Rising Fate (Wolf Moon Academy Book 3) Read online

  Liam and I sat on the blood-red colored couch in the center of the living room against the wall while Evan sat in the recliner on my side and Micah sat in the recliner on Liam's side. We'd already told them that the rebellion wanted to meet with us tonight, but we hadn't told Simon yet. He'd been avoiding us like the plague since the day we found the strange altar and he pledged his loyalty to the rebellion’s cause. The problem was that he generally was our wild card—unpredictable. For all we knew, he'd changed his mind.

  "Should I be worried?" He arched his eyebrow so high it hid behind his blond hair as his amber eyes darkened. He was slimmer than the others with a more lanky, athletic build.

  "I think the question is whether we should be or not." Liam cut to the chase. It was one of his strengths in my eyes.

  "Why the hell would you be asking that?" Simon's chest puffed as he made eye contact with each of us. "I told you I was in."

  "Come on, man." Micah sighed and ran his hands through his dark hair, and his golden eyes seemed to shine brighter. He was as big as Evan, but I'd been learning he wore his heart on his sleeve when it came to anyone close to him. "You've been disappearing, and our dads have been meeting with us, trying to get us to submit all over again."

  "They are?" Simon's shoulders sagged with the news.

  Of course, his dad knew better than to reach out to him. Mr. Green is trying to make Simon feel excluded and playing on his weaknesses. I'd come to realize how much he needed to feel like part of the team or he acted out on purpose.

  "Why wouldn't dad come talk to me then?" He grew colder.

  "Because he's mind fucking with you," Evan said with disgust. "Everyone knows you hate feeling left out or not included."

  "That's not true." A frown crossed his face.

  "Where have you been lately?" Liam lifted a hand. "If we don't have anything to worry about, why have you been avoiding us?"

  "It's not you that I'm avoiding," Simon groaned in defeat.

  It's Sherry. That's what I'd bet on, but it would be nice to hear confirmation. Neither one of them had admitted to being mates, so I was still going with my gut feeling. Also, I knew it wouldn't go well if I were the one who asked the question. Simon still didn't like me.

  "Does she happen to have blonde hair and be staying with Bree?" Liam placed an arm around my shoulders as he said the words.

  "What? No." His mouth dropped open and he cleared his throat. "I'm not afraid of some stupid girl."

  The four of us remained silent as we all looked at him.

  His face turned a slight pink, and he blew out a breath. "It's just best if I keep my distance from her. For both her and me."

  "It's okay if she's your mate." As soon as the words were out, I wanted to take them back.

  "Of course, you'd say that." Simon sneered at me. "You somehow coerced Liam to bond with you, but that shit won't work with me. I can't be weak."

  "You think I'm weak now?" Liam chuckled.

  "Yeah, you can’t go anywhere without her." Simon wrinkled his nose in disgust. "I don't want to be tied down that way. You even had to take her on our tour, and we all know how that turned out. Now we're all at odds with our dads."

  "First off, she hadn't planned to go with us, I wanted her there." Liam leaned back on the couch. "And secondly, if it weren't for her, we wouldn't have discovered the situation our parents have put our people in."

  "Exactly. We could be blissfully ignorant, and everything would be fine," Simon said without conviction.

  "Honestly, I thought the same thing." Micah stared at the coffee table in the middle of the room, avoiding our eyes. "I mean, I never thought they'd be doing that. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss."

  "So you would rather people suffer so you aren't uncomfortable?" They were making this out to be more about them than what it was. "Where you can walk around with blinders on and be your dad's puppet?"

  "That's not how it is," Simon growled the words.

  "It's exactly how it had been." Evan touched his cheek where the vanishing bruise was still visible. "My dad visited me today and tried to get me back in line."

  "They want all of us to fall back in line without asking any questions." Liam shook his head. "Do you want to be a dumb shit following our fathers’ orders like that?"

  "We've been doing that our whole lives." Simon huffed. "So why would it be any different now?"

