“Keep your voice down!” hisses Kaenan.
“What are youdoing? Why is she in her mermaid form?”
“Tala took her gem,” Rory explains, their voice much smaller than before. Tala holds up the tear-shaped, aquamarine gem with a smirk. It glistens with an otherworldly light.
“And we had to gag her,” Tala says. “She was making this awful screeching noise-”
“Yes, because youabductedandboundher…”
“Well, you really left us no choice, did you?” Kaenan rounds on me. “You were acting all strange, spending time with that witch…”
“Her name is Maggie.” I swallow. How do I deescalate this? If anyone find us with the mermaid, we’ll be thrown in the Cave for sure. But I know Kaenan, and he’s going to do things his own way.
“We needed information,” Tala swings the gem in her hand. “And it was easier to separate this one…and rough her up a bit…”
“You…how could you do that?”
“I saida bit…calm down.”
I glare at Tala, and then back at Kaenan.
“HerI can understand, but-”
Kaenan scowls. “Oh, don’t get all condescending, pup, you’re the one who’s been fraternizing with all those witches and vampires. Youknowthey hunted us down, they’re the reason that Leander and the others are in the Cave right now…that Finley,your betrothed, is in the Cave right now.”
“Don’t speak to me about loyalty…” I say, as fury replaces my anxiety. “I’ve never strayed from this pack! Even when it was-”
“When it waswhat?” Tala tosses her short hair. “Difficult? That’s what being a pack is, Rae, it’sdifficult. But you don’t hear us complaining about our duty. We’re happy to be devoting our lives.”
“Devoting your lives towhat, exactly?” I can’t stop the words from spilling out of my mouth. “What great cause arewe dedicated to? Annoying the panther shifters? Kidnapping mermaids?”
Persephone thumps her tail loudly on the ground. Tala moves toward me. I can sense her desire to shift, the way it heats the air tauntingly. I feel the wolf rise up in me, eager and powerful. This isn’t the first confrontation we’ve had. We were raised together, squabbling since we were old enough to crawl. But this feels different. There’s a rift between us I hadn’t realized was growing. Something within myself that I never consciously acknowledged. Tala glares at me, her brows knitted, her nostrils gently flared. Just a hint of a smirk.
She’s the same wolf I grew up with. I’m the one that’s changing.
“Rae,please…” Rory whispers. “Please don’t fight. We’ll get in so much trouble if we get caught…”
Their anxiety grounds me just enough. The stirring heat within me cools and the wolf shakes. Tala huffs, disappointed. I scowl at her. Is this what she wants? A full shifter brawl here in this tiny room, with a member of her own pack?
“They’re right, you two,” Kaenan interrupts now, standing up at his full height. Then he turns to me. “And that’s not the point. The mermaid told us about your little seance, Rae. She told us all of that nonsense about your fated mate, about you and the witch…”
Persephone hangs her head, her bigs eyes gazing up at me, watery and gold. I lower my chin towards her and focus my thoughts just in case she can hear them.It’s ok, Persephone, you couldn’t have stopped them. You don’t have to keep my secrets.
Kaenan continues. “She told us you’ve been messing around with the witch, the one who’s mother is vice-principal. Who’s involved with the Triple Council. What were youthinking?”
“They’re not our kind,” Tala says, arms crossed. She glares at Persephone with disdain. “They want to eradicate our pack…”
“Not all of them,” I shake my head. “Most of them don’t even care about the battle with the panthers, or weren’t involved. They invited us to Elmwood Academy-”
“To keep uscontained!” yells Tala.
“To watch us,” Kaenan says, sternly. “They want to maintain their control while feigning mercy. But where was their mercy when it came to Leander? Or Finley?” He puts both of his hands on my shoulders. He used to do this when we were pups, when I was scared or needed confidence. I can’t help feeling calmer. But his next words knock the wind out of me. “Or your parents, Rae? Where was their mercy then?”
I close my eyes, suddenly dizzy. In seconds, my head is somewhere else. The smell of burning flesh and hair, the iron scent of blood. Hearing those screams. Voices I wish I could erase from my mind. I want to run…to pull that moment from my memory. With every fiber of my being, I push it away.
Shaking Kaenan’s hands from my shoulders, I turn toward the door. My heart is racing and I breathe to steady myself. My pack gives me a moment to collect myself. But I know I don’t have much time, not with Persephone still tied up behind me. I shiver and yawn.
“Rae,” Kaenan says. “You have to stop seeing the witch. It’s not right, and it’s not in the best interest of the pack. Our enemies are all around us. We have to stay strong. Leander will come back to us somehow, and you must honour your betrothal to Finley. These are our ways and our values.”
