Chapter 126

Grace

Charles' yell shook me, and I scrambled for words. The hourglass had already run out.

"It's disheartening that your pride was so much more important--"

"It's a shame that you're so narrow-minded and cowardly. You're ridiculous for thinking that being full anything matters at all! And you still haven't answered me."

"Keep going," Charles said. "He's a narcissist, and he's got a role to play. Push him, Grace. I have Eason. We just need more time."

Relief, hope, and determination rushed through me. I could barely breathe around it, yet I kept talking because I had to. If there was one time in my entire life that running really wasn't an option, it was right now.

"Shamed of your own heritage? Wish you were half lycan, so you hate everyone, that is? Maybe you're just pissed off because of our short lifespan?" I shouted, my words echoing through the underground chamber. "And what kind of werewolf supremacist are you to use witch-made bombs? Why not use werewolf-made, hm? Not good enough for you?"

"The hourglass is shifting," Seraphina said. "It's emotions are magic, too. Speak to the crowd, Grace. Speak to Mooncrest. Any weakness buys us time."

I looked at the hourglass, noting a bit of the sand had slipped out of the bottom. It wasn't a lot, but somewhere, someone was listening to me.

"I'm not afraid of you," I said, feeling like I was going to puke. My whole body was cold, and it was taking everything in me not to show it. I couldn't let him talk if I could help it. My voice echoed as I was practically shouting into my microphone. "I'm not afraid of death! This Alpha Wolfe won't bow to you, either. Mooncrest won't bow to you or anyone!"

"As I was saying, you've run out of time, and while I would have preferred--"

"Don't give me that crap! You don't give a damn about any of us! You've planned to blow us up regardless. You practically said so yourself!"

"The incantation has to be as close as possible in terms of order and timing. There's a cadence of intent to it. The bomb is initiated, but he can't blow it without the rest of the incantation. Keep your eye on the hourglass. If you can get it at least a fourth full again, we'll have time. We're working as fast as we can."

"Mooncrest!" I yelled. "Aren't you tired of what our culture has done to us? Isolated us from better care, better medicine, forcing us to struggle on our own?" I blinked, biting my lip. "A witch's ritual could have saved thousands of more lives than the Silver Flu vaccine. Witch-made cars don't require gasoline or maintenance. So much of our lives have been made difficult--Even humans are driving witch-made cars, leaving us with their old inventions!"

The sand slipped up the sides of the glass slowly, but I could see it. There was hope. I thought about my mother's words.

"My mother said everyone makes mistakes and bad decisions, but few learn from them, and even fewer own up to them in any meaningful way. I am learning from them. I'm owning up to them in the only ways I can every day. I want to be an alpha that provides a brighter future the way every alpha of Mooncrest before me has," I said. "And I am working to do that, but I damn sure can't do it bowing to terrorists, and the asshole who would replace me won't even try. Maybe my replacement will guarantee that Blood Moon will leave Mooncrest alone, but will it be the Mooncrest you want? Will you just become part of Blood Moon? An implicit supporter? Wouldn't it be easier, better, to never have to deal with the fear of people like Alpha Shadow?"

The Enforcers were speaking in my ear quickly and urgently.

"It's not coming down."

"We found another pillar, but it's locked. There's a barrier around it."

"The pillar we dismantled is rebuilding itself."

"Fuck, there's no time!"

"Keep trying!"

"Fear is a part of life," Alpha Shadow said. "Darkness follows every light. You cannot exist without it."

I blinked, a bit stunned by the statement and the realization that I should read more than science journals. He was quoting the Noir Manifesto. I had never read it, but Eason had a full summary and annotated version of it in that folder, and I'd skimmed it enough to understand. Alpha Shadow considered Blood Moon and everything they were doing as a part of life. That's why he felt nothing about blowing us up, double-crossing his employers, and everything else.

I had to make him care, but how?

"And what do you fear?" I asked. "Being exposed? Bankruptcy? What is more important to us as a people? The fear of change or harm we're doing by staying exactly as we are? The harm the hate and prejudice have bred to make people like Alpha Shadow who are allowed to play with our lives like toys?"

A bang rang out. I heard the bullet bounce off the shield, and my heart lurched. The people in the crowd screamed.

"He's trying to shut me up. Well, I'm done being quiet!" I slammed my fist as the hourglass sand started to change colors. I didn't know what that meant, but I felt Amira getting antsier beside me.

I scrambled for breath, for something else.

Alpha Shadow chuckled. His laughter rang. "I see... That's what you're doing. I suppose Ethan said more than I thought."

"SHIT!"

He laughed as the hourglass's sand started to glow. It was going to be the end.

"An amusing filibuster. While it's true that the bombs are linked to an incantation. Have you any idea what that incantation could be?" He laughed again. "I applaud you trying to be resourceful, your little last-ditch efforts, but you have bored me."

I heard Eason screaming in my ear. Charles started talking quickly. The world started to grow distant.

Then, the world went quiet, and words flashed through my mind. My mother's handwriting, Eason's notes, and the thick package of information behind that letter.

"For honor," Alpha Shadow said. "For glory and a new age, I--"

"You've insulted my honor!" I said, screaming, panicked, as I could practically feel the air heating. I could see Eason twisting and bleeding out in my mind. My eyes pricked with tears.

"You have cast doubt on my character, my position, and my lineage. You have challenged my power. You have insulted me and done harm, hindering my pursuit of better for my family and pack. I am formally offended. As the sun sets, darkness follows, and the moon will rise. "

Gasps filtered up from the crowd. A lot of people looked confused, but I knew that Alpha Shadow, as a witch and probably someone who knew enough about werewolf history, wouldn't be. He seemed stunned, shocked that I had enough knowledge to initiate this challenge: a witch challenge under the guise of a werewolf challenge.

"I, Alpha Grace Michelle Wolfe of Mooncrest, daughter of the Wolfe line heralded by the moon's cresting over the Ardent Forest, acknowledge your insult and challenge!"

He went silent. My heart pounded as the words swirled through the air like mist. The words rushed out of me.

"Fuck!" Charles cursed. Eason was still screaming. "I can't get him off the platform. Get it dismantled!"

I shook, but the hourglass had stopped changing, seemingly stuck. Alpha Shadow shuddered. I heard nothing. The whole city was silent around us, holding its breath for what would happen next.

I shook. My stomach ached. I was going to be sick, but I stared up, searching for some sign that it had the effect that it was supposed to.

Eason's notes said that the words were a self-fueling incantation. I had no magical power, but I didn't need it. More than that, while we were initiating the challenge, he couldn't cast any other magic.

I just needed my challenge to be valid. I needed to word it so that he had to back down, but for now, I just needed to hold him magically hostage. I looked down at my hands, searching for some sort of sign that it was taking the way it said it would, but there was nothing. Was it not enough? Was it just a werewolf challenge because he was actually a werewolf?

I lifted my head, taking deep breaths. "You've quoted many statistics over the years about werewolf and lycan relationships, divorces, and the effects of our cultures on each other, so tell me, what are the statistics about challenges and responders of challenges of honor?"

"You know nothing," he said. "A half-breed can't initiate that sort of challenge."

Then, something caught my eye. His wrist was glowing, and slowly, I looked down at my hand to see the faint script of the challenge. I lifted my sleeve and lifted my arm to show it. More of the crowd gasped.

"My honor says differently," I said, taking a deep breath. "So, will you set this challenge with me or show yourself to the world to be the coward I know you to be?"