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Me? What did I ever do? I’ve never met any of them. I don’t know them. And they wanted to kill me?
No wonder so many people are looking at me. I hope they don’t hold me responsible for this—like it’s my fault they’ve all been traumatized or something like that. I want to tell them I didn’t ask for any of this, not a single bit of it. Maybe they don’t blame me at all. Maybe this is all that old energy still swirling around in me, the expectation of being hated the way I was for so long.
“Who are you, a mere wolf, to tell us how we are to conduct ourselves?” one of the witches challenges with a sneer, which only earns her a bunch of growls and muttered threats. I’m sure there’s not a single pack member in this hall who doesn’t want them to suffer before dying.
“Laws exist for a reason,” he bellows back, so loud and forceful, I would swear the walls shake. “Laws between our kinds. Laws that, for decades, centuries even, have kept us living peacefully. It is not we who chose to break those laws tonight. It is you, and the law is clear. You must pay with your lives.”
“Do you believe this will stop anything?” One of the witches who stood closest to the leader steps up, staring him down, her emerald eyes unblinking. They’re beautiful, the way they glow, but like all jewels, the fire in them is a trick of the light. Really, they are cold. Empty. “Kill us tonight, wolf, and earn your short-lived victory. Celebrate among yourselves, congratulate yourselves for being the superior creatures you believe yourselves to be. But do not think this brings an end to anything. And there will be others coming after us, many more, and they will demand revenge for the lives you’ve taken.”
She then turns to me, and so do the rest of them, their cold stares enough to make me shiver and wish I could hide behind Wilde. I might feel a little more confident if they hadn’t already hurt me.
“And they will want her,” she adds. “It will never stop.”
Why do they want me? I look around, searching for answers, but none are offered. Wilde goes out of his way to avoid my gaze if anything. What have I done?
“We’ll deal with whoever comes after you,” Connor assures them. “But let me say, your warning is appreciated.” Snide laughter rings out all around me, but I can’t bring myself to join in.
He gives a nod to one of the guards, who signals the rest of the men. I refuse to look away. I watch, feeling nothing, as the witches are torn to pieces by the freshly-shifted guards. The satisfaction among those who stuck around to watch is palpable.
“Now we’ve done it,” Forrest mutters, though I don’t hear any regret in his voice. It’s more like pride and grim determination. He knows what they’re in for, what we’re all in for, and it almost seems like he welcomes it.
“Why were they talking about me?” I whirl on Wilde. “Look at me. Talk to me. Did you know about this? And please, don’t lie,” I add in a whisper. “I felt like there was something wrong before we got here. Like you weren’t telling me something.”
It’s his mother who places a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Lili, all of this came to light recently—today, in fact. I’m sure Wilde didn’t intend to hold anything back from you. We were more concerned with how to move forward.”
I appreciate her kindness, but that’s not what I want right now. I want answers. “But please, why won’t anyone tell me what this is all about? Why would they want to kill me? What is important about me?”
“There might be someone better suited to answer that question.” Wilde looks over my shoulder, and when I follow the direction of his gaze, I find him staring at my father. My father, who looks guilty. Regretful.
“Dad? What’s going on?”
“I didn’t think we would ever have to tell you.”
It’s enough to make me want to scream, the feeling of being the last to know. The rest of the pack seems to know, don’t they? Why don’t I get a hint?
“I want you to know that from the day you were born, you were loved.”
“I appreciate that, but you know this is only making me feel more nervous, right?”
He glosses over that, pushing on. “And I know there were times when you may have questioned that. When I had no choice but to do what was best for the pack and follow our laws. Believe me, it was never my choice to separate you.”
“I understand.” I came to terms with that a long time ago. I had no choice but to.
