A chill engulfed Rem as she latched her gaze on Nia, who stood by Freya with strength burning in her eyes. "Well, why are we just standing around, then?"
Shia held out her massive hands to present the nothingness in them. "We can't fight. No weapons. No powers. Nothing. Hannah over here tried," she said, pointing to someone Rem rarely spoke to.
Hannah turned around, her circular face even rounder with her lip busted and her right eye swollen. Her good eye was filled with rage. "All they had to do was punch me once, and I was out," she said through the swollen lip. “’Parently, the powers of a Silver aren’t all here yet.”
Mavis chimed in with a smug expression. "I told you to trust the hunters, Rem. We are all going south to them, to be a part of Osmond’s hounds. Everyone is panicking for no reason. You’ll all be thanking in me in six months.”
Rem gritted her teeth. "Yeah, I am not doing that. Atall,” Rem growled. “And where isyourAlpha? Why wasn’t he taken?”
Mavis smiled, revealing the gap in her teeth. "Don’t worry. We are all going to be alright. Marcus promised us safety for our compliance.”
“Well, I won’t go quietly,” Shia said. “We are wolves now. Wolves strike when they see an opening.”
"Are you seriously against this?" Mavis questioned. "You guys need to wake up. It's what you were destined to do. This way you get to keep the powers of being a Silver, while also being with the humans. You know, the species you were born as?"
"So, let me get this straight," Rem said, laughing, although her eyes were full of ire. "You knew about this the entire time? And now you just expect us to go without fighting?"
Mavis raised a brow. "Yeah, obviously. Marcus told me my job was to try to persuade some of you before we took you, but most of you were surprisingly stingy. It would have been nice to havesomecooperation, but, oh well. It’ll just be harder for all of you.”
"Over my dead body,” Rem retorted through gritted teeth.
Mavis’s gaze grew cocky, a fire brewing in her eyes. "I heard Marcus say that Owen Callon has some collateral over you. Osmond requested collateral on all of you, in case you didn't cooperate. Whatever that is, you might want to watch what you say. I heard it was your brother, wasn’t it? He’s not out of the woods yet, then. But at least you two will be together."
Rem's jaw dropped. It made so much sense now. It was all connected—one giant plot. She didn't know exactly how, but she didn't need to understand the details to know that this was all tied within a sticky web of manipulation.
Mavis added, “That’s right. Now be quiet, so we can get there in peace. If you care about your brother at all—"
Rem lunged at Mavis, punching her square in the jaw.
Mavis stumbled backwards as Shia and Loral both grabbed onto Rem, a few more stepping in. "Don’t youeverbring my brother into this, or I’ll tear you down, too. Don’t got a clue on how they make pelts out of each other here, but I’llgladlysleep on yours," Rem spat.
"Enough!"
Everyone looked over at Enola, her amber gaze scolding them. "What are you doing?" she asked with venom.
Rem moved her gaze from the queen to Freya, as if to seek approval. The she-wolf gave a slow, purposeful nod.
"She started it," Rem said in English as she motioned to Mavis, to which Enola just stared.
Enola sneered. "I do not have the patience to mind rowdy Silvers learning to handle their new fire. You are going south, and you can punch and scratch your way there or ride with dignity," she slowly said, and Rem listened closely. "Either way, that is your destination. I do not trust any of you. You need to learn manners quickly, as Osmond Crowley won’t tolerate your behavior once you’re his hound.”
Rem wanted to scream at her. This was idiotic.
Once again, Freya beat Rem to it, the humor fleeting in the she-wolf’s eyes. "You arewhat?" she declared, overhearing the conversation.
Enola rolled her eyes. "I won't repeat myself. This is final and long thought-out."
"You cannot trust those humans!" Freya exclaimed, her eyes glowing. "What are youdoing?"
"Our parents were alive, Freya, before and during the war. We know their horror stories. The humans played dirty last time, so I will do so now."
"They don't negotiate! Enola, this is asinine!"
"Don't assume I don't know what I am doing. Remove the Warden mother," Enola commanded.
Freya looked as if she’d kill the first shifter to touch her.
Jola stepped in. "Enola, please. These girls are our shifters, born human or not. Theyareus. They are from the goddess herself! They were born as humans with the intent to die as a shifter. We cannot discard them due to trust issues that you have.”
