It triggered everything inside us, like holding a lit match in front of a can of butane. Since these sensations were brand-new to me, I was clearly having a hard time containing myself. Being overtired and worried about finding Rourke did nothing to help the situation either. There was also the slight problem of harboring a deadly spell in my veins, a gift from a deranged goddess who was trying to kill me.
“I believe it might be more than a possibility,” Devon replied. “What we are seeing here is likely a loose interpretation of the original Prophecy, since the real one would be so old it would have gone through numerous retellings in numerous languages before now.” He nodded toward the text on the screen. “I’ve cross-referenced ‘True Lycan’ in some of our oldest books and there are several indications in Pack history of a ‘stranger who will walk again’ who is ‘unique from all others’ and will ‘dole out justice’ with a supreme rule. It never specifies a female, per se, but I think all these things make it a strong possibility nonetheless.” He pointed in front of him. “This website went live less than twelve hours ago and the link was sent directly to me. I’ve been unable to trace any of the digital signatures. I don’t even know what country it originated from. But there’s enough correct wording, even though I can’t officially authenticate any of it from the Rights of Laws, that makes me believe what we’re reading here could hold truth, or at least a version of the truth, to your identity.”
The werewolf Rights of Laws, our bible of sorts, had entries missing and others were charred beyond recognition. It had been destroyed in a fire long before it had been entrusted to my father. If there’d been any kind of werewolf Prophecy, it would’ve likely been inside those pages. Since “Lycans” were our ancestors, they were commonly referenced in our books.
I glanced at my father. “I’m not going with ‘truth’ just yet. We’re still seeing this on the Internet for the first time and it’s too similar to the Cain Myth to be a coincidence. Whoever sent this link to Devon had to have been behind sending the first Myth to the Compound all those years ago.”
“Agreed.” My father nodded. “But the Cain Myth was obviously changed to target our race alone. To instill hatred of you from the very beginning.”
“But why would someone do that?” I asked. It seemed too complicated.
“Fear. Whoever is behind all this was worried you’d grow up to be too powerful, which you are proving to be. At the time you were an infant. There was no way to reach you. What better way to see your end than to make sure the wolves wanted you dead from the very beginning? The Cain Myth did its job effectively. The wolves have grown irrationally fearful of you, coupling you with the end of our race. If they had their way, you wouldn’t have lived to see your sixteenth birthday.”
I could recite the Cain Myth in my sleep.
As a Female in Wolf Skin rises, the unborn Daughter of Cain is born;
In her the beast shall lie, well hidden in True Form;
And from this day forth, the Wolves of the Night shall pay;
Blood and flesh of their bones, her mighty hand shall slay;
The end of the race will be close at hand;
When the Daughter of Evil rules the land.
I arched an eyebrow at my father. “If we already had information about a ‘True Lycan’ in our history, why haven’t we put the pieces together before now?”
My father’s irises jumped, sparking violet. His emotion tingled quickly through my veins, the blood we’d shared during the oath rearing up in my body, sending a flood of sensations through me, and at the forefront was love. “Rumors of a strong one, Y Gwir Lycae, the True Lycan, the one above all others who would someday rise again, have been around for as long as I can remember. Those were the tall tales the elders told around the hearth at the end of the day, a cup of mead in hand. Did I think those old stories might be connected in any way to my daughter? Never. The thought didn’t even enter my mind. We are a male race, dominated by strength. Your birth was an anomaly, something I have always considered special. I thought fate had smiled on us by introducing a female line, because without them, our race will eventually die out. There are very few human women left in the world who can carry our offspring to term. Despite the Cain Myth and all the trouble it caused, I held fast to the hope you were here for a reason and eventually the wolves would accept you and see you as I did—as an asset to this race. It seems you are indeed here for a reason, but it’s not quite the one I’d been hoping for.”