by Rachel Jonas
I’m sure this was all very confusing for her—struggling with her attachment to Nick, not being able to deny feeling something for me, too. But our tether was unbreakable. Meaning, it would always only lead her in one direction.
Mine.
Like now, as I sensed her getting closer.
I turned toward Baz again when he spoke. A long breath puffed from his withered lips first.
“Of course, I’ll send word ahead for special accommodations to be made for her sleeping quarters,” he started. “But, with her and the others leaving for The Damascus Facility in the very near future, how do you propose we manage the situation between our queen and young Nicholas? Assuming we’re able to locate him, that is.”
I answered without even having to think about it. “I promise to put him down quickly, in the most humane way possible.”
When Baz frowned, I guessed he had something else in mind. “I’m afraid I can’t let that happen. With the shadow of war looming in the distance, unless he proves to be a problem, it would be in all our best interest to have a weapon as strong and savage as the Liberator fighting on our side.”
His assumption was steeped in ignorance.
“You say that as if there’s a way to control him. If his switch gets flipped, there’d be no such thing as loyalty. He wouldn’t be fighting on anyone’s side. His one and only thought would be to kill Evangeline.” I arrived at my original idea once again. “If I end him while he’s sleeping, he won’t suffer.”
“We at least need to speak with whoever sent Evangeline. Maybe they know something we don’t. Maybe, since they placed her and Nicholas shoulder-to-shoulder here in Seaton Falls … they have a plan.”
I hated this idea. Being patient was something I’d gotten good at after being alive so many years, but not in situations like this. Not when it came to Evangeline. When I shook my head ‘no’, damning his suggestion, he pleaded with me again.
“I assume you’ll be accompanying her. Am I correct?”
I nodded. There was never a question about it. Wherever she went, I’d be there too. I trusted no one but myself to protect her. Mostly because I knew no one else would value her life over their own like I always had.
“I figured as much,” Baz replied. “And how, exactly, do you plan to gain access to her? Are you aware of the facility’s layout?”
It was a new development, one of many just like it that had been under construction for the better part of a decade. There were rumors, each placed in remote locations, hidden from plain sight. This one was out in the middle of Nowhere-Ville, Louisiana—tens of thousands of square-footage, concealed underground.
Still, regardless of how impenetrable they attempted to make it, I’d find a way inside.
“I’ll figure something out,” I answered, and trust me, if Evangeline was in danger, I’d move heaven and Earth to get to her.
“What if I make you an offer?” he began. “An offer that would get you inside Damascus where you’ll have full access to our queen morning, noon, and night. Would you take it?” He paused before stipulating, “In exchange for patience where the fate of Nicholas Stokes is concerned?”
I stared a moment, considering the proposition. Being close to Evangeline should a situation arise was important and I was sure Baz knew that. Hence the reason he’d chosen to approach from this angle. I weighed my options, never promising I wouldn’t, one day, carryout whatever actions I deemed necessary when it came to Nick. But I’d at least wait it out.
For now.
I nodded, which brought a smile to Baz’s aged face. Not the sinister one I imagined he donned beneath his shroud while his pets had their way with me. This one conveyed a sense of relief.
“Then I’ll see to it that they’re expecting you.”
“What will I have to do?” I asked. “There has to be a catch.”
I was clearly not weak and inexperienced like many of the young shifters being transported to Damascus, so I was sure he didn’t intend to have me hide among them.
Baz met my curious expression with another grin. “There will only be two requirements and the first, protecting Evangeline, I have no doubt you’ll uphold with honor.”
“And the second?”
He took a few steps, but didn’t speak right away, clearly stalling.
“The second is that you teach them everything you know,” he finally replied. “After all … our future is now in the hands of the young.”
Teach … I definitely heard him say that.
I hated where this was headed, but if it’d get me closer, I didn’t have much choice. So, accepting my fate, I listened as he went on.
“Now, the only thing left to determine is where she’ll reside when all is said and done.” The elder paced as he spoke. “We don’t intend to keep the children at the facility for more than a year, depending on how they progress. That doesn’t give us much time to secure a place for her. Wherever she settles, I think we’d agree that it has to be remote. A tall, surrounding hedge must be erected and fortified with a spell. A secret, royal militia will need to be drafted and—”
What did he mean we had to ‘determine where she’ll reside’?
“Assuming you’ve figured out a solution for getting rid of the mutts, and assuming we’re not at war by the time training is complete, she’ll be able to return to her parents,” I insisted. This transition was already going to be difficult, I didn’t see the sense in it being a point of no return. Evangeline should have been able to return to her old life, as is, once the clan sorted things out.
Baz’s expression became solemn. “I believe you’re confused.”
I turned to face him completely, folding my arms across my chest. “How so?”
He cowered a bit, hesitating before going on. “There’s no way we can risk those people putting the clan’s identity in jeopardy, regardless of how fond Evangeline might be of them. We’d never be able to extract her without raising questions. They’d demand answers we’re not at liberty to give. And, while I understand your affection for our queen … we can’t lose sight of what’s at stake for the entire clan if our secret is exposed.”
