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Chapter 1
Are the blindfolds really necessary?Theo asked through our connection, my favorite perk of our newly established bond. I felt him shifting next to me and assumed he was trying to nudge his off. The effort was in vain. As soon as I put mine on, I felt the magic. Our rescuers had cast a spell to keep them on.
They don’t trust us,Kaden replied.
Yet.I didn’t want the guys getting disheartened already. We touched down in Michigan maybe an hour ago and had been driving since. The blindfolds were annoying and felt like overkill, especially since we didn’t know where we landed or anything about the area. But if Alpha Stewart, my grandfather, felt it was necessary for the safety of his pack, we had no choice but to go along.I knew we were on a snowy road and following along a frozen river; my Water magic could sense it as we drove, and it was comforting knowing I could reach out and call to it if needed.
I’ll take the blindfolds if it means staying away from the Council.Niall reminded everyone of our other option.
If the Alpha hadn’t shown up exactly when he did with his guards, we would have been on the plane headed to the Council’s headquarters with Councilmember George for them to do with us what they pleased. I was pretty sure that meant all sorts of unpleasant experiments if they didn’t just kill us immediately.
As hybrids and a bond of five, we were anomalies—oddities that went against what the Council wanted: pure-bred witches, vampires, and shifters.
I should be grateful we lasted as long as we did without garnering their attention. Our months at Drexel Academy allowed us to find each other and complete the bond without their interference. But now we were five untrained, vulnerable teenagers, relying on my estranged grandfather for protection.
The grandfather, I was told, was dead.
Masie told me my birth dad’s family had been excited about my birth and loved me. Why didn’t he come sooner? Why didn’t he ever try to find me? I wasn’t sure I wanted the answers. The more I learned about my past, the more complicated my present became.
Alpha Stewart hadn’t told us exactly where we were, just that we were in the pack lands and we would be safe.
Not that any of us believed that promise.
“How much farther?” Sai asked.
“About twenty minutes,” my grandfather replied.
“Now’s a good time to go over some housekeeping items and rules for the compound,” Nancy, his assistant, said.
She’d met us on the plane waiting for us at a regional airport in Montana. She’d barely lifted her head from her computer throughout the entire flight, saying next to nothing. Her long blonde hair was sprinkled with gray, but I couldn’t guess her age. Her skin was smooth, and she appeared to be in her forties, but she had a wise air of an elder about her. She seemed nice enough until she handed us the blindfolds and instructed us to put them on.
“I think now’s a good time to tell us how you found out about Saige and where you’ve been for the last sixteen years,” Kaden countered.
I didn’t appreciate his clipped tone, since it wasn’t Nancy’s fault Alpha Stewart wasn’t giving us the answers we wanted, but I was as sick of waiting as he was.
He sighed. “As I have said countless times, I will tell you everything once we are in my office.”
“Why not now?” I spoke up.
“My office is soundproofed.”
“Who is it you don’t trust? Nancy or Silent Steve?” Theo referred to the driver, who hadn’t spoken a single word since we got in.
I put my hand on his knee. “It’s okay. We can wait.”
He’s not going to change his mind, and we’re almost there,I told him.
Theo didn’t relax.It’s a power move. He’s just reminding us of who’s in charge.
Him or the Council?Sai joined in our silent conversation with his hand on my shoulder.I, for one, am willing to be patient to stay out of their grip.
“Back to what I was saying,” Nancy continued, as if the interruption hadn’t happened. “As soon as we cross the border, you will need to hand over your phones.”
“What?” I gasped, wishing I could rip the stupid blindfold off to glare at the woman. “How will we contact our families? Our friends?”
“There will be no outside contact until my people analyze the threat and the risk is lower.” Alpha Stewart ignored my question, but I couldn’t let it go.
“We left people behind. Our friends at the Academy. They’re in danger too.”
