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“Thanks for keeping me updated.” He stood. “I’m sorry to leave so abruptly, Perdita, but time is of the essence. Dorian, text me that car registration number.”
When he left, I felt relieved that the alpha himself was taking charge of the situation, that he hadn’t acted as though I was overreacting.
“How are you doing?” Perdita asked as I leaned my head back and stared at the ceiling. Every single time things seemed to get back to normal, something else happened to cause chaos. “Are you hungry?”
“I’m not hungry.” I sighed. “I’m okay, just frustrated.” I texted both Byron and Victor while Perdita heated some food, completely ignoring my answer. I found I was hungry as I ended up devouring the food.
“I need her to get some peace,” I said as I ate. “They said she had a month. Why can’t they leave her alone?”
Vira had said the harbingers wanted an answer in a month, nothing about what they were going to do in the meantime. Did they plan on torturing her until she left with them?
“They’ll leave her be once they realise that she’s a part of our family,” Perdita said. “We won’t be easily intimidated, and they’re on our territory now.”
I laughed despite myself. “You suddenly sound very wolfy.”
“Everyone knows you don’t get on the wrong side of a pregnant woman,” she teased. “Those harbingers made a big mistake pissing me off.”
I knew she was only trying to comfort me, but it worked, and my heart felt lighter again. The harbingers didn’t stand a chance against a united pack.
CHAPTER7
Margo
Mam’s fingersshook as she struggled to stick the key into the ignition. I reached out for her hand, covered it with mine, then gently squeezed.
She shuddered, took a deep breath, and then sat back in the driver seat, taking my hand into hers. “I need to calm down. I can’t stop thinking about what might happen. It feels like some sort of a nightmare, as though it couldn’t possibly be true. But reality keeps getting shoved in our faces, doesn’t it? How can I protect you fromthis?”
Noting the dark shadows under her eyes, I attempted a reassuring smile, though I was thoroughly shaken myself. “I’m okay, Mam. I promise I won’t go anywhere alone. I’m not going to take any risks.”
“You weren’t alone yesterday,” she protested. “Even Dorian was there, but they still—”
“Nobody got hurt yesterday.” Yet I couldn’t help fearing the worst. What if my gift didn’t work next time? “I sensed trouble. Dorian got us out of it. What else was he supposed to do? Chase after the car like a dog?”
“Of course not.” Her cheeks flushed with colour. “I didn’t mean it that way. I keep panicking at the thought of these people scurrying around in the shadows, watching you. How did they know where you were? And how come none of the werewolves noticed a stranger in town? They promised they would be able to protect you, but then those crazies came close enough to hurt you.”
“We don’t know for sure it was a harbinger in the car.” I was careful to keep my voice even. “The werewolves can track people, not cars.” Probably. There were a lot of things I still didn’t know about the pack and their capabilities. I knew less about my blood relatives. “The gardaí are better suited to tracking down vehicles.”
“You’re right. Why am I acting like this is the end of the world? We’re not completely powerless. Everybody needs to abide by laws. These people must have passports. They had to have been seen by somebody.” She patted my hand then started the car in one swift movement. “We’ll deal with this, the human way.”
“It can wait until after school, you know,” I reminded her. “You don’t have to miss work.”
“It’s important enough for a day off,” she said in a grim tone as she pulled the car away from the kerb. “Best get things rolling as quickly as possible.”
I tried to relax, too. Now that Mam had a focus, she let that drive her, even humming along to the radio on the way. I had to remember that she was completely human with only human solutions. Without a way forwards, she panicked harder, drifting along as the rest of us moved ahead. When everything was over, I was going to do better as a daughter and make sure my mother had a relaxing break with nothing supernatural to worry about.
If we survive.
I tried to brush that dark thought away, but if the harbingers hurt anybody I cared about, I wouldn’t be able to cope. If I put people in danger, they would have no choice but to distance themselves. Being alone was the worst punishment for being different.
Mam was practically chirpy by the time we arrived at the station. Her mood soon deflated when it became clear that the police weren’t concerned. They took our statements and promised to check out the car’s registration number, but they didn’t act with any kind of urgency.
“We’ll let you know if anything unusual pops up,” the garda dealing with us rattled off.
Mam glanced at me, frustration clear in her eyes. “You do realise these people are planning on either abducting or harming my daughter. That they’re here, now, in this town.”
“Well, you don’t have much in the way of evidence,” he replied, holding out his empty hands. “Until we talk to these people and verify your claims, we don’t exactly have much to act on.”
Mam gave him an ‘Are you kidding me?’ look. “What do we do if anyone comes to the house? Tries to break in, tries to take her. Are we able to defend ourselves then?”
