Page 172 of Drown My Sorrow

“I didn’t-”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t mean it. I know you better than anyone else. You meant it. You want to go home. The city doesn’t feel right anymore. It’s not home.”

I sniff and turn my face into his collar. “I don’t know where home is,” I admit in a tiny voice. “All I know is that you are what makes me happy. I know he’s doing this for me, but it’s hurting all of us. None of us are happy here. We’re not a city pack.”

“But?”

“But if this is what we have to do to stop Typhor, then we should do it.” I force a smile.

Shale kisses my shoulder and sighs. I don’t like the sound of it. I don’t like the cold breeze or the lack of stars. Everything feels wrong.

“I want you to go home.”

The words fall between us, heavy and more painful than anything he’s ever said to me.

I stare at him. “What?”

“I want you to go back to the island without us.” Shale reaches for my hands and threads our fingers together. “Sonny and Mitch are going to take care of you until we come back.”

I shake my head. “No way.”

“It’s not really a request, Aspyn.”

I go cold. What is he saying? Tears burn in my eyes, and I struggle to breathe as I start to sob.

“I’m sending you back tonight. You’ll be safer there than you would here.”

“You can’t be serious, Shale, please.”

I pull away, standing up, only to turn and find the rest of the pack there.

“We will come for you. As soon as it’s done, we’ll come back for you.”

“You don’t throw pack away!” I shout, fighting my way free of his lap. “We do it together.”

“You are our weakness,” Kelly says simply.

“They will continue to use you to hurt our chances at beating Typhor,” Shale explains and reaches out to brush my hair back from my face.

I stare at them all, one after the other. “So, I’m useless?”

“That’s not what we said. You are in pain and continuously getting hurt. We’re removing you from the line of fire,” Shale says calmly.

“This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard, and I’m a grown woman. You can’t just send me away.”

“As your alpha, I can, though,” Shale murmurs.

I turn stricken eyes on him. “Don’t do this.”

“I’d do anything to protect you, Aspyn. Even and including this. You and Gael are leaving in an hour.”

I look at Gael, who is slumped in defeat. His eyes are swollen, and there is nothing happy about him.

“You can’t do this,” I whisper.

“We can and we are. You’re going. Nat needs you. Take her back home and wait for us.”

“NO!” I howl.

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