  "Because we know now, man." Micah flicked his attention back at Simon. "Like I said, I thought the same thing, but it's finally becoming clear. Now, we know things, and we have to figure out what type of leaders we want to be."

  "Independent from our fathers." Evan lifted his eyebrows. "If we don't figure out who we are before we even take over the council, they'll still be ruling as they always have with us following their every command."

  Simon closed his eyes and grimaced. "I know, okay. It's just that I hate this coming between all of us."

  "You do realize that this will bring all of you closer." I purposely left myself out of the count. I had to point out the things that made the biggest impact for him.

  "How so?" He crossed his arms as he stared me down.

  "You’ll all be on the same side again." You knew exactly what to say and how to make this hit home for him. Liam chuckled inside my mind as he rubbed his fingers along my shoulder.

  "I told you I was in." Simon's voice lowered as he walked over to the kitchen. He grabbed a chair and sat right in front of Liam and me.

  We now made a complete circle.

  "When did you get that?" Simon pointed at Evan’s black eye.

  "Today after training Sherry and Mia." Evan tensed. "My dad made his appearance right before we were done for the day."

  "Wait, Sherry is training with you?" Simon frowned. "She's not healed yet."

  "If you'd been around, you'd know that she's pretty much back to normal." Liam shrugged.

  "At this point, we all know the other shoe is about to drop. We can't afford for Mia and Sherry to be untrained and unable to stand up for themselves." Evan met my eyes with pride.

  "Sherry won't be fighting in anything." Simon jumped to his feet. "She can't get harmed again."

  "She's going to get harmed if she doesn't learn to defend herself." Evan waved his friend off. "So sit, and calm your ass down."

  "It's only going to continue to get worse if you fight the bond." Liam sighed. "Trust me, I know."

  We'd pushed him enough. Now, we needed to get to the reason we were here. We needed to leave soon anyway. "The rebellion wants to meet with us tonight."

  "What?" Simon's eyes flew around the room. "We shouldn't be talking like this here."

  "I checked the room twice." Micah glanced at his friend. "Besides, I’m usually the one who bugs the rooms for them, so we're good."

  "That IT degree is coming in handy." Simon snorted. "When are we supposed to go?"

  "Honestly, here in a few minutes, but we were waiting for you." I got to my feet. "Let's go get Bree and Sherry and then head out."

  Everyone stood in agreement, and we made our way out to the area where we would meet the people we were going to start working with.

  We drove about an hour north of school, on the outskirts of Pittsburg, Kansas. The entire way had been an interesting ride. All seven of us had piled into Liam's Escalade, and Simon demanded to sit in the back with Sherry after Micah had volunteered.

  "We should be there any second." Liam's voice grew thick with tension. The closer we got to the meeting place, the more anxiety flooded through our bond.

  "I still can't believe we're meeting at an abandoned warehouse." Bree pulled her phone out again. "I mean, how much more predictable and cliché can they get?"

  "How many people have you actually met from this group?" She didn't seem to know much about what's going on. She'd only been part of it for about a week now, so I guessed that made sense.

  "Only a few, but I can't tell you any more than that." Bree's words were slow; deliberate.

  "Will Nate be
there?" Liam asked casually.

  We both glanced in the rearview mirror to watch Bree’s reaction.

  "Is that your way of asking me if Nate is involved with them?" Bree tilted her head with a proud smile across her face.

  "Maybe." Liam winced. "I mean, hell, we're going to join. Shouldn't we know who is involved?"

  "You'll find out when the time is right." Bree crossed her arms.

  "Dammit, Sherry, your bony elbow is poking my side," Simon grumbled as he tried to get adjusted in the back seat.

  "Dude, I was going to sit there, so I don't want to hear you complain." Micah shook his head and glanced over his shoulder. "You insisted on it, so shut up."

  "I'm excited to join the rebellion." Sherry's jade eyes sparkled. "But if they are holding back information from the guys. Why didn't they from you too? You're a council member's kid just like them."

