“No. Not ‘all right.’ She always finds out. And that isn’t the Primal in Clarissa. That’s simply her. She’s a scientist at heart, and she doesn't stop until she finds the truth. She will find out about this, and she will erupt. What are we going to do then?” I ask.
“It’s a good question,” Theo says.
“But not one that needs to be discussed. Clarissa won’t find out because none of us will open our mouths,” Sebastian says.
“Did you not hear what I just said? She’s a scientist. She finds the truth for a living,” I say.
“And I’m telling you I know her best. She won’t find out,” Sebastian growls.
“Whatever you say. But don’t come running to me to clean up your mess when it happens.”
“Have you guys decided on what you’re going to do battle-wise?” Joel asks.
“We’ll need to discuss it further,” Theo says. “But you have your plan. We aren’t driving you away from your village, so that’s all you need to know.”
“What? You’re not going to even let me in on what you’re doing? I’m the one protecting Clarissa, remember?”
“Yes, and the less you know, the less she’ll be willing to tear your face off when she finds out what’s happening,” Sebastian says.
“I thought you said she wasn’t going to find out,” Joel says.
“Idiot. She will once it’s happening. But it’ll be too late by then,” Sebastian says. “And to answer your question, I think a merging of both the plans is better.”
“Of course, you do,” I say. “Something unique and original, but not really. Reeks of Wolf.”
“Look. If we want to keep hiding this from Clarissa, then we need to make her part of some of our plans. If we take her out and lay her scent around then ask her to camouflage herself for the rest of the time, then it makes her think she’s part of the overall battle plan. It won’t be until all of us take the fight to the Council that we can keep her out of the fight, keep our promise, slaughter these assholes, and be done with this bullshit.”
“It’s actually not a bad plan,” Joel says.
“Nice to see you stand your ground well,” I say under my breath.
“He’s not caving to me. He’s simply acknowledging a decent idea when he sees it,” Sebastian says.
“Then it sounds like you guys have it all planned out. Come get me when it’s time for me to die for something I still don’t understand.”
I stalk off from the guys and make my way back to my room. I don’t care if they keep talking or if they keep brainstorming plans. This entire thing is annoying. Everyone keeps bouncing from one thing to another without any regard to how anyone else feels. First, it was Africa and the emotional betrayal Clarissa went through. Then, it was all the idiotic things we got ourselves into with some stupid prophecy. After that, Clarissa chose Kyle and turned her back on all of us after everything we had done.
Then Kyle died.
Next, the Council happened, and Igo happened, and Hiro happened, and everything else happened. And not once do any of them think about slowing down. Not once do any of them think about the lives lost. Kyle and his former self. Clarissa and her former self. Gus. Hiro. The warriors of my race who turned their back on all of us.
Penny.
Oh, Penny.
I slump down into my bed and curl up underneath the covers. I can still see the way she was pleading with Gus. With the blade of the katana threatening over her head and her words spewing from her mouth. She was looking wide-eyed into the gaze of her mate, trying to control his actions. But I could still see Gus’s gaze. Filled with anger and a blank stare that reeked of mind control. That was how Igo was controlling his warriors. It wasn’t due to some philosophy or moral code or want to protect anyone.
It was due to his manipulation. His mind control.
Very few Cats had ever been that strong. But Igo is the first to have ever abused it the way he did.
My heart aches for all of them. For Penny and Gus’s death. For whatever Kyle has turned into. I know Clarissa’s being tugged in so many directions, and I know she’s keeping hope that Kyle will return and take her home. That she can continue with the life she saw for herself before it was so gruesomely ripped away from her on the night of her wedding.
So much loss.
And yet none of those idiots out there wish to acknowledge it.
I miss Penny. I miss her playful banter and the way she annoyed Sebastian. I miss her endless flirtation with him and how it pissed him off. I miss the conversations I had with her and her unbridled passion for always speaking the truth. I miss her essence. Her aura. The positive emotions she would emit even though everything around us seemed as if it was spiraling out of control.