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I couldn’t believe he even had to ask. “It’s a hard no. I don’t want to go there, ever.”
A line of tension across his forehead smoothed over. “Good. We can’t tell you what to do, but none of us wants to risk leaving you with those people. Vira was not the same. She appeared underweight and injured, perhaps indoctrinated. I offered her protection, but she was too scared to take it. I’m worried about her.”
I felt uncomfortable at the thought of my biological mother being hurt or scared, but I tried to shrug off the feeling.
Byron looked at me sternly then. “Margo, and you, too, Dorian, listen to me carefully. No matter what happens, no matter what they threaten, you cannot leave yourself vulnerable to these people under any circumstances. I don’t know what they want with you, Margo, but I don’t trust them. The only way I can keep the people here safe is to be sure of the fact that none of you will take any unnecessary risks.”
Dorian cleared his throat. “We won’t do anything stupid this time. Promise.”
“Same,” I muttered, embarrassed as the adults’ knowing gazes fell upon us.
“Then I will do everything possible to keep you safe,” Byron said.
“How can you talk like that?” Mam blurted. “She’s only been in danger since we got here. How on earth can you say you’ll keep her safe with a straight face?”
“This is our territory,” Nathan said in a tone that made it clear he was offended, “and we will protect it.”
Mam’s cheeks turned pink, her eyes shining with anger and fear. I didn’t blame her, but I wished she could see the pack as I did. They were our only hope.
Byron patted Nathan’s shoulder. “It’s been a struggle, but my greatest goal has always been to drive danger away from this place and make it a safe home for the people here. My priority right now is protecting everyone, pack and non-pack alike, from these harbingers.”
“Uh, how do we prepare ourselves?” Dad asked before Mam snapped again. “How can we help?”
“Go on as normal until we know more. In the meantime, make sure Margo keeps taking her medication and stays out of trouble. For now, we can’t tell if this is a token effort at retrieving Margo.” Byron glanced at Nathan. “We’re already setting up patrols. We’ll do our best to find out if any harbingers arrive early. If you see or hear anything out of the ordinary, don’t hesitate to tell us at any time.”
“It might be worth noting to the police, and even neighbours, that Margo’s biological family have made vague threats about taking her away,” Nathan said. “To cover all bases and keep a wider circle of people alert.”
“We can handle that,” Dad said. “We’ll spread the word so that people are more aware of strangers. It can’t hurt, right?” He glanced at Mam who reluctantly nodded.
“I thought we were going on as normal,” I said. “Sort of feels like I’ll be hidden in a locked tower with guards at the door.”
Nathan grinned at me. “Nothing that extreme, let’s hope. We could all be overreacting, right?”
I appreciated his effort to reassure me, but I couldn’t help sidling closer to Dorian for comfort. We had no idea what the harbingers wanted with me or what they could do. Without Vira on our side, we had little chance of ever finding out.
The renovationsto the community centre were going well. A special production was in the works to raise funds to replace equipment lost in the fire and refurbish the last of the rooms. The drama club was taking part, busily working on a popular musical while gleefully ignoring the fact that most of us couldn’t sing.
We had been trying our best to rehearse, but the builders and decorators kept getting in the way of our rehearsals. That was just as well because my mind was elsewhere.
I sat on a bench, squashed between Emma and Chloe, munching on a shared packet of crisps as we watched Tammie chew out a hapless young painter who had somehow managed to knock over an entire tub of blue paint onto a rack full of costumes.
“Imagine,’ Emma said with a dramatic sigh. “All of this is happening because a boy had a crush on me.”
Chloe and I exchanged a scornful glance. Emma was always over the top, but I had to admit I was getting used to her. I had only begun to settle in, and now the harbingers were trying to spoil it already.
Tammie’s voice grew in volume and drama, but I couldn’t focus. I kept seeing Byron’s face as he described my birth mother’s appearance.
“What’s with you today?” Chloe snatched the bag of crisps from my hands. “You didn’t even laugh when Tammie called him a shrivelled up ballbag.”
“Ah.” I tried to smile. “I have a lot on my mind.”
“What’s wrong?” Emma asked hopefully. “Problems with Dorian?”
I couldn’t help laughing at that. “No, you thirsty wench,” I teased. “I have some weird family stuff going on.”
“Do tell.” Emma’s attention was fully on me. “I could use the distraction.”
This time, I could see real pain in her eyes. She’d been having a hard time around town of late, and even I’d heard the nasty rumours about her egging on Adam’s delusions. Her lightness and brevity often covered up deeper issues. I was sure she felt at least a little guilty about her part in the recent arson attacks, unwitting as it had been, but some of the meaner gossips in town had been painting her as a manipulative harpy without a conscience.
