NOVA NYX 🌙
It was bound to happen.
In fact, I'm surprised she didn't do it sooner.
It's been exactly one month since my little run in the library with Saoirse and while I'm not surprised that she chose to retaliate against me, I am surprised that it took this long.
Jade spotted them the moment I did, her quick intake of breath letting me know that whatever it read on the poster was bad.
She attempted to reach for the poster and rip it off the wall when I stopped her, scanning the contents.
"You think that this is supposed to hurt me?" I said calmly into the quiet hallway brimming with students whose gazes were bouncing back between me and a smirking Saoirse "I'm proud of where I come from."
The gasps sounded from everywhere and when I turned to confront Saoirse head on, I found almost every shifters face displaying some kind of horrified stare.
"You hear that everyone?" Saoirse cooed, her friends giggling from behind her "Our newest Heir here, your future leader, is a normie sympathizer. Raised by her own kidnappers and forced to live amongst those monsters, sharing their ideas and way of life, looking down at us just because we're different and were blessed with gifts their puny little minds couldn't even begin to comprehend."
Whispers and sneers were pointed my way, a few muttered remarks ringing out from somewhere behind me.
I glared at each and everyone one of them before locking eyes with Saoirse.
"If this was supposed to humiliate me or make me feel bad about where I come from, then you epically failed."
"I don't think I did" she murmured, grinning at me as her eyes shifted around the crowed hall "It turned exactly how I imagined it would."
While I didn't let any of the emotions play out on my face, I cursed at myself when I realize her intentions.
This wasn't meant for my public humiliation...
This was meant to undermine my new status and get the shifters at this school to doubt my loyalties and intentions.
"What in the ever-loving fuck is going on here?" a familiar voice barked as three sets of heavy footsteps sounded from behind us.
I turned in time to watch the hallway part as three very pissed off Alpha's approach us, at least a dozen posters clutched tightly in each of their fists.
While Saoirse remained stock still, from the corner of my eye I noticed that her clique took a giant step away from her.
Cowards...
Phoenix, Atlas, and Kassian stopped right in front of me, their eyes taking in both Saoirse and I's tensed positions.
"What is the meaning of this Saoirse?" Phoenix barked at her.
She just fluttered her eyelashes innocently up at him "Whatever do you mean Phoenix?"
"Cut the shit Fowl" Atlas growled "We know you orchestrated all of this."
Her innocent act dropping as she sent Atlas a scathing look.
"No one's talking to you Lobo" she snapped "Why don't you mind your own business for once?"
"I am minding my business" he snapped at her "When you decide to mess with one Heir, you're messing with us all, hence, making it our business."
She ignored him, instead refocusing her attention on Phoenix.
"I don't know who put up the posters Nix" she lied, her tone completely doing a one-eighty and changing into a softer pitch as she gazed up at her ex-fiance "And I was just offering our newest Heir here my help when you three showed up. It is, after all, one of my duties as the President of the Shifter Success Center."
Kassian scoffed.
"Do you think we're dumb Fowl?" Atlas growled through gritted teeth "I'm willing to bet that this has your filthy paw prints all over it."
"Phoenix isn't dumb" she smiled "He knows what I'm saying is the truth."
This time, I could help but snort at her words "Someone's delusional."
"What was that?" Her angry gaze swung to me "Cat got your tongue Normie lover?"
I was about to take a step forward when a hand clamped down around Saoirse's arm, pulling her away from me and into the middle of the onlooking crowd that, somehow, grew five times more in the last five minutes.
"You're playing a dangerous game here Fowl" Phoenix rumbled, the corner of his eyes tightening with anger "She's our Lupine Hair."
At his words, Saoirse ripped her arm out of Phoenix's grip.
"And Yuto is your Fowl Heir but I don't see you running to his defense when our Pack started turning their backs on him at the untrue rumors" she hissed "You won't even allow him inside your damn house!"
He crossed his arms, looking down at her with an uninterested look in his eyes "You and I both know why that is."
"You've known us practically our whole lives" she seethed, pointing at me "Yet, you welcome the outsider freak in with open arms!"
"Careful Fowl" Atlas mocked "Your Jealousy is showing and it isn't pretty."
"You would know all about that, huh, wouldn't you Lobo" She snapped, sneering at him "How does it feel to be the only first born son in history whose own parents view him as a disappointment? A Heir who couldn't even do his duty and marry their chosen fiancé and secure his Packs resources, instead having to pawn her off to his younger brother."
The unadulterated rage that overcame me took my breath away, making something inside of me snap as I lurched towards her.
Kassian's eyes widened as reached forward and hooked an arm around my waist, locking me tightly into the side of his body.
"It's no wonder why they won't let your brother into their house" I snarled "If he's anything like you, a fucking snake, I wouldn't trust him within ten feet of me, let alone inside my inner sanctum."
Her eyes widened at my words as her entire face turned red in anger.
"HOW DARE..." she raised her arm to slap me but with lightening quick movements, Kass jerked me out of her reach as Atlas caught her arm.
"ENOUGH!" Phoenix snarled, his voice bringing everyone in the halls fall to their knees "THIS ENDS HERE!"
Well...
Almost everyone fell to their knees.
