Stupid, stupid witch.
“Think about it. They’ve never shown interest in any of us before, which means they need me. The question being why. I’ll go with them and see what they want.”
Unlike her mother, Carina has some brains. Though bravery is also dangerous.
“Carina—”
“You want me to be the next High Priestess?” Her abrupt harsh tone has Morgan inhaling sharply and physically recoiling. “You’ve always said that leaders make sacrifices, so this one is mine. If I don’t go, the accords will be broken, and it’ll lead into conflict. Probably the fatal kind. Do you really want that to be our future?”
My chest warms with a strange admiration for her. I’d always known witches to be cowardly, but Carina’s proving to be anything but. After all, she did face off with a shifter without backup earlier.
“Carina, this is kidnapping. It’s a disgrace. It’s wrong.” Based on Morgan’s waning arguments, Carina’s winning.
“It’s not kidnapping if I’m going willingly. It’s politics; it’s fulfilling the pact. He said they won’t hurt me, and we should believe that.”
Trust like that could get her hurt one day.
“We have no reason to believe them,” Morgan insists in a pleading tone.
“We also have no reason to deny them their request. Per Treaty Day, this has to happen.”
Mother and daughter end up in a silent battle of wills, both unblinking for a long moment. It’s Morgan who breaks first. “You want me to stand by and let you go?”
Carina pulls her mother in for a tight hug, using affection to end the argument. “I’ll be alright. Hecate will protect me.” She may be praising her deity, but it’s me she stares at over Morgan’s shoulder. Her expression is blank and unlike our run-in in the woods. As though she’s daring me to give a reason to make that statement a lie.
After hugging her mother tightly, she releases her. Morgan, expression pinched in dismay, steps aside to let her by. The warlock hovering nearby, however, does not. His hand snaps to her wrist and hauls her backwards, making her gasp, until she’s pulled into his chest.
Their goodbye isn’t my business, but it doesn’t stop the wolf from emerging tokill. To protect her. I move without thinking.
Carina does too, shaking him off and stopping me in my tracks. “Stop. This could be a life-or-death decision.”
“Yeah,yours.” His grip on her wrist tightens until she flinches. Her reply is lost within a haze of death; of the taste of death—hisdeath when I snap his fucking neck for marking her.
Whatever their relationship, if he’s her mate, he’s a shitty one. Without another comment, he releases her and steps away, nodding once. His glare returns to me, but there’s no real challenge there.
If she were my mate and he were in my role, I’d tear out his throat regardless of a possible war. Wolves are extremely territorial about our chosen mates but clearly, witches are not.
Carina breaks away from them to near me, remaining rigid as she scans her coven. Her bravado will undoubtedly end soon, but it gives me a taste of what to expect from her. This week will go one of two ways. She’ll either submit or she’ll fight tooth and nail until the end. Which one I’d prefer, I can’t say.
“Good choice, princess.”
“Die,dog, and don’t call me that.”
She passes me, thrusting into my shoulder in a weak show of dominance, and walks straight through the pack without breaking a stride. I can’t help but reveal my smirk to the observing crowd; the coven who’s watching her pace away and the pack who’s waiting for my reaction.
Once she reaches the treeline, I flick a finger for someone to tail her. After everything, she won’t bolt, yet with Dad’s wellbeing on the line, I also won’t leave it up to chance.
“The treaty has been renewed,” I call out, facing Morgan again. “We look forward to next year.” Formal polite words Dad ends each meeting with, but it feels empty after tonight.
After a final scan of the clearing, I turn for the trees. My wolves fall into step around me, remaining in formation.
Carina is being cooperative now, but the vial in my pocket reminds me not to trust her. At some point, no matter what she told Morgan, instinct will rule. She’ll fight when learning why I’ve made her the boon. Her need for safety will demand it.
Once I’m inside the treeline, she’s some dozen feet away, with Conan being her sentry. His ear flicks with my approach and I wave him back to the group as she stops stomping long enough to turn her scowl my way.
Ignoring her, I gesture to the base of the nearest tree. “Sit. Once I shift, we’ll be headed back.”
“First, I need to go to home.” She lifts her chin in defiance and an air of superiority that being a High Priestess’s daughter probably ingrained into her. Superiority camp life will crush within the week. “You don’t expect me to go with the clothes on my back and nothing else, do you?”
