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I knew I should fear them. They'd been behind the death of my parents and Niall’s. They were responsible for so much unhappiness, but it seemed like this was a fate even worse than I could have dreamed on my own.
What if we couldn't get to them before Hannah and Natasha gave birth?
What if the Council didn't think they needed them any longer? No, I couldn't let myself think that way. The vision was in the future. At least a couple of months since Hannah, Daniel, and Natasha had only been missing for a few weeks. That didn't give us much time to find them.
“Saige,” Niall whispered. “You need to sleep, sweetheart.”
I didn't speak or bother arguing that I couldn’t close my eyes. I rested against his chest, and he wrapped both of his arms around me. I relished the feeling of being able to hold each other. I wouldn't take moments like this for granted anymore. Not when I knew how quickly things could change.
“What's that?” Sai’s head lifted from the pillow, his eyes seeking Niall’s. “Did you hear that?”
“I did,” Kaden confirmed, standing and going to the door just as a knock sounded.
He opened it cautiously.
“Is she here?” A feminine voice I recognized asked.
Kaden crossed his arms and stepped forward to block the entrance.
“Who is it?” I asked.
“Saige, it's me. Please, I have to talk to you.”
“Serene?” I pulled out of Niall’s arms and crawled off the bed, running towards the door. I shoved Kaden out of the way, shocked he had actually let me move him and pulled her inside before pulling her over to the couches. “What's going on? Where have you been? Are you okay?”
She wept. “Saige, I'm so sorry. I didn't want to. I swear. I didn't want to. I’d never betray you intentionally.”
“What are you talking about?”
She wiped under both her eyes and sat up straight as she tried to compose herself. “Members of the pack kidnapped me from my home. They held me there and forced me to create something to stop shifters. I didn't want to do it, but they beat me until I finally agreed. It was just a glorified sleeping potion, I swear. I figured out they were planning to use it against you guys. I wouldn't do anything to actually hurt you. You have to know that.”
“It’s okay.” I took her hands, instantly believing her. I could see the bruising on her face and the pain in her eyes.
“It took the elders three days to find me after the attack. They put me in another part of the lodge so I could heal. I guess there are a lot of people who blamed me. They figured out the plot required a witch, and I was the only one it could have been.”
She glanced around the room as if she knew we also believe that. “I'm so sorry for my part. I wish I was stronger. I wish I had held out longer.”
“No,” Niall moved in towards us. “You're not to blame. None of us would want you harmed on our behalf. I'm sorry for what happened to you.”
That seemed to be the signal for the rest of the guys. They all moved around us, taking seats and reassuring Serene.
“I’m grateful it was you. If they had gone outside the compound and found a random witch willing to do their bidding for money, I'm sure we would have ended up far worse off,” Kaden said.
She gave us a watery smile. Sniffing before shaking her head. “Thank you. Thank you for listening to me. I'm glad that you guys can forgive me, but that's not the only reason I'm here.”
“What's going on?” Her eyes darted to Niall before meeting mine. “I didn't tell you about my psychic abilities before. They're so sporadic and not at all reliable, so I don't usually share them with anyone else. I’m usually not even able to make sense of them, but I was scrying this morning, looking to see if there was another attack coming for you guys. I wanted to see if I could prevent this from happening again.”
“That's not what you saw?” I guessed.
She shook her head and squeezed my hands. “No. I had my mind and soul open, and I think that's how they managed to reach me.”
“They?”
She looked away from me, staring out the window while she sucked in her breath. She turned to Niall. “They told me they were your brothers, but that connection didn't feel right.”
She cocked her head, and I glanced to Niall to find him frozen, staring at her.
“That's because they're my cousins. Their mother raised me as one of her own kids after my parents died, so we call each other brothers.”
