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Reluctantly, he opens his hand. Cherno leaps into the air, floundering slightly as they fly to me, tangling themselves in my hair. They peek out and chirp angrily at the young wolf for the rough treatment.
Adalynd looks from Emmett to Cherno, then over her shoulder to the tree line. She presses her lips into a thin line as she contemplates the situation.
Oliver remains silent.
“We should destroy the demon,” she says finally. “If what Emmett suspects is true, there’s no telling how close Elizabeth’s army is.”
I step back, reaching up protectively to block them. “You can’t.”
What would happen if they killed Cherno?I ask Varin.
It is difficult to say for sure,they begin slowly,but it would destroy his powers at the very least. A demon will die if their vampire is killed, so I suspect it works the same the other way around. Though there is no guarantee.
“We can, and we should, even if there is a small chance they were followed,” Hunt grunts his agreement, rejoining the group, and startling me. “For the good of the pack.”
I level a glare at him before turning to Oliver.
“I told Cherno where to find me.” That gets everyone’s attention. “What about your wall? You said no one could get through without your help.”
Adalynd folds her arms across her chest. “It might protect us, but what good is it if our enemies lie in wait on the other side? We’d be trapped here.”
I take several steps back. “Oliver, you can’t allow this to happen.”
He is unfazed by the expectant looks his betas give. Then he shrugs. The casual gesture is out of place in this situation.
“Why don’t you ask them if they were followed?”
Their wings flap against me. “No one followed,” Cherno chirps.
“See?” I say, gesturing.
The three of them look at me as if I am insane while Oliver covers his mouth with a hand, trying—poorly—to hide a smile. “Would you mind translating for us?”
“She has your family,” Cherno says at the same time. “She will kill them in three nights if Alaric has not returned to her.”
Blood roars in my ears, and my chest feels so tight I can’t breathe. The world spins and quakes.
“Clara?” Oliver calls my name, but his voice is distant.
No….
I stumble. My legs give out from under me, and I drop onto my ass. Faces hover near me. They are speaking, but their voices are muffled and I can’t understand them. I can barely hear.
Use Alaric to free my family or sentence my family to death. How can I choose? How could anyone choose when it means death for someone they love?
***
“Let me through,” I demand of the two guards standing between me and the room I desperately need to get into.
They shift into their wolf forms, blocking the double doors of the conference room. I try to slip past, but the one on the left leaps to bar the way. He snarls and snaps his teeth at me.
They won’t actually hurt me,I remind myself. I flick his nose before thinking better. The guard sneezes uncontrollably for a minute.
The larger one growls, transforming back. “There’s a pack meeting—and you’re not pack,” he grinds out, puffing out his chest. Though he is already an imposing figure, the posture makes him look even more intimidating.
“Considering the topic of discussion, I have every right to be in there.” I try not to think what this wolf is capable of doing to stop me as I try again, pounding my fist on the door.
Two massive arms wrap around my waist and lift me into the air.
