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“I’m not scared of death anymore,” she whispered. “I’m scared of losing you though, of losing anyone. I’m scared of Eli, of what he can take from me. But if I’m strong, I can help stop him. And if we fail, Vira said she’d stay with the pack to help. I think maybe she’s brave, too.” Her words slowed as she started to doze. “It has to be soon.”
I waited to make sure she was fast asleep before leaving her side. It killed me to see her, so frail, yet still willing to do whatever it took to protect the people she cared about. My feelings no longer mattered.
In the kitchen, I found Byron, Ryan, Amelia, Vira, and the Hardings, all drinking tea together. Everybody looked exhausted.
“Hi,” I said sheepishly.
“You’re back.” Amelia smiled at me then patted the empty seat next to her.
I sat down. “I talked to Perdita and Nathan and figured out my thoughts. If we do this, then we have to do it right. Perdita suggested talking to the older members of the pack to see if anyone knows about this kind of thing, especially people who knew Vin.”
“That’s a good idea,” she said. “We’ve been thinking about how to communicate with our ancestors without the presence of two harbingers making things a little wonky.”
Margo’s parents were holding hands, both looking completely drained.
“Are you okay with this?”
“No,” her mother said. “But we’re desperate.”
“We’re worried about what comes next,” Niall said, “but we have to believe that this will work.”
“I don’t think she can survive another confrontation with Eli,” I said.
“She won’t,” Vira said. “I’ll face him alone next time. It’s safer.”
“That’s risky for you, too,” Byron said.
“I have many sins to pay for,” she said sharply. “And less to live for every day.”
“Time is of the essence,” Ryan said. “Margo’s weak, maybe too weak to handle this.”
“If we work together, we have the best chance of her survival,” Amelia said. “Vira can tell us if death is approaching, and we can stop. Stephen could be here to revive her if necessary. I can use magic to push her along a little if she fades. If we can be quick, speed up the process, then we can lessen the trauma on her body.”
“While you were gone, we discussed methods,” Byron told me. “We’re dealing with a lot of second-hand information. Amelia has researched this in the past, but again, we have no guarantees. We’ll quickly gather information throughout the pack, but we’ll make our attempt later this evening.”
Air gushed out of me. So soon. But I recalled Perdita’s words. Byron knew what it was like to be too late to save a loved one. I didn’t want to know from experience what that was like.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I accept the responsibility. If it goes wrong, it’ll be my fault, but I’m confident this is going to work.”
“What about the pack?” I asked. “Will they ever accept this?”
“I’m going to address them soon,” he said wearily. “It could be difficult, but we’ll try our best to convince everyone that this is best for the pack.”
“Are you okay with it?” I asked. “With Margo being a part of the pack?”
“This is a first for me, too,” he said with a wry smile. “But Margo will fit well. She accepts how we live.”
“But she won’t be living here,” Margo’s mother said anxiously.
“In the long-term? That’ll be up to Margo,” he said in a gentle tone. “But if she struggles with the change in the beginning, it won’t be safe for her to be away from me. It’ll be up to Margo in the end. Expect a visceral change in behaviour, at least in the early days. Control may be hard for her, but Dorian will be a good influence on her. The fact that she was born with harbinger blood might change things, throw out some unexpected outcomes. We have no way of knowing.”
“We’ve been through this,” Niall told his wife. “You know what his answers will be.”
“I’m making sure,” Mrs Harding said. “I need to make sure everybody understands that Margo’s still our daughter.”
“She’ll always be your daughter,” I said, trying to reassure her. “That won’t ever change. New wolves sometimes find it hard for a bit. It won’t take long for Margo. She’s strong.”
“She’s always been strong,” she whispered, and I knew she was finally on board.
