Faith Heights

Chapter 50

Theo's eyes turned away. "Again, they're angels. I'm sure they had a reason for needing to..." He couldn't finish, but I knew he was trying to rationalise. Angels weren't just supposed to go around killing people. They were here to help us.

"They must have had a reason." He added hoarsely.

I shook my head. "It wasn't like that. You didn't see Leclair. They didn't just kill her. Her body was ripped apart, as if they weren't sure they'd finished the job with the first hundred attempts."

"Fine. I believe you," He said, although his tone implied that it was a reluctant belief. Still, I knew he wouldn't give me up, and that was all I could ask for right now.

Theo rose to leave, and I tried to follow- but he stopped me. "You need to stay here where it's safe."

I rolled my eyes. "Christ. You and Jackson need to have your egos surgically reduced. You really think you have a better chance at protecting me against angels?" 

I didn't give him a chance to respond. "Nowhere is safe, Theo. They're going to find me eventually, so I might as well get out there and do something. I can't just stay here and-"

"You can stay in here, and you're sure as hell going to." His voice rumbled. I'd never heard such a rough, dark tone from him. It was the first time I'd ever truly seen him embody his role as alpha.

He continued, "If I have to, I'll have James and Dylan take turns as your prison guard. It has nothing to do with thinking we could ever stand a chance against angels; you're going to stay here, because if we let you loose on the school, you will undoubtedly start a panic throughout the entire town."

He sighed. "You're still new to the supernatural world, Lila. If you go down there right now and say the wrong thing... you wouldn't simply be making things worse. You would set off a chain of events that might implicate Jackson, the rest of the pack, Rhea... everyone that you care about. The angels don't care about what you have to say. They care about preserving their puritanical self-images."

I tried to argue, but he cut me off. "You might have good intentions, but without the knowledge of how to properly enact those intentions, you'll only hurt yourself- and those around you. And while you're as much a part of this pack as Gabe is, I'll be damned if I let you out of here when your actions could put the others directly in the angels' path."

Before I could react, either with surprise that he saw me as part of his pack or anger at consequently falling under his dictatorship, Theo marched from the room, slamming the door behind him. I echoed the door's groan with one of my one, only the smallest fragment of my mind acknowledging the maddening truth of his words. He was a stubborn, arrogant male werewolf unused to having his orders challenged, but in this instance, I knew he was right. I didn't have anywhere else to go, or a way off the campus passed the angels. But I couldn't just stay still and do nothing while everyone else took care of the problems I'd created. It wasn't right. I couldn't risk my friends being caught helping me while I hid away like a criminal fugitive. 

Against my better judgement, I begrudgingly decided to stay put until Jackson or Theo returned. But not a moment longer. Hell hath no fury like a woman told that she's helpless.

The hours ticked by at an agonising pace. I had to put Jackson's clock in a drawer to muffle the painfully loud ticking. I could still hear the occasional voice in the corridor, which kept my mind from spooking. I wasn't alone here. 

I didn't have much battery life left on my phone, but I needed to check up on the people closest to me. As long as they were safe, I could keep my mind from spiralling.