Chapter 6 - Reeyan
She’s going to murder me.
I pace my living room while Sera glares at me from the armchair like she’s calculating exactly how to make my death look like an accident.
Can’t say I blame her.
“Let me make sure I understand.” Her voice is deadly calm as she adds, “You’re refusing to take me home because you think my pack might be cursed and Thornridge might try to kidnap me again?”
I stop pacing and turn to face her. “That’s an oversimplification, but yes. Given what you told me about the vision and the fact that Thornridge operatives knew exactly where to find you, returning to Llewelyn right now is dangerous.”
“What’s dangerous is keeping me here against my will.” She leans forward, and even exhausted and bruised, she looks ready to fight. “My matriarch needs to know about the attack. About the vision. About everything.”
“I understand that, but think about it logically. Thornridge targeted you. A mid-level archivist who happened to be traveling alone on a road that sees minimal traffic. How did they know?”
“I don’t know.” She throws her hands up. “Maybe because I was alone? Because I was an easy target?”
“You weren’t easy,” I reply with a chuckle. “You fought them every step of the way. They had to use a suppressor just to control you, and even then, you bit one of them hard enough to draw blood. Twice.”
“Then maybe I was just convenient.”
“Or maybe there’s something about you specifically that makes you valuable to their plans.
” I crouch down in front of her chair so we’re at eye level.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but visions aren’t common in Llewelyn.
Your pack doesn’t have psychics that I’m aware of.
But you saw something, felt something about a curse binding your people.
What if you’re the key to understanding what’s wrong? What if that’s why they grabbed you?”
She shakes her head. “That’s speculation. You don’t know that for certain.”
“You’re right. I don’t know anything for certain.
But I know enough about Thornridge’s tactics to recognize a coordinated operation when I see one.
They’ve been infiltrating territories for months.
Bastian wasn’t their only operative. We’ve identified at least four others across different packs, and those are just the ones we caught.
They didn’t grab you randomly. This was planned and executed perfectly. ”
I stand and start pacing again, because staying still feels impossible.
“Someone was watching you. Whether that’s a Llewelyn wolf working with Thornridge, someone who hacked your communications, or just good surveillance, I don’t know.
But the alternative—that they randomly stumbled across you on a deserted road at exactly the right moment—strains credibility. ”
“All the more reason I need to warn my pack.” She stands abruptly, and I skid to a halt. “My aunt needs to increase security. The council needs to prepare for potential infiltration. Every minute I’m sitting here is another minute they’re unaware and unprotected.”
“And what happens when you walk back into Llewelyn territory?” I challenge. “What if whoever fed information to Thornridge is still there? What if telling your matriarch about the vision and the attack puts a bigger target on your back?”
“That’s ridiculous. Nobody in my pack would work with Thornridge. Not after what happened with Bastian. Not after the betrayal we’ve already experienced.”
“Bastian fooled everyone for months.” I hate bringing it up again, but I have to drive the point home.
“He participated in your exchange program, attended your ceremonies, earned the trust of your matriarch and council. If there’s one infiltrator, there could be others.
Thornridge doesn’t put all their resources in one operative. ”
“So your solution is to keep me prisoner here? To cut me off from my pack based on speculation and paranoia?”
“I’m trying to keep you alive. Those Thornridge operatives would have taken you.
Would have used that suppressor to keep you docile while they transported you, gods know where.
Would have done whatever they wanted with you because you couldn’t fight back, couldn’t shift, and couldn’t defend yourself. And I will not let that happen again.”
We’re standing too close now. Close enough that I can smell her scent—frost and pine and winter mornings. Close enough to see the pulse jumping in her throat. Close enough that my wolf is howling inside me, demanding I touch her, claim her, keep her safe at any cost.
I force myself to take a step back before my control shatters.
“We need time to understand what’s happening before you walk back into a situation we don’t fully comprehend. You saw something in that vision, Sera. Something that frightened you enough to leave Llewelyn without telling anyone. Don’t you want to understand what it means?”
