“It’s all true.”
She reeled backward, sitting heavily as if her knees had failed her, finally sparing a glance at Elodie. “Did he explain this to you? You know what this means?”
“Some.”
Savannah nodded, peeling off her face mask and flicking it onto the coffee table so she could drop her chin into her hands and stare at me.
“How… how did it happen?” she asked, curiosity finally starting to break through her shock.
“I’ll show you.” I opened the trunk, carefully stacking all the leather-bound journals on the coffee table as she peered inside. Elodie kept her distance, standing off to the side with her arms crossed and her lips pressed tight, the picture of wary concern.
When I lifted the false bottom, Savannah gasped.
“Did you know those were down there?”
I shook my head. “I never looked.”
“Well, yeah, because that chest is creepy as fuck. It gives me the ick.”
“What?” My head snapped up to look at her.
“It’s making my skin crawl right now. I really, really want you to close it back up and get it out of here.” She rubbed her arms as if she could will away the goose bumps that had sprung up.
“You’re not drawn to it? You don’t feel a pull?” I held my breath as she considered.
“No, honestly. I canseethat it’s just a chest, but it’s repulsive somehow. Please, close it up. Put it all back.” She jumped off the couch and paced away, putting as much distance as she could between herself and the chest in our modest living room.
I did as she asked, shooting Elodie a weighty glance as I restacked the journals and sealed the lid. The second it was closed, Savvy exhaled hard, relief visibly flooding through her. “You can’t keep that here.”
“I’m sorry, I had no idea it would affect you like that. I had the opposite experience.”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course you did. Didn’t you pay attention to the stories when we were kids? The male heir is the one who’s called. The daughters don’t get the gene.”
“I… no. I don’t remember Mom or Dad ever telling me that.”
She shrugged. “Maybe Mom only told me. But I’m never going to feel the pull. It’s all you.” Her eyes swung to Elodie. “Well, and maybe you. We were little. Mom didn’t go into the whole mate thing, so I don’t know what will happen to you, but you didn’t seem creeped out by it like I was, so draw your own conclusions.” Savannah waved her hand idly toward the chest, then picked up her discarded face mask and went to toss it.
Elodie just blinked after her as if unsure what to do with Savvy. I made a mental note to ask her about her adopted sister one of these days when our lives weren’t insane.
That day may never come.
The realization made my heart clench like a fist. Fuck no. I wasnothaving a future without Elodie in it.
She was mine, and I was hers, and we would come through this war together. There was no other acceptable option. My wolf snarled his agreement in my chest, the sound more forceful than usual.
Elodie lifted one eyebrow my direction, and I realized I’d growled out loud. “You okay, Brute? You don’t usually snarl at women.”
“Sorry, my wolf just didn’t like my train of thought.”
She chuckled. “Fair enough. So, you mentioned seeing what you could do. What do you expect to be able to do, beyond seeing the enchantments on magical objects?”
I drummed my fingertips on my thigh, considering. “I don’t really know. I woke up feeling like?—”
“You could climb a mountain,” she finished my sentence drily. “Yes, I remember.”
“We’re always strong, though, so that could be nothing.”
Elodie shook her head as Savannah walked back in, eyeing us both curiously. “He’s probably stronger now. The stories Mom used to tell me made her parents sound like supershifters. Freaky stuff.”
