“Fuck. What do you think the altar is for?”
“No idea. But the spells inThe Book of Flesh and Bonealways require a blood sacrifice. Maybe he intends to kill them one by one.”
“On the upside, Laina isn’t here. Maybe he let her go.”
Silas gripped the bars until his knuckles turned white. He hoped what Jason said was possible, but nothing about his experience with Alex suggested he’d have any compassion for Laina.
“Do you think Meredith is helping her mother?” Jason asked.
Only his brother would know how to poke the sore spot in his soul with such precision. Silas shrugged his shoulders and let out a deep breath.
“What do you think her motivation is, I mean, if it’s true?”
Silas tipped his head slightly. “Maybe they felt abandoned by the pack after what happened with Alex. Or it’s metaphysical. When Alex killed their alpha, it’s possible they bonded to him in an irrevocable way.”
“Possible, but unlikely since Olivia isn’t a werewolf. Olivia looked like she was drugged. Probably sulfralite. Maybe Meredith was too.”
“Could be. Hurts, though. She was guilty of something, or she wouldn’t have run.”
“I’m sorry, brother.”
“Yeah. I loved her, and if she helped her mom, she used me. No wonder she wanted to be involved in every step of this case. She could have been hiding evidence.”
Jason frowned. “Or she loved you too, and there’s been a horrible misunderstanding brought on by the orchestrations of a madman.”
Silas gave Jason a condescending look. “Back to reality. How do we get out of here?”
“Help me try to bend the bars. Maybe we can do it if we work together.” Jason used both hands to pull one bar while Silas pulled the other. Even with all of their weight and strength behind the effort, the bars wouldn’t budge. “What now?”
“I’m thinking.” Silas sat down in the middle of the cage and rubbed his aching head.
“I can’t believe this is happening. I finally get my life together, finally find true love with Selene, and what happens? Alex. It’s always fucking Alex.” Jason rested his head on his fists.
Silas could relate. He’d thought for sure Meredith wastheone. He also thought he’d easily be able to apprehend Alex in the rogue wolf’s weakened state. But neither of those things panned out. Life was strange. There were things he could count on: himself, his family, the pack, and the phases of the moon. Everything else was merely a shot in the dark. No matter how sure he was that he was aiming in the right direction, there was always the chance his shot would hit nothing at all.
He inspected the bars above their heads again. He’d climb up and test every one for weakness. He wasn’t hopeful he’d find a way out, but it would give him something to do.
“I want you to promise me something,” Jason said.
“What?”
“If you get a chance to kill Alex, promise me you will. No hesitation. No bringing him in for questioning or sending him to prison. Dead. He has to die.”
“The ethical thing to do would be to have a trial. A lot of folks who lost family members to Alex want to feel the closure that would come with participating in the justice process.”
“I know what people want. I am asking you, as family, as your brother. Promise me, Silas. You know as well as I do that we can’t risk it. He’s got to die.”
Silas stood and started climbing the bars. “I promise. I promise as your brother. From here on out, I’m not a detective. I’m a prisoner of war. And POWs can’t be blamed for killing their captors.”
Jason closed his eyes. “Thank you.”
“Now, you have to promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“When it comes time to kill Alex, you need to let me do it.”
A warm breeze blew through the cage, smelling of composting leaves and humid forest. Jason’s face was at war with itself, his jaw twitching, his eyes narrowing. His lips twisted before seeming to come to some resolve. “Deal.”
