AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 35
Margo
My mother was crying, and my father was torn between comforting her, checking on me, and watching the drama unfold outside. Ignoring the pain in my left arm, I pressed my face against the window to get a better look.
The wolf who had attacked me had scared me, but I was certain he’d hesitated at the last moment. I thought I recognised his dark eyes. Pavel, the werewolf I’d scared off before, had those same eyes. His brother had said he acted angry when he was scared, and perhaps Vira’s arrival had pushed him over the edge. How could I blame him for that? Vira scared me.
He hadn’t bitten me, more like he knocked me aside. He could have easily torn out my throat before Dorian caught up to him. I guessed Victor was the second wolf who had helped, but so many others seemed to appear out of nowhere, jumping out of vehicles in both human and wolf form. I hadn’t even noticed half of the vehicles arriving.
Watching them defend me, some of them circling the car protectively while the fight was still going on, made me feel a part of something, as though I truly belonged. There was no way I was going to listen to Vira. The pack were the helpers. If her people attacked them, then the least I could do was stick around to warn them. After all, they protected me, and they loved Dorian. They had weird ways of showing that love sometimes, but I was beginning to understand their language. Besides that, they had even tracked down my birth mother to help me. I owed them.
The wolf who attacked me grew subdued as Byron approached. Even Mam stopped crying to listen as the alpha declared that I was under his protection. Then an older woman threw herself at Byron’s feet, pleading with him, begging him to spare her son. He briefly squeezed his eyes shut, a nauseated look on his face. He didn’t want to hurt the wolf or the woman. He had no choice but to dole out a punishment because appearances were most important to the pack. They had to feel as though he could protect them and control every situation, regardless of the outcome. The wolf who had attacked me out of fear had to be punished because everyone was watching. The last punishment had been death, so I knew I couldn’t sit there and watch it all play out.
I pitied Pavel. I pitied his mother. I understood their fear. They weren’t wrong. The harbingers would come, if Vira was to be believed. He had acted out of desperation, like I had, like Dorian had, like Mara and so many others had. The consequences didn’t always have to lead to violence. Maybe I couldn’t change the outcome, but I had to give Byron Evans a way to take the high road without looking weak. I had to tell them what Vira had said.
I jumped out of the car before my parents could stop me. “Wait!” I called out. “I have something to say.”
My parents got out of the car to stand behind me. The wolves circling the car moved to circle Dorian, Victor, and the wolf who had attacked me instead. I had never felt as safe in my life, never felt as much a part of something, even though I had been attacked moments earlier. Something was happening to me, to all of us. If the pack could protect me, a scary urban legend, despite their fear and apprehension, then there was hope for everyone.
“He hesitated,” I said. “He could have killed me, but he barely hurt me. Only that I fell against the car. I wanted to ask you not to hurt him. I get that I’m scary to be around. I’m scared, too. I wouldn’t knowingly hurt anyone, but I make you sense death, and that can’t feel good. There are so many stories and rumours about people like me, people like you, but maybe none of us are what the stories make of us.”
“Margo,” Byron said. “Are you sure about this?”
“If he tried to hurt me, then I should get a say in how he’s punished, right? It’s only fair. I used to be scared of the pack, but I’m not anymore. I am scared of harbingers though. My birth mother came here to help me, but all she did was tell me to run away. She thinks people like her will try to hurt the pack, but if I can sense death, then maybe I can help warn the pack.”
“Margo,” Mam murmured. “What are you doing?”
“What feels right,” I said, my hands shaking. Everyone was listening to me as though what I said was important, as though I mattered. “Vira said the pack will grow stronger, but that will draw the harbingers attention. If I’m an early warning signal, then… then…” I gestured towards the restrained wolf. “I mean, he wasn’t totally wrong, and if Vira was telling the truth, then the pack needs everyone, right?” I was rapidly losing my confidence under the stare of Byron Evans. “I don’t want anyone else to get hurt. Not now.”
“Do you understand what you’re asking?” Byron said coolly. “It can’t be taken back. You can’t change your mind later.”
“I understand,” I said, hoping he understood, too. “Please do me this favour.”
He shot me a look I didn’t understand as he helped the woman to her feet. “He’ll have to leave. If Pavel can’t be trusted here, he can live with my son on his land. You can stay or go with him. It’s your choice.”
“Thank you,” she said, a string of words I didn’t understand jumping from her mouth as she fell at his feet again.
Byron looked uncomfortable as he helped her up for a second time. He gestured towards the wolf. “Take him then. We need to settle this back on pack land.”
Victor growled then stepped back. Dorian couldn’t resist a swift shake before letting go of the wolf.
The woman gripped her wolf son by the scruff of his neck and hauled him to his feet. He whined louder than he had at the sight of the alpha. She scolded him in another language, somehow dragging him after her, despite his size. Another wolf looked right at me before following them.
The rest of the wolves dispersed, and Byron approached my parents to apologise. I wondered if Dorian was angry with me.
“I don’t understand why you would do that,” Mam said in disbelief to me. “What possessed you to get out of the car?”
“I had to make it right,” I said, holding Byron’s gaze. “I get how the pack works now. You didn’t want to hurt him, but you had to make them believe you would. Right? I did the right thing, didn’t I?”
His face remained expressionless. “You made a strong move,” was all he said about it. “You won’t have trouble from him again.” He looked at Dad. “I know there isn’t anything I can do to make up for this. Take Margo to the hospital. I’m sure you’re more than ready for a break from us.”
“I’m not,” I said. “Can you please ask Dorian to meet me at the hospital? I need to talk to him.”
Byron looked to my parents first, and only when they agreed did he nod at me. “Of course,” he said, but he hesitated. “Vira left. I’d like to hear more about what she told you, but take your time. You’ve had quite a shocking day.”
“Typical,” I said, trying my best to hide an unsettling sense of disappointment.
“Before she left, she warned Dorian that you were in danger. She had one of your episodes, it seems. It caused her a great deal of pain, and she was so shocked by the experience that she said she would leave as soon as we came here. Take care of yourself, Margo. You aren’t pure-blooded, as your mother said, and you have suffered from using your gift. Vira cared enough about you to hide you from her people and suffer the consequences of saving you. I think she earned our respect, even in part, even if we cannot like her.”
