She glances over, and sure enough, her smile drops. “You’re not curious?”
I lift one shoulder in a half-shrug. “Not particularly.”
Her expression hardens. “You stupid little wolf. You have no idea what we’re working on here. How great our purpose is.”
I glance away, pretending to study the stone. “Doesn’t seem so great since you’re still making me shit in a bucket.”
She strikes, digging her claws into my scalp and hauling my head back. Our gazes meet, and I see a fervor in her eyes that I’ve never seen before. It sends a chill down my spine.
“Evolution,” she barks. “The supernatural world has been stagnant for centuries. Packs squabbling over territory. Councils debating endlessly while problems go unsolved. Our work is for the greater good.”
“Your work involves murdering and enslaving people.”
“We’re building a better world. A world where abilities are created rather than left to the whims of nature.”
“Who are you to play god?”
She lets me go, stepping back, and I nearly crumple forward, biting back a grunt of pain.
“I’m part of the solution, Lithia,” she says softly, almost reverently. “It’s the only way.”
I lift my head slowly, meeting her eyes.
“Why?” I rasp. “Why the seers? The weres? The witches, warlocks, the fae? Why collect us?”
Her smile sharpens. Somethingglintsthere, something jagged and fanatical.
“You still don’t see it, do you?” she murmurs. “This world—our world—wasn’t meant to stay as it is. Nature left us scattered. Incomplete. One gift here, another there, hoarded by bloodlines, limited by birthright.”
She paces slowly, hands clasped behind her back.
“But when you gather enough pieces…” Her gaze flicks to me, alight with something fever-bright. “You can start rewriting the rules.”
My stomach twists. My wolf snarls low inside, too weak to rise but strong enough to sense the danger coiling tighter.
“You’re insane.”
“No, I’m realistic.” She straightens, her fervor fading back into cold professionalism. “But I didn’t come here to debate philosophy with you, Lithia. I came to offer you a choice.”
“And that is?”
“Join us. Use your position and knowledge to help build a better world than the fractured mess Ryker and his allies will create.” She pauses, letting the words sink in. “Or be disposed of.”
The casual way she says it,disposed of, sends ice through my veins. Not killed. Not executed.Disposed of.Like I’m a piece of equipment that’s outlived its usefulness.
“Some choice.”
“It’s more than most get.” She turns toward the door, then pauses. “You have until tomorrow to decide.”
Tomorrow.My heart hammers against my ribs.
“Wait.” The word comes out harsher than I intended, desperation bleeding through.
Zella turns back with raised eyebrows. “Changed your mind already?”
“I want to know about Kitara. Where is she? Is she alive?”
For a beat I don’t think she’ll answer me.
