Chapter One #2
Tamsin swallowed. He wouldn’t allow anything to happen to this clan. He hadn’t been able to do anything to protect his people the first time around, but that was in the past. He was older and more powerful now.
That didn’t mean that there was much he could do on his own.
“We need more people,” Dermot said. “The Vila we have are all helping, but we’re not enough. The village needs more of us, more magic. It’s the only way to protect everyone.”
Rowan nodded, not looking surprised. Considering who he was, he probably wasn’t.
He’d lost his entire clan to the Kudlaks, but he knew how clans worked.
He knew what was needed and what was expected from the members.
He knew that Dermot, Tamsin, and the others would do everything in their power to protect the village, but also that that power might not be enough.
“Word has been spreading about the clan,” Rowan said.
“I’ve had a few people reach out and ask me about us.
Unfortunately, I had to be honest and mention Parrish.
I think that the Kudlaks are the main reason more people haven’t joined us.
I know that a lot of us out there are desperate for a home, but right now, the village isn’t safe. ”
Tamsin, unfortunately, had to agree. When he and the others had decided to come this way and check out the clan, they’d hoped they’d find a place to call home.
They had, but at the same time, they’d found a bunch of Kudlaks trying to destroy the clan before it could get any stronger.
Parrish had a vendetta against Rowan because Rowan was the last of his clan, and something told Tamsin that he wouldn’t stop until he got what he wanted.
And what he wanted seemed to be the clan completely gone.
It was what Parrish did. Before, Tamsin had thought it was what every Kudlak did, but he knew that wasn’t the case.
He’d been wary of Melissa and her daughter when he’d first met them, but Melissa had fought by their side.
She’d protected them and had been ready to take on the other Kudlaks just like any of them.
She might be a Kudlak, but she was one of them.
The same couldn’t be said about the other Kudlak in their territory.
“If more Vila contact you to know about the clan, send them my way,” Dermot told Rowan.
“I won’t lie to them, but I’m sure I can find a way to make this place appealing.
Having more Vila move in with us is the only thing that’ll help us in the long term.
Right now, all of us are working long hours to keep up the spells, but something is going to break eventually, and I don’t want it to be one of us. ”
“Maybe we should look into other ways to deal with Parrish,” Clay offered. “We have one of Parrish’s people here. I’d like to know what the guy knows and if we can use any of that against Parrish and his Kudlaks.”
Dermot snorted. “He’s a Kudlak. He won’t ever tell us anything we could use against his people.”
“I’m not too sure about that,” Rowan said. “He did warn us. He seems to care about Devon.”
Demort shook his head. “Kudlaks don’t care about anything or anyone. They only care about themselves.”
Rowan arched a brow. “Some of them do. Maybe most of them do. We do have two Kudlaks here who feel differently, though.”
Dermot looked away. “Haley’s a child.”
“But her mother isn’t. Melissa helped a human child when it would’ve been easy for her to abandon him or even kill him.
Instead, she took him in and protected him as if he was her son.
She’s only ever wanted a peaceful life for her and her children, and that’s what the clan is giving her.
I understand where you’re coming from, Dermot.
We all do. But I don’t want you to talk about her that way.
She’s one of us, no matter what she is.”
Dermot inclined his head. No matter how he felt about Melissa, Rowan was the clan leader. He’d let her in, and everyone would have to accept that.
Tamsin already had. He’d had a few interactions with Melissa and her daughter, and he only had good things to say about both of them.
It might have been weird initially, but he’d seen too much in the years he’d been on the run to believe that all Kudlaks were the same.
Most of them might be evil, but not all of them, and Melissa had never given him any hints that she wasn’t on their side.
Maybe the Kudlak they had locked in a bedroom was like Melissa. He’d been working with Parrish, but Tamsin could all too well imagine why that was. The man had tried to protect them in the end. He’d saved a lot of lives. As far as Tamsin was concerned, that meant something.
“I could bring him food,” he offered.
Dermot frowned at him, while Clay blinked as if he’d forgotten what they’d been talking about. Rowan knew, though. The way he looked at Tamsin made Tamsin want to squirm, but instead, he just watched Rowan back.
“Would you feel safe doing that?” Rowan asked.
