Page 6 of Season of the Wolf

Nothing I’d done seemed to make a difference, because despite whatever special abilities I had, despite the wolf and dragon within, tonight I felt very … human.

Human.

That word hit my heart like a ton of bricks. Once, beingnormaldidn’t seem like such a bad thing. Only now, I knew what sorts of beasts were out there, roaming the Earth, preying on the weak. Now, with my new awareness, being anything but a supernatural made a person vulnerable … temporary. Two attributes I couldn’t stomach assigning to Liam, my warrior.

My gaze drifted to the band he still wore, the one that was supposed to mean we had forever, but … being mortal now, the possibility of keeping that promise had been stolen. Forever didn’t exist for him anymore, didn’t exist forus.

A newly-familiar feeling rose from the pit of my stomach and I had yet to master the art of suppressing it—anger. It’d become my default emotion.

Anger that I hadn’t been able to do more to stop Sebastian and his men from taking Liam that day.

Anger that I was powerless, forced to sit idle, watching him transition.

Anger that the witch I knew to be responsible was still out there, breathing.

I’d seen her do this to him with my own two eyes. Only, at the time, I didn’t know what to make of the purple powder she blew in his face; didn’t realize what damage it would cause.

“She’sbeen in there for hours. Should we check on her? Apologize maybe?”

Elise’s muffled voice seeped beneath the closed door of Liam’s bedroom. She did little to conceal her worry.

I pressed my cheek to the back of his hand now, aware of how long it’d been since he held mine in return.

“Let her be,” Hilda replied. The fight had left her voice from our earlier conversation. Actually, listening now, it seemed she might even be remorseful.

It shouldn’t have surprised me she’d be so cutthroat. That was always her way, and while I’d gotten used to it for the most part, tonight simply wasn’t the night I needed her uncensored thoughts hurled at me.

A third voice approached, and with its familiar, Southern dialect, I recognized it as Dallas’ right away.

“Heard from the guards. The perimeter and surrounding area are all clear now. They put down a dozen or soadditionalmutts, so … things are definitely heating up. If I had to guess, from a military standpoint, they’re hunting in a grid formation to cover the most ground in a short amount of time.”

Dallas paused and I held my breath.

“Sebastian has definitelynotdecided to let bygones be bygones. He’s at least partly sure Evie’s still residing in the area.”

“Then we should leave,” Elise said resolutely.

“A pointless maneuver,” Hilda interjected. “Wherever she goes, he’d hunt her down. To the edges of the Earth,” she added solemnly.

My heart sank at those words, at the realization that the Sovereign would stop at nothing to end me.

“She’s right,” Dallas answered. “Here in Seaton Falls, we’ve got allies, the premises is secure, and the High Council has stuck around for more than a month now for the sole purpose of making sure Evie’s safe. The last thing we should consider doing is leaving that behind.”

The three outside the door were quiet again.

“Then we’ll need to do more,” was Elise’s suggestion. “More security, more magic to conceal the house, more …everything.” The end of her statement was shaky, like it’d been uttered through quivering lips.

“I can’t believe it’s come to this,” her voice came back. “Mere months ago, it felt as though we were making progress, like we might actuallywin, but … now it just seems all our efforts are only delaying the inevitable.”

I shuttered at that word—inevitable.

“I can’t help thinking how different things would be if we had the boys here, how different things would be if Liam was awake.”

When she said his name, I moved my cheek across his hand again, forcing myself to recite silent words I wasn’t even sure I still believed.

Youarehere. You haven’t left me.

“Maybe it’s time we … explored our options.” I was surprised to hear such a thing leave Hilda’s mouth. She’d been the one to pound in our heads how the only way to bring them back was if I miraculously lucked up on some magic. All the while, reminding us how impossible that was.

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