Sapphire Bones

Sanctuary

"What kind of exchanges?"

"Ones I wasn't willing to make. Money isn't enough to hand my friends over to the authorities," I said.

"They actually thought you were willing to hand them over?" Jax scoffed, shaking his head. He went to try and find a seat but gave up quickly knowing I destroyed pretty much everything in sight with unbridled rage.

"They were intent on me taking one of those deals. The guy wasn't Lycan, or at least he wasn't a full Lycan," I noted audibly.

"I saw that too – but hybrids in the Council?"

"I know," I shook my head in disbelief, and Jax mirrored my movements.

"We should probably find Cole and Roddy before anything else. We never actually offered them asylum," Jax said. At one point, about a month after I took over as Alpha, I offered it to them. No catches, gimmicks, or anything really. Cole seemed hesitant to decline my initial offer but Roddy made sure I knew his answer was a hard no. They knew one day the council would find out about their existence but hoped they were long dead when that day came.

"I offered it to Cole about a month after my official commencement but he declined. At this point if he doesn't take it they're as good as dead," I said and pulled my phone from my pocket. "If the Council finds and questions them," I trailed off and searched through the contacts until I hit Cole's cellphone. With a tap of my finger I dialed the number and pulled the speaker to my ear as it buzzed with the tone. I watched Jax as he moved about the living room, waiting.

"Corvo-," Cole's voice sounded over the phone as soon as the buzzing stopped.

"God Cole, where the fuck are you guys?" I hissed back, shooting Jax a reassuring glare that they were alive. An audible sigh ricocheted through the room. Jax retreated for the kitchen to find anything left in one piece but returned with nothing in hand. He rummaged through a bookcase against a wall, busying himself while I was preoccupied.

"Word got out that we survived the attack. We had to leave," Cole sounded breathless over the phone.

"Get to Emerald, now," I barked before he had a chance to say any more. "Jax and I went to your apartment and a couple bounty hunters were waiting for you. I got them off your tail but that means you have to accept the asylum," I demanded, my Alpha voice coming through thanks to Zane in the back of my head taking the reins. I knew the voice had no chance with Lycan's outside of the pack but I had to try.

"You know we don't want-,"

"Goddamnit Cole do you want to live?" My grip on the phone nearly crushed the metal brick in my hand but I took a breath before I permanently bent the phone. Jax returned empty-handed again, and found a place to lean while he waited. I made no intention of leaving the apartment until I got some sort of reassurance from the man on the other line.

"Roddy and I don't want to be prisoners for the rest of our lives."

"You wouldn't be my prisoners!"

"Then what would we be? If we left the territory a bounty hunter would be waiting," Cole said, voice much softer now. Traffic noise buzzed through the phone behind Cole's breathing, and Roddy let out a quick growl, loud enough to hear through the speaker.

"Cole it won't be like that. Just till after the trial. The Council will see that the Ruby murders were from an outside source."

"That doesn't excuse the law in place. We're fugitives, Corvo."

"Iknowthat," I hissed back. "Please, just go to Emerald and I'll meet you there."

"You said something about the trial – that's months away."