"Victoria, you need to leave these woods right now. I do not know what happened with Vaughn. I hadn't seen him since the night of the mating festival." Lucian ran his fingers through his hair once, looking agitated. "Take Genie and go back to my house right now."
"No." I said firmly. Lucian glared at me, clearly growing angrier by my defiance. I knew better than to argue with the Alpha, but I couldn't help myself. "You are going to tell me everything, Lucian. I'm not leaving this place until you tell me why you left without saying anything." To prove my point, I sat down on a fallen tree and crossed my arms, frowning.
Lucian muttered something unintelligible under his breath. It sounded slightly like he was cursing with my name followed close by. Before this could go any further, Lucian was in my face almost immediately. He yanked me up by the wrist.
"Do not argue with me, Victoria." he growled. Something dark glinted in his eyes. "Do as I tell you. Go check up on Flora or something. Here, take the keys." Lucian reached in his pocket and shoved a key into my face. It did not come as a surprise to see the head of the key was of a snarling silver wolf. Reluctantly, I plucked them out of his long fingers. "You cannot be in the woods tonight. Viktor and his pack are out here. I thought I coul-"
"You thought you could take them down?" I slapped his chest angrily. "Lucian! You cannot win this. Not alone, at least. Why wouldn't you bring the help of your pack? Vaughn's missing, Genie is out there all alone, and you won't tell me anything. I don't even know how to get out of the forest, dammit!"
The air got colder.
"Vaughn's dead." Lucian suddenly muttered. His voice was so soft that I almost didn't hear it. His eyes flashed golden for a second before turning cold grey again. The air around me felt still. The chirping of the birds were gone now. My mouth was still open from the words I was uttering before Lucian had interrupted me. My heart sank.
"What?"
"Vaughn is dead." Lucian turned away but I could make out his hurt from how the words trembled in his mouth. "I just felt it, Victoria. The Alpha always knows when a member of his pack died. He must have come out here without telling anyone to transform. He didn't know Viktor was also here. They must have killed him. Viktor knows that the second highest power, with the exception of you, can also hurt my pack. I suppose it is his way of sending a message." Lucian turned back around, his eyes burning. "Victoria, leave. Now."
Something about his tone made me stop from arguing. Just then Genie walked through the trees. The tear streaks down her face made my heart break into a million pieces. She said nothing and glared at Lucian like it was his fault. Before she could say anything, Lucian shoved me towards Genie.
"Take her to Riverwells." His voice held no emotion. "I will be there as soon as I can. Genie, I apologize for your loss. But you know what has to happen now. I'm sorry, Genie. You must leave the Winter Wolves."
Realization dawned on me, followed by untamed rage.
"You're kicking her out of the pack?" I turned around, absolutely seething. "It's not her fault, Lucian! She just lost her fucking mate. Have a little compassion, will you? Genie does not deserve to be banished because of something that was not even in her control. You are the living definition of a monster."
"I have no choice in the matter, Victoria." Lucian growled. "A wolf without a mate is an embarrassment. My own father died because he could not find one. Do not interfere in things you do not understand. We have rules Victoria. Genie." He motioned behind my shoulder.
"Fuck you, Lucian." I hissed. Genie grabbed my arm and began dragging me away. Tears spilled down my cheeks. Even though it was Genie who had just lost the most important thing to her, she was taking it better than I was. But I could tell the weight of what had just happened was already like an anchor to her heart. Her usually bright eyes were dull with sadness. But I refused to let Lucian make her leave.
When I needed a friend, Genie had been there. She helped me in so many ways and now Lucian was kicking her out like she had been worthless. And Vaughn was dead. Anger curled in my stomach. I was shocked that Genie had not completely flipped her switch yet. She stayed silent as we trekked back to the car Lucian had come here in.
"Key." Her voice was a monotone. I dropped the key into her open palm, unable to look her straight in the eyes. It was bad enough that she had lost Vaughn. And now she had to leave in shame because of some old-fashioned, strict werewolf rules that I did not understand.
Oh, I would give Lucian hell for this.
"Victoria-"
I threw my arms around her neck, sobbing quietly. The air was cold around us and the world seemed to have paused for this one heartbreaking moment. After a moment, Genie embraced me back. Her tears fell on my shirt, miserable and cold.