“I don’t believe you.”
She laughs sharply. “Believe what you like. Assume I’m lying, I don’t care. But as it stands, there is no way on earth your little witch-bird half-breed will find us. We are spelled, hidden, and buried, and with all those new omegas—there may not be enough power in their blood for my spell, but it’s enough to stay hidden for decades—how many will you allow to suffer when you could end it by coming to me?”
“I’m not the one allowing them to suffer!”
“If I get what I need for my spell—if you come to me, alone, and allow me to take your blood, I will let every one of them go.”
I shouldn’t trust her. I don’t. But also… What choice do I have? I look over at my sleeping mates. And I think about the pain in Andrea’s eyes. My throat constricts. Not from magic, but dread. Pain. Loss. Grief.
Deidre narrows her eyes. “Your mates cannot know—”
“There must be another way,” I whisper, more to myself than to her. I don’t want to give her my blood. I don’t want to leave here. It’s home. They are my home. There’s a strange tingling around my heart, a fire in my chest full of anxiety.
“There is not.” She watches me for a long while, eyes boring into me, unblinking. Waiting. “They cannot know. If they do, they will never let you come.” Her lips curl into something between a smile and a sneer. “I will be watching you, Mona. If I find out you told them? I’ll begin with the youngest wolf. I’ll work my way through them, one by one, ensuring a spelled and rutting alpha tears them apart with their cocks, and I’ll do itwithoutputting the girls through magick’d-heat. Then I will bleed them dry, burn their still-breathing bodies, and then snatch more deltas off the streets so I can do it all over again. They’re easy to grab, after all.”
My whole body shakes. Even in this state, my hands get clammy. Nausea churns in my stomach. “How can you—” I suck in a breath, feeling dizzy. “How can you be like this? They are living beings. They have lives, families—”
“I do not give a single fuck abouttheirfamilies. They can rot in hell for all I care.” Her eyes flash with emotion.
I bite down so hard my jaw clicks. On a shaky breath, I say, “What’s the spell? If I do this, if I come to you, and you use my blood for this spell, and you let them all go, I want to know what the spell is. I need to know what it’s for. If you’re just going to hurt more people—”
“Believe it or not, the spell won’t actually affect the shifters or anyone else. It’s personal.”
“I have no reason to believe—”
“You’re just going to have to trust me.”
“Tell me what this is really about, Deidre.”
She's quiet at first. And then, “The longer you live,” she says, her voice softening, “the more you must carry your regrets. But certain choices… they leave marks that can’t be erased. The purpose of the spell isn’t your concern. I promise you it has no connection to the shifters. I won’t cause them any more suffering while I pursue this.” There’s so much sincerity and conviction in her words, I almost believe her.
My mind races. There are so many things wrong with this. I should say no. I donottrust her. And it’s probably a trap. I need to tell her to fuck off. But I’ve seen all the faces of the missing wolves. I’ve memorized their names, their clans, their features, the sounds of their cries, the looks on their faces as tears stream down their cheeks while they beg for help.
Lily and Silas. All their pain.
I can’t turn my back on them. “Let the other wolves go, and I’ll come.”
“I suppose I’ll just kill them all now, then.” She sighs and takes a step back, and I shriek.
“No! Okay! Okay! I’ll come. But you let those wolves go the moment I arrive, or I swear my pack will hunt you down and tear you apart.” I don’t know how they’ll find me, but she doesn’t need to know that.
Deidre shakes her head, but I cut her off. “I need some assurance. If you’re planning to kill them anyway, then there’s no reason for me to come.”
She snarls. Whatever she wants from me must be worth it, because finally, she gives a single nod. My stomach stays knotted.
“Deal. Now, not a word to your mates. Head south by tomorrow evening, and I’ll slip into your dreams tomorrow night with further instructions.”
She vanishes before I can respond, leaving me with a mix of relief and dread. The deal is done. I can’t take it back now.
Well, that’s not true.
I could just not go. I could stay here and tell my mates everything.
Anxiety crawls up my throat. Images of all the women flash through my mind.
No, that’s not even a choice, because I know what would happen—my mates protective instincts would go into overdrive. Meanwhile, we’re no closer to finding them, and Deidre promised to extract every ounce of suffering and power the shifters posses before killing them slowly. I believe her. After everything? After Silas and Lily, and what I’ve seen in the Silo?
Ibelieveher.
