the child or it being born deformed were far too high for comfort.

Mera leaned into her father's side and whispered words of comfort into his ear. His firstborn pup eased the Beta's temper somewhat. But it could never be fully placated without his Mate by his side. I said a mental prayer for the health of Beta Rhea before turning away from the intimate scene of father and child.

"Serene, what do you remember about Rowena?" Father asked.

Mother's hands came to rest in her lap. Silver sparks jumped between her pointer fingers and I knew she was in a deep thought. It was her one and only tell I'd ever noticed in my entire twenty years of life. "I remember her being a wanderer. She never stayed with one Coven for long and she was always on the move."

She sounded like a Rogue to me.

"When did you know her?" Delta Snow was the only one of Father and Mother's Court not too keen on jumping into a counterattack. I respected him for that.

Murdering Rowena with my family last night had quenched my bloodthirst. Once I received news of Malec's safety and the minimal loss of lives, the urge to kill vanished. Now, all I wanted was answers and a reason why.

Pack skirmishes and the occasional Rogue infringing on our territory wasn't unusual. But a full scale attack from unknown Witches? Now that was a new one.

The treaty between Werewolves and Witches simply didn't allow it.

Which meant that if we didn't get to the bottom of this soon, we'd have a war on our hands and no one was looking forward to that. Generations of peace were now threatened for reasons unknown and that terrified me.

I hated lacking knowledge in areas where it was crucial.

A good leader was wise in the ways of the world and led with clever tactics. A great leader was strong not only in physicality but wit. A respectable leader predicted waves before they even dared crash upon the shore.