  "I... I don't know." Bree’s brows furrowed.

  "It's because you hadn't been focused on as a council leader, not like the rest of us," Evan said as he glanced out his window.

  "And the fact that your mate is part of a pack that needs some assistance." Mates had a huge influence on how we saw the world. It’s how Liam and I grounded ourselves with each other. "They know your bond trumps it all."

  "So that's why you kept sneaking off with that nobody loser." Simon's words were cold.

  "Stop being a jackass." Sherry's voice was full of anger. "The way you're acting reminds me of the alpha who killed my father."

  For once, Simon didn't have a comeback. He sat there with his mouth shut and in a tight line.

  That's a first. Liam linked with me. Maybe we should have her around all the time to keep him in check.

  Don't worry. She will be. I had a feeling that the whole thing was going to work out. They just had to work stuff out first like Liam and I did.

  We entered a section of town that appeared run down. Liam's anxiety started to feed my own. All we knew was that the rebellion was forming due to packs being mistreated, but we had no clue what their plans were or how they recruited more members. We needed to understand what their ultimate end game was. Did they want to overthrow the council completely or only the ones leading it currently?

  Liam turned down another road leading to a huge abandoned warehouse. It appeared to be an older building with the windows broken, and a huge wooden door stood out with a chain and lock on it.

  "Well, I'll be damned." Liam shook his head as he pulled into the parking lot.

  "Go to the back. We don't need your car parked out here where someone can see it." Evan pointed to the side where there appeared to be a side road that would take us behind the building. "Otherwise, it'll stick out like a sore thumb and cause people to come and snoop."

  "Got it." Liam drove slowly as we passed by the old brick building that looked like it was crumbling. We took the side road that backed up against a forest. As we turned toward the back, we found a large truck loading area that was used for moving whatever product they had made out the door.

  "Bree, what the hell did you get us into?" Simon growled as he took in the surroundings. "If Sherry gets hurt ..."

  "Don't worry about me." Sherry’s body tightened. "I'll be fine."

  "Let's keep it together." I glanced over my shoulder. "We need to be united right now … all of us." I opened the car door and hopped out.

  Soon, the others followed suit, and we stood still, staring at the building. The back looked as if it was in a tad bit better condition than the front. It was at least three stories tall, but it was most likely just one floor as the windows were only near the ground. It was probably due to whatever equipment was kept inside.

  "How are we going to get in there?" Bree stepped next to me and examined the building. "Do we open that garage door?" She pointed at the large, heavy-looking door that probably needed a remote control to lift it.

  Liam took a deep breath, and his eyes scanned the area. "It looks like we’re here first. Let's check a window," Liam said as he walked over to the window to his left. He lifted the window up, but there wasn't any sound. "This has been used lately. It wasn't hard to open at all."

  "Let me go in first," Evan said as he approached Liam. "Then, you and Mia come through."

  "Fine." Liam nodded his head and moved out of the way.

  Within a few seconds, all of us had slipped through the window and walked out onto the factory floor. Tall pieces of equipment, at least half the height of the building, took up space along one wall, but we couldn't tell what it was since it was covered with sheets. Cobwebs hung everywhere and even spanned from one sheet to the next.

  It was pitch black inside without moonlight shining through the windows. Thankfully, our wolf senses could penetrate the darkness. The scent of dust was thick and strong, but it was the only one in the building.

  "I thought they were meeting us here?" Evan's body was tense. "Is this some kind of joke?"

  "No, this is the location they said." Bree pulled out the phone and showed the text message to Evan.

  Liam grabbed my hand and pulled me into him, his body tense. "This might be a trap."

  "They said..." Bree cut off as fear spread across her face.

  "Let's get the fuck out of here," Simon growled as he turned to head back the way we came. As he took his first step, a metal clanging came from outside.

  "Hello?" Bree yelled.

  "Shhh... stop it." Evan glared at her.

  Another sound of a door opening came from inside the warehouse directly behind us. I turned around but couldn't smell or see anything out of the ordinary.

