Nevermind that it is not something I am at all ready to face. I’m still settling into the knowledge that werewolves aren’t evil monsters. I’ve spent a lifetime despising the things that gave birth to me and created my miserable, damned existence. I’m not ready to open that can of worms yet. I don’t know if I will ever be.
“Alright,” says Silas carefully. “If you ever change your mind, let me know.”
What do I say to that? I’ll just give him a nod because it is better than nothing. He is being super nice today and I can’t tell if it’s because Jake isn’t here or it’s because he has decided to switch to good cop tactics. Whatever the cause, it’s very unnerving.
“What was it like, living with the hunters?”
I’m going to throw up. Desperately I swallow down bile. The room is suddenly too hot as well as too cold. I rub my palms on my pants.
“I wasn’t allowed on the furniture or to sit at the table. I ate from a bowl like a dog. I slept on the floor.”
A silence falls. I don’t know what else to say. Silas’s dark eyes bore into me and I can’t read his expression at all.
“And how many paranormals did you kill?”
My heart is going to beat right out of my chest. I’m going to be executed, I swear. I hope it’s not going to hurt too much. I knew he was just playing good cop to get me to talk.
“I… I lured them to the traps. I never killed any myself. The clan wanted that glory for themselves.”
Silas stares at me for a long, long moment. I swear I can see my death in his eyes. Eventually he speaks.
“I’m going to offer you a way to earn a full pardon.”
I nod because my mouth is too dry to talk. I’m listening. A full pardon sounds good. I want to live. I want to be with Jake. It’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted.
“I let you go and you do everything you would do if you escaped from shifters and still believed they were monsters. You try to find hunters. I’m not expecting you to succeed, but I am expecting you to make so much noise that they come find you.”
I’m staring gormlessly at Silas but I can’t stop it.
“You want me to do what I do best,” I say softly. “Be bait.”
The dark gleam in Silas’s eyes sends a shiver down my spine.
“Jake won’t like it,” I say.
“You don’t have to do what Jake says,” snaps Silas before taking a deep breath. “Okay, yes normally you do have to do what an alpha in your pack says. But Council orders supersede all that.”
I nod my understanding. I should think about this, but what is there to think about? There isn’t really another option. Apart from being charged with assisting in murders, or whatever shifters call the crime. That’s no option at all. Whereas, if I do this, afterwards I’ll be free to be with Jake. And I’d do anything for that. That man haunts my dreams and my every waking thought. I just want to be his. Seems like I’m a proper little omega after all because the only thing I want is an alpha and I’m not even ashamed of it.
“Okay,” I say and I think I sound confident.
Silas’s grin is dazzling and contagious so I can’t help returning it. I guess there is nothing more bonding than plotting murder.
Chapter thirty-three
Jake
Fitzhasbeeninthe dive bar for ages, and my stomach is in absolute knots. It is the longest time he has spent in any of these awful places for the last three days.
Is it finally the one? I’m sure he finally made contact with some hunters a day ago, via the burner phone number he has been leaving with bartenders. And since then, they have been sending him here, there and everywhere to make sure he isn’t being tailed. But I’m pretty sure even Fitz doesn’t know I’m following him, let alone the hunters. I’m damn good at cloaking spells.
A battered pickup truck rolls into the car park and four burly human men get out. They are definitely hunters. It’s something about the way they are holding themselves and the way they carefully scope their surroundings.
My heart is hammering so loudly I’m surprised they don’t hear it. Even though I’m across the road and up on a roof.
With one last look around, they stroll into the bar. Where the fuck is the Grand Master and his enforcers? Are they better at cloaking spells than me, or have they lost Fitz in one of the many moves he had to make?
Shit. The Grand Master is going to have my balls for breakfast if he finds I’m here. But I can’t just sit here while Fitz’s life is in danger. That’s not even an option. Saving Fitz is the whole reason I’m breaking my order to sit at home and wait for him to be returned to me.
