Page 49 of Cruel Revenge
“We saw the blood. She hurt herself, didn’t she?”
I nodded.
“And you, no matter the reason, in your werecat form, you would have to bite her to move her.”
I nodded more, curling up, keeping my knees at my chest, my hands coming up to the sides of my head, holding on as I scream-cried, remembering the scene I had run up to, knowing Carey was terribly injured from her escape. Subira comforted me, her hands keeping me in reality. Her scent enveloped me and reminded me that I wasn’t in that moment anymore. After those tears gave me the slightest moment of respite, I took a deep breath and tried to continue.
“She could… she could talk. She said she couldn’t… she couldn’t…” I found it so hard to repeat. “She couldn’t feel anything.”
“Oh, sweetie,” Subira whispered, touching my face, holding it gingerly.
“And then she whispered for me to bite her. I had to move her. I wanted to move to a place where I could defend her better, and they were all coming back for her. And…” I closed my eyes.
The truth. Subira needs to hear the truth, the thought that I… I refuse to have. I have to tell her. I have to.
“Subira, she wasn’t going to live unless I took the risk. Help wasn’t coming. There was no time. I had to try to save her.”
There was a long silence as I opened my eyes once again, looking at Subira.
“Sometimes, Jacky, you are more like your father than I think either of you wants to believe or would like,” she whispered, pushing hair away from my face. “That was what he said to me as he tried to explain Changing you. Help wasn't coming. There was no time. He had to try to save you.”
“Oh.”
“Yes." She looked in my eyes for a long time, then sighed. "Then you fought to defend her there by the road.”
“Yeah…” I tried to drop my head, but she held it. I just leaned into her hand as my claws grabbed the sheets, tearing the fabric easily. “And I failed.”
“How?”
I explained the sound, the high-frequency noise they decided to use. I was alone, and there had been so many of them. Those two spikes wouldn’t have been able to kill me as a werecat unless they had hit the right spots, and the witch had missed those.
“This witch sounds cruel,” Subira said, a soft growl in the words.
“I think he wanted to kill me up close, but they had to go. They realized we were on the news… and the witch decided I might be useful alive to deliver some messages.”
“What sort of messages?” Subira demanded, then held up a hand. “If they aren’t directly for me, perhaps we wait for you to deliver them to the right people.”
“One is for you and Hasan. One is for Heath…” I frowned. “And one is for Kushim.”
Subira’s eyes went wide.
“Interesting,” she said, the word airy and thoughtful. “Well… we shall get all of those people together and let you deliver your messages. They are why you’re still with me, with us. Kushim will have to be a call, but it should be fine.”
“What’s happening out there right now? Why is there an emergency Tribunal meeting?”
“They’re trying to get permission for Zuri to use the Tribunal to get here. You and Heath are in no position to be the public face for the humans right now. Zuri is known by the BSA. She can at least manage them. Callahan?—”
I growled.
“Stop that. With Heath and him having worked out their positions, and Callahan no longer regularly harassed by your father, he’s a good person to use for this. Heath keeps Corissa in line, and she keeps Callahan in line. He’s well known in the public eye as it is, and now, he’s no longer worried about protecting his position as a Tribunal member. His statement will be coordinated with what Zuri tells the BSA. We’re a united front right now.”
“And everyone else?”
“We’ve told everyone in the family. Mischa and Hisao are still not in a good place to help us. They’ve locked down Mischa’s village, where both have been recovering. No one in or out. Jabari is heading back to Africa on a faster route than they planned, since Zuri will use the Tribunal to get here. He’s going to help Kushim and Aisha with the kids at home. Makalo and Amir are vulnerable as well. If Carey and the young werewolves were taken…” Subira bared her teeth. “We know who their targets were. It was never about killing you, Jacky. It was alwaysabout taking Carey. They were ready to deal with whoever they had to for that objective.”
“You think so?”
“Why else cruelly use the girl’s blood mother to get her to come out of the safety of your territory?” Subira asked.
