Lycan Legacy (A Soulmark Series Book 5), page 27
“No,” Atticus says, his voice abrasive. He keeps his back to me, and for some time we stay in contemplative silence.
When Xander breathes a heavy-winded sigh and leans against the desk with arms folded tightly over his muscle-bound chest, I relax. Somewhat.
“Tell me everything,” he commands. “Start to finish.”
And so I do. Taking in a shaky breath, I confess to it all.
“They never wanted me to leave the pack. I’m the last of the Blanc line, with my father being the last male heir to our namesake and tie to the original pack line. At first, they tolerated our betrothal, but then….”
I trail off as I remember when news arrived that the Adolphus pack had been formed. My parents nearly called off our betrothal, because they were so incensed at the scandal.
“Then we split from the Wselfwulfs,” Xander fills in.
I find his jasper-green eyes across the room and give a shallow nod. “Yes.”
“What next?” he asks.
“It was obvious their attitude toward the betrothal changed. They didn’t approve of your separation. They still don’t. I thought my parents might withdraw from our contract with the Hayes all together when your feud came to a head last year, but the opposite happened. They became more invested in it.
“I didn’t know then what I do now,” I say after a deep breath. “That my parents want to ruin you from the inside out, using me as the tool to do so. They believe your feud can only be resolved with bloodshed.” I swallow thickly and dash my tongue across my bottom lip. “Preferably yours.”
The men share a look, one I cannot begin to fathom as they communicate soundlessly with one another.
I shift restlessly in my seat, clearing my throat softly before I continue. “My parents asked me to report on the pack's ‘goings on’ and to learn your plans against the Wselfwulfs. So I gave them bits and pieces of information that hedged on important or could at least be made to seem as such. They latched onto Luna.”
“What else did you tell them?” Xander asks, his voice too calm for comfort. Heartbeat quickening, my fingers begin to toy restlessly with each other.
“My parents know your pack is large, far larger than they originally thought. They didn’t realize you had wolves coming from across the country to join your pack. Truthfully, I never got to tell them much more outside of Luna’s existence and the pack size before they sent Lucy and Knox.” My fingers curl into my palm, the strain turning my knuckles white. “Apparently, I needed motivation.”
Dark lashes hood Xander’s cutting regard as he stares in contemplation at the ground. When he begins to straighten, his features stoic, the room relieves itself of some of the tension it carries. He walks forward confidently across the room, clasping Atticus on the shoulder as he passes.
“Sit, brother,” he commands, his voice no longer void of emotion.
A shudder ripples over the banks of Atticus’s shoulder, and my heart gives a painful lurch. Atticus does as his alpha commands, perching on the arm of a chair, but he continues to provide us with his back. Not us, I scold myself, me.
“Winter?” Xander comes to sit on the end of the coffee table before me. His feet are splayed far apart as he leans forward. “What was in the tonic you gave, Zoelle?”
“I don’t know.” I bite the inside of my cheek in frustration. “Mother and Lucy said it would only keep Luna incapacitated for a few days. They didn’t want to do any permanent damage.”
I see his jaw work as a glimmer of fear spots his eye. But Xander takes a deep breath to quell his baser emotions. I watch his control with awe, my lips parting in fascination as he leashes his greater impulses.
“Lest they start a war with the coven, no doubt,” he states. “What do they think they’ll gain through this kind of sabotage?”
“Mother and Father believe the fairy contributes heavily to the structure and stability of your wall. If she were taken out of the equation, it would allow for a final confrontation to occur. They want the dispute between the packs settled, once and for all.”
“And they favor the Wselfwulfs?”
I hesitate. “Yes. Though Mother has never said it outright to me. There’s little doubt in my mind that they wish to see the Wselfwulfs as the victor. Their… ideals and attitudes on how a pack should be maintained run in the same vein of thought, I’m afraid. Mother said your separation has caused too many waves in the lycan community, as well. My reports on the growth of your pack surely didn’t help in curbing her thinking.”
