Page 110 of The Alpha Dire Wolf
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.
Chapter Forty-Two
Sylvie
