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“The shifters bring death to you, all of the time,” she said urgently. “Your body can’t withstand it. You might be a death-eater, but you are no true harbinger. Your blood isn’t pure enough to handle this constant flow of death around you. You will die. Death itself will kill you on its way to take others.”
“That’s… that can’t be right,” I protested. “There has to be a way to survive this.”
She hesitated for a second. “There’s a chance that my people will help you, but if you come with me, you must come alone. Your family won’t be welcome amongst my kind.”
Her words refused to sink in. I didn’t understand what was happening.
“You came here with us for this?” Dad blurted angrily. “To steal her back? You told us your people were a danger to her!”
Mam abruptly rose to her feet. “There’s no way.” Her hands clenched into fists. “Never going to happen.”
“I don’t steal, and I don’t want her,” Vira said bluntly. Then she looked at me. “You were never meant to stop death. That’s not your gift. We keep a balance. If anything, we help death. What you do is wrong, everything I was warned against. I ran away all of those years ago because I thought my people were mistaken. Then you were born, and I was so afraid that I let you go and ran right back to them. Now, knowing what I know about you, I can see how right they’ve been all along, and if you come with me, you’ll understand it, too. It’s a sin to upset the balance. It’s not what we were made to do.”
“You can’t be serious,” I whispered. The way she was speaking, the things she was saying… It was all so wrong.
“Even if you don’t come with me,” she continued as though I hadn’t spoken, “you must leave these animals. They’ll keep growing stronger, more dangerous. They will be targeted. When my people find them here, they will kill them all and anyone who gets in their way. You will die if you’re here when my people arrive.”
“You’re going to bring them, aren’t you?” I said, my anger rapidly rising. “If you hurt anyone here, I swear—“
“I don’t want to cause pain.” She sounded distraught. “I don’t want any of this. I only explain what I know. These shifters are the natural enemies of my people. They always have been. They’ll kill you without even meaning to, just by existing next to you. They are provoking things in you which can never be controlled. Your best choice is to live amongst my people, where no wolf dare tread. We’re safe together, protected from death’s true embrace. You won’t survive here. There’s no chance at all.”
“You’re terrified of your people,” Dad protested. “They won’t help Margo. They murdered her biological father!”
I froze, unable to speak.
For a second, Vira faltered, but then she gathered herself together. “I never said that.”
“It’s true though, isn’t it? I could see it in your eyes. Your people are dangerous.” He shot me a guilty look. “Sorry, Margo.”
“I’m all right,” I whispered. I looked at Vira. “And I have no intentions of going near her people.”
“My people might not accept you, but the wolves will surely kill you. I don’t know what else to do for you.”
“You never said this before,” Dad said. “You were different before we came here.”
“That’s because I hadn’t seen her!” Vira’s cheeks turned pink. “I didn’t know she was walking around with death leaking out of her! Are you not afraid? I am.”
“I’ll never be afraid of Margo,” Mam said in a pointed tone. “I’m her mother.”
Vira made a scoffing sound before muttering something unintelligible under her breath.
“You called me a death-eater,” I said. “Why would that be possible if I wasn’t meant to use it?”
“Look at you.” She sounded horrified. “Death is already nibbling at you. What you’re doing is hurting you. I can feel it, see it. Surely you can, too.”
“I’m saving people,” I said stubbornly. “Helping them. I don’t want to hide away somewhere. There has to be a reason I can do this. I have to use this power to help people. I can’t stop it, so there must be a way to use it safely. The werewolves want to help people, too. Help me do it.”
“Help you?” She rose to her feet, her eyes wild and emotional. “Follow this path, and your death will soon come, abomination. This was a waste of time.”
She stormed out, slamming the door behind her. I exchanged disgusted looks with my parents. “That didn’t go very well, did it?”
“I don’t trust her,” Mam said. “How do we even know she’s the mother?”
I tried to rub the chill from my arms. “She scares me. Is this how everyone else feels around me?”
“Stop that.” Dad wrapped his arms around me. “I’m sorry. This wasn’t what I expected either. I thought she would be able to help, but her idea of help is unreasonable at best. She was unravelling in front of us. How can we trust anything she says?”
“What if she’s right about the pack?” Mam said. “What if they are hurting you? You were fine before we came here. Well, mostly.”
