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My heart was beating so loud the sound was like drums, drums of doom thundering through the room. His fist turned white, and the veins on his arms stood out like they would burst.
“I’m sorry,” I sobbed. “I’m so sorry. I had nothing to do with this, I swear.”
Killian rushed into the house as I spoke, with Nazanin behind him, and only then did it register I’d smelt their scent. They heard everything.
“Diana, you didn’t do this,” Kaleem growled, but I was still filled with self-loathing.
I couldn’t look at Killian or Nazanin. I’d begged for the pack to return to Wolfcreek, and now the past was repeating itself. Why had I given Colin the benefit of the doubt that he’d learned his lesson?
“I begged you to let the pack return, and now your people are in danger again,” I sniffled. “Colin has allies, Kaleem. That’s very clear if he’s brave enough to do this.”
Kaleem and Killian looked at each other, and Nazanin crossed the room to take my hand.
“You and your father are exceptional wolves, Diana. No one blames you for this,” her eyes were rimmed with tears, and I thought of her budding relationship with my Dad.
I could see how panicked she was, and when she pulled me in, I hugged her back without hesitation. We needed to do something. I needed to do something.
I’d wasted enough time, and Colin was perhaps hurting my Dad for every minute I was here.
“We’ll get him back,” Kaleem growled as if hearing my thoughts, and Nazanin and I released each other.
“We need to think about this for a second,” Killian countered, and Kaleem grew even more pissed.
His dominance slipped from him, a mere ounce of it, and Killian recoiled.
Kaleem retracted his power and took a step back. He was holding onto his wrath by a thread, and I was terrified, not of him but of what was about to happen.
What has Colin done?
“I’m saying Diana is right,” Killian continued to say. “We might be walking into something because Colin wouldn’t be stupid enough to do this when half of our forces are more than his entire pack.”
Kaleem turned his back to us. “Even so, the choices are, I give up the pack, or Mathieu dies, and he takes the pack anyway.”
“Let me make a call, brother, and then we leave to get Mathieu,” Killian said, and Kaleem nodded.
“I’m coming with you,” I announced, and Kaleem shook his head while turning to face me.
“No,” he said softly, but the command was clear.
“Kaleem, he’smyfather, and no matter what you say, this is my mess too. I have to come with you!”
“I said no!” he yelled, and my body shook. Nazanin placed a hand on my back, and Kaleem took a breath. “I need you here, on the grounds and behind barriers that can protect you. Okay? I’ll bring Mathieu home, and then I’ll deal with Colin. I won’t be able to focus, knowing you might be in danger. Okay?”
I bit down on my lip, fighting my tears and the urge to rebel and do as I pleased, but Kaleem was right. I’d be a distraction.
With a few strides, he crossed the room and hugged me.
“I love you,” I told him, and he squeezed me a little harder. “Be careful, please.”
“I always am,” he replied and released me. “And I love you too, Princess. I’ll bring your father home.”
He looked at Nazanin, a silent message passing between them, and then he left. I watched him, and Killian go, and I started praying to the Goddess like never before.
This war wasn’t going to be like the first. It was going to be worse, and this time, I feared, more lives would be lost.
