Page 95 of The Pack

I stepped closer, placing a hand on her arm.

“We’ll find him,” I said softly. “I promise. But Magnus is right: we can’t go through there.”

Her dark eyes searched mine, tears shimmering at the edges. “You don’t understand. He’s all I have left.”

“You also have us, and you’re all we have now,” I said soothingly.

She looked away, her jaw tight as she fought back tears. I wanted to reach out to her, to hold her and tell her it was going to be alright, but I sensed that wasn’t what she needed right now, so I held back.

“We’ll find him, Zara,” Magnus said. “But not that way.”

She didn’t answer, didn’t even look at him.

“Sweetheart,” Tobias said, his tone firm. “Magnus is right. You go in there, you’re as good as dead. The animals in there alone?—”

“I don’t care,” she snapped, finally turning to face us. Her eyes burned with a fury that made my chest tighten. “He’s there and I need to go to him. He’s my brother. I know he’s there.”

“We can’t go in there. That place isn’t just dangerous—it’s cursed,” Thorne blurted out.

Killian raised an eyebrow, a grin tugging at his lips. “Cursed? Really? You’re not serious.”

“I’ve heard stories,” Thorne continued, his tone clipped, but edged with unease. “Mutated animals are one thing, but the zone… it changes people. Those who go in don’t come out the same. If they come out at all.”

Killian barked a laugh. “You’ve been spending too much time listening to old campfire tales. Next, you’ll be telling us there’s ghosts in there too.”

“Not ghosts,” Thorne said, his jaw tightening. “But something worse.”

Magnus sighed, his silver eyes flicking toward Thorne. “Let me guess,” he said dryly. “You’re talking about the tales where people go mad in the radiation, turning into monsters themselves?”

Thorne’s pale gaze hardened. “You can mock me all you want, but you’ve seen the beasts. Tell me you don’t think the same thing could happen to us.”

“Mutated foxes and badgers are one thing,” Tobias said, his eyes narrowing. “But turning into monsters? That’s a stretch, even for you.”

“I’m just saying we don’t know what the radiation does to people,” Thorne shot back. “You think it just kills them? Maybe it twists them, the same way it twists animals.”

Killian snorted, crossing his arms. “What, like we’d grow an extra head? Maybe some sharper claws? Sounds like it’d make us more interesting, honestly.”

“Keep laughing,” Thorne said, his voice a bit more cutting than before. “You won’t be laughing when you see what’s in there.”

I stayed quiet, my focus shifting to Zara. She stood slightly apart from the group, her arms crossed over her chest, her jaw tight. Her deep blue eyes stayed locked on the distant city, but I could see the tension in her shoulders, the way her hands clenched into fists.

“Guys,” I said softly, glancing back at the pack. “Ease up.”

“What?” Killian asked, his grin faltering as he followed my gaze.

Zara turned to us, her face pale but set with determination.

“I can’t afford to waste a whole week because of silly superstition. It’ll take a day or two to cross that and get to Dublin,” she said, her voice trembling with barely contained frustration.

Thorne frowned, his expression hardening. “This isn’t superstition, Zara. That place is a death trap.”

“Every second we waste is another second that he could be suffering. Or worse. I can’t just stand here while you all argue about make-believe monsters and radiation,” she snapped.

Magnus sighed, running a hand through his hair. “We’ll find another way,” he said. “A better way. But we’re not going through the zone. I forbid it.”

Zara stood there for a moment, just staring at Magnus before she turned on her heel and stormed off. Her dark hair swayed with her hurried strides, and I could feel the frustration radiating off her even as she disappeared around a bend in the path.

“Let her go,” Magnus said, his eyes fixed on where she’d vanished. His tone was calm, but his jaw was tight. “She needs space.”

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