“So you see,” Logan purred, “you’re not only
One more question lingered in my mind, but I was afraid to ask it. I looked to Ren rather than Logan.
“Bryn?” Her name was all I could manage.
Ren spoke curtly. “She’s fine.”
“I want to see her,” I said. Just knowing that she was alive gave me a jolt of audacity I wouldn’t have imagined possible.
Logan stepped into my line of vision. “I don’t think that’s something we can do.”
I hung my head, but Logan continued to speak. “Not until you’ve shown us where your loyalties lie.”
Glancing at Logan, I asked, “If I do this, will you let me see Bryn?”
“Of course,” Logan answered, with a careless wave of his hand. “You’ll see all your packmates.”
Swallowing hard, I continued, “And will you… will you swear to me that if I make it back…”
My heart felt like a sharp rock cracking against my ribs with each beat.
“Will I swear what?” Logan asked, irritated with my stumbling words.
“I want to be with Bryn,” I blurted. “Mated to her.”
Logan stared at me, his eyes wider than I’d ever seen. After a moment he recovered, and gave a throaty laugh. “Well. Well, well, well.” He lifted an eyebrow at Ren. “Did you know about this?”
Ren bowed his head and I squeezed my eyes shut. How could I have asked such a stupid question? In an already hopeless situation, I’d made things that much worse.
“So many secrets.” I was surprised that Logan didn’t sound angry, but rather like he’d heard the funniest joke of his life.
Trying to salvage anything from the wreck I’d made, I said, “It wasn’t Ren’s fault. We were together before he knew anything about it.”
“Don’t worry about Ren,” Logan told me. “Worry about yourself.”
I banged my head hard against the wall, not caring that it made my vision blur for a moment.
“Now, now,” Logan coaxed. “You act as though I have no heart.”
My guts twisted at the irony of having to rely on Logan’s compassion. His words weren’t far off the mark. I’d suspected more than once that he lacked