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We followed the others into the kitchen. We leaned against the counter together, while the adults sat around the small table. Mam looked uncomfortable, her knuckles whitening where she gripped the corner of the table. The tension reached out to me, making it impossible to stay still. The kettle was still boiling, and my fidgeting soon drew Byron’s attention.
“I wanted to tell you myself,” he said, focusing on me. His gaze was so intense that the rest of the world fell away. “Your birth mother came to see us today with a request from the harbingers.”
The words echoed in my head. Dorian’s fingers pressing against mine straightened my thoughts. I looked at my boyfriend. “Is she still here?”
Did I want her to be?
He shook his head. “She was different,” he murmured.
“Ryan followed her to the airport,” Byron continued. “She left immediately after speaking with us, but we believe she’ll be back.”
“Back?” Dad said. “Why? When?”
“In a month,” Nathan told him, but he looked at me. “Prepare yourself, Margo.”
I straightened at the look in his eye, holding on to Dorian a little bit tighter.
“Why? What did she say?” Mam asked, reaching for Dad’s hand. “What did she want this time?”
Byron leaned back in his seat, but he focused on me again. “She warned us that the harbingers plan to take you in, Margo. They know about you, and they want you to leave with them. They’ll be back for an answer in a month, according to her.”
Something in his tone made me feel like there was more he wasn’t saying. “Was it… Was she giving us a heads-up? Or…”
“She was speaking on their behalf,” Nathan said. “Passing on their demands.”
My parents exchanged a horrified glance. “No,” Mam muttered. “Why would she? I don’t understand that woman at all.”
The harbingers wanted me. Why? And why would Vira change her mind so completely? This was no happy family reunion. Dread surrounded me. None of it felt right. “So they want an answer from me,” I said, thinking hard. “And if it’s a no?”
“Then things may get nasty,” Byron said. “Vira worded it that way.”
“They may be testing us to see what we’re prepared to do,” Nathan said, “or it might also be empty words designed to frighten you.”
“How could she come back here for this?” Mam whispered.
“It is concerning,” Byron said, “but at the same time, this gives us an opportunity. There has to be more information on harbingers out there, and we have time to find it. An entire month to batten down the hatches. My son has people on the ground in mainland Europe, which gives us a massive advantage. If they’re trying to intimidate us, they’ll find it isn’t so easy.”
“If that was the only compound,” Dad said, breaking the silence that followed. “Vira told Dorian she was once supposed to be sent away for marriage. That makes it sound like there’s at least one more compound out there.”
“True,” Byron said, managing to sound completely relaxed. “There will always be unknowns. Our goal now is to reach out and uncover as much information as possible before they return.”
“That presence on the mountains,” Dad said warily. “What if they bring that here?”
“We don’t know what that was,” Byron said, “but they won’t expose themselves. Rest easy. We’re well-protected here."
“Will Vira come back alone?” I asked.
“I doubt it,” Byron said. “If they’re curious about the pack, they could put on a show of power. If they’re curious about you, then they’ll want to see you.” He sighed. “Margo, they’ll want to hear the answer directly from you, I’m afraid. How do you feel about that?”
“I’ll be there.” I rubbed at the cast on my arm, desperate to scratch an unreachable itch. “I’m not scared to talk to them. Not with the pack there.”
“Of course we’ll be there,” Nathan said, and I felt Dorian relax against me.
“Margo, no,” Mam protested. “You can’t be seriously considering talking to these people.”
“They won’t leave us alone if we don’t face this,” I said stubbornly.
Byron nodded. “And your answer will be?”
