"I'm going with you." The determination in his eyes made me nod. He would follow me to certain death. We had been close my whole life and he would not allow me to walk the last part of my life alone.
"I'll come too," Cade said, but I shook my head.
"No. You can't. I need you to get Uncle Nate up to date on what's happened. Other than James and I, you are the only other person who knows what's been going on," I told him, feeling the responsibility of his life on my shoulders. Thinking of my sister, Scarlett, I couldn't do that to her. Without me, she would need Cade. She couldn't lose both of us. "I can't let something happen to you. Where we are going, we aren't coming back."
It was a suicide mission.
"I want to argue with you but if it was Scar I would be doing the same." He understood my actions, and I appreciated it.
Any rational thought would have kept me where I was but there was nothing rational about my connection with my mate. I would follow her to hell and back, even if there was a good chance I wouldn't survive.
"We need to go," I told James. He nodded.
I gave one last quick nod to the friends who had become so close I considered them family. Then I turned and walked to the closest car I could find. I got into the driver's side and James got into the passenger side.
Then, unexpectedly, the back door opened. The sight of Bay getting into the back of the car made my blood boil.
"I'm coming with you," she said, closing the door.
"No," I said.
"We don't have time for this," James told her, angry that his sister had helped the enemy escape.
"I didn't know," she said. I knew what she was referring to but I didn't care.
"What did you think was going to happen?" I asked, feeling my temper rise. "Did you think she was going to drop him off and come home?"
The word 'home' stuck in my throat. Crystal had no intention of returning. She was going through with the only plan that would ensure the Keepers didn't attack us. The sight of Bay in the back seat of the car was enough to make me see red. She had helped Crystal so she was partly to blame for the situation I was in. Even the voice in my head that reminded me that Crystal would have done it with or without her help did nothing to minimize my anger.
Crystal
The closer we got to the Keepers, the more nervous I felt, and by the time we neared the familiar building it had morphed into full-blown fear. I stopped at the large metal front gates and it only took a few minutes before they slowly opened.
There is no backing out now, I thought as I steered the car to the house and parked it. Resigned, I turned the car off and waited, trying to smother the urge to flee and get as far away as I could.
The sound of Flynn opening the back door kept me where I was. The door slammed shut and I closed my eyes briefly as the sound vibrated through me.
My door opened and I looked at Flynn.
"Get out," he said.
I followed his command, trying to keep my hands from shaking as two Keepers appeared in front of the car.
"What's she doing here?" one of them asked, confused by my presence.
It only took moments before realization dawned in their faces and hatred filtered into their eyes. They knew what I was.
"I need to speak to Harrison," Flynn instructed them.
One left to go find him.
"Are you okay?" the other Keeper asked him.
"Yes," he answered. The wolfsbane was still in his system and he was still weak.
The Keeper stepped aside as Flynn passed him to enter the house. Flynn looked back to see if I followed behind him. The other Keeper waited until I walked past him before he followed me.
Flynn led me to the study. He switched the lights on. Once I entered, the other Keeper closed the door behind us. My heart leaped at the thought that I was confined to the room.