“Of course I want to understand. But I also have responsibilities. Llewelyn tradition demands that pack members report threats immediately to leadership. By keeping me here, you’re forcing me to violate that tradition.”
“Llewelyn tradition also says omegas don’t have visions.” I watch her flinch at that truth. “Your pack’s traditions might not account for what you’re experiencing.”
“That’s not your call to make.”
“You’re right. It’s not.” I drag a hand down my face. “But if you go back now, unprepared, without understanding what you saw or why Thornridge wants you, you could be putting yourself and your pack in more danger.”
“Us?” She latches onto the word immediately. “There is no us. You’re a stranger who decided to make decisions for me without my input or consent.”
“I saved your life.”
“And I’m grateful. Truly, I am. But that doesn’t give you the right to control where I go or what I do. Saving someone doesn’t make them your property.”
She’s right. I know she’s right. But every instinct I have screams at me to keep her here, to keep her safe, to make sure nothing else happens to her. My wolf won’t shut up about protecting our mate, about keeping her close where we can defend her.
“You’re experiencing visions about your pack,” I try again, aiming for reason instead of emotion.
“Visions that suggest something supernatural is affecting Llewelyn women. Binding them somehow, limiting them. Thornridge knew exactly where you’d be and when.
Doesn’t the combination of those facts concern you? ”
“Of course, it concerns me. Which is why I need to tell my matriarch. She’s the leader. She makes decisions about pack security and how to respond to threats. Not you. Not some Grayhide historian who thinks he knows what’s best for wolves he’s never even met.”
The words feel hollow even as I speak them. My vision warned me not to tell anyone in Llewelyn—that someone there would try to stop me if I did. But admitting that to Reeyan feels like giving him ammunition. Like proving his paranoid theories right.
“And what if she doesn’t believe you?” The question makes her pause. “About the vision, about the curse. What if she dismisses it?”
She draws her bottom lip between her teeth and nibbles a moment before she replies, “That’s her decision to make.”
“But it affects you.” I take a half-step forward, careful not to crowd her.
“You’re having these visions for a reason.
You’re seeing something that others aren’t, feeling something that your pack has either forgotten or never knew existed.
What if going back there, telling your matriarch about it, puts you in danger we can’t predict?
What if whoever cursed Llewelyn doesn’t want anyone breaking free of it? ”
“Everything you’re saying is based on what-ifs and maybes. You’re asking me to stay away from my home, from my pack, from my family, based on theories and speculation. That’s not good enough.”
Even as the argument leaves my mouth, I hear how weak it sounds. The vision told me the same thing he's saying now—that telling the wrong person in Llewelyn could be dangerous. I just hate that he's right when I want so badly for him to be wrong.
“I’m asking you to be cautious. To give me time to investigate before you walk back into a potentially dangerous situation.
A few days to research historical precedents for curses affecting shifter packs.
To analyze Thornridge’s attack patterns and figure out why they wanted you.
To give your wolf time to fully recover from the suppressor so you can defend yourself if something goes wrong. ”
“You’re not asking,” she points out. “You’re telling. There’s a difference, and I won’t pretend otherwise.”
The accusation hits harder than it should because she’s right. I’m not giving her a choice. I’m making decisions for her based on instincts I can barely understand, let alone explain. Based on a bond she doesn’t even know exists yet.
“You’re right,” I concede with a nod. “I’m not asking. I’m telling you that returning to Llewelyn right now is dangerous, and I won’t be the one to drive you back there until we have more information. Until we understand what’s happening and can ensure your safety.”
“Then I’ll walk.” She turns toward the door. “Or I’ll call Raegan and ask her to come get me. Or I’ll find another way. You can’t keep me here indefinitely.”
“Sera.” Her name comes out like a plea. “Please. Just listen to me for one more minute.”
She stops but doesn’t turn around. “I’m listening.”
“The inter-regional agreement we signed after dealing with Thornridge,” I speak quickly, trying to find an angle that might work.
“It authorizes collaborative investigations into potential threats that affect multiple packs. Supernatural threats, since that’s what we faced with the Amanzite manipulation. ”
She scrunches her nose and asks, “What does that have to do with anything?”