Page 80 of Wolves of the Golden Sun

And…

I think I prefer it that way.

Whatever Emilia did to keep the revenant at bay was temporary. She said so herself, and I don’t want to be stuck all alone with that psycho.

Autumn floats by. The days grow colder, and the leaves turn. The first real snowfall covers them in white while they’re still crisp and beautiful, their colors encased in ice.

We don’t talk about our impending doom. We fuck and cuddle and enjoy each other. And if someone tries to bring it up, the rest of us change the subject.

We all know what’s going to happen.

And we’ve all silently agreed not to bemoan it.

Although, they don’t know I’ve been texting Sunny and Eden daily to see if they’ve found any hidden ancient texts about breaking a claiming bond.

Apparently, Sunny’s mate, Titus, has quite the esoteric library, so I’m still hopeful there’s a way around this.

But I have said nothing to anyone about it. False hope is the worst kind of betrayal, cutting the deepest as it slips out of reach.

I won’t do that to them.

So the weeks keep passing. Snow piles up and fall bleeds into winter with us in our cocoon of willful oblivion because some truths are just too hard to face.

Except for Rook. The one who has the most to lose.

He’s the one who’ll remain when the scourge takes Drago and the claiming bond takes us.

In fact, we’re in the middle of one such discussion right now.

“Just give it a rest, ‘cause you’re bringing the mood down.” Jonah is usually the first one to divert the conversation to happier topics than our mortality.

“Just hear me out. It’s got to work both ways, right?”

Drago drops his fork and stares at him across the table. “Not now, Crow,” he rumbles.

Rook waves his hand, dismissing Drago, and the tension around the table ratchets several clicks higher. “Just listen. Tomorrow, the witches arrive. One of them has to know a way to sever the links you share. Plus, with all of them here, we’re bound to stand a better chance against the Wend—”

Drago shoots out of his chair, toppling it on its side as he does. “Don’t you dare speak that creature’s name aloud!”

Rook’s stunned at the sudden outburst, but he recovers quickly. “Look, I’m just saying that we haven’t really tried to find a solution. You’re all just pretending like it’s not going to happen instead of searching the heavens for a workaround.”

Drago paces the dining room, riled by Rook’s remark. “You don’t understand, Crow. The creature culls the greed from the packs. That’s its purpose. To deny it would allow greed to corrupt us all.”

“Fine! Let it take you if that’s your wish, but there has to be a way to sever the bonds between the rest of you. There’s no reason for all of you to die.”

Drago spins around, veins bulging in his neck as he screams at Rook. “Don’t you think I’ve tried? Don’t you think I’ve been to every shaman and healer and magical practitioner in the Kootenays? Mari’s been working day and night to find an herbal remedy. And Willa’s been checking with her vampire connections daily to see if they’ve found anything.”

OK, I guess I wasn’t as covert as I thought.

Rafe takes in a sharp breath and puts in his two cents. “I’ve got some feelers out in the Vancouver packs, and they’re asking around down the West Coast.”

Jonah nods. “Ktunaxa ancestral territory reaches into Montana, so we have contacts searching there and throughout the West and Midwest US.”

“So, we’ve pretty much got all the supernaturals in BC and the US searching,” Jonah says calmly.

Rook’s eyes bounce from each of his pack mates. “You mean you’re all actually doing something but not talking about it?”

We all share a heavy glance. I shrug at my poor mage. “I guess so.”

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