The scent of my shame must saturate the air, for Xander's nose crinkles in distaste.
“Is there anything else I should know?” he asks seriously.
Anything else? Only everything.
How can I possibly detail the power my parents held over me? The conditioning I went through to be the perfect daughter and tool for their gains. What of our family curses? The Blancs stand at the root of the lycan curse, and then there is the delicate subject of the soulmark curse cast upon my pack alone.
Unwittingly, my eyes trace over Atticus’s stooped spine. How can I tell him I’ll never bare his children?
“Winter?”
I wish not to take my eyes from Atticus, but my attention and cooperation are the very least I can offer my alpha. I bow my head, a sigh tumbling from my lips as one final vicious thought lashes me. Atticus will never wish to be with me after this—even if I could offer him a family.
“Yes?”
“Is there anything else I should know? Are your parents planning anything else? Do you know anything of the Wselfwulfs plans? Would Lucy?”
With a furrowed brow, I begin to shake my head, only to stop mid-turn. What about Lucy and her special tonic? Do I dare speak of Aunt Mo’s prediction? My treacherous heart leaps into my throat.
“Lucy… she has another tonic,” I tell him. My eyes dart up to lock onto his jasper-green eyes. They stare back solemnly, the only hint of his unease in the tightness at the corners of his eyes. “When I refused to follow through with their plan and threatened to expose her, she delivered a different threat.
“Lucy was given a different tonic to administer if I failed. Something more… toxic, I guess—” my voice wavers at the flash of gold in Xander’s eye “—and that if she was compromised or hampered, there was another to take up the task in her place.”
Another strike of gold lights his eyes. But this time the wolf inside him holds, completely alert. “Who exactly will be here to take her place?” he asks tightly. “The other wolf from your pack left. We had eyes on him all the way to the border of Canada to make sure of it. Who else is here?”
I shrug helplessly. “I don’t know. I have no idea, I swear.”
A growl of frustration and anger stirs in his throat. He stands and begins to pace the room. The respite from the thick tension ends as we wait for Xander’s next words.
I feel his presence stir the air behind me as he passes, and I stiffen.
“Your cousin attempted to leave Branson Falls—”
“What?” I spin in my seat to look at Xander. “She tried to leave?”
My body shakes with unadulterated fury. That deceitful bitch. Of course, she would abandon me here to face the consequences of my parents' plan alone.
“I said, ‘attempted,’” Xander murmurs, clearly studying my reaction. My shoulders sag with some relief, but ire still floods my system. “She’s being questioned downstairs in the basement as we speak.”
“She is?”
Xander nods, and I press my nails into my palm to force myself to hold his gaze. “Good.”
As I turn to face forward, letting my thoughts come at me in a whirlwind, I catch Atticus attempting to turn himself away from us before we notice. Away from me, I correct myself. A tight fist clenches my gut at the slight.
He can’t even look at me... and how can I possibly blame him?
“Do you know if she kept this other tonic on her? Or if it’s among her things back at your house?”
My mouth feels dry. In the interim of my speechlessness, I manage to shake my head.
“I’m not sure where she kept it,” I answer at last. Then my hand goes fumbling to my back pocket to produce the silver flask. “This is what I put in the tea. I only put a small amount in. You can tell by its weight,” I say, thrusting it in Xander’s direction.
He takes it, a flare of hope igniting in his cheeks and eyes. “I’ll make sure this gets to Zoelle’s grandmother and the others of the Elder Triad immediately. Hopefully, they can deduce what it is and make the antidote.”
“And if they can’t?” Atticus voices.
Both Xander and I turn our attention to Atticus. His body is held tight, even as he stands and turns to face us. His expression is the darkest I’ve ever seen. It is a mixture of despair and disappointment, along with traces of anger that draw his jaw into a staunch line.
Xander folds his arms across his chest, his lips pulling downward. “We will find a way to wake her.”
“But what if—”
“There are no ‘buts.’ No ‘what-ifs,’” Xander snarls. “I don’t care what we have to do to wake her. We will. Even if it means going after the Blancs.”
