I was packed and ready to leave Crookshollow forever. I’d lost everything that was dear to me, and I was now a liability to the pack. What was the point in staying? Caleb was right. I’d be more useful in London, if I could pull my head out of my arse and start working on the reveal, like I was supposed to.

No more distraction. Willow is gone. She never even existed in the first place.

I had one final chore to do before I left for the train station. The whole pack were gathered at Clara’s shop to witness the activation of the Benedict Ring’s power. Caleb had ordered me to be there, and I was already late.

I pulled my car to a stop on the high street, jumped out, and rushed Astarte. Clara had the CLOSED sign up on the door, but it was unlocked, so I barged through. She was standing behind the counter, shuffling tarot cards, and tsked as I entered.

“The rest of them are in the back,” she said, as she shut and bolted the door behind me.

I entered the tiny storeroom. All the male members of the pack glared back at me. My stomach churned, but I stood tall, not wanting to show them how much pain I was in. So Caleb had told them everything.

“Hurry this up,” I growled. “I have a train to catch.”

“Now that we’re all finally here. Come on, Caleb.” Luke jabbed his cousin in the ribs. “Let’s see it, then.”

Caleb stood at the rear of the storage room, holding out a parcel of black velvet in his hand. He lifted up the edges of the cloth, revealing the ring. “It’s beautiful,” he breathed, holding out his hand so we could all see.

It wasn’t. It was tarnished from age, and was impossibly large and gaudy. A large stone that Caleb had called a bloodstone was surrounded by coiled snakes. It looked like the kind of ring you could pick up in Camden. It didn’t even glow with power or give off a strange vibe.

Because of that ring, I lost Willow. I’m not even sure if it was worth it.

“What do we do now?” Ryan asked.

“I guess I just put it on.” Caleb reached for the ring.

“Hold on, Caleb.” Clara pushed her way through our circle. She picked up the ring and held it close to her eye. “Hmmm.”

“What?” Caleb grabbed for the ring, but Clara held the ring out of reach.

“Let me just check …” Clara rifled around in her pockets, and pulled out a small stone on a leather cord. She held the stone over the ring, dragging it back and forth multiple times. Finally, she sighed, and tipped the ring back into Caleb’s hand.

“This ring won’t help you,” she told him.

“Huh?”

“That ring contains no power. It’s as useless as one of the cheap pewter ones I sell out front.”

“But …” Caleb spluttered. “But this is the Benedict Ring!”

“That may well be true, my dear. I do detect a small trace of residual power. At one time, this ring did house a great and powerful force. But not any longer. What power it contained has long since dissipated.”

“But how?”

Clara shrugged. “Some mysteries of the universe are simply outside my scope to uncover.”

Caleb turned to Robbie, his eyes flashing. “How did you not foresee this? It must’ve been in your research?”

Robbie paled.

“Hey now,” Luke said, placing his hand on his cousin’s shoulder. “We shouldn’t start yelling at each other. It’s not Robbie’s fault a centuries’ old ring isn’t what we expected.”

Caleb dropped the ring on the ground, where it bounced two times and rolled against the side of my boot. He slumped down against the wall. “What are we going to do? We’ve got packs all over the world waiting on us to make the first move, but without the ring, how am I going to get Parliament on our side?”

“Do we need the ring?” I asked.

“Huh?” Caleb’s voice was sharp as his gaze swung to me.

“Do we need it? Our cause is good and right and just, and other shifters see that. We pollute it by using magical persuasion to get our point across. I’ve nae felt good about using that ring – it’s nae something we can easily control or understand. Maybe we dinnae need to bring ancient rings into our fight at all. If you want Parliament on your side, maybe you just need to go down there with as many shifters as you can and demand they grant us our rights.”

“Irvine, don’t be stupid. Without the ring, why would they listen to me?”

“Shifters and humans are already listening to you. Rolf kens the current ring is fake. He told me so.” Caleb’s face paled, but I continued. “All the Wulfrics ken, but they still allied with us. Why? Because this matters. It’s about the future of every shifter, and all the shifters of the future. And that’s important enough.”

Caleb’s face remained stony. All the shifters started between us, waiting to see what would happen next. It was Robbie who broke the silence. “I think Irvine’s right,” he said, his voice shaking. “We dinnae need the ring. Everything we’ve achieved up until this point proves it.”

Luke rubbed his head. “We’re going to have to completely rethink the plan, but I think we can do it, too.”

Caleb glared around the rest of the room. “Do you all agree, then? Do you all think we can still do this without the ring?”

Every shifter nodded their assent.

“Fine.” Caleb rose to his feet. He picked up the ring and handed it to Clara. “Then we’ll do it. Now get out of here, all of you – you’ve got work to do. And Irvine, you have a train to catch.”