Howling to the Heart || Isaac Lahey

71.

"This is so much damn information," Neriah complained from the backseat of Allison's car five minutes after she was picked up from school. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you think the evil witch is your father, even though you hope he isn't."

"Darach," Allison corrected Neriah as she looked in the review mirror.

Neriah waved a hand, laying down across the leather seats. "Same thing, kinda." Isaac snorted, passing back a blood bag that made her smile as she took it. "Look, I wouldn't be that surprised if it's your dad because of the whole hunter thing, but are you sure about this? The Darach put vervain in the coaches whistle and your dad doesn't know I'm a hybrid."

"Uh, about that..." Allison nervously mumbled.

Neriah quickly sat back up with wide eyes, hitting her head on the window. "You told him?" she exclaimed.

"No! I swear I didn't!" Allison quickly said, shaking her head while Isaac nervously glanced between them. "Somehow he figured it out and confronted me about it, but I swear I didn't tell him."

Neriah slowly nodded, biting into the blood bag as she continued to listen to her heartbeat, knowing she was telling the truth.

"On my dad's desk there was a fivefold knot and in each circle there was one word: virgins, warriors, healers, philosophers, and guards," Allison explained again. "So far that matches the victims that have been taken and killed."

"And Mr. Westover had just been taken," Neriah muttered, pulling the blood bag away from her mouth. "Between the alpha pack and the evil witch, I'm so lost. You know what? I'm going on a nice ass holiday after this. Maybe somewhere with a beach and I can sip pina colada's all day. Oh, wait, maybe somewhere I can go snowboarding—"

"Riah," the both of them said at the same time, making the hybrid roll her eyes as she drank from her blood bag again. "Let's just focus on the issue at hand," Allison said, slowing the car down to a power station. "That's my dad's car."

Neriah leaned forward between the seats, spotting the SUV as she finished her blood bag. "One question. What do we do when we find him?"

Allison looked down at her with a small cringe. "I'll figure that out."

Neriah raised a brow as the huntress stopped the car. "So we're just going in there without a plan? Cool, 'cause that always goes well."

"You really don't think we should call Scott?" Isaac questioned.

Allison looked at the both of them, holding up a dagger. "Stay behind me and stay quiet."

"Here we go," Neriah groaned as Allison got out of the car, closing the door behind her.

Isaac sighed, looking back at Neriah. "Oh, this is so not gonna end well."

"Nope," Neriah said, popping the 'p' as she got out of the backseat. "I would've taken getting into a fight with Cora over this."

"Still wish I saw that," he mused, following close behind her.

Neriah shook her head, slowing down her pace as she caught up to Allison and the three of them walked through large open doors, stepping into the eerie quiet building.

"FYI, if your dad tries to kill me, I'm gonna defend myself," Isaac whispered to Allison from behind Neriah.

"If my dad tries to kill you, you'll be dead," Allison countered, looking around them as they took slow steps.

Isaac sarcastically laughed. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"I'm starting to feel a little better about being a hybrid right now," Neriah mumbled, only to stop and grab Allison, making her stop with her as she turned around. "I smell blood."