I suck in a breath and earn both wolves’ scowls.
“Do you have a problem with that, Winter?” Atticus asks coldly. “Still sitting on the fence about where your loyalties lie?”
His words are like a slap in the face. “I….” I don’t know what to say. What can I say? “I won’t support my parents any longer,” I say, my voice gone small. “I’ll do whatever is necessary to revive, Zoelle. I’ll do whatever you ask.”
I flick my gaze between the two men with uncertainness, but only one spares me a look of semi-approval. And it isn’t the one I want. Atticus looks away, his glare striking the wall with vicious intent.
“Good,” Xander tells me and walks my way. “We’ll need all the help we can get if the Blancs are set on our demise. Atticus, go downstairs and have Keenan bring up Lucy. Then set Quinn to fetch the concentrated lunaria serum.”
I want to reach out as he passes, but Atticus takes the long way around the room. He makes his way around several pieces of furniture to avoid being in my near vicinity. I watch him go, fighting off tears that are determined to fall despite my best efforts. A headache shudders to a throbbing start as the door slams shut behind him, and Xander’s strong hand comes to rest on my shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper harshly, tears spilling over my cheeks. “I swear I’ll fix this. I’ll fix everything.”
His grip tightens momentarily before releasing me. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t place too much of the responsibility on your shoulders,” he says, his voice remarkably steady and composed. It is such a change from his earlier temper, I spare him a wide-eyed once-over.
“Are you going to send me back?” A seed of sincere doubt enters my mind, taking hold of my imagination with grim aim and showing me visions of my parents’ wrath.
The space between his brows pinches together. “Send you where?”
“To my parents?”
His eyes widen in alarm. “No,” he tells me harshly. “Why don’t you take a seat on the couch, Winter. I plan on Lucy sitting there.”
I move, shrinking instinctively as I cross the distance to the nearest couch. As I sit, my heart thunders in my ears, and I brush my hair behind my ear.
“What are you going to do with me? And what if Atticus is right? What if she—” Never wakes up? What if I killed her? The words die in my throat as a panicked sob erupts from my throat. “Do you hate me?” I would. I do.
Xander pinches the bridge of his nose, a roughened sigh escaping him.
“I… I’m having trouble identifying just what I feel at the moment.” I watch his Adam’s apple bob and his brows hunch over his eyes. “I can’t feel her. I keep fluctuating between anger and grief and this gut-wrenching panic that I can’t feel her anymore because of the tonic. To be perfectly honest, I haven’t spared you a thought other than trying to wrap my head around what your actions have done.”
I release a tremulous breath, torn between semi-relief and despair. At least it isn’t hate. Xander rakes a hand through his hair, his features smoothing to marble.
“I can’t afford to dwell on any of those emotions, not with knowing how involved your parents have been in our pack’s affairs and the Wselfwulfs waiting to strike.” Xander pins me with a hard stare. “You will not dwell on this either, Winter. I want you rational and collected—that’s an order.”
I submit willingly to his heavy-handed command, a short whine crawling up my throat as I nod and bend my neck submissively. Faster than I anticipate, my fraught nerves and guilt slip away from me. Replacing them is a cool sense of detachment at my actions.
Vaguely I compare Zoelle's tea to Xander's alpha order. Her touch and manipulation are by far gentler, but Xander's is no less effective.
“The pack will look to us to see how they should react,” Xander explains. “We cannot, above all, show weakness to them. We need to be strong, Winter.”
I inhale calmly, folding my hands across my lap. “I understand.”
Xander nods curtly, then begins to pace once more. “What are the chances your cousin sent word to your parents about tonight?”
“High,” I reply, voice soft but steady. “If you caught Lucy attempting to leave, she will have informed my parents of her departure immediately. Or contacted someone to retrieve her.”
“Would she have relayed any other information other than needing to be retrieved?”
