“They deserved it.”
I looked at her. “They’re scared. They haven’t had to rise to a challenge like this in their lives, and now they’re old and they know full well they don’t have the strength to stand before it. Can you blame them?”
She frowned. “Are you saying you pity them?”
“Immensely. I did not enjoy what I just did. But it had to be done, for the sake of those whodo have the strength to fight. They must see that it’s our only choice. I just wish the elders weren’t so damn stubborn about it. Then I wouldn’t have to fight them as well as the Chained.”
Standing up straight, I walked to my fridge and pulled a beer bottle out of the door. The cap came off with a quick flick of my wrist, and I up-ended the cold glass, letting the brew drain smoothly. It disappeared in a flash, and I grabbed another, heading to sit down.
“We didn’t use to be this way,” I said in response to her watchful gaze. “When my father was alpha, he would have dealt with it before things got to this point. He knew how to lead. How to show them what it meant to bebetter. To protect those who can’t fight.”
“Your father was alpha before you?”
I nodded. “It’s how I was allowed to enter the trials to become alpha. I wouldn’t have had enough support otherwise. Nobody expected me to win, but I did. Now, because I’m younger, the elders think they can manipulate me and take control of the pack. And too many of my people are scared and willing to listen to them.”
Shaking my head in frustration, I took a swig of the fresh beer, determined to make this one last.
“Maybe,” Sylvie said, “but not all of them do.”
I looked up. She was staring at me intently, her emotions hidden behind a mask of impenetrability.
“Many were out there watching you, listening. Earlier at the meeting as well. Many didn’t just hear. They listened. To your words but also your emotions. You aren’t alone, Lincoln, you have supporters.”
“I know,” I agreed.
I just wish you were one of them.
“They will believe in you. They will follow you and trust your judgment. I saw it. They think you worthy of their respect and devotion.”
I frowned.
Sylvie sighed. “My point is don’t downplay that by being hard on yourself. No leader is universally loved.”
“My father was.”
“Right.” She snorted. “That’s why these elders of yours are so eager to assert themselves since he’s been gone. Because they were super happy under his rule and agreed with everything he did to the point that now that he’s gone, they’re trying to simply carry on his legacy. Right?”
I chewed on that. She was right. I just hadn’t thought of it that way. “Maybe you have a point,” I conceded.
Sylvie rolled her eyes. “Would it kill you to say that I’m right?”
“Probably not. But why risk it?” I stuck my tongue out at her.
We both laughed, and for a minute, things were as they had been before. Relaxed. Comfortable. Right.
Taking a deep breath, Sylvie sobered abruptly. “Lincoln.”
“Yes?”
“Do you really think I’m linked to this Chained somehow? That I’m actually a witch?”
I nodded, beyond grateful for the subject change. “Yes, and yes. Your grandmother was a witch, so it stands to follow you would be too. This intuition of yours is just one sign of it. That tree-thing? It was very clearly sent for you. It wanted to kill you, not carry you off. Whatever connection is there, I have no doubt it exists.”
“But you don’t know what it is?”
I blew air slowly. “No. I don’t.”
“And is taking me to the heart of the forest really the best option? What about taking me far away? Or teaching me how to use my witch … stuff? Then I could fight back.”
“There’s no time.” I held up a hand. “I thought about doing that, about denying it what it needs. But it’s growing stronger on its own without killing you. How strong can it grow? I think this is our best chance to stop it now. If we try to delay, it may be too late by that point.”
“Fuck.”
I let the word hang there. It wasn’t often Sylvie swore, and with such despair at that. She needed to vent, and I wasn’t going to stop her.
“I’m not much good in a fight,” she said at last, sinking into the couch with her knees to her chest. “But I’ll do what I can. I’ll go with you.”
Energized by her agreement, I stood up. “Thank you, Vee, I-“
“No.”
I looked at her as she stood up, her movements as sharp as her tone. “Huh?”
“You don’t get to call me that,” she said, leveling an index finger at me. “I’m doing this because of my grandma. She was trying to tell me something, and if she is what you say, I’m involved in it, somehow. I’m going with you because that feels like the right thing to do, and after your speech to your pack just now, I trust you to protect me. But I don’t forgive you.”
That said, she pushed past me and headed for the stairs.
Sylvie
Boom-boom.
The drums sounded in the dark again. I stood on the precipice, my toes sinking into the cold soft muddy bank of the river. One more step and I would enter the waters.
Darkness reigned supreme, everywhere except in a perfect circle around me. Showing me the river ahead and … I frowned. The river behind? I turned on my circle, revealing it to be nothing more than stone in the center of the thrashing frothy rapids. The only smooth spot to stand amid sharp, shattered rock interrupting the flow of water.
Where was I?
Boom-boom.
The drums drew nearer. Something was coming. Was it the wolf? I searched the dark for its eyes, the yellow and blue combo, but they were gone.
I had sent the wolf away. Told him I didn’t forgive him and kept him at a distance. Now my dreams were empty of the protection.
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