Page 12 of Season of the Wolf

“Doesn’t he get a say in this?” It was my father who interrupted again, still pleading my case despite being put in his place once already.

I silently wished he’d stand down before he wasputdown.

“Dad … it’s fine,” I stated calmly, breathing deep as I went on. “I actually think this might be good for me,” I concluded.

There was so much about me that my family didn’t know. I’d made it a point to keep my skeletons well-hidden for fear of judgement. So, it didn’t surprise me that my father thought I needed rescuing right now. In a sense, I suppose I did, but I wasn’t completely sure being trained to guard our town wouldn’t be just that.

The long-awaited rescue I needed.

Dad’s eyes lingered on mine for quite some time. I guess until he knew I wasn’t just saying this to save my hide. When he faced forward again, the Elders and Chancellor were less than amused by yet another interruption, but ignored it since there were no further rebuttals to their decision.

“And while Nicholas’ service is somewhat of an order, we would also like to make a similar offer toyouthree,” the Chancellor added, gesturing toward my brothers.

“As I stated before, we’re in a unique position, a shifting of roles, a shifting of authority,” he added, never quite explaining what that meant, but he did the strangest things as those words left his mouth—he briefly turned his attention toward Roz. Noticing it herself, she subtly hid behind me.

“Now would be the perfect time to elevate you three within the community,” he went on, “bringing you on as guards to protect our people.”

The room was completely silent, all parties involved deep in thought.

“While we’d love to give you an opportunity to mull this over,” the Chancellor said, sarcasm dripping from every word, “time is one thing we simply do not have. Given your recent voluntary effort to assist and guard Evangeline, we believe you three would be an excellent addition to the taskforce.”

It wasn’t lost on me he said‘you three’,meaning I would likely be stationed someplace far away from Evie. I was also sure they knew, like I did, what a good idea that was. Distance was key when it came to she and I.

Kyle breathed deep beside me, but then answered, sounding far more certain then I expected. “I’m in.”

The Chancellor nodded in response, turning his head a few degrees toward Richie.

His reply was slightly more reluctant, but he, too, agreed to the new terms.

“I’m in,” he echoed.

“Very well,” The Chancellor replied. “Benjamin?”

Ben was the last to agree and I wasn’t surprised. Of the four of us, he was notoriously too careful and too logical for his own good. But one positive thing came from that—he’d kept us all out of trouble more times than I could count over the years. We sometimes made fun of him for not‘living in the moment’,but respected his stance on things.

Even now.

Maybe,especiallynow.

His throat bobbed when he swallowed, bearing the weight of this decision in his expression when he finally nodded. “I’ll do it.”

I could practically feel the uneasiness in the room—coming from Roz, my father.

“Then it’s settled,” the Chancellor concluded. “We’ll be in touch in the coming days.”

With those words, with the four of us bending to their will, the session was over and the six retreated to their quarters behind the heavy door. It was just us now, and while there were so many things to discuss, none of us said a word.

Seemed our family had just gotten pulled even deeper into the fog of uncertainty. Only, this time, we’d sworn our allegiance.

Whatever went down in Seaton Falls, we’d all just agreed to stand on the front line.

Chapter Four

Evie

A heavy sigh preceded Elise’s response. “You’re seriously considering this? You’ve brought it up twice now.”

Tiptoeing toward the edge of the top step, I stooped beside the rail to hide, just out of view of where Hilda and Elise were discussing their‘options’yet again.

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