She scoffs and looks into her lap.
“We should get started, Rhys,” Faye says, standing up. “Come over to the fire.”
I follow her to the bookshelf, where she pulls out a large scroll and hands it to me. It’s heavier than I expected, with big brass handles and thick parchment that almost feels like leather.
“Spread it out on the floor,” Faye says, kneeling down beside me as I sit to unroll the parchment.
It’s a map of the area as it was in our founding days, without all the settlements that currently exist. Strange drawings loop across the borders of the page, and arcane symbols decorate the depictions of forests and rivers that cross the map.
The others gather around me, all of us staring at the parchment in the dim firelight.
“Do you have your knife?” Faye asks.
“Yes,” I answer.
“You’ll need a drop of blood,” she replies, pulling a pouch out of her pocket. She reaches inside, takes out a small pinch of fragrant herbs, and scatters them across the map.
I take out my knife and make a small cut on my finger. Faye directs me to hold it above the map.
“Repeat after me,” she instructs. “‘I, the alpha, begin the search for she who is dearest to my heart. Our souls are entangled, and our strength is shared—by becoming one, let all curses be undone.’”
I repeat the words, aware that it feels a lot more like magic than what they led me to believe. The drop of blood falls from my finger, and to my surprise, it skitters around the map like a drop of water on a hot plate. Eventually, it comes to rest, spreading out into the shape of a little star.
“Holy shit,” Shane says. “That’s in Folsom.”
“Yes,” I reply. “And there are no wolves there.”
“I told you,” Darla hisses. “It’s a trick. You can’t possibly marry a human.”
“Maybe it’s not a human,” Rafe says. “We don’t know that.”
“Would marrying a human be so bad?” Neville asks.
“YES!” Darla and Thorne immediately scream, turning to him in fury.
“Enough!” Sylvie yells. “Go to Folsom, and find this woman and bring her back here. Then we can decide what to do.We may complete the ritual just to see if it actually works against the epidemic.”
“And if it doesn’t work, we can dissolve the union,” Neville says.
“Or just kill her,” Darla says. “If she’s human, we’ll have to just get rid of her, either way.”
Even though I can feel emotions rising in the room as everyone reacts to Darla’s words, all I can think about is the wolves in my pack that are slowly dying.
And, yes, my own weakness as well. I can’t deny I have selfish motives in this.
“Okay, everyone,” I say. “I will go out and find this woman. We can decide what to do when I bring her back.”
Even though I can feel an argument simmering, I don’t wait to hear it boil over. I take one last look at the map to memorize where I’m going, then get up and stride quickly out of the room.
I’m not sure about this course of action—but at least I’m finally doing something!
Chapter 2 - Sadie
Even though the day dawns bright and clear, I wake with a horrible sense of doom lingering over me. As I roll over in bed, I count all the things I usually have to do, checking and double-checking that every single one has been ticked off.
My boss at the diner told me for sure he had my shift covered. My cleaning job assigned me this day off weeks ago. I’ve done Mrs. Sheppard’s ironing and Karen’s research. Did I have a job I was supposed to do for anyone else?
I search my mind, feeling my heart speed up as I go over every detail. Even though I’m sure I don’t have anything to do, sweat breaks out up and down my sides, and my heart won’t slow down.
