He could only nod. “Say it.”
The short distance from Caster’s study to the conference room where everyone else waited passed in silence. It was a good sign that Caster still held his hand, squeezing it every few seconds as if to offer his strength. This was all his fault. If he hadn’t been born, perhaps the witch…
Mark’s current train of thought fell into a gasp when Caster stopped, grabbed him, and pushed him against the closest wall. The anger in his demeanor was almost overwhelming, but Mark wasn’t afraid, lowering his gaze in response.
He grabbed his chin, the hold tight enough to cause a dull, distant ache. “You listen to me and listen well.” He pulled at Mark’s jaw, forcing him to look into his eyes. “This is not your fault. Do you hear me?”
He could only nod.
“Say it.”
He started to shake his head, but Caster tightened his grip, halting all movement.
Time slowed, the storm gathering in Caster’s eyes, tremendous in its intensity. “Say it, now!”
“It’s not my fault.” He repeated Caster’s words, his voice dull, devoid of the belief and conviction Caster demanded. “She’s only here because she wants me.”
Caster eased his grip, a reprieve for his jaw, but his body was unyielding as it trapped him against the wall. “No. She wants more power. You seem to be in her way.” He refused to let him move or even look away from that storm. “She will have to go through me to get to you.”
The conviction of his words converted the promise into a vow, and Mark breathed a sigh.
Caster eased up, but still didn’t let him move. “Now, put that barrier back up.” His hand returned to his face, but a gentle caress on his jaw replaced the hardness of before. “We will discuss your disobedience when all of this is done.”
“I’m sorry, I forgot.” His whisper was small, all focus drawn to the simple touch. His eyes drifted shut as he drew on his dwindling strength to fortify his mind.
“Good.” Caster’s hand fell away, and he stepped back, his warmth retreating with him. “If you need to tell me something in private, you reach into my mind.” He took Mark’s hand, pulling him towards the conference room.
Caster squeezed his hand once and released it the moment they stepped inside. “I don’t know about all of you, but I’m not this witch’s puppet.” He turned to Riley. “I know you have a plan to get us out of here. Let’s hear it.”
Riley glanced at Ben, shaking his head in what looked like a silent apology. There was something there, but Mark couldn’t worry about it now, not when Mikey stared at him with unrestrained pity. Caster was right, they needed to get out of here, whatever the cost.
Riley turned back to Caster. “Yes, I do have a plan, but you’re not going to like it.”
“Will it get us out?” The impatience in Caster’s voice matched his own.
Riley nodded, his full attention, uncomfortable in its intensity, on Mark. “Give her what she wants.”
Caster moved towards Riley, and Mark could guess his intention. He reached for his shoulder as Riley took a step backward. This overprotective thing was sweet, but Mark was well capable of taking care of himself.
Riley held up his hands. “I didn’t mean it like that.” He turned to Mark, his demeanor calm despite Caster’s threat. “If she thinks she’s getting what she wants, she can let her guard down long enough to give us the chance to fight our way out.”
Caster’s whole body was rigid with the anger he held back, his shoulder rippling under Mark’s touch. “You want to use him as bait?”
Riley shrugged. “His life force.”
Edie’s reverberating gasp drew Mark’s attention to her.
“No.” Adella’s emphatic denial of Riley’s plan brought a healthy dose of concern to the hope growing in him.
“Mother…” Riley started, but his mother shook her head.
“The power it would take to do that is too much,” Edie said, her gaze on Riley. “It would weaken you.”
“Can someone explain this to the rest of us?” Caster asked.
“He intends to separate the wolf in Mark from the human side of him, send the wolf to her, keeping Mark’s human side here.” Edie’s voice rose with each word. “It’s too big a risk.”
“If he’s Magicae Lupus, he should return from the Underworld in one piece.” Riley seemed undeterred.
“Wait, Underworld?” Mark was fine with being bait, but not literal death.
What if they were wrong and he wasn’t this magical wolf they kept alluding to?
Then he would be dead, and he had too much to live for.
It didn’t escape him that a few weeks ago, he’d been tired of this life, ready to journey to the Underworld as soon as his quest for vengeance was satisfied.
“That’s not happening,” Caster said, a dangerous edge in his tone.
“He’s right, Riley,” Adella said. “This is beyond dangerous for both of you.”
Riley shrugged, ignoring the plea in his mother’s voice. “Does anyone have any better ideas?”
“Yes,” Edie said. “We wait for reinforcements. I’m sure Marcus and the Prime Alpha will bring several witches.” She looked at Caster. “You think your father would let this happen?”
Caster shook his head.
She turned to Riley, her tone softening. “And say what you will about your grandmother, but do you think she would let Ethel harm you or your mother?”
The hardness in Riley’s expression was familiar. Mark had seen it on Dean’s face numerous times, and he couldn’t claim to have never worn it himself. It signified the pain of strained family relations.
“We can’t just do nothing.” Damien’s expression matched the impatient simmer of rage he could feel from Caster’s tight coil of shoulder muscle. “We don’t even know how long it will take them to get here.”
The nods from James and Kyle signaled the need for action.
“We are not doing nothing,” The queen said, her tone never losing the indulgent, gentle quality Mark had come to associate with her. “We’re staying alive, conserving our strength for the coming battle.”
The tension radiating off Caster’s body eased a touch, but he didn’t seem ready to relax.
Unless he found a witch willing to provide a teleportation spell, it would take time for Dean to gather his forces.
There was no question he would be here soon; he wouldn’t be Dean if he didn’t come.
Mark didn’t know Marcus, but the reverence his name invoked meant the others, Caster in particular, were confident in his ability to come to their rescue.
He looked at Caster, hating the distance the barrier he’d erected to protect his thoughts brought. He wanted to share everything with him, even his deepest fear that the witch would get away again and his vengeance would be denied.