  All of a sudden, footsteps sounded as if they surrounded us, and a wolf howled in the distance.

  My heart dropped to my stomach. We'd just walked into a trap.

  Chapter Three

  My heart pounded in my chest. We should've known better than to be so trusting. Although Bree had made us all a little more comfortable since she felt at peace with her decision. They had to have played her too.

  Whatever you do, stay next to me. Liam reached out for my hand as his eyes scanned the area.

  Scents hit our noses, and whoever had come into the building with us came closer.

  Another loud bang came from the side of the room as if someone else had entered and slammed a door.

  "We need to get the hell out of here," Evan shouted, trying to be heard over the metal clanging.

  "How?" Micah yelled. "They're out there with our car. We're at their fucking mercy."

  A door slammed shut, and I spun around to see that our only exit to the front had just been cut off. We were trapped.

  "I'm sorry, I had no clue." Bree's bottom lip trembled. "I didn't know."

  "It's not your fault." After seeing what we'd all witnessed this past week, it made sense we'd jump at an opportunity to make a change.

  "If we run, they'll follow." Sherry touched my arm. "Sometimes, the best thing is to stay put."

  "Are you fucking insane?" Simon threw his hands in the air. "We won't have a chance in hell if we don't run. I can't let anything happen to you."

  "Don't worry about me." Sherry growled, "I'll take care of myself."

  "Guys, cool it." The last thing we needed to do was turn on one another.

  Another loud howl filled the air, causing a shiver to wrack my body, and then silence. It was so quiet it was unnerving, especially after all that ruckus.

  "What do we do?" Bree's voice quavered as she moved closer to me.

  "They're still around us." Micah said with a breathy whisper. "It smells like hundreds."

  "We're going to die." Simon paced in front of us. "See all the good you've caused. Now the council will fall because there won't be any heirs."

  When I didn't think Simon could get any more dramatic, he went and outdid himself.

  "Stop being an asshole," Liam warned. "We're not going down without a fight."

  "It's funny that you would say that." An unfamiliar girl’s voice hit our ears as the door that had
been closed off opened. Her tennis shoes scuffed the cement floor as she stepped into our view. She wore a hoodie over her face and lowered her head in such a way that we could only make out her hauntingly ice blue eyes. She looked to be a few inches shorter than me, but it was hard to tell since she was at least seventy-five feet away.

  "So you're going to kill us?" Liam's voice was deep, and anger was laced with each word.

  "Who said anything about that?" The girl took a few steps closer to us and stopped.

  "Well, it's kind of obvious." Simon countered her when growls filled the air again. "See?"

  "They're only here in case something happens." Her voice sounded young; maybe around our age.

  "What are you expecting to happen?" Micah asked and took a deep breath.

  "She thought that we might have alerted our fathers." Evan lifted his chin in the air. "So they had to pretend that they were going to attack us to see who might show up."

  The girl's eyes lit at his words. "Exactly. I mean, why would the four heirs want to join the rebellion? It seems a little suspicious."

  "I, for one, wouldn't have picked this out all on my own." Simon raised his hand as if he was asking permission to speak. "All this is going to do is divide us even more."

  "Divide the packs who need attention or you heirs and your relationships with your fathers?" Her voice held an edge to it and I wasn't quite sure if it was humor or anger.

  "You can't be serious right now." Sherry spun around and stared at her mate. "You saw what happened to me, and you'd like to pretend you never saw it?"

  "Hell, I saved you, and I'm standing right here with you," Simon came close to shouting the words. "So what's your problem?"

  "Others get treated like that every day." Sherry got in Simon's space, "Does that not bother you?"

  "It sucks, okay." Simon’s hands shook. "It shouldn't happen, but there are assholes everywhere."

  "Exactly." The girl focused on Simon. "That's why the rebellion formed. To take down all those assholes, so my question is: Are you one?"

  "He says shit without thinking it through." Micah glowered. "He's with us. He's afraid of what would happen if he wasn't."