I frown as I think. “Depending on where she was caught, Lucy will have attempted to convey the status of the border surrounding the town. If it was down or still up," I explain. "If she didn’t, then whatever scouts they might have in the area—be it Wselfwulf or Blanc—will no doubt be checking to report the border's status.”
Xander stops, his head cocking minutely to the side. “When they arrive, I don’t want you to say a word, Winter,” he commands. My throat tightens involuntarily at the order.
A long moment passes. I hear multiple sets of feet climbing the stairs. My heart kicks in my chest at the approach, but soon enough a forcible calm settles it down per the alpha's wishes.
“I don’t hate you, Winter,” Xander says quietly as he catches my eye. “But you’ve broken the trust of the pack, and that will have consequences I cannot begin to fathom. You’ll have the whole pack to make amends with for hurting their alpha.”
Holding his gaze, I give a tight nod and swallow thickly again. A wave of unnatural apathy helps it go down. “Of course,” I murmur and then drop my gaze back to the floor just as a knock sounds on the door.
Rolling his shoulders back, Xander clasps both hands behind his back. A mask of indifference slides over his features as he peers at the door.
“Come in.”
Lucy all but stumbles through the door. She shoots a vicious growl over her shoulder at Keenan, whose hand remains outstretched from his firm guidance. Callie trails after her muscle-bound soulmark, and I cannot help but notice the thick metal bands encircling her wrists. They look to be engraved with tribal markings.
My curiosity is hampered by Atticus entering and closing the door behind the others. Our eyes meet briefly.
A flash of something lingers in his gaze, but it is a look I can’t possibly decipher for so many emotions flit across his arctic eyes. I dare to hope one might be an ounce of understanding.
“Don’t touch me,” Lucy snarls, righting herself and glaring at each occupant of the room with equal fervor. “When my alphas hear of this, they’ll—”
“Enough,” Xander commands with languid authority. Lucy’s mouth snaps shut, her gaze narrowing on Xander. “Sit.”
If her hands weren’t bound behind her back, they’d be folded defiantly across her chest. Instead, she arches a brow in a challenge. Her feet remain steadfast in place.
“I’ll stand.”
I watch, half twisted in my seat as Xander nods to Callie. The once-warrior wears no expression as she walks past her beau toward Lucy. The engravings on her bracelets fill with an unearthly blue light as she nears her target.
“Don’t—” Lucy’s protest ends in a snarl as Callie roughly maneuvers her forward. My eyes alight in recognition as Lucy’s struggles are countered with surprising ease from Callie. Those aren’t just bracelets Callie wears—they're her bracers, the ones she spoke of at New Year’s.
Lucy lands roughly in my previous seat. Redness encroaches upon her smooth complexion. Then, finally, her eyes settle on me. I stare back impassively.
“Cousin,” she seethes. I dip my head a fraction in acknowledgment to her hostile greeting. “I see you followed through with your threat. I always knew you’d turn your back on us. Just wait until the pack learns of your disloyalty. They’ll eat you alive.”
The room stays quiet a moment too long for comfort, all eyes of the room darting between the two of us. My lips thin at Lucy's words, but I offer nothing in return. Not that I could if I wanted to.
“Did she give you anything useful?” Xander directs his question to Keenan.
The large man gives a resolute shake of her head. “No, just the same kind of bullshit she’s spitting now,” he answers brusquely. “Empty threats.”
Lucy’s head whips to the side to pin Keenan with her icy glare. “They aren’t empty. My pack will seek retribution for this barbaric treatment.”
Xander snorts. “As will mine. Though while I imagine your pack favoring more of its underhanded power plays, we’ll be seeking justice more formally with the Moon Order.”
The color slowly leeches from Lucy’s face even as she thrusts her nose up into the air. The Moon Order is comprised of the oldest and most prominent packs across the world. They convened only in matters of great urgency or when the lycan community faces a great disturbance from within that threatens all. The only reason the Wselfwulf and Adolphus dispute had not been brought before the court was because of the witches’ involvement.
