Page 49 of To Keep A Wolf
I take a deep breath and let it out again. My father’s still watching me, assessing.
“She set all this in motion,” I say. “She had Thiago kill Crigger. And she kept Levi as her prisoner in order to control me. She knew about the ritual. That I would be sacrificed. She knew what Jadick intends and tried to stop it—in her own way, I guess.”
“But she didn’t know why it had to be you,” Tripp says.
I shake my head. “If she did, she never said.”
Across the space, Levi is still as stone. I want to touch him. To reach out and let him know he’s not alone in wherever his mind has taken him. But the truth is that he is alone there. The only way to end it is for him to find his way back here.
“It sounds like we need to find out more about this ritual Jadick plans on doing,” my father says. “Does he have the bones you mentioned or did Kari keep that one to herself?”
“No idea,” I admit.
“In the meantime, can we talk about how we’re going to stop Vicki from blowing this damn door down and dragging your ass back to your fiancé?”
Tripp’s tone is somewhere between sarcasm and actual fear. I don’t blame him. My mother—
A knock sounds on the door, and we all go still.
My wolf strains toward the surface, begging to be let free against whatever threat has found us. I hold her back, glancing between the others who also look just as ready to tear something apart.
“Mac, I know you’re in there.”
My mother’s familiar voice does nothing to assuage my fear. In fact, it only amplifies it.
I send Tripp a look that saysshe’s already here?
He sends one back that’s pretty much justWHAT THE FUCK.
My father stands and strides across the room to retrieve the rifle. My fear courses through me like adrenaline. Levi stands too. There’s something wild in his eyes but also completely grounded—in what, I don’t know. He walks over and puts himself between the gun and the door.
“You’re not taking her, Vicki.” His words are absolute.
“I’m not trying to take her,” Vicki says, but her voice is strained. Impatient.
I push to my feet now too and step up beside Levi. He immediately shoves me behind him. My father takes a step toward us, but Levi stops him with a glare.
Tripp slides off the couch and huddles beneath the window. He watches Levi like he’s waiting for a signal, and the knowledge of what they’re capable of together tightens my stomach.
“Then whatdoyou want?” Levi asks.
My mother hesitates, and when she speaks again, her voice is heavy with emotions I’ve never heard her express before. “To apologize,” she says and in a much quieter voice, “and to come home.”
I look at my father, who blinks, clearly not expecting that answer.
“Why can’t I scent you?” I call before anyone can answer her pleas.
“I used a cloaking charm I traded from a witch in Indigo Hills.”
“Why cloak yourself at all?” I ask. “If you’re not here to apprehend me. Why not let us sense you coming?”
“The charm isn’t for you,” she says, and the urgency from earlier returns.
“Who is it for?” Levi demands.
“It’s—”
A snarl sounds, and then boots shuffle across the yard. My senses pick up a heartbeat, incredibly fast. Too fast. Not human then.
