had picked me up and carried me inside of the Academy. I had been crying so hard, my eyes were blurry and I could barely make out my surroundings. Ace walked over and took my hand.
I heard his familiar voice and knew it was him by my side. “Brie, you did it. You stopped the war with the Trackers,” Ace said.
We had done it! We had not only stopped the Trackers from taking over the Academy, but we had made peace with them, too. They would no longer haunt the woods surrounding us. They would no longer be a threat to our kind. The Woodsong Academy was ours and forever it would be ours to protect. As I lay on a soft couch, in complete shock at what we had accomplished, I was quickly brought back to reality as Ace picked me up in his strong arms and hugged me tightly.
“We did it!” he cheered, his warm breath tickling my ears.
“Congratulations, Ace, and the rest of the Academy,” Electra began. “The threat that was among us is now gone and, in the process, you found a way to bring peace back to the Supernaturals again.”
I could see tears forming in her tired eyes as she looked around at the destruction before us, but in her eyes, I believed she saw hope and promise. Sure, the students at Woodsong Academy had been injured, but that could be repaired. What couldn’t be salvaged would be the loss of lives or the loss of the Academy altogether. Thankfully, we didn’t have to worry about that now.
We all began hugging and crying as the weight of what had just happened came crashing down on us all. As we stood, embracing one another in the disaster that was once a beautiful grand foyer, we found comfort in one another and knew that this could all be fixed. It could be salvaged. And, together, we could accomplish it.
Shaking my head, there was still something bothering me. Turning to Electra, I wiped away my tears and tried to stand tall.
“Electra, I need to talk to you about something,” I began. Electra nodded my way and everyone else around us paused and waited for me to continue. “For centuries, the wolf Shifters have been looked down upon because their magic and power is different from the rest of us. After tonight, I don’t see how anyone can deny that Shifters aren’t as powerful or more than the rest of the Supernaturals. Ace risked his life to protect not only me, but the rest of Woodsong Academy as well. Shouldn’t he be granted the same respect as the rest of us?” I asked.
My speech was out of line and I knew it, but I refused to stand back and allow such terrible discrimination and mistreatment to continue. We should all be equals here.
Electra regarded me carefully. “Does this have anything to do with Ace being your mate?” she asked.
My eyes grew wide and I heard the gasps of everything else around us.
“You know about that?” Ace asked incredulously.
Nodding, a smile formed over Electra’s thin lips. “Yes. Of course, I knew. I know everything that goes on around this school. I felt the pull and power between you two from the moment you met. At first, I tried to deny it could be true, but over time, I have realized that the academy was bringing the two of you together. At Woodsong Academy the powers choose you and I believe the powers that live within this school binded you as mates. So, I agree to amend the rules and allow all Supernaturals to decide for themselves who they mate with,” she stated.
A rush of happiness filtered through me and I felt Ace grab me and pull me in for a strong hug.
Jade and Lisa clapped and Thomas howled with excitement. We had done it. We had followed our hearts and, in return, the school had given us everything we needed.