None of the parents seemed to like the idea of their children being taken away, but Evangeline’s circumstances were different. The other young lycans didn’t face the task of explaining their disappearance to anyone. The Council would deal with questions and suspicions, but, in the very least, the other families would all understand what truly went on in the background; would uphold whatever ruse the Council concocted when their children disappeared.
But not Evangeline’s.
All her parents would know is that their daughter was going away in two days without any real explanation. I understood it would take some crafty thinking, but…
“We simply cannot leave loose ends,” Baz explained. “And I think you’ll agree there’s only one way to be thorough.”
I shook my head, knowing exactly what he had in mind. “No. There has to be another option.”
He took a step closer and his tone was urgent. “I wish there was.”
Death … he and the rest of the Council intended to kill Evangeline’s family.
While, if it were anyone else, someone who’s story I didn’t know so well, I might have agreed. But, as Baz’s suggestion rang inside my head, all I could think about was the family she already lost, and … I couldn’t let that happen to her again.
“Find another way,” I asserted.
He breathed heavily. “There is no other way.”
A residual twinge of pain from my ordeal with the witches distracted me for a fraction of a second … but then … it spurred a thought and I blurted it right away.
“A spell. Something to … I don’t know, make them believe she’s someplace else? Make them think she’s still there?”
I was grasping at straws, but I had to do something. She couldn’t lose her mother and father for a second time. I, too, knew what it was like to be without family and I didn’t want that
for her.
Baz paced and I hated that I’d run out of suggestions. His withered hand touched his chin when his feet stopped, causing my eyes to shift toward him.
“It’s possible that … maybe—”
“Anything,” I interjected. Whatever idea he had, I was open to listen to it.
“A spell might work,” he breathed, “but it will have to be one far more drastic than anything you’ve mentioned.”
His drooping eyes lifted to mine again, and from the look behind them, I was sure I wouldn’t like this suggestion a whole lot more than the first.
And then, with the words that followed, the Elder proved me right.
“They’ll have to forget her. To them, to all humans she’s ever encountered,” he explained, “it will be as though she never existed.”
The small glimmer of hope I held slipped through my fingers in an instant. Baz must’ve seen it.
“I know this solution is not ideal, specifically for our queen, but if there’s anything I can do, anything to atone for the loss, I’m willing to make this right. Consider it an olive branch of sorts.” He lowered his gaze to the ground before adding, “Seeing as how our first encounter was rather … unpleasant.”
At that word, unpleasant, I recalled how much the small witch enjoyed her role as torturer before being called off. I didn’t have to think long on how he could make this up to me.
“Deal with your witch,” I asserted, adding one final word about it. “Harshly.”
Baz inhaled until his chest rose, not seeming elated with the idea, but I was confident he’d comply.
“As you wish.”
I was nowhere near satisfied, not in the least, but I’d negotiated all I could for Evangeline. While her parents wouldn’t suffer the worst of fates, being forced to forget their daughter was the next worst thing. And because I’d be the one to deliver the news, I prepared myself to do something I vowed I never would …
I was about to break her heart.
—Chapter Three—
Evie
Staring at the empty stretch of road ahead, I ached with sadness.
All over.
Liam sat silently beside me as we drove, but all I could think about was Nick. He was out there somewhere, alone. My calls and texts all went unanswered, and what made it worse was knowing he’d run off because of me. Because he didn’t want to hurt me. I was the only one who didn’t believe he was capable.
Not today.
Not tomorrow.
Not ever.
Granted, I’d only just discovered he was different—that his destiny and mine were set to converge in some tragic way—but the goodness I saw within him gave me hope. Nick was no monster. In fact, if it wasn’t for him, I might not even be here today. A monster wouldn’t have risked his own life to save mine when I was trapped during the earthquake. It came down to one fact, one aspect of our connection that made me certain I’d always be safe with him.
He loved me.
I zoned out staring at the random scatter of trees along the road’s edge as we passed them. This place I once hated, suddenly felt like home and I knew that was partly because I’d have to leave soon, but mostly because of Nick. He made this town come alive for me, taking me under his wing without any knowledge of all I’d been through. He befriended me when no one else had even tried, showed me around and let me into his circle, and that friendship had grown into so much more.
Something so much deeper.
There were several reasons I wasn’t ready to leave in forty-eight-hours. At the top of the list was the fact that, if Nick didn’t turn up before then, he’d be left behind. And there was also the reality of my family remaining here while I’d be hundreds of miles away.
None of this felt right.
Liam’s silence only added to my anxiety. He hadn’t said much since I showed up at his door hours ago, expecting to find the Elder still torturing him. Instead, he was alone—bruised and wounded, but alone.
Somehow, I managed to convince him to sit still while I tended to the deep gash across his cheek. Of course, he reminded me that it’d heal on its own in a few minutes, but I ignored him and took care of it anyway. Just like I ignored when he insisted he didn’t need my help cleaning.
