Unveiling The Unknown

Chapter 4

Sierra's POV

Turning page after page, I thought my eyes would beeld from how many tiny lines and ancient scribbling I had read. I had lost track of how long we had been in the library, but it must have been hours; Aaron had some kitchen staff bring sandwiches around lunchtime. Danny kept a running list of helpful information. She and Caleb had more luck reading about primordial and pregnancy than Aaron, and I had read about the past High Alphas. There seemed to be little information because there hadn't been one in so long.

"Listen to this," Danny said, drawing all our attention. Pregnant primordials are particularly powerful. The hormone shift allows them to tap into the whole nature of their powers. While the baby may also tap into these powers, it is thought that once they are born, they will be able to use their powers immediately and be born with their wolf spirit already inside them."

"I did know that; at least I remember my parents saying I had powers as a child," I said, taking the book from her to skim the same passage.

"I also told you I have always been with you, but we were separated," Brooklyn reminded me.

"But it sounds like you should be able to do some bad*ss stuff," Caleb said, finger on the last line he read so he wouldn't lose his place. "Come on, try and read my mind!"

"You're thinking about what you're going to have for dinner," I joked, staring at him with narrow eyes like I was trying to concentrate.

"Amazing!" he replied, making everyone else laugh.

"Reading minds would be a cool skill to have," Brooklyn said in a dreamy voice as if she imagined us doing it.

"Only if we can control it. I don't want to be readying the minds of all our pack members every minute of every day," I told her.

"Does anything say how to unlock all these powers?" I asked, taking another book off the stack.

"All we've found is that you should already be able to do that," Danny said, looking at her list on the yellow notepad.

"Well, that's wildly unhelpful," Brooklyn huffed.

"Amisra was able to help you tap into your powers and help you send me a vision," Aaron reminded me. "Maybe she can help you again."

"When is she getting here, by the way?" Caleb asked.

"Right now," a voice said. It was the same high, excited voice I had missed so much, sounding like the ringing of a beautiful bell as a smile spread across my face. Turning in my chair, I saw Amiras gliding towards me, her long silver hair dancing behind her in a sparkling cascade.

"Hey!" I called, jumping up from my chair to run and hug her. Clayton was lumbering in behind her, smiling ear to ear, watching us embrace, his long black hair pulled into a bun on the top of his head.

"I heard you guys have some big plans in the works," he said, setting down their suitcases.

"We do," I replied. "And we would love your help with everything if you don't mind."

"Of course; why do you think we're here?" Amisra said, looking up at Clayton, who smiled down at her. Their pairing was strange, both polar opposites in looks and abilities, but their bond seemed to form almost instantly when they met back in Cedar Forest, even if they weren't fated mates. "I know you said we didn't need to come, but there's no way I would leave you all alone to execute this plan yourself. We tried to escape the smuggling ring, and I'm the only one who got away, so I'm worried about your abilities here."

"Hey, that wasn't our fault!" Brooklyn barked. I knew Amisra was only joking, so I rolled my eyes and ignored her little jest.

"I need help tapping into all these powers I'm supposed to have. We haven't had much luck researching ways for me to unlock them," I told her. Everyone else watched our exchange from the table; Aaron smiled while Danny continued reading and scribbling away on her notepad, Caleb leaning back casually in his chair, hands behind his head.

"That's to be expected," Amisra said. "You were so focused on your career and then being imprisoned for so long, I'm not surprised your powers got put on the back burner."

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about past High Alphas, would you?" I asked, hoping her vast knowledge of supernatural beings would give us some insight.

"I can't say that I do," she told me, leaving me slightly deflated. "Elves learned a lot about other creatures, but our knowledge only covers so much."

"Well, that's annoying," Brooklyn huffed.

"That's alright; there has to be someone who knows about it," I replied, looking at Aaron, who was nodding at me.

"I know you're worried about your baby, but they're going to be just fine," Amisra said, winking at me.

"Does she know something we don't?" Brooklyn asked, tilting her large furry head to the side. The way Amisra looked at me, smirking slightly, gave me the feeling this wasn't just a feeling she had but a fact. Did she also possess the power to see into the future? Had she seen my child grown and happy? I was also supposed to be able to see the future from what the auctioneer had said, and I had done that when Mathew had taken Aaron. Before I could press her more on what she had said, voices were coming our way.

Ipri was skipping into view, followed by a happy-looking Justin and a stoic-looking Selceips, large black wings dragging slightly on the ground behind her. What I wasn't expecting was to see Josh and Ladreo following them. Ladreo's muscular arm was around Josh's shoulder, whose curly hair looked wild as usual. Ladreo's long blonde hair fell over his shoulders, and both men looked happy, seemingly deep in conversation. Turning to look at the table behind me, Danny had finally stopped taking notes, catching my eye and pressing her lips together to stifle a smile. Aaron winked at me, and Caleb nodded his head and smirked. Brooklyn covered her eyes sheepishly and laughed, happy the two were out and about together.

"Hey, guys," I said, looking at everyone piling into the library.

"We heard you were doing research and thought we'd come to help," Selceips said.

"I appreciate that, but I'm not sure what else these books are gonna tell us," I told her, looking back at the table.

"Sierra," Ladreo said, getting my attention. "We heard the good news, congratulations."

"Thanks," I told him with a smile. Since meeting Josh, Ladreo's hard, stern, and somewhat agitated exterior had softened, showing a kinder side of an otherwise tough phoenix shifter.

"What exactly are we researching?" Josh asked, eyeing the table laden with books and paper.

