I could never go back, though. My days as part of the Thunder Pass clan were long over. Bri understood that. She didn’t ask me to come home. All she wanted was for me to speak with my brother. That was a task that I would do when the time came.
For now, Ness’s issues took precedence. I was tired of her pack acting like she was a burden when they should have protected her. Even Bri had come all this way to check in on me, and I’d murdered my own father. I didn’t deserve Bri’s kindness in the least.
Ness, on the other hand, had done so much more for her pack. She deserved to be loved and protected, and I was going to make the Lakesedge pack see the fault in their ways tonight.
Bri parked in the driveway, but before I could get out of the SUV, she locked the doors again. She turned to give me her full attention.
“You smell like Ness again,” she said plainly.
I hesitated, wary of where this was going.
“You need to stop lying to yourself. You love her. There’s no other reason to explain why you’re going to such great lengths to protect her. You even made a deal with a fae queen so you could help protect this wolf girl.” Bri’s smiled sadly.
“Hound,” I corrected.
Bri threw her hands in the air playfully, that self-satisfied smile still on her face. “See what I mean?”
I didn’t, and I had things that I needed to get done. I hit the button to unlock the door and reached for the handle. Bri was quick, though. She locked the door again before I could get out. I growled in warning, but she was a clan leader now.
Bri didn’t back down. She kept her chin held high and her laughter hidden behind her lips. “You need to listen to me. Go tell that woman how you feel, or you might never get another chance.”
I wanted to argue, but I’d almost lost Ness last night. That same poison had nearly killed me not long ago. We kept reaching the brink of death. Sooner or later, death would tire of us playing doorbell-ditch. It would come for us, and there would be so much left unsaid between us.
“I can’t stay here with everything that I’ve done,” I told Bri. “Morgan isn’t going to play nice when he finds me. He’s going to try to kill me, and you know that. I would be a monster if I let that fight play out here, where there are people who could get hurt.”
Her smile widened. “You care so much about this territory already. Are you sure you’ll be able to leave? Is it Beryl that’s keeping you here? Or is it your own dragon?”
I snarled. “You saw the fae magic. I can’t break through it.”
The medallion sat out in the open, though. Bri gave it a pointed stare before locking eyes with me. The crack across the gemstone gleamed in the bright daylight.
“You have a power that rivals that of the other leaders here,” Bri said. “Don’t squander it. Live up to the best version of yourself, because I know you still have that in you.”
I left the best version of myself behind, in the mountains where my father nearly ripped me in half like Kronos with Zeus. Bri thought she knew me, but she knew the person I’d been. Clearly, she paid no attention to who I’d become.
It made everything else she’d said mean a little less, which hurt more than I wanted to admit.
“I don’t have time for this.” I let my growl fill the small space inside the SUV.
Bri didn’t flinch, but she did roll her eyes. She unlocked the door and let me out. On my feet, I didn’t look back. Bri was a part of my past, and while I loved her, I couldn’t let her dictate my future. That belonged to me and no one else.
Inside, I grabbed the small yellow box from the kitchen table. The box weighed nothing, but the knowledge of what sat inside made it heavy. I clutched it tight on the way back to my own car. The feeling of the seat beneath me was a small comfort as I backed out of the driveway.
In the rearview mirror, I saw Bri pull out and follow me. Though I wanted to tell her to go back home, I knew that she was a big girl. I couldn’t tell a clan leader to do anything. She made her own decisions.
A part of me was glad to have her by my side. Maybe she wanted to tell me how to live my life—much to my annoyance—but she would do everything in her power to make sure I had a life to live. I could trust Bri to protect me and herself.
Ness’s father wasn’t surprised to see me when I arrived. He was appalled at what I’d brought along with me. His jaw dropped for a brief instant before he picked it up and donned a grim expression. With a short nod, he turned and went to call the others.
Connor was the first to arrive. Behind him, a small sedan pulled in and two young women spilled out. They shared a quiet exchange before taking each other’s hands. My heart immediately hurt for them. I could see the fear cinching their shoulders tight.
This pack had been living in fear too long. They could be good. I had faith because Ness had faith. There had to be a bit of courage in the lot of them that could help them rise up and stop Alvin from hurting others. If what I’d brought with me didn’t bring that out of them, then I would tell Ness to leave.
That would be the last straw. I wasn’t going to let Ness stay here with a pack that couldn’t support their most vulnerable members.
Soon enough, the rest arrived. I was touched to see so many of them gathering in this small yard. Many of them kept checking over their shoulders as if Alvin might arrive. He was most likely busy.
I cleared my throat and stepped forward. It was now or never.