13 | APOCALYPSE NOW

I laugh. Maybe not the smartest thing to do, considering I’m standing in front of a being so powerful I think I just might pee myself. The Ancient’s not amused. She tilts her head, ever so lightly down, casting shadows under her eyes and in the hollows of her cheeks - for a split second, I swear all I see is a skull instead of a face. My throat closes up out of fear and I feel my stomach twist.

“Uh…” I croak, clearing my throat as the terror in me turns the blood in my veins to ice.

“I have already spoken with your mate. Zane is not as likeable as you are, I’m afraid.” The Ancient tells me, my eyes bugging out of my head at her words.

“Y-you talked to Blue? When?” I stutter my question, my heart giving a funny little leap before it plummets into my stomach.

“Seven-and-a-half months ago.” The Ancient’s words only aggravate the nausea in my gut. *I think I’m about to be sick*… “He did not want me to involve you then, but I have not seen any progress to mend the situation so I figured I would speak with you directly.” The Ancient’s lips thin as she seems to understand the situation. “I see. He never told you.” She concludes correctly.

“He hasn’t been in a sharing mood for a while now.” I admit, turning to stumble to the bed. I have a seat, my head swimming as I try to absorb everything I’ve just heard. “So, let me get this straight,” I begin, pressing my palms into my face as I think this through aloud. “Because Blue and I ended the impending war between our Packs and saved me - and a lot of lives - we’ve screwed up the universe and doomed the world?” I begin slow, but by the end it all blurs together.

“In a nut-shell. Yes.” The bed dips beside me and I remove my hands to look at the solemn woman beside me. Her face has softened and her eyes have gone more violet than red. “I can see I’ve upset you. I apologize. I was under the impression your mate would not be able to hide something like this from you.”

“Yeah, well, Blue’s not what I’d call a ‘*normal*’ Wolven.” I huff a chuckle and run a hand through my hair. “He’s a Sensor with a power called Void. He’s been blocking me since the night we faced off against my old Pack.” This explains a lot. Why Blue’s been so adamant about blocking me and keeping his distance. I feel a headache coming on, the pulsing and sharp pain rising in the center of my brain and rattling my thoughts.

“Oh, I see. I have been drastically misinformed about the two of you.” The Ancient sounds a little like I feel: dazed and confused. “No matter. Now that you are aware, we can do something about this.”

“And how do you propose we stop the apocalypse?” I laugh at the woman. The word apocalypse sounding so funny to me. So surreal. *This can’t be happening*.

“I assure you, Scarlett, all of this is real. It is indeed happening.” The Ancient tells me, her voice gentle but honest. I can feel the calm radiating off of her, soothing the terror within me despite what’s happening. “There are several options we can explore.” She continues, getting right down to business once I’m calm enough to actually hear what she’s saying. “The night of December nineteenth was when the events of our time had drastically shifted.” Her analysis brings forth the memories of what happened that night. The night before my birthday when I Bloomed. When Blue made his promise to always be there for me, and we had deepened the bond. A spike of pain and longing stabs at my chest and I find myself stroking the scar on my neck, normally hidden my my long hair, where Blue had bitten me - claimed me. Identical to the area on his neck where I’d bitten -and claimed him. I close my eyes and force my mind from those particularly aching memories and think beyond. *One problem at a time*. I remind myself.

After that, we faced down the Reiniers in Port Greene, walking into an ambush, but eventually making it out alive. Most of us. I’m still not entirely sure who of all died that day since most of those in the Azure Pack I knew were alive and well when the dust settled, but I know lives were lost on both sides. Not as many as the amount that would have died had Blue and I not revised our strategy and gone on an early defense. Thanks to the warning visions we’d been having for months before.

“That.” The Ancient suddenly interrupts my inner thoughts. I blink at her, knowing now that she can indeed read minds. If this isn’t proof, I don’t know what is. The very knowledge that she can read my mind irks me but also makes me long for Kiwina. I’m now one-hundred-percent out of my comfort zone. “I apologize for reading your mind, Scarlett, but - frankly - we don’t have the luxury of verbalizing and going back and forth to discover the exact tipping point on which time was altered.” She states matter-of-factly, and I know she’s right…but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. “As I was saying,” The Ancient brings me back to the conversation. “ At that point, when all those lives were saved, that is what disrupted time and subsequent events.”

“We *saved* people. *Our* people. *Good* people.” I growl at the woman, ignoring the spikes of alarm at my own tone towards the woman. But it’s true. Blue’s parents and my mom had died in a vision we’d seen - and I had become a Revenant in it - going on a killing rampage after, according to Blue. I shiver, recalling the still so-surreal vision.