"Primordial powers," Aaron said, standing next to me. "And past High Alphas, seeing as our son or daughter is going to be the next one."

"That's pretty impressive," Ladreo commented, his golden eyes widening.

"Do you know about them?" I asked, hopeful, Brooklyn's ear perking up at the mention.

"Only that one hasn't been born in a very long time, which probably means the next one is going to be very powerful," he replied.

"Why is that the only thing people seem to know?" Brookly sighed.

"Maybe we can get our future visions to work better and see for ourselves," I told her, motivating her to want to try.

"Learning how to control your powers isn't going to happen overnight," Amisra said, cutting into our conversation. "It's going to take a lot of hard work."

"She says that like we're not willing to put the work in," Brooklyn said, sounding slightly offended. This room suddenly started to feel very crowded; Ipri was fixing Justin's brown hair and laughing, but everyone else was staring at me. Aaron and Amisra could sense my sudden discomfort because he touched my back, and Amisra cleared her throat, ready to speak.

"Sierra, can you take Clayton and me to our room? I'm sure he'd like to put these suitcases somewhere," she said, smiling at him.

"Sure," I told her, appreciating her help.

"Why don't the rest of you come and join Danny, Caleb, and me with these books?" Aaron suggested. "More eyes means we can get through more books."

Everyone returned to the table, but Clayton, Amisra, and I. Clayton picked up the two suitcases and followed us from the library. The cold air that hit my face felt refreshing after being in the stuffy library for so long. The sun was high in the sky, shining off the bright white snow, making me squint from the sudden vivid glow.

"Now that it's just you and me, will you tell me how you feel about everything?" Amisra asked, the crunching snow beneath our feet as we trudged along.

"I feel good, better than when we talked yesterday. I just really wanted those books to give me more insight into how to tap into my powers and what the future might look like for the baby," I admitted, pulling my coat tighter around me in the frigid February air.

"You don't need books to tell you how to tap into your powers," she said. "You already know how to do that. It's inside you; you always find a way when you need to use them. You need to find that place and make it easily accessible so you can pull out the powers and keep them on the surface. They should be second nature; you shouldn't have to consider it. Like how Brooklyn is second nature to you."

"Is she saying I'm part of the problem?" Brooklyn asked.

"You are the primordial wolf here," I reminded her.

"Yeah, but so are you," she said with a pinched expression.

"I thought you said it would take time for me to tap into them," I asked, the packhouse coming into view.

"It will; you've been suppressing your emotions for a long time, focusing on what you need to, which makes sense, but now it's time to focus on you," she told me, giving me a knowing look.

"But I still have so much to do before I think about myself," I told her.

"I know, but your powers will be useful in the smuggling ring. It would help if you remembered that the people who run these things have unlimited powers at their disposal from all kinds of supernatural creatures. The things they can do are limitless," Amisra said in a stern but soft voice.

"Knowing what the future is would come in handy," I said, looking at her from the corner of my eye.

"If you're asking for information on the future, you know I can't tell you that. The future is subjective and changes with each decision we make," Amisra said.

"Yeah, I've learned that a lot lately," I commented.

"Don't worry so much; what's meant to happen is going to happen," she replied.

"I wish you could come with me," I told her.

"Me too, but I'll stay here with you as long as you need. They can handle the warriors back in Cedar Forest without my mate," Amisra said, smiling back at Clayton, walking a little ways behind us to give us some space to talk. Even though he could hear everything we were saying, I appreciated him being subtle.

"When are you planning to go undercover?" Clayton asked as we walked up the steps and into the packhouse, glad for some relief from the cold air.

"I'd like to start on Monday if that's possible. I'm still taking a sabbatical from work, so I've got the time," I told them, shedding my coat and putting it in one of the closest by the front door. The packed house was quiet this Saturday afternoon; some people had training early in the morning, but most of them had the entire weekend off to relax and be with their families.

"That's soon? Are you going to be ready by tomorrow?" Amisra asked, following me toward the elevator.

"I think so. The hardest part will be getting into the ring," I admitted, pushing the button to take us upstairs. Amisra and Clayton would stay in the guest rooms on the top floor with Aaron and me.

"Any idea how to do that?" Clayton asked, setting the suitcases down now that we were inside the elevator.

"My parents gave me the name of a store that my aunt used to go to when she was looking for black market items, so that's probably our best option to start," I told them.

"At least you have a jumping-off point," Amisra said.

"The hard part is going to be playing the part of snobbish people who are only looking to buy people for their gain," I said, thinking about how difficult it would be to listen to them and what they planned for the people they bought. Brooklyn was quiet in my head, which wasn't like her. She seemed to be thinking about what Amisra had said about our powers already inside us; we just had to bring them to the surface.

Once Amisra and Clayton were settled into their room, we returned to join everyone in the library. There wasn't much more research done since everyone talked and swapped ideas for how Aaron and I could improve our plan. Josh assured me that his temporary assistant was doing a good job and not to go back to work until I was ready. I was thankful that he and I had become friends despite everything that had happened. Part of me thought Ladreo had something to do with it, not that Josh hadn't accepted me before, but I think it helped.

After spending much of the day in the library, we all headed to dinner together, which went over for me better than breakfast since I could eat what the kitchen made. Aaron and I went to sleep that night, determined that tomorrow we would make a more set plan for what we hoped to accomplish by going undercover. I also planned to set aside some time to meditate with Amisra, which she assured me was the best way to bring my powers out. At this point, I was willing to try anything, and I knew that with all her powers and knowledge, she was the one I needed to listen to.