Sapphire Bones

Severance

"Alpha Edwards my name is Mia Montgomery. You and my brother have been in communications for the past month, is that correct?" Mia turned her gaze back up to me. This was the woman in charge of L's safety during her stay. Zane's ears perked, and his attention peaked as soon as she introduced herself.

"Yes," I nodded. "We settled a couple of debts made by our fathers." Letting her in on the information from discussions seemed natural. Tyler and her most likely spoke frequently, yet my last conversation with Tyler showed fear in his voice. Worry about his sister. And now I stood face to face with her, and she seemed fine for a woman controlled by the Lycan government.

"I'm happy the past has been put to rest," she smiled. It took her a minute, but Mia started back up again with the same cold face like the rest of the Council. Her emotions changed drastically within seconds. If I blinked I missed them. Extremes, on one side of the emotional spectrum or another. She struggled to find the right one for the situation as if her memory of emotions were clouded by Council control. "My brother most likely told you about my assignment, and I know why you're here."

I watched Mia with sharp eyes. She kept hers trained on mine, not shifting them for any movement or sound in the background. But I couldn't help but shift every time a rogue noise hit me.

"I have an hour before the cells underground are locked down for the evening. Do you want to see her?"

I blinked and stepped back half a foot's worth. My throat closed in on itself, and my lungs shriveled as I looked on.

"I'll take you to her," Mia continued. "You can see her and speak with her if you wish but this opportunity expires in two minutes." Her voice hardened into a boulder at the riverside. Her icy exterior froze the area around us. I held onto a shiver that wanted to claw its way through my nerves.

"Why?" I narrowed my gaze. If I knew anything about the council, it's that no favors were without repercussions. "Why would you do this for me?"

"I haven't had the same amount of psych training as the rest of the Handlers. As of right now I'm on thin ice, and as soon as they find out that I'm offering this, or that I even thought about this offer I'll be strapped to a chair and left there until I submit," Mia snapped, teeth bared as her Lycan roots took hold in her head. Despite Council members being stripped of their wolves as soon as they're recruited, many of their instincts remained intact and lasted past the training and submission they were forced into. "So what do you say, Edwards?" Mia cocked one of her bushy brows.

A chance to see L one last time before the trial. One more chance to get a look at her, up close, and see what kind of outer shell she was actually made of. L went through hell and back, and for a long time, I refused to admit it. One look at her, besides the glazed over eyes that shielded the damage beneath, a person wouldn't guess her a criminal. A killer nonetheless.

"You're serious," I broke out of my thoughts with a questioning glare. Mia turned her brow back down and nodded softly. She took a quick step back, motioning for me to follow.

"Give me one moment," I added, a hand in the air to pause her. Before she could respond I jogged back over to Luis and the others.

"Who is that?" Matty questioned with a head bob Mia's way.

"Mia, Tyler's sister," I said. "I'll see you later; I have some business to take care of with a Councilmember." I lied through my teeth, hopeful nobody would second guess my assertions. Thankfully, they allowed me to leave without question as to my real intentions. I took that as my chance to escape their looks and went back to Mia. She hadn't moved since I left her. As soon as I came up next to her she took off down the hallway. Five-inch heels didn't slow the girl down. She took long strides, not taking a moment to glance back at me as she moved effortlessly through the halls as if there were a map painted in the air in front of her. I chased after her in every effort to keep up but the girl moved quickly, faster than I could without running. Her figure blurred away from me. My pace quickened.