Thorn (Werewolf) ✔

Chapter Forty-Eight

"Of course."

Sky watches us for a moment before charging over. "Is that why you won't let me leave? Because you don't trust me to keep our secrets?"

"Sky, I am not having this conversation with you again."

"Cole is gone. You can't use him as an excuse anymore. You have no problem with Devon moving thousands of miles away so why can't I?"

Madison walks away from us, not even entertaining the idea. Sky flares her nostrils and balls her hand into a fist.

"See?"

I rub her shoulder in support before following Madison along a narrow trail. "You were willing to risk it when my life was at stake," I say. "You sent them to me. You sent them away from the mountain not knowing if you'd ever see them again."

"No," Madison says, not slowing down. "Crasuel told them to find you and warn you. He did not tell them to merge themselves into the human world. They are not ready for it."

"No offence but you didn't see them in that human world like I did. They adapted quickly. Sky more than Dominic. She knows what she wants. All you have to do is listen to her."

Madison slows down just before we get to the edge of the camp. She turns and folds her arms, casting her glare to the clouds. I'm not sure if she's considering it or if she's seconds from bursting.

"I'm leaving with Devon tomorrow," Sky says. "Dominic will stay, he doesn't really have a choice. But I do."

"You are sixteen-years-old, Sky!" Madison yells. "You think that living for a few days in the human world makes you ready for it? They will eat you alive."

"I cannot stay here!" Sky screams. "Why won't you listen to me!"

"Because it's ridiculous!"

"What the hell is going on?" Crasuel runs out from the trees behind Madison, looking between us with concern and alert.

"Your daughter wants to leave for England tomorrow," Madison says quietly.

"I thought this might happen." Crasuel rubs his chin in thought as Sky directs her teary eyes towards him. "Sky, this isn't rational. Devon is protected but you will not be."

I narrow my eyes. "Thorn and his pack will treat her as an equal member of their pack. She will be protected just like myself."

"You are mated to Thorn, Devon. It is different. They have to accept you. They don't have to accept her. Humans are cruel but werewolves even more so, especially if they are resentful."

"You think that they'll seek revenge for the curse?" I say.

"If they can't get to you then yes."

"That's absurd."

"How well do you even know them?" Madison asks. "You trust them because Thorn trusts them, right?"

I fold my arms. "Right."

"He hasn't been around them for over a century," she says. "Even he doesn't know them as well as he thinks. That curse was designed to cause suffering. When you were a wolf last night and you were running through those woods, did they seem small to you?"

I don't really understand where she's going with this but I nod. A human would find the woods massive and endless, like I once did. They'd get lost. For a werewolf, they can memorize every inch that they cover. And they can cover dozens of miles of it in an hour.

"Like real wolves, werewolves familiarize themselves with scents. They've spent an entire century trapped in an endless loop of the same scents and sights. It's in our nature to look for something new, to keep ourselves stimulated. I'm surprised they still have their sanity."