Secrets of the Wolves

Chapter 13: Arming for War

He took a breath and rubbed my knee. His touch did nothing to soothe me, even if my heart jumped erratically. "We'll find her, okay?"

No you won't, I thought bitterly to myself. Instead I just turned my gaze to the dashboard of the car. No one understood the difficulties Hunters faced and how they had overcome them with the Huntsmen Hexes. No wolf was supposed to penetrate their defenses and no one could-except me.

"Please don't do anything drastic," he pleaded softly. "Everyone will be okay, I promise."

Drastic? I could've laughed. What I was going to do was beyond comprehension, so far beyond my limits, it seemed like a world away. And yet, here I was, strapping myself in for the ride of my life. My family was everything to me. It seemed like no one had heard what Marshall had said to me, so no one understood motives.

It's better this way, I thought. I can get things done faster.

I looked back at Theo. His jade eyes looked lost and his mouth was a tight line. To lose the mother of his best friend and see his mate threatened in less than twenty four hours must've taken a toll on him. Nevertheless, he had no idea of the meaning of terror. He hadn't woken up every day for nine years, terrified that he'd die that day at the hands of his relative.

I forced a smile at him. "Everything will be okay," I repeated, unable to form any other words without giving away my secrets. I gave his hand a squeeze before letting myself out of the car without giving him a goodbye. It was time to bring Marshall down.

...

Theo

Something was off, you know, other than Tobias' mother being murdered, Marshall Kingston kidnapping Grace, then showing up with her today with the intention of blackmailing Sigrid. Other than that, things were only a little off.

Sigrid had clammed up the moment she'd seen Grace, so tightly wired I wondered if I would ever be able to pry her from her cage of hostility. She'd been like this when we'd first met, but unlike before, I couldn't calm her down. I knew that the moment I'd caught up with her in the woods. She wasn't responding like a normal mate would and my fears were only confirmed in the car ride to her house.

I'd asked her not to do anything rash, but I knew better. I was the only one who had heard what Marshall had said to her when she'd charged him because she'd left the mind link open. I'd heard every malicious word and felt my own heart shatter when he'd threatened her family.

And then to not respond me . . . Personally, I felt offended. Who was she anyways, to refuse her mate? Touching her didn't even make a difference. She spoke to me, but her voice was cold. How powerful was she? She was inconsolable. I had to talk to her, but now, she was made of cement and fuming fires. She was impassable.

Maybe tomorrow she'll be different, I thought hopefully as I made my way back to the pack house. Maybe then I can convince her to listen to me.

I clenched the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles whitened like bone and didn't let up until I parked the car.

"Hey, Theo," Kyler greeted gravelly as I walked up the creaky steps of the house. A fog had engulfed us here ever since Luna Maggie had died. Tobias hadn't spoken much and when he had, he avoided the topic of his mother completely, instead turning to alcohol when it hurt too much. "Alpha Roan's having a pack meeting and a couple of us decided to have our own, since none of us are of age yet to join."

"Okay," I said, following him into the gaming room on the first floor. All the controllers had been shoved against the wall, kitchen stools and chairs filling up the floor space. Tobias-sober and despondent-was sitting directly in front of the black flat screen TV, Raylor sitting very close to him. She held his hand and gaged his face with careful eyes. Others, like Niccy, Alix, Drace, Sasha, and a few other schoolmates, slouched on chairs or leaned against walls.