Cassiel
I was in a spot, and I went silent for a moment, staring at the elders, who were looking at me with their old, watchful eyes. After a while, I looked away before speaking.
"You have nothing to worry about," I said, changing the topic although my heart was already worried. "I'll strengthen our security and have someone on the lookout for the returned Dragon King. Also, our spies will let us know as soon as he makes contact with any of the Dragonborn settlements."
I rose to my feet. "I've had a long night. I'll go and rest now."
The rest of the room rose to their feet, too.
"How about the Omega?" my father asked when I started to walk away.
I didn't miss a beat. "In confines. She'll be sacrificed alongside the other Omegas that weren't today during the Final Lunar Rite three days from now."
My father nodded curtly, but I still saw the doubt in his eyes. As I turned to continue to the door, the massive doors of the throne room opened, and the Wise Woman walked in.
I sighed inwardly as the figure in black robes glided into the room. This is precisely what I've been trying to avoid. I don't want issues to be complicated more than they already are. Of all people, she was the last person I wanted to deal with right now.
She walked to the center of the room and bowed. "Alpha."
I gave a slight nod. "What is it?"
"I heard a bad omen happened today at the arena during the Lunar Rite."
Wise Women couldn't participate in rites that involved shedding of blood.
I suppressed a groan. "You don't need to be so dramatic about it," I tell her. "It wasn't a bad omen. The Dragon King Rhaziel showed up after we all presumed he was dead and…"
The wise woman stopped me mid-sentence with a raised hand. The audacity would be shocking from anyone else, but Wise Women answer to the Moon Goddess, not to Alphas.
"I'm not talking about the reappearance of the Dragon King," she said, her milky eyes fixed on some point beyond my shoulder. "The Omegas were supposed to be sacrifices to the Moon Goddess. They were supposed to be sacrificed today."
"And they would have been, if not for the chaos," my father said.
"That is the tradition, Grand Alpha," she turned to address him. "They are offerings to the Moon Goddess. The rite was interrupted, but they should have carried on with the sacrifices regardless of what happened."
I'm already annoyed, but I calm myself and reason with her. "When I arrived – because I wasn't present from the beginning of the rite – everywhere was in absolute chaos. The dragon's appearance had already put fear in the people's hearts, so the rite couldn't continue under those conditions."
The elders nod in agreement.
"However," I continued. "It will be completed during the final Luna Rite Celebration in three days."
The Wise Woman's eyes narrowed, and for a moment, I saw a smirk pass through her face. "It will be too late by then."
My father stepped forward "Too late? What do you mean?"
"The sacrifice would have to be done tomorrow. The Moon Goddess will not accept sacrifices offered after their due time. The energies of the eclipse will have passed, and this time, the Omegas must be hunted and slain. That's the only way they will be acceptable to the Moon Goddess."
The room fell into stunned silence.
My face darkened. "Hunted?" I asked, trying to keep the alarm from my voice. "What do you mean by that?"
"The traditional sacrifice was interrupted," the Wise Woman explained. "The Moon Goddess is displeased. A simple execution will no longer suffice. The failed Omegas must be released into the sacred forest at dawn. The hunters – preferably, a group of Gammas will pursue them in their wolf forms. Those who are caught will be offered to the Moon Goddess with their blood spilled on sacred ground."
My stomach twisted, but I kept my face neutral. "And if they escape the hunters?"
The Wise Woman smiled, revealing a set of golden-plated teeth. "None ever do."
I nodded my head severally. "In other words, you're suggesting we start a massacre?" I asked quietly. "That we hunt them like animals? These are our people."
"They are defects," she said. "Born to serve one purpose – this purpose. The Moon Goddess will not bless us if we disobey."
I felt my anger rising. Caelum stirred uneasily beneath me.
"They're still breathing beings. If they must die, we should allow them the courtesy of dying well. The Lunar Rite can be completed traditionally in three days. There's no need for this hunt."
"You defy the Moon Goddess?" she challenged.
I stood tall. "I said we'll continue the rite in three days, and that's final. The goddess has placed me as your head, and head will I be. Here in these realms, my word is command."
"You risk a curse upon us all," The Wise Woman hissed. "We cannot make a blood sacrifice outside the energy of the eclipse. It would be seen as a sacrilege."
"How about we don't kill those innocent children until the next Lunar Rite?" I asked.
"This is their fate. This is their purpose, and you cannot interfere, My King."
"I will, and I already did. I will have to refuse your suggestion, Wise Woman. You can go back and inform the Moon Goddess that I refuse to act like the barbaric and have my own people killed during a hunt."
My father turned to me with surprise.
"Do you know what happens when the goddess is angry?" The Wise Woman took a step toward me.
"Don't come closer; otherwise, I will punish you for not obeying the 10-meter rule," I said coldly.
She paused in her steps. "Crops would fail. Pups would be born weak. The next generation of wolves might not manifest at all," she paused. "Is that the kind of risk you're willing to take, Young King?"
Before I could respond, my father spoke. "We'll do as the Moon Goddess commands through you, Wise One. The hunt will proceed as you have stated at dawn."
"Father…" I began.
"We cannot risk the wrath of the Goddess, son," he said firmly.
"Excellent," the Wise Woman smiles triumphantly. "I'll prepare the sacred forest, make sure all the Omegas are there before the first light of dawn."
"Yes, Wise One," my father nodded.
The woman bowed and turned to leave but stopped at the door. "Oh, and Alpha Cassiel?"
"Yes?"
"You must be present during the hunt because you will lead it."