Page 96 of The Pack

“And we need a bloody plan,” Thorne muttered, his jawline tensing as he folded his arms.

“She’s not wrong,” Tobias said, his expression distant. “Every second we stand here is a second wasted.”

Killian snorted as he too crossed his arms. “Wasted? You think goin’ in there is better? Do you know what that place is like?”

“We know,” Magnus said firmly, glancing to Killian.

“I was in there twenty years ago, you know, that time we split up to look for supplies,” Thorne said suddenly, his voice low. “Just on the edge, looking for supplies near the old outskirts. A bear the size of an elephant nearly took my arm off.”

“A bear? In Ireland?” I asked.

“I know. Must have escaped from the zoo or something strange like that,” Thorne said, his voice clipped.

I frowned, glancing at him. “You’ve never mentioned that before.”

“Because I don’t like remembering it,” he said bluntly. “The place was bad then. Now? It’s probably that much worse.”

Magnus nodded, his expression grim. “The mutations have accelerated over the past few years. The radiation’s twisting things faster, making the creatures bigger, stronger. Smarter.”

Killian leaned back against a boulder, his grin nowhere to be found. “Smarter. Great. Just what we need—mutant bears with brains.”

“There’s more than that,” Tobias said. “Last time I was there, I saw… something. Looked like a fox at first, but its legs were too long, its face stretched like it didn’t fit its body. It ran like a shadow. Fast. Quiet. Almost got me before I realized it was there.”

“We’ve all been in there at some point,” Magnus said finally, his voice edged with steel. “And we all know what it’s like.”

“It’s a nightmare,” Thorne said flatly. “The creatures, the radiation, the silence. It’s like the place is alive and waiting to claim victims.”

“It is,” Tobias said quietly.

Killian let out a low sigh, running a hand through his fiery hair. “We’ve got real reasons not to go in there, you know. No one gets out unscathed.”

“But we’ve got a good reason to go now,” I said, my voice firm.

They turned to look at me, their expressions ranging from frustration to resignation.

“It’s her brother,” I said simply. “And it’s our Zara.”

Magnus’s eyes narrowed slightly, his jaw tightening as he let out a slow breath. “She’s not going to let this go,” he said, his voice quiet, but sure.

“She’ll go in alone if we don’t stop her,” Tobias added.

“She’ll get herself killed,” Thorne muttered.

“And we can’t let that happen,” I said decisively, my eyes sweeping over the group. “Not just because of her brother, but because she’s one of us now.”

The silence stretched between us, the weight of the decision settling over us like a heavy shroud.

Finally, Magnus straightened, his face painted with resolve. “Fine. We’ll go in. For her,” he said simply.

Thorne’s jaw tightened, but he nodded. “Fine.”

Killian let out a low whistle, shaking his head. “We’re insane. All of us.”

“We’ve always been crazy,” I said, a faint grin tugging at my lips despite the tension.

Magnus’s expression softened slightly as he glanced toward the bend in the trail where Zara had disappeared.

“We’ll tell her about our decision in the morning,” he commanded quietly and the rest of us nodded.

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