The Madame held my gaze for a long beat, then slowly nodded. “Fine. The red wolf returns with us. Release the human.”
Human?I thought.I guess they didn’t see Noro’s gryphon form. Or maybe they injured him before he could shift, like what happened last time.
After the shackles fell, Noro shakily got to his feet, hesitating before he slowly trudged towards the others.
“Matheson, don’t do this,” Eric said, his voice pitched with desperation. “Who knows what they’re going to do to you?
“We won’t harm him,” the Madame said. A chill ran down my spine. I didn’t sense a lie in her words, so why did they still frighten me so much?
Eric shut his eyes and looked away. I didn’t blame him. I didn’t want him to have to watch this, after all he’d been through with the humans.
I’m so sorry, Eric.
“Don’t you dare walk away,” Crystal snapped as the group began to move, herding us along with them. “This conversation isn’t over. Why are you doing this? What is your goal with Matheson?”
The Madame paused. “We don’t owe you an explanation.”
“You do,” Crystal insisted furiously. “What is the value of a single wolf? This wolf you’ve taken hostage is a mere beta with no important ties. Tell me what you think you’re going to gain from him when there are others worth more.”
My eyes widened, and I realized why Crystal was lying and what she was trying to do--get information out of them. It dawned on me that the humans would have no reason to know that I was special, unless somebody had told them.
My heart sank. There was no way this was a random attack. It was planned, calculated. The humans knew exactly what they were doing.
And that meant they knew what I was.
Unfortunately, the Madame wasn’t phased by Crystal’s lies. “We know the truth. He’s a wolf that bears children.”
The expression on Crystal’s face turned from cold and confident to total devastation. The humans couldn’t be fooled. They’d won.
I shook my head at Crystal and the others, wishing they wouldn’t bother. Ramsay and I were being taken by this group no matter what. I didn’t want them to do anything stupid and put themselves in harm’s way.
But Eric and Colton’s gazes were almost impossible to meet. Pain and grief shone in their eyes.
After everything that happened, I was being separated from them again. My hands travelled to my belly subconsciously. My baby was being separated from their fathers. My heart twisted with agony.
“I’m sorry,” I mouthed to them.
One of the bulkier humans hauled Ramsay to his feet, and he limped ahead with a wince of pain. I spared one last glance at the ones we left behind before they disappeared over the next ridge.
* * *
To my relief,the others didn’t follow.
We were escorted in silence further and further away from the Lake of Four Directions. It was the farthest from home I’d ever been. Since I’d come willingly, the humans had put away their weapons, but I was keenly aware of the Madame’s firearm slung over her back.
Ramsay was conscious, but unwell. He needed rest.
“Are we close to the settlement?” I asked.
One of the human guards turned to me with a sneer and in a moment of panic I thought he would strike me the way he did to Ramsay earlier, so I put up my hands and growled, “Don’t touch me. I’m pregnant.”
The Madame paused. She pushed the hood back to reveal a wary expression on her aged face. “You are?”
Not knowing her angle, I narrowed my eyes. “Yes.”
She looked me up and down. “You don’t show it.”
“I’m only a few weeks along.”
