Page 12 of Freed Wolfsbane

Annabel goes rigid in my lap. I look down at her questioningly. “That’s me,” she breathes, her eyes wide and terrified as she stares up at me.

CHAPTER7

BRIAR

“Oh, hell no,” I blurt and then wince because I definitely shouldn’t be swearing in front of a table of kiddos. None of the kids are focusing on me. Instead, they volley their apprehensive gazes between Annabel and the guards.

Annabel whimpers. “Please don’t let them take me. This is what happened to Sage. They took her at breakfast, too, and we never saw her again.”

Her plea shreds my already torn-up heart. “I won’t,” I vow. Standing up, I gently place Annabel on the bench.

“What are you doing, Briar?” Anson hisses from his spot next to me. When I ignore him, he reaches out to grab my arm to stop me. I shake off his hold and march up to the guard with black hair and shrewd green eyes who spoke. Coming to a stop in front of him, I cross my arms and lift my chin.

He eyes me skeptically. “You’re five eighty-two?”

I meet his gaze unflinchingly. “I sure am.”

Glancing down at the notebook he’s holding, the guard reads something before glaring back at me, his face lined with exasperation. “It says here that subject five eighty-two is blonde and approximately five years old.”

Well, that throws a wrench in my plans to go in Annabel’s place. I’m surprised they even have any descriptions written down for us when they see all supernaturals as the same and expendable.

Racking my mind for something else, I settle on, “Take me to Ryker.” Gasps sound when I mention Ryker. I can feel hundreds of stares burning into me, but I do my best to ignore them. “I can guarantee you that he’ll be much happier to see me than a kid.” I want to tack onyou despicable monster,but I somehow restrain myself.

How can these guards willingly hurt, experiment on, torture, and even kill children? They’re just babies for fuck’s sake. If I didn’t think the Knights were monsters before, the sheer number of kids here would definitely convince me otherwise.

The guard lets out a mocking laugh. “You think Ryker, the leader of the Knights of Aeneas of North America, gives a shit about a mutt like you?”

Huh. I didn’t realize he was so high up in the organization. It makes sense that he’s the one spearheading the operation to expand the wolf curse to all shifters. Not letting my surprise show on my face, I give the guard a bored look. “Oh, I know he gives a shit. Now are we going or what?”

The guard’s face turns red with anger at my defiance as he gets in my face. “This is your last chance to get out of our way and sit the fuck down.”

“I’m not letting you take her.” I know I shouldn’t show how attached I am to Annabel, who has made her way into my heart in record time. Ryker and the Knights will use anyone I care about to get me to do what they want, but I can’t just let them take her. I’ve only known them for an hour, but I feel fiercely protective of all the children from our corridor.

The Knight opens his mouth to blast me when a sandy-haired guard steps between us. He gives the one behind him a scathing look before trying to reason with me. “You don’t get to decide that. Now you can either move and we’ll take the girl. Or you can come with us when we take the girl. If you keep getting in the way, I’ll make the choice for you.”

Grinding my teeth in frustration, I eye the guards and wonder how many I could take out before they overpower me. With my nonexistent fighting skills, that number would probably be zero. As satisfying as it would be to try to beat up some Knights, it wouldn’t solve the problem. In fact, any violence would likely make the situation worse for Annabel.

Sighing, I turn back to the table and squat in front of the little girl. “Do you trust me?” She gives me the tiniest nod, and I give her a warm smile, her trust making me feel gooey inside. “I won’t let anything happen to you, but we have to go with the guards now.”

Her lip wobbles, but she nods her agreement. She reaches up her arms, and I happily pick her up, hugging her surprisingly light frame to me. “It’s going to be okay,” I murmur into her soft hair, my voice choked up. “I’ll protect you.”

When I have her seated on my hip and my arm securely wrapped around her, I turn back to the guards and stare at them with determination on my face.

“We can’t take her,” the black-haired guard protests.

The calmer and slightly nicer one shrugs. “If she’s so confident Ryker wants to see her, then let’s take her to Ryker. That’ll teach the mutt her proper place.”

I retract my nicer statement. That guy is just as much of a douche canoe as the other one.

Is it a requirement for all Knights of Aeneas to be assholes? Because it sure seems like it based on the Knights I’ve interacted with thus far.

Flashing me a vicious smile, the black-haired Knight roughly grabs the arm I’m not holding Annabel with and yanks me forward. I stumble and manage not to fall over by sheer willpower alone. I don’t get a chance to glare at him because the guards surround me and start marching us through the cafeteria.

I keep my chin up and project confidence to the supernaturals watching this whole fiasco. Even though I’m terrified of what they’re going to try to do to Annabel, I pretend to be unbothered. If I’m fearful, that just reinforces that they should be afraid of the Knights. Maybe seeing my small act of defiance will give them a little hope or encourage them to look for a way out.

It probably won’t work, but all I can do is try.

As I pass everyone, I really only smell the faint scent of shifter. Ryker did mention that they are specifically suppressing shifters here, so that lines up. Whenever we get a moment alone, I’ll have to ask Annabel what type of shifter she is. Since I haven’t had my wolf very long, I can’t tell by scent what her animal is.

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