Soul Bonds

24. Ya'll totally saw this coming, right?

"She's alive." Victor's voice echoed in his mind. "I swear to you, she's alive and she's fine. North and Sean are taking her to Nathan's. Go."

The bond between them vibrated with Kota's fear and indecision.

"Go. She doesn't blame you for anything, and neither do I. She is worried that you're hurt, so, go." Kota slowly stood, and after an encouraging nod from Victor, sped away as fast as his four feet could take him.

In the silence that followed, Victor looked down at the girl on the ground in front of him. The baser part of him wanted to make her suffer for what she attempted to do, what she would have done if not for the magic that now surrounded them. But, everything he wanted was in direct opposition to what his Princess wanted, and what she wanted, she got.

Victor sat on the ground next to Marie. She turned to face him, her eyes glassy and distant.

"I killed the little whore, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did," Victor lied, setting Marie up for the mental work Princess has begged him to do with this newly awoken talent.

"Good. She can't ruin anything else for me, ever again."

"No, Marie, she won't. You'll never see her again. Now, sleep."

He felt the phoenix's magic sweep through her mind, making the changes he wished. After it was done, he was disinclined to move. The sun was a warm weight and a nice contrast from the crisp wind. The world was still and green and his wolf felt at home.

He sat until his pack raced from the treeline, more than one mind filled with blood red revenge.

"Marie won't remember much of what happened." Victor spoke without moving. His gaze never left Marie, while his fear, anger and bloodlust warred against what he knew Sang wanted. "She'll carry the guilt of killing her sister, but it'll feel distant to her, like it happened in the past. She'll also be very disinclined to talk about her sister, so someone will need to talk to Derrick to make sure he knows not to bring her up.

"Marie will be able to look at Sang, and she'll be a stranger. There will be no emotional connection to her at all. This is what Sang wanted."

"How were you able to do this? This level of emotional manipulation is not a power from our wolves." Owen asked quietly.

"The phoenix, I guess. It's not in my head like my wolf. It's just.. a presence. Sang told me what she wanted for Marie, and then I asked the phoenix to do it, and it did."

"So we're just going to let Marie get away with what she did?" Nathan spat.

"Sang and Victor are alive," Silas added solemnly. "Victor got rid of the threat. This is what Sang wants. Hurting Marie because she hurt us isn't worth angering Aggele mou. What do we need to do now?"

Owen pulled himself up straight, pleased to have something else to focus on. "Approximately how long can we expect Miss Sorenson to sleep?"

"I believe it would be safe to say tomorrow morning. The process wasn't terribly... gentle."

"Nathan, Lucian, and Gabriel, quickly make your way to the Sorenson residence and start removing any of Sang's belongings and our monitoring equipment. As soon as you are in range, please have Sean bring a vehicle to the service road."

Owen silently queried Victor and received a reluctant affirmation in return.

"Silas, please take Miss Sorenson to the service road and await Sean."

Without preamble, Silas hauled Marie up over his shoulder and started in the direction of the road.

Victor knew it was time to explain. Time to put to word all the things that seem so impossible in his head. He didn't know how to start, couldn't even get the words out of his mouth. He was surprised when Owen unceremoniously sat on the ground. He was at an angle, so Victor didn't have to meet his eyes, and that surprisingly helped.