Page 112 of The Witch’s Daughter

Her breath misted around her face as she inhaled and exhaled slowly, sniffing the air.

I stayed quiet and still so she could use all her senses without distraction.

A caw sounded from a branch overhead.

Keep moving, I told my wolf, feeling the fur along her spine stand on end. The mist thickened.

She took a step.

Caw. Caw.

Two birds sang above us now. And then came the rustle of a third’s wings.

My wolf bared her fangs. The mist cleared. A raven-haired woman was in our path, wearing a tight black leather bodice with gossamer skirts floating where her legs should be.

She cocked her head to the side and smiled. Her features were sharp, deadly. Not of this world. Neither was the black hollowness of her eyes.

Or her voice. “Alpha, I’ve been waiting for you. Shift and let’s chat.”

My bones broke without my permission. My wolf howled, fighting and thrashing against the change. Pain rippled through me at feeling my skin yanked from the outside in an unnatural way.

Panting, I jumped to my bare human feet, ready to fight in this form if I had to as I readied my stance. “Who are you and what are you doing on my territory?”

“Is that how you greet a messenger these days?” The woman tsked as she sized me up.

I stood taller, sensing the crows above me, but I couldn’t catch their scent. The woman didn’t have one either. When she moved, slowly and without feet, my hands dropped to my sides.

Terror unlike any I’d ever known choked me. The dark fog thickened. The moon was no more than a suggestion now. She—or it—seemed to make her own glowing light as the apparition moved closer.

My wolf growled in my ears as I raised my chin, standing my ground. “You say you’re a messenger. Tell me your message.”

The woman stilled, but her hair and dress kept moving as she studied my face. “Do you truly not know who I am?”

I gave a slight shake of my head. Every instinct was telling me to run. To not offend this… being. But I forced myself to stand steady. If I was the only thing between her and my pack, I couldn’t give her an inch.

“Pity.” She frowned, floating backwards. “Once, you would’ve known my name. And alphas like you used to pray to me, but it seems those times have changed now.”

I took a full breath, the first I had since she came near, and released it again. “I don’t understand. Who are you exactly and what are you doing here?”

The woman sighed. “It’s so boring to have to introduce yourself.”

The crows above me cawed, agreeing, it seemed. I startled.

She smiled. “You may call me Morrigan.” The woman waved her hand and the fog around us cleared. The moon was bright once more, and the crows squawked as they flew away.

Morrigan’s skirts were replaced by black leather pants and boots as she landed on the path in front of me. Made flesh. Right before my eyes.

I took a cautious step back, raising my hands as I readied to fight again.

Morrigan smirked. “Contrary to what the tales may say, I don’t actually want war this time. So we’re going to make a little deal to save your precious pack, and the rest of humanity.”

“I’m sorry… What?”

Is that a threat?

I think she’s trying to help.

“Come on.” Morrigan started walking, heading down the path to my childhood home. “We don’t have time for your little wolf games. The gods are coming.”