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“Turning people into werewolves is against everything we stand for.”
And so it went, on and on, complaint after complaint, excuse after excuse. Byron allowed it all. He didn’t say a word to stop them, didn’t say a word to disagree.
“It’s a good idea!” Victor yelled, right by my ear, making me flinch.
I gaped at him. I hadn’t even considered he would agree with it.
Barely anyone looked his way. Nobody listened to him, except Alison, who looked at him in disgust. “What if it changes everything?” she complained. “What if it makes things worse?”
“Like everything is always perfect now?” he scoffed. “You said it yourself that you’re scared of the harbingers. If we have two of them on our side, and one of them is a shifter, then we’ll be stronger.”
“You can’t do this,” Cecilia was saying to Byron, but she was addressing the crowd. “We have no idea what’ll happen. If that girl dies because of something we’ve done, we’re ruined in this town.”
“Shut up!” I bellowed. I was done. Officially done. “She’s dying, and all you can think about is yourselves! So what if we take a risk? What’s the point of our pack if we let some harbinger kill our neighbours instead of us? What’s the point in watching Margo die when we can do one thing that might give her a real chance to survive?”
An older werewolf pushed me to shut me up, but I shoved back. When he threatened me, Victor was there, making sure I was allowed to speak.
“Dorian, I get that you’re emotional right now,” Cecilia said. “Of course you’re going to feel like that about your girlfriend. We still have to think about the good of the pack.”
I had never been so angry before. Never. “Who cares whose girlfriend she is? If it was anyone in town, I’d be standing here saying the same. If it was Perdita who was dying, and Nathan asking to turn her, what would you say then? Would you let her die? Would you, Cecilia?”
“I don’t know!” she shouted back. “But this is different again! That girl isn’t human. We don’t know what she’ll turn into. How can we do this when there’s a chance we’ll kill her? She dies, and then what?”
“She lives, and then what?” I snapped. “I’m scared, too. I didn’t want this either. My first instinct was to say no, but Margo’s dying. She’s out of time. If we can save her, no matter how small the chance, then we should be helping her.” I took a deep breath. “I have always wanted to be a part of this pack. All I wanted to do was stay here, live here, and be a part of this. But if this is how the pack really is, then I’d rather leave. I’m going to help Margo, no matter what, because I can’t give up. If you lot would rather protect your safe little lives than help somebody in need, then you aren’t the people I thought you were. I can’t give up. She saved people, Perdita, the baby, anyone she could, so we owe her!”
Somebody squeezed my shoulder, but I couldn’t see anymore.
“Dorian, it’s not like that.” Cecilia sounded exasperated. “We have to care about the good of the pack. If she dies because of us, the pack is finished. Staying out of this is the only way we survive.”
“We’d have a better chance of surviving with a harbinger wolf,” Jorge said. “The wolf witch has come in handy over the years.”
The discussion continued, this time more balanced, but it wasn’t enough. The fact they weren’t considering Margo’s fate at all bothered me.
Finally, Byron spoke again. “I didn’t tell you all of this to take a vote. I’ve already made my decision. I’m here to ask for help. I am happy to welcome Margo into this pack as a shifter. She’s already a part of us for many reasons. You think I don’t notice the small things, but I do, and there’s been an improvement amongst our younger members since Margo’s arrival. She’s even served as a good bridge between them and the young people in town.”
He held up his hands to stop any protests. “As well as that, I’m doing this for selfish reasons. I know what it’s like to lose somebody and be powerless to stop it. We have power now. The real reason I’m standing here in front of you is to make sure Margo has the greatest chance of survival possible. We have a doctor, we have a witch, we have research, but if anybody here, particularly the older members, have any insight into how turning somebody into a shifter works, then please come to my home after this meeting to share your knowledge.”
“You’re going through with this?” Cecilia asked in a disappointed tone. “Without any consideration of our feelings?”
“Margo doesn’t have time for your feelings,” Byron said. “It’s too late for deliberations. One voice must decide.”
Cecilia called out to Jeremy, and the entire building went deadly silent. “Well,” she said. “What do you think about this?”
He hesitated.
My heart threatened to stop. Everything hung on his response. A notable number of people tensed as they waited.
Jeremy lifted his chin, taking one step forwards. “I follow the alpha, only. If my father makes a decision, it’s based on the good of the entire pack. That’s what I think, wolf, and shame on you for even asking me.”
Cecilia looked pissed off, but she didn’t respond. Byron and Jeremy exchanged a glance, the slightest of nods their only other exchange.
I let out the breath I had been holding. Everything would be okay. Jeremy had no intentions of challenging his father. At least, not yet.
Byron continued, repeating his request for help before we dispersed. Some pack members purposely pushed against Cecilia as they passed her. She wouldn’t be popular for a while. Her words to Jeremy had been an encouragement, a push to challenge his father, and we all knew it.
That didn’t matter. What mattered was that Byron was on Margo’s side, and she would get what she needed. I would live with the consequences, even if it was only to give a dying girl the faintest hope.
CHAPTER23
