Chapter 27

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

" H e did what?" Cadoc roars. I leap across the pale blue couch and hold a hand over his mouth.

"Shh." I glance toward the thick wooden door.

Bo turns the music on his phone and cranks it up.

Fell rises from the couch. "What the hell was he hoping to do?"

"Control me." I croak remembering the loss of autonomy. "And get rid of you, Cadoc. He's angry you left the enforcers."

Cadoc rubs the back of his head. "A man can't serve two masters."

I study him. "I'm not your master."

"No, but you deserve my full devotion," Cadoc squeezes my hand.

"Why would he be so worried about losing power? We're here to help save the pack." Kirk stands front of the fireplace.

"He knows more than he's letting on," Bo says.

"Obviously," Fell walks over to the window.

"Who was the other mate he wanted to get rid of, me?" Kirk smiles sadly.

I confirm his guess. "Yes."

"That might depend on who he wanted to replace us with." Bo leans back into the corner of the couch.

"Anrik was meant to be a lackey. He'd be a plant and a puppet." Cadoc looks down. "Dumb kid was doing what his father instructed him to."

I hear the remorse in his voice.

"That wasn't your fault. You gave him the option to yield."

"I knew he never would. Not in front of his father and the Alpha." Cadoc leans heavily against his chair, still recovering.

"What are we going to do once we get through the mating ceremony? Separating us won't be possible. Killing us would mean risking Ylva." Fell turns away from the window.

Sooner than I anticipated, we'll be as good as married. Our souls will begin the process of linking. The thought unnerves me.

"He'll try a new tactic then." Bo's voice is full of confidence and certainty. "We'll have to stay a step ahead of him."

"It'll provide us with a bit of safety for a while," Fell says.

"We have two and a half days until we're bound. We can hold the line until then," Cadoc places his large, warm hand over mine.

"We don't have a choice." Bo holds up a finger. "Someone's coming."

The light changes under the door darkens with a shadow. A piece of paper is slipped under the crack.

"Go," Cadoc gestures. The shadow disappears and Bo runs across the room, yanking the knob.

"Damnit, they're gone." He sticks his head out into the hallway and inhales. "They had scent blockers."

Kirk joins him, stooping to pick up the parchment. Five words make my world explode. I choke, swallowing down the sick that threatens to overwhelm me. The fire wasn't an accident. Legs weak, I stumble to the side and fall.

"Whoa." Bo grabs my shoulder to keep me upright.

"Brat?" Cadoc kneels before me.

Kirk picks up the discarded paper.

"The hell is this?" Fell joins him, reading it.

Bo brushes the hair back from my face. "A message to shake her up."

"Or the truth," Kirk suggests.

"Do you know something, Doc?" The thought makes my chest ache.

"No. I would have told you, Ylva," Kirk's voice is sincere.

He cups my face. "I know this hurts to hear, but it feels right given what we've learned though, doesn't it?"

"Why tell us now?" Bo massages my scalp, bringing me back from the memories I'm trapped in.

"Because they know we'll listen," Fell crumples the paper. "There's no use talking if no one will believe you."

Bo pauses his massage. "Sounds like you're speaking from experience."

I lean into his touch, and he resumes.

Fell nods. "Powerful people prey on the young and weak. Take away their choices and put them in impossible situations."

"I want to help you." I grip Bo's forearm. "I can't take any more secrets."

Fell exhales. "I know."

"That's not telling me anything." I scowl.

"The Oath." He chokes the words out, face red.

"We still need to look into this." I point to Fell.

"One crisis at a time, Princess. Let's survive the weekend first. Priorities."

I glance at the paper. If someone murdered my family, I will avenge them. Tears blur my vision. Who thought they had the right to steal away lives that didn't belong to them? I'll rip them to shreds. Kirk sinks beside me and pulls me into his lap.

"We're going to make sure they all pay." Fell vows.

My parents had been like his own once. Unable to hold it together, I break down for the first time since the madness of being mated to them began. When my body is spent, I'm lifted into a pair of strong arms and carried, I welcome the black void of sleep.

Awareness settles over me and I find my astral body back on the craggy volcanic island.

"Your time is coming soon."

"Nice to see you too." I rub my eyes. I take in the enormous wolf sitting in the crater a few feet away. Despite the sword wedged into his mouth, his words ring clearly in my mind.

"Your mates have a decision to make."

"Why aren't you telling them this?" Fenrir isn't one to go through channels. He's always been direct and to the point with me.

He blows air out of his nostrils, ruffling my hair.

"They aren't ready to travel here."

I try to get my brain to boot up and work out the mental gymnastics our meetings put me through. He said here like it's a real destination. Am I astral projecting?

"To successfully wield the amulet, you must bind yourselves to it."

"Bind?" The word feels dangerous. Permanent.

"It's how you prevent others from using its powers against you or stealing it."

"And what does tying ourselves to the amulet do?"

"Gives you the power necessary to protect it."

"How are we supposed to find this thing?"

"When the time is right, all will be revealed to you."

The answer sheds no light on anything. But I sure as hell don't plan on arguing with a god.

"Why should I save the people who ruined my life? They decided I have value and suddenly they're offering up empty praise, and vying for my attention. The man meant to lead us all is corrupt. He plays games with my life with no consideration or care for any of us. And still, I must stand strong for his people."

"Sometimes we are chosen to do the impossible because we are the only ones capable of it."

I scoff at his reasoning. "It's not fair."

"Such is life." The anguish and sorrow in his short sentence bring a sense of understanding and community.

Who else would understand better than the wolf betrayed by those he loved? Pain and grief combine in a potent combination of emotions too heavy to carry. I fall to my knees under the weight forces me to knell. I wrap my arms around my waist and endure it.

"The pain won't end, but you will learn to bear it because it is your destiny."

Throwing my head back, I scream. Who thought they had the right to end my family's life? Why had I alone been spared?

"You seek answers that will only bring madness."

"How could I have been so blind?"

"Children trust those in charge. They're meant to keep us safe. The failing is theirs, not our own." Bitterness and sorrow drip from every word. "We never see the betrayal coming. That's why those we care for are the most dangerous. Question everything and never underestimate what others are capable of."

I make a request. "I need the people who did this to suffer."

"Then you must channel your anger before it renders you helpless. Take the pain they've given you and transform into the tool that will become their destruction."

"Tell me what I have to do to gain my revenge."

His eyes glow a vibrant red on black. "Surrender."

Hypnotized by the glow, I fall into the endless depths, releasing my tentative hold on consciousness. His strength, volatile emotions, and cold calculating mind flow through me. I welcome the chaos.