Chapter Twenty-Five

Gwyneth turned to Kiran, who appeared somewhat shaken by the revelations. She approached him, gently placing her hands on his neck. “Kiran?”

“All of this pain… just to take our world from us?” he whispered.

“Now you have a glimpse of human nature,” Gwyneth responded, her voice tinged with sadness.

“No, humans aren’t like this. I’ve lived among them my entire life. They don’t do such things.”

“Maybe not the humans from your world. Mine is different.”

“This is murder, cold-blooded murder.”

“It’s fear,” she explained. “Fear of what we don’t understand. This is often the reaction to it.”

Kiran shook his head and took a step back, needing some space to process everything. Gwyneth respected his need for distance and turned her attention back to the woman before her. She moved closer and leaned down slightly. The woman glared at her, her face showing the signs of the brutal beating she had received. Gwyneth noticed the funky shape of her nose, the swollen left eye, and a small cut on her eyebrow. She couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

“You truly are a dedicated Protector,” the woman taunted.

“I know,” Gwyneth admitted with a touch of regret. “I’ve done things I’m not proud of.”

“Or maybe you are proud,” the woman suggested.

Gwyneth shrugged, unwilling to reveal too much.

“How many of you are there?” Gwyneth inquired, but the woman remained defiantly silent.

“Answer me!” Gwyneth demanded.

“No.”

“How many?”

“No.”

“Then let us try: where?”

“I won’t tell you,” she declared.

“You’ve already revealed quite a bit,” Gwyneth pointed out.

“Because it holds no value. Knowing our true identity won’t matter once this world is under our control,” the woman retorted confidently.

“It will never be yours. And once I locate your associates, I will rectify this situation.”

“You’re an interesting Protector. Eager to play the hero? Often, you’re the worst ones out there.”

“We have our… own methods of handling things,” Gwyneth admitted reluctantly.

“The police stopped being the good guys a long time ago.”

“It’s ironic coming from someone willing to annihilate an entire race.”

“As if that isn’t a human behavior.”

“I wish it weren’t,” Gwyneth groaned.

“Being colonizers is nothing new.”

“But this is a chance for a fresh start. You even mentioned that we could change things using the Jumper!”

“No, we need a clean slate. A new world. Ours is dying. Let it die!” the woman demanded.

“Why?”

“It’s beyond salvation,” she asserted.

“How can you be so certain?”

“Humanity has a knack for making irrevocable mistakes. You’re wasting your energy, Protector. It’s better to start completely anew. You can’t fix us.”

“But we can try,” Gwyneth insisted.

“Why? What part is worth saving?”

“I think a lot is. I certainly I refuse to believe we are beyond salvation. We just need people, even a few, to make sure the changes happen.”

“You’re speaking like the idiots at AirTech.”

“At least I’m not a mass murderer,” Gwyneth retorted.

“Are you sure about that? Protector,” she mocked.

Gwyneth glared at her and then grabbed her collar again, bringing them closer. “Where are your friends?”

“Not here.”

“You don’t fucking say. Where?” Gwyneth snarled.

“Or when?”

“I don’t want to fucking play your games! Where?”

“Why not? Games are fun!”

“Stop it! Now answer me, where?”

“But maybe it could be when,” the woman countered cryptically. “I mean, you don’t know if I’m the last one left to make sure everything goes as planned. Us humans love to return home. Home is safe.”

Gwyneth let the woman fall back, shaking her head. She looked over her shoulder and noticed that Kiran had left the room. She walked out and found him leaning against a wall outside. She approached him, and he gave her a small smile.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I have had to kill a lot of my own kind because of the mess they have made. People who didn’t deserve to die.”

“I’m sorry about it. I can’t imagine what all of this makes you think of us… of me.”

“They aren’t you, Gwyn,” he said, stepping forward and placing his hands on her hips, pulling her closer. “I know that.”

“How can you sound so sure?”

“Because you want to protect everyone. You’re willing to give up your own happiness to make sure everyone is saved.”

Gwyneth smiled, but she felt a little sad as well. “I wished I didn’t have to.”

“But you’re right,” Kiran said, surprising her. “Someone has to. Or else who will?”

“I think I can go back.”

“I think so too. If what she said is true, then that sabotage was all them. It means… It means they can travel back.”

“Yes, it does.”

Kiran and Gwyneth lapsed into silence, and it was obvious to Gwyneth they were processing this revelation. However, her heart felt heavy as she imagined leaving behind the possibility of a life with Kiran. But it seemed that circumstances were about to change. She could go home.

“Home,” she whispered, an idea taking shape in her mind.

“What?” Kiran asked.

“Us humans like to return home. Do werewolves as well?”

“I… guess. Why are you asking me this?”

“When we fought those Dark Wolves, you and me, I decided to follow them, thinking they might lead me back to their base.”

“I told you they are wild.”

“But maybe they like to return. We don’t know. Maybe we should try again.”

“Gwyn, I have tried that. It leads nowhere.”

“Or maybe they knew you were following them,” she suggested. “Maybe they knew they couldn’t return because of it.”

“What do you suggest, then?”

Gwyneth looked over her shoulder and then at Kiran, a mischievous smile forming on her lips. “Are you good at putting on a show?”

Kiran turned his gaze toward the cell, and she observed as it dawned on him what she was suggesting. “You want her to lead us there?”

“Why not?”

“You think she would be that stupid?” Kiran asked, a playful smile appearing.

“If we make it seem like we are.”

Kiran chuckled and leaned in, planting a kiss on Gwyneth’s lips.

“People do like to return home,” he agreed.

“They do,” Gwyneth responded with a smile.