Page 52 of Midnight Rules
“You can’t handle killing that many people, baby,” Cass said.
“I will if I have to.” Riley sighed. “Our wards are holding them back. I can hold them off when they fail. And they will fail. They have a witch. He’s powerful. But you have to come back here right away.”
“That’s a problem.” That was putting it mildly, considering about a hundred pissed off witches surrounded them.
Cass was the one who came up with a potential solution. He met Kinnison’s gaze. “It looks like the Fortune Falls pack and Timeston pack are officially at war.”
“I’ll tell Maggie,” Riley said. Maggie would organize the pack.
But in doing so, they’d start a war they may not win.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Marric didn’t want to get out of bed. He wasn’t sure he could stand up. He hurt everywhere, especially his legs and back. He lay under the covers and shut his eyes, trying to ignore the yelling. He could tell it came from outside. He was accustomed to the sounds of the farm. Tractors running and animal noises were common. But he’d rarely heard people yelling.
His mind played tricks on him, and he went back in time before the sickness started. He thought it was Emery who yelled at Dad. Marric didn’t want to become a part of the argument, so he kept his eyes shut and burrowed into the mattress.
But then the yelling grew in volume and participants. In his foggy, fevered brain, he thought his dad was yelling at Iven, and maybe Iven yelled back. But that made little sense because Iven wouldn’t yell. He was more of a quiet stewer who internalized everything. He wouldn’t raise his voice for any reason.
Marric sighed and sat up in bed. He needed to recover from the dizziness before standing, so he sat there collecting himself.
If it wasn’t for Zinnie’s herbs, he wouldn’t be well enough to even be conscious. He could still feel the curse working throughhis body. It would take over completely soon, but not before he found out what the hell was going on.
He made his way to his bedroom window. It faced the farmyard, giving him a bird’s eye view of everything, including over fifty Timeston pack members standing on the borders of the wards. Riley and Griffin were in the yard, just on the other side of a dome that covered the house and part of the yard. More pack members had to be on the back side of the barns, out of Marric’s line of sight. There could be even more people gathered along the wards at the front of the house as well.
Riley said something to Griffin. but Marric couldn’t hear it.
Marric sighed and shook his head. What the hell was going on?
Marric grabbed the blanket from the foot of the bed and wrapped it around himself before leaving the room. He headed down the stairs.
The front door was open and there was Maggie standing on the porch with his grandfather’s old shotgun and an old box of shells sitting on the railing as if she intended to pluck the wolves off one by one.
He peeked around the corner of the living room and saw Emery holding Regan. Marric had never seen them more scared.
Regan saw Marric first and ran to him. “Papa.”
Marric held him close.
Just then Zinnie came into the room carrying a basket of plants with a determination strong enough to deter even her toughest opposer. She stopped mid-stride when she saw him. “You should be in bed.”
“What’s happening? Why is the pack outside?”
Marric’s brain was fuzzy. He just couldn’t process what was going on.
“Timeston’s wolves and witches are working together. Just like Iven said they were.” That was all she said about it, as if it wasenough information for Marric to fill in the rest. But Marric’s mind worked slowly.
She turned to Emery and then to Regan. “Come on. You two are going to help me even the playing field.”
“How?” Emery wiped her eyes and followed behind Zinnie. They headed toward the kitchen.
“It seems the wolves wanted a curse. Well, we’re going to give them one.”
“I’m a wolf, so don’t curse me again, please.” Emery didn’t seem too worried.
“I would also appreciate it if you didn’t double down on my curses.” Marric pulled Regan into the kitchen. He sat at the table. He tried to put a chair close to him, so Regan had his own seat, but Regan didn’t let go of him. “Papa said I can’t hurt anyone ever again. No more curses.”
Zinnie closed the distance, patting Regan’s cheek. “Wolf’s bane isn’t a curse. It will just feel like one. And you don’t have to do anything.”
