Page 73 of Wolf Heart

“But many rebelled and started the war in the first place.” He hesitates again, then continues in a low voice as though he's afraid of being overheard, “These witches still don’t see the value of humans or shifters. They treat them like tools, and they don’t think twice about killing them.”

“My mom is a witch.” I swallow. “S-she's a good one, right?"

Why was I even asking them? They didn't know my mom or they'd have taken me to her right away to get paid.

Dex sits down on a rock and Aspen sits next to him. "We're here to guard you.”

“Guard me?” I’m confused. I thought they were there to help me find my mom. A sinking sensation hits me and I fight not to fall to my knees, feeling like the air has been ripped out of me.

“All witches who have abandoned their covens turn into lost ones,” Aspen says. “We have to kill the lost ones before they can kill anyone else.”

"Why are they killing people?"

“Because they are lost,” Aspen says. “Once witches give up their covens, they lose their souls.”

"So they're ghosts?"

"Worse," Dex says. "They're monsters. Imagine the lost ones on steroids.”

"There are a lot of them?" My throat tightens.

“Yeah,” Aspen says.

“Juniper, the truth is that we don’t know what you’re going to find.” Dex moves toward me, but his eyes are like jade and I take a step back. He was so warm and caring when we were kissing and now it feels like he's cold and distant.

"But you're trying to find my mom for me?" I ask.

“No." He sighs like he's carrying a big weight. "We made a deal with the witches. Bring them an unshifted female and they'd give us the hope for a cure for the lost ones... for our pack."

“Why would you think that?” I ask. The small hope that these men were with me to help me, that they might even like me bursts.

I shake my head, the words bubbling up in my throat like spiked balls of acid. "You're sacrificing me to the witches?"

Both of them look so guilty, their gazes sliding off me to the ground that my heart squeezes so hard in my chest that I can't breathe for a moment, the truth of their words slamming into me. "You're going to give me to them?"

"We have to." Dex runs his hands through his hair, his mouth a hard line.

"No." I shake my head. "I'm not letting you sacrifice me. I won't go."

Aspen's hand clamps down on my shoulder. "You don't have a choice."

“There’s always a choice.”

"You made a deal with the witches?" I ask again, unable to believe what I'm hearing.

“We didn't have a say in it,” Dex says. "It's the only way to break the curse on our pack."

I shake my head, but he's already told me I'm a bargaining chip for the cure. "And you agreed?"

"There was nothing we could do," Aspen says.

"So you're going to hand me over to the witches and hope they come through on their end of the deal?" I ask. My legs start to shake and I press my hand to my mouth, trying to control my emotions.

"This was before we knew you. We won't let them hurt you," Dex says. "I promise."

"Stop." I back away from them. "There's nothing you can do to help me."

I set off walking away from them and they don't try to stop me.

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