“Perhaps, but their deaths were not meaningless. Their deaths affected others, who then affected others, and led to certain events that stabilized the world. Because many of those individuals did not die, those events never came to pass.” There’s an emptiness in the Ancient’s words that grates against my nerves. I know what she’s trying to say. I get it. But I don’t agree with it. If I had to do it all over again, I would still make the same choice I had and do it all the same. “How very selfish of you.” I flinch against the words of the Ancient, trying hard not to just snap at her or try to rip out her throat as my anger boils in me. The woman laughs, but there’s a hard edge to the sound now. “Give it a try, little hybrid, but I can promise you - you won’t enjoy the consequences.” Her words throw an ice-bucket over my rage and I feel it all simmer down. I feel like an ant and the mercy of a giant when she speaks like that. The brief pulse of fearlessness I felt has now been extinguished.

“I don’t agree with what you’re saying. I chose to believe that the world is better off with those people in it.” I grit out at the Ancient, making sure to keep my voice carefully calm.

“The eight billion people in the world who’s lives are about to end would beg to differ.” The Ancient says point-blank. I don’t say anything for a second, feeling my lips press tight as I think that over. “Like I said, there are options we can explore now that you are aware.”

“Why me?” I sigh, feeling the crushing weight of this whole thing slowly beginning to settle over me. The literal weight of the world hanging in the balance. Again, the woman beside me laughs.

“Oh, Scarlett, I assure you, this is not something you could even dream of taking on yourself. I will be contacting others and my own assistants to lend aide, but you are ‘ground zero’. The starting point is with you and your mate, so this is why we are speaking. I cannot rewrite what has already happened, but I can see what is to come.” I find it oddly ironic to hear this. Blue and I are the starting point, but we can’t take it on ourselves. It’s exactly why we’re in this mess in the first place, I realize. Because I didn’t trust others, ignored the warnings sent by our future selves - the visions steadily got worse - and then we only just changed things at the last minute. I can’t help but wonder if we’d even be in this situation if I’d only asked for help from the get-go.

“Options.” I prompt the woman warily, feeling my resolve slowly building. I screwed us all to hell, it seems only fitting I should try to fix everything.

“I have located the turning points that would reset the timing for the apocalypse. In the next three weeks, there are at least five events that need to be prevented to give the world more time. I cannot be in that many places at once, and a few of them have to do with people you have interacted with. People who already trust you. I propose you and some of your allies work to change those events and put the train back on the track - so to speak.” The Ancient explains, carefully avoiding giving me details. “Another option, is that I could simply have all those affected killed. Ensuring the events happen naturally-”

“No!” I object immediately, my eyes wide in horror.

“I figured that would be your response.” The Ancient nods solemnly, seemingly unaffected by her own words. “Or, lastly, we could try to fix the issues as they arise. That would ensure as minimal life is lost or changed because of the fallout from the first event. However, that could become tricky since the events seem to grow exponentially after the second and third events. And any failure could undo whatever we do manage to accomplish.”

I take a deep breath, thinking over the first and last option she mentioned. I don’t even allow myself to consider the ‘kill-them-all’ option.

“This,” The Ancient touches one of the white strands in my hair, her touch, though light, sends another shiver up my spine. “I have not seen this in a vampire in…” She seems to be lost in thoughts as she examines the other patches of white. It’s what I discovered was the result of me using the weird ability I came across last year before my Blooming. An ability to slow time. Something I haven’t dared to play with since my birthday. That was the last time I messed with the ability, when my cousin Paris and I were cornered by our insane grandmother and I killed her.

“You know what it is?” I hear the words come out before I realize I’ve spoken. The Ancient’s hand freezes, her red-violet eyes shimmering into a color I can’t name before they fade back to the strange mix. Her hand lifts from my hair and she levels me with an intense stare I feel could melt my bones if I moved an inch.

“The true name for such an ability was lost some time ago, but, yes.” The Ancient tells me, her voice chillingly devoid of emotion and comfort. “I know what it is.”

“Um…” I squeak, because I’m almost literally dying to know what this thing is.

“I will not discuss it.” The Ancient warns, putting up a hand to stop me from asking for information like I’d been planning to. “Not today. Not here.” She adds after a beat, and I catch her looking at the doors to the room. “Head the warning from the Queen and leave at dawn. In the meantime, it would be best if you stayed with your sponsor.” With that, the Ancient stands and moves to tower over me. “I will be back in three days. Have your answer by then.” And before I can utter a sound, the powerful woman is gone, and I feel that time has resumed to it’s normal pace.