The only ones that remained standing were Phoenix, Atlas, Kassian, and...Me.
And as hard as she tried, Saoirse just couldn't resist the power of an Alpha Heir's command.
She gritted her teeth and sweat dripped across her brow as she tried to raise her head from its bowed position.
"Hear me Loud and Hear me Clear Shifters" Phoenix started, his tone going deathly calm but his power never lessening "From this moment on, if ANY of you decide to pull another one of these stunts with our newest Heir, you are officially declaring war on ALL the Heirs. I will not stand for bullying of any kind, especially when it comes from the Packs under my care."
"Neither will I." Atlas growled, inserting his own Alpha power.
"Nor I" Kassian said, adding his power to the mix as well "And if any of you have a problem with that, you'll know where to find me."
"Word of the Wise Shifters" Phoenix growled, locking eyes with each and every shifter that he could, all of them shifting around nervously "I would think very carefully about where your alliances lie. Because when you aim for these crowns, you best not miss...best of luck to anyone who tries."
~🌙~🌙~🌙~🌙~🌙~🌙~
Atlas
"What are we going to do Phoenix?" I whirled on my friend as soon as we crossed the threshold to our own secret chamber, hidden deep within the library's labyrinth "Fowl just added more doubts to their heads and if we keep going at this rate, we'll have a rebellion on our hands."
After the threat we sent to our Packs, and the message was well received by most, the crowd dispersed and we let Headmaster Cortez deal with Saoirse Fowl's insubordination.
Because while though she wasn't, nor ever be and Heir, she still is Heir Fowl's niece and therefore technically untouchable.
Well...untouchable that until we can prove that she and her brother are bastards born from a low ranking soldier in the Fowl Pack ranks.
Before we had a chance to say anything, Nova dragged Jade somewhere to presumably cool off.
And while I was anxious that she somewhere on campus, alone, my mind was eased slightly at the thought that this was about the time my brother started his shift as her shadow and guard.
Because while she thought she had free rein of the Academy, the Penta thought it would be in her best interest if she had a guard with her at all times.
And since we didn't trust the Penta's guards at all, since they were brainless zombies that only answered to their beck and calls, Kassian, Phoenix, and I thought it would be in our best interest if the guards assigned to Nova were people that we trusted implictedly.
Hence why my two out of four brothers were apart of her guard rotation.
"They wouldn't dare try their hand at a rebellion" Phoenix's scowl deepened "Not with the rising tensions between the Vampyres and the Fae."
"We bought some more time" Kass argued "Whatever plans they had involving her were put on hold the moment we declared our intentions but that won't last for long. You know there's always that one little bastard that likes to challenge us."
I nodded in agreement.
"And what if we're not there to protect her?" I said, crossing my arms as I leaned against the cold stone wall "We got lucky this time because we found that little idiot hanging up the posters at the entrance of the school. What happens when Fowl decides to go a more...discreet route that could end up with Nova being more than just humiliated?"
"You need to control Saoirse, Phoenix" Kassian said, glaring at our best friend "She's getting out of hand. First the library encounter and now this? What's next? An ambush during a class they share?"
Nix glared right back at him, snapping "What do you propose I do fuck face? You know she doesn't exactly listen to reason, especially when I'm the one giving it."
"Make her listen then" I said "Or else, threaten her to report her crazy ass to the council."
He shot me a deadpan look "Don't you think I've tried that?"
"And?" Kass asked.
"And the lunatic just laughed in my face" he groaned "Said that she'd love to have a meeting with the council since she has so much to say since our engagement was called off."
"This is exactly why we should report her to the Penta" I said seriously "She's gotten away with too much already and thinks she's untouchable just because her hag of an aunt is still on the Council. Imagine what she would have done if Yuto was actually inducted as an Heir?"
"She kind of is untouchable at this point though" Kass said, frowning "Because if Nix brings up charges against her, Fowl could just spin it and say that he's being a bitter ex. My Beta's Mate is in Fowl's Pack and says that Saoirse's telling everyone she broke off the engagement because she found out that Nix 'Wasn't the man' she thought he was."
"Then why can't me or Kass form a complaint?"
"Because everyone in the entire universe knows that you hate her guts" he pointed out "And I can't file a complaint because then Fowl would get spiteful and cut off the Packs access to the Crescent Canal, the only place were Mom's synthetic Aconite grows. Aconite...need I remind you, we need for the Lones."
"Fucking Lones" I sighed "Always ruining something or another."
Lones were a big problem for all of our packs because unlike Rogues, the were wolves who chose a life of solitude and loneliness away from a Pack on the outskirts of our realm.
Recently though, the normally peaceful nomadic wolves started acting unusual and began attacking not only our borders but terrorizing the borders near the other realms too.
According to the Penta, they've received word from the other four Councils that these wolves were almost zombie like, not listening to reasoning and only acting on instinct to find whatever it is they were looking for, and had to be put down accordingly.
And while I hated the fact, considering our numbers were slowly but surely dwindling away, I knew from personal experience that a Shifter who wasn't in control of their Wolf was dangerous.
"What are we going to do then?"
"We do what we always do" A dangerous glint lit Phoenix's eyes "We sit and wait for our prey to make a mistake...And then go in for the kill."