Chapter 407


    Lanie


    My heart stopped when Ste revealed that she’d had to grow up so fast because there was danger. To


    my surprise, Xanderughed out loud. Considering how upset he’d been moments ago, this guffaw


    sounded


    strange.


    “Danger has been on its way for a’long da mned time daughter,” he said with a shake of his head.


    “I know that. But until now, all of you have been able to handle whatever came along.” Ste’s smile


    was


    crooked. “You didn’t need help from me.”


    “And now we do?” Zane asked.


    Ste looked at him. “It felt right, Papa. That’s the best way for me to exin it. Mother was too worried


    about me to really pay attention to herself. It made her keep secrets from you. I couldn’t be the reason


    for


    that.”


    Another rush of guilt tangled all around my heart.


    “You can’t me yourself for anything I chose to do, Ste. I was the one who decided not to tell my


    mates what I was discovering. Even though I had my reasons, it wasn’t right, but it also wasn’t your


    fault.”


    My daughter’s eyes-so much like Mchi’s-shone vividly green. I saw no sign of a wolf inside them,


    and a pang twisted inside me. As a Celestial, Ste was in fact everything. Why, then, did she have no


    wolf? It seemed like the part of her I could most identify with was missing.


    Then again, I’d spent so much timetely focused on the parts of me that were not wolf… From low


    inside me, Lily whined. I imagined her rough tonguepping at my face, something that, of course,


    could never happen since we would never upy the same space at the same time. I could be


    her, and she was always a part of me.


    “I’m not sure I’m getting this. You can do and be everything?” Zane asked slowly, his brow knitting.


    “And you’ve always been able to?”


    “She can choose her gifts,” I told him when at first Ste didn’t reply.


    “So you can shift into a dragon?” Zane asked.


    Ste nodded. “If I choose. Or a wolf. I can run as fast as a vampire andpel others with a


    vampire’s charm. I can cast spells and make potions like the witches.”


    “And you can see the future,” I said as I ran through everything I’d read in that book.


    Xander let out a grumble. “Nobody can do that. The future isn’t written in stone. Every choice we make


    shapes it.”


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    Chapter 407


    “True, Daddy. But Mother is also correct. I can see into the future. I can peel away time like theyers


    of


    an onion and see….well, all the possibilities. It’s so overwhelming, though.” Ste drew in a hitching


    little


    breath.


    Xander went to her at once. He might be fighting his own rollercoaster of emotions, but I was so proud


    to


    see my mate being such a good father. He put his arm around her shoulders until she leaned against


    him. He


    kissed the top of her head.


    “We’re here to help you,” he said.


    Ste clung to him, pressing her face against his stomach. Her voice was mu ffled. “All the voices.


    All the visions. It takes such effort to sort through it all. When I was small, I didn’t have to. My mind


    simply wasn’t big enough for it. I could pretend not to understand what I was capable of, but that time is


    past.


    I have to step up. I just don’t know what to tell you all about the High Council.” N?velDrama.Org exclusive content.


    Mason shot a look at me, then at Zane and Xander.


    “What about them?”


    “They’reing for us. It’s been their n for a long time. And I know you already know that,” Ste


    said


    before any of us could interrupt. “But they keep changing the ns. Every time I thought I had


    something


    concrete to warn you about, they’d change it again. Until they make a full n and put it into action, I


    simply


    can’t get a full read.”


    “So, we’ll just have to be ready for whatever those as sholes decide to throw at us,” Xander said grimly.


    “I knew something like this wasing ever since we saw those pictures of Aldon.”


    Ste nodded. “He’s still in the gray for me. He hasn’t yet decided the role he wants to y. His future


    is


    fuzzy. When I look at him, it’s like he’s a stone on the bottom of a pond. I can see him, but he’s


    distorted.


    I think he could turn on you, Daddy, if the right opportunity presents itself. Don’t trust him.”


    “I never would,” Xander said.


    “Don’t even talk to him for now. It’s too soon. If you do, it could prompt him to make his choice,” Ste


    said. “And so far, there’s no guarantee that it will be the one that doesn’t lead to utter destruction.”


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