“Does your audience care about our safety?” My rising anger punctuated every word.
“I think you can agree that shifters pose a serious threat to humanity. We need to be aware of any additional dangers your species presents to humans. Along with enhanced strength, speed, and healing, if there are technological secrets that you?— ”
I slammed the button to end the call before she could finish. Nothing I said would get through to her. She was obviously one of the people who either secretly or blatantly supported Viola’s views. If I had to guess, Channel Nine News would be airing a hit piece about our pack tonight.
“It’s gonna get worse, son,” Dad said as he sank into a chair across from me. He pointed at the phone. “People like her are gonna make things dangerous. More so than it already is.”
“I know, Dad.”
“I’m not sure you truly understand the severity. That group of protestors out there have the road blocked. I’ve spoken to the chief of police—they’re on our side, but they can’t be everywhere. A lot of people still think the original attacks were from pure feral shifters. A faction of society will never believe the truth. They’ll think Viola is a scapegoat to protect the shifter race. Those people are the real danger. We can’t get out to get supplies, gas, or food at this point. We can’t stay on the pack lands forever. Once we’re forced to go out past Sinthy’s wards, there’s no telling what will happen.”
“We can fend for ourselves,” Luis said, though his bravado sounded forced. “We’re still shifters.”
“Yes, boy, but that doesn’t mean we’re superheroes. Our skin is tougher than humans, but it’s not bulletproofed.”
I held up a hand before their conversation got heated. “I get it, Dad. Itisdangerous.” I glanced at Luis. “I also know we do have a chance to fight. Not like this, though. If we go out to town and beat the hell out of or accidentally kill a human, it won’t do us any favors. Doesn’t matter if they attacked us first or whether we wereactuallyin danger—it will get twisted in some way. What we need is for one of the higher-ups in the government to make a statement on our behalf. It won’t deter the crazies, but it will help our cause among the general public. Hopefully, thatwill happen soon. The Feds have been fairly quiet since all this broke.”
Elsewhere in the house, I could sense Maddy. Her anxiety coursed through our bond. Our connection was getting stronger by the day, and it was becoming difficult for us to hide our emotions from each other. I expected she’d come to talk to me about the vial any day now. It’d been on her mind almost non-stop for days.
Standing, I addressed my father and Luis. “I need to go find Maddy. Luis, let me know if anything changes or if something weird happens. Dad, can you come with me?”
Luis left to check on the guard detail. Dad stood and followed me.
“What’s on your mind, son?”
“The vial,” I said.
He nodded in understanding. “It’s still safe, right?”
“Yeah. Sinthy hid it somewhere in the house. Only she knows where it is. She also cast a spell on it that will only allow Maddy to access it. So, it’s as safe as it can be.”
We went downstairs and took a seat in the living room. Sighing, I put my feet up on the coffee table.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do,” I said. “That vial caused all this. I keep thinking we need to simply destroy it. Boom. Over and done. But Maddy and I keep circling back to us, perhaps needing it at some point. That thing contains pure power, but it’s dangerous.”
Dad chewed at his lower lip, thinking. After a while, he said, “You’re right. You basically have a nuclear bomb. It’s both a weapon and a defense. How do you give that up? Also, if you don’t, how do you use it?”
“Right. We have no clue what it will do to Maddy. There’s no information on it. Edemas created that out of desperation. There’s never been anything like it in history. We believe itwould affect Maddy, but we can’t be sure. I get the feeling Viola thinks someone in her organization could take it. Her actions don’t read as a person who wants to destroy something. She covets it. Maybe there’s more that we don’t know.”
Dad raised his hands. “Okay, what if Maddy takes it? What are the possibilities?”
I counted them off on my fingers as I spoke. “One, she dies. Two, she becomes a powerful werewolf like Edemas. Three, nothing happens, and it was all a silly story, or the magic wore off or something.”
“Well, you said Viola might want to take the vial herself or have someone in her organization take it. If that’s true, what would happen if you took it? Take Maddy out of the equation to protect her? I don’t want you to endanger yourself, but we should think about the possibility.”
“I wouldn’t suggest that,” Sinthy said from behind us.
Turning in surprise, I found Sinthy, Maddy, and her birth mother, Doctor Sanford, standing in the doorway.
Maddy looked pissed—her hands balled into fists on her hips. “How can you even be considering that?”
Holding up my hands in surrender, I said, “We’re not considering it. Just talking about the what-ifs—things we might resort to and what would happen.”
That explanation didn’t ease the anger on Maddy’s face.
Doctor Sanford shook her head. “Do I need to remind you of the beast Maddy’s father turned into when he shifted? It tormented him. I wouldn’t even consider that if I were you.”
I was a little taken aback at how upset the three of them looked. It wasn’t like we’d been formulating a plan for me to take the vial. We only wanted to talk about what was possible.