“I know he’s a Kudlak and that he was working with Parrish, but I really don’t think he wants to hurt anyone.”
“You just said he was working with Parrish,” Dermot pointed out.
“It doesn’t mean he agreed with what Parrish did. There’s a reason he tried to protect Devon and the village.”
“He felt guilty,” Dermot spat out.
“Exactly. He betrayed Devon, someone who saw him as a friend, and he felt guilty. Do you know many Kudlaks who would feel that way?”
Dermot pressed his lips together. There was nothing he could say about that because Tamsin was right.
Most Kudlaks wouldn’t have tried to stop Parrish.
Nic had known that he might die by putting himself in that position, but he’d done so anyway.
Maybe he’d only done it because he cared about Devon, but even if that was the case, he’d still saved the village.
He might hate Krsniks, but he also might not.
Either way, he was here. They might as well use him if they could.
Tamsin turned to Rowan. “I want to try to befriend him. Maybe I can get some answers out of him.”
“Devon asked me for permission to visit him. They’re friends, or rather, they were before all this happened. I don’t know what they are now.”
Tamsin didn’t understand what all of this had to do with his offer.
“Maybe he won’t want another friend, or maybe he won’t want a Vila friend, but we have to do something, and he probably has information on Parrish and Kudlaks.
I’m sure you want to talk to him and ask him questions, but it wouldn’t hurt to have someone be sneakier about it. ”
“I know you, Tamsin,” Dermot said. “You’re building yourself up for disappointment.”
“Maybe, maybe not. I have to believe that Nic betrayed Parrish for a reason. It would’ve been much easier for him to go along with what Parrish was planning.
Instead, he risked getting killed, and right now, he’s stuck in a bedroom, probably wondering when Rowan will decide to kill him.
I’m not saying we have to trust him or even that he’ll trust us, but it’s worth a try. ”
“I agree,” Rowan said. “You can start bringing him food. Be careful, though. We all want to think the best of him since he saved us, but this might still be part of Parrish’s plan.”
Tamsin really hoped that wasn’t the case.
* * * *
NIC EXPECTED DEVON to leave now that he’d said his piece, but instead, Devon sat on the bed. He watched Nic, who had no idea what was going on. He didn’t think that Devon was here to hurt him—it wasn’t the kind of person Devon was—but he was confused.
“Tell me how you ended up with Parrish,” Devon said.
Nic glanced at Ryan, who looked resigned and was leaning against the wall near the door.
Ryan didn’t say anything. He didn’t offer to leave so that Nic and Devon could speak.
Nic doubted that Ryan would go anywhere without his mate, especially when Nic was involved.
No, if Nic was going to be honest, he’d have to do it in front of Ryan.
He wasn’t sure how he felt about that, but it wasn’t like he had a choice.
“What makes you think there’s a good reason I ended up with him?” he asked Devon.
“Because I don’t think you’re the kind of person who does what you did without a good reason. I don’t think you’re anything like Parrish, which makes me wonder what happened to convince you to work with him.”
“Fear, mostly. Parrish isn’t a nice person. Once he has his claws into you, he’s ready to do anything to control you, and mostly, he does that using fear. Everyone knows the stories of how he kills people who disappoint him. He won’t let people leave him. It’s either him or death.”
“How did you end up with him, then?” Ryan asked, surprising Nic.
He hadn’t thought that Ryan would speak.
He was clearly there to protect his mate, and Nic was pretty sure that if it wasn’t for Devon, Ryan would be as far away as possible from him.
Nic didn’t blame him. He and Devon were lucky to be alive, and part of the reason they’d ended up anywhere near Parrish was Nic.
He wouldn’t want himself to be anywhere near his mate, either.
He didn’t like talking about his past, but he could tell that he wouldn’t have a choice.
He supposed things could be worse. At least Ryan and Devon were willing to listen to him.
He wasn’t sure the same could be said for anyone else in the village.
The clan leaders might decide to kill him because of what he’d done without listening to any reason he might have. It was what Parrish would have done.
Nic could feel Devon and Ryan watching him. He stepped closer to the window, keeping his gaze on the trees outside. He didn’t have a choice in being honest, but it didn’t mean he had to look at the two as he was.