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I know you’re angry, but I have to do this. As long as I’m here, the wolves aren’t going to stop, and everyone else will pay the price. Father Marius is proof of that.
You told me once I’d always be a monster, but that even though I wasn’t human, it didn’t matter because I could still choose to be good. I want to believe that’s true. I have to. And if I can be good after everything I’ve done, maybe you’ll believe you can, too.
The Church never turns her back on her own, so I understand now that I have to take myself out of the equation. If I can’t do at least that, I never deserved to be one of you in the first place.
Love, Eddie
A snarl tore from my throat, and it took all my willpower not to rip the letter to shreds. Was he out of his fucking mind?
No, this was classic Eddie.
Self-sacrificing.
Reckless.
Naïve.
And he had walked right into the lions’ den.
ChapterThirty-Five
EDDIE
Leaving the Abbey was both the hardest and easiest decision I had ever made. It was the hardest because even now, after having been gone for hours on my quest to locate Leonidas, there was still part of me that wanted to go back. A selfish, craven part of me, perhaps, but it was strong nonetheless. Just more proof that there was still plenty of my monstrous nature left to tame.
Once I had made my decision, though, executing it had been surprisingly simple. The dead wolf had given me a clear image of the pack’s location, as well as the directions I needed to get there. Now that I knew where the pack resided, all there was left to do was throw myself on the altar.
I hadn't brought any weapons, because what was the point? I knew enough about them to know that they wouldn't harm an omega, and it wasn't like I stood a chance of actually doing any damage if I did choose to fight. It was a sacrificial mission, perhaps, but not a suicidal one, and I could only hope Castor would see that.
When I reached the edge of the territory line, I felt a strange sense of familiarity. I knew these woods and the vast fields beyond them, even though I had never been here before, because this was the path the dead wolf had shown me at the Abbey. For all I knew, the sire bond had something to do with it, too.
I had been standing at the edge of the territory for a long time before I caught sight of two massive wolves approaching in the distance. They were both regular shifters, not alphas, but I knew better than to let my guard down.
An outsider,the nearest wolf remarked.
The one next to him circled me, leaning in to sniff. I still wasn't used to that, even if it was the standard method of wolf communication.
Omega,she said, a curious lilt to her mental voice.
They had to be related to my sire if I could understand them, just like the wolf at the Abbey.
I've come to see Leonidas,I told them, keeping my head high and doing my best not to look as scared as I was. Being in my wolf form made me feel a little less vulnerable, but I knew that was merely an illusion, and I was going to have to shift back eventually.
The wolves looked at each other in clear amusement.He understands,said the male.
He must be the one,she remarked.Come along, omega. We’ll take you to our alpha,she said in a borderline malicious tone.
I swallowed hard as I followed them, trying to ignore the feeling I was walking into a trap, considering that was my intention.
After following them for what had to be at least a mile, the familiar sight of twin spires came into view, and then the massive mansion itself. It was even bigger than it had seemed in the vision, and just looking up at it made me dizzy.
There were several armed guards stationed around the perimeter of the mansion, or at least, those were the ones I could see. They stopped to give me suspicious glances before turning to the wolves who were escorting me.
This is the one Leonidas has been after,said the she-wolf.
The nearest guard looked down at me, raising an eyebrow as if he doubted it. He finally jerked his head for us to continue forward as we walked up the steps and into the mansion.
The familiar scent of wolves hit me immediately. It wasn't an unpleasant smell, just a bit overpowering, considering I had never been around so many of them at once. And I couldn't help but be nervous, which seemed like a fair enough reaction to my current circumstances.
