“I don’t . . . You?”
“Correct. We did not kill Humans unless they were active participants in the attacks on the Northwest, or standing between us and Constantine. More importantly, we discovered soon enough that there were no birth records for Humans who were born within the cult. You understand what that means?” Nele is silent, so he continues, “We could have done whatever we pleased with them. If we had wanted to kill them, they’d be long dead.”
Nele’s eyes widen, and she starts shaking uncontrollably. I shoot my best thank you for that tactful explanation glare at Koen, whose response is an unironic
You’re welcome nod.
“What Koen’s trying to say is that he believes that your family has been punished enough, and holds no resentment toward them.” Koen appears to have minor quibbles with my translation but wisely keeps them to himself. “Is everything okay?” I clutch her hand tighter.
Is this what Fiona felt like among the Favored? Constantly scared? If someone had been kind to her early enough, would she still have made the leap from victim to accomplice? By the time I was born, was she already both? Did I tip her over?
“In the last few months . . . Since we found out about you in the interview, really, we’ve been . . . It’s been different.” She casts a quick, skittish glance at Koen. It shimmers with unshed tears. “Things became more . . . And then they sent Job to get you.”
“Job?”
“The boy by Silas’s house,” Koen explains.
“Oh.” My heart squeezes. “Were you two . . . ?”
“He was my friend. And they told him that if he couldn’t bring you back, he shouldn’t bother returning at all.” For the first time, the hurt in her voice is tinged with anger. “So he didn’t.”
“I’m sorry, Nele.”
She nods. Casts a lost glance around the room, taking in the impersonal but welcoming decor. “It’s not like they said it would be. Here, with the Weres. I thought you’d hurt us and treat us like we’re unworthy, but we’ve been able to come and go as we please. It’s not dangerous for Humans. The Weres are . . . You have been kind.”
It’s so depressing, Amanda told us in the car.
Every time I bring them clothes and food and books and tell them that they don’t need to ask for permission to walk around nature, they look at me like I must be drinking mercury. Can you believe it?
A cult lying to its members to control them, Koen mumbled, driving with his elbow hanging out of the window.
Unheard of.
Honestly, fuck Irene and Constantine and the Favored. Fuck them all. “The Northwest is kind,” I say, “but what they are doing is the bare minimum. You deserve respect, and more. You should have had it your whole life.”
I can see the cogs in her head turning as she tries to grasp the concept of basic decency. “I know . . . I know we’re Humans. But would it be possible . . . Could we maybe stay here for a while? I think that if we did, the others would see it, too, that maybe there can be a life for us, even outside of the Favored.”
“You can stay for as long as you like,” Koen replies before I can turn to him.
“Thank you.” Her smile wobbles. “Maybe you and I could be friends, E- Serena. I enjoyed the afternoon we spent together.”
“I did, too,” I say, instead of
We could be friends if I stayed, but I won’t. I can’t. You’ll be fine, though. And so will Koen. And so will I.
Good liar, and all that.
“Maybe I could help you,” she adds, tentative. “I could show you where some of our hideouts are. We could go together- “
“No,” Koen and I say in unison, forcefully. We share a glance, and he continues. “How old are you?”
“Sixteen.”
“Son of a bitch.” He briefly hangs his head. Massages the bridge of his nose. “You’re way too young to be caught in this. We don’t know if they are guarding their hideouts, or whether they will treat you as a threat. You’ve been through enough. Your involvement in this bullshit ends now.”
Nele blushes, looking scandalized.
Koen cocks his head. “Did you really just offer to escort me into a life- or- death situation, only to balk at the word ‘bullshit’?”
The flush deepens. “The thing is, after what happened last week, there are . . . a little less than fifty Favored left. About half of them are Weres. And . . . my older sister, she’s currently with them.”
My stomach sinks.
Koen sighs. “Could you write me a list of the members?”
“I already have. It’s in my room.” She averts her eyes. “What will you do to them?”
“Provided that the Weres don’t resist, we’ll capture them alive and put them through a tribunal. Humans are not our concern.”
“Will you . . .”
His face softens. “We’ll do our best not to harm anyone. Humans are easy to subdue. However, if my pack is in danger, we will defend ourselves.”
Nele exhales slowly. The silence stretches until she says, “I just want it to be over, you know? A normal life, for me and my family.” She lets go of my hand and wraps her arms around herself. “I don’t know where Irene is right now. But the prophet’s birthday is in two days, and it’s our most important day of worship. Irene might call it off this year, but she never has. In fact, I think that she might . . .” At once, she smells intensely guilty.
“None of this is your fault,” Koen reminds her.
She nods. “Ever since Serena’s interview, there has been a lot of anger toward the Northwest. More than usual. Many Favored saw that as proof that they’d been right all along, and people have been thinking about the Harrowing.” She swallows. “In the past few months, they’ve been accumulating weapons. Firearms. Some bigger ones, too. And . . .”
“And?”
“And . . . they’ve been teaching us how to use them.”
She would make for the perfect Alpha’s mate.
ICAN’T BE THE ONLY ONE EXPERIENCING A STRONG SENSE OF d?j? vu,” Saul says, but no one laughs.
I wouldn’t describe the Northwest seconds as the jolliest of bunches, but they usually tease each other, dish out jabs, and exchange inside jokes that go way over my head. Tonight, however, the atmosphere in Koen’s cabin is very gothic manor, mid-nineteenth century. The huddle leaders are on their way. Most of the pack leadership is in attendance, and all agree with Koen’s decision to go after the cult before Irene can strike.
“It’s the same strategy Constantine used,” he says.
“Target the Alpha and the closest seconds,” Amanda recites. “When the pack is trying to regroup, they work their way down.”
“They don’t have the insiders they had back then,” Mai points out. “Or the manpower.”
“The attack might not be as widespread,” Amanda agrees, “but if something happens to Koen?”
“That wouldn’t be ideal. There’s always a slew of cumballs with no leadership experience who decide to try the challenge at the worst possible time.” Koen leans against the counter and stares into the middle distance. “It’s not enough, getting Irene. We need to make sure that no Were related to the cult remains free. Otherwise, two years from now some fuckwaffle who happens to be Constantine’s third cousin will be back with some shitty claim and rile up all the other fuckwaffles.”
“What are the chances that the Human girl is lying about the weapons?” Jorma asks.
“None,” Koen says. “She adores Serena and wants to see her safe.”
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