I found rags, filled a bowl with hot water, and we scrubbed his blood from the floor, walls, and furniture together. If he’d been human, the ordeal would’ve killed him for sure. At the thought of it, I found myself wishing I was stronger as hatred swelled in my gut for those responsible.
Witches—the three girls who attended the Council meeting. I didn’t realize who or what they were at the time … but I knew now.
And I wouldn’t forget.
At first, I thought Liam didn’t have much to say because I defied him and ran straight into danger, something he very clearly expressed for me not to do. But it felt like I had no choice. Not once I realized he was in trouble.
He forewent the lecture I prepared myself to receive, instead choosing to clean beside me without a word. That’s how I knew he wasn’t angry. It was something else.
This tension was thick and heavy, hanging between us like an ominous cloud. Even now as we drove toward my neighborhood. There was so much to say—about the mutts, the witches, the meeting, Nick, and yet … nothing.
I was confused and kind of worried, neither emotion outweighing the other. My life was changing, evolving, so quickly. As I sat wondering what caused Liam’s distress, a list of my own stress factors wasn’t far from thought—finding out I’m a shifter, Nick running away, having to leave Seaton Falls and my parents.
Kissing Liam.
I understood he only did it as a means of triggering me to shift, but that didn’t lessen its effect. Technically, he knew me better than I knew myself and I guessed he also knew the rush of emotion was exactly what it would take for me to change. It worked, but … the feel of his lips against mine was hard to forget even though it’d been hours; even though I had a laundry list of other things to worry about.
There was so much blood—his and the mutts’—covering his skin and clothes, he insisted on showering before we left. Now, he smelled like soap and … man … and it went straight to my head. Having his scent surround me in the truck only made it harder to forget everything he made me feel.
Beautiful.
Safe.
Content.
Breathless.
Being near him always left me conflicted, wanting to pull away because of Nick, wanting to draw nearer because it felt right. I wasn’t obligated to either, but the tug-of-war the two did on my heart was sometimes unbearable.
But I couldn’t focus on that right now. I had a plan to devise. One that would ultimately lead to telling my parents I had to leave.
The Elders were likely to concoct a scheme to explain why I, and many others in the community, were being whisked away. Something like a special, once-in-a-lifetime, academic opportunity with limited space. Something that had to be acted upon quickly. Based on the whispers I heard among the clan, the Council had the means and the clout to pull off such a farce. But I didn’t want that, not for my parents. Besides, with there being no specified return date, who knew how long the Elders’ lie would even hold? I didn’t want my mom and dad going to bed at night with no real idea of where I was and why. It just didn’t sit well with me.
Which justifies why I was leaning toward telling them the truth.
About everything.
All of it.
Of course, I feared the outcome of such a conversation; it had the potential to end badly. What if they didn’t react well? What if they thought I’d lost it and, from this day forward, never believed another word I said? Yes, there was a lot at stake, but I wanted to handle this my way.
Finding out about being adopted a few years ago gave me a different perspective than others. I knew firsthand what it felt like to suddenly come to the realization that your whole life had been a lie. And, although I might have been naïve to think it’d all work out,
I wanted to give my mom and dad a chance to know what was really going on. Everyone deserved that.
The truth.
“You’re awfully quiet.” Liam’s voice brought me out of my thoughts and I smiled a bit.
“Right back at ya.”
Neither of us looked at the other, just concentrated on the road. Maybe because it was easier.
“What happened to you back there?” I asked, unsure he’d even say.
In my peripheral, I saw the tension in his arm when he gripped the wheel tighter—muscle and veins bulging beneath the sleeve of his t-shirt.
“It started out as one thing and ended as another,” was his vague response.
From what I saw, he was being beaten to a bloody pulp by small, childlike beings I was sure were more powerful than their innocent exterior implied. All the while, an Elder stood by, watching. And I felt them, the girls who surrounded Liam. They were inside his head with me before I was forced out.
When he didn’t elaborate, I found it hard not to speak my mind. One of us had to.
“I need you to be different,” I breathed, only worrying a little that I wore my heart on my sleeve.
Hazel eyes met mine for a second before going back to the road. “Different. Different how? What do you mean?”
I looked him over as I decided how to explain, focusing on his long, dark, still-wet hair. We’d only officially met a short time ago, but I soon realized that wasn’t true. In another lifetime, he was the closest person to me, and I still felt that now—an invisible, unbreakable thread extending from me, connecting to him.
My trust for him, someone I should have still regarded as a stranger, ran bone-deep. I didn’t fully understand it and was to the point I was done trying, but one thing I did know was that I needed him to be the one person I could count on to be honest.
I stared out the window again, because looking at him was hard at times. Hard because, whatever this was he made me feel, it was painful trying to control it if I didn’t turn away. Yes, I reluctantly admit that he overwhelmed me like the feeling that comes when you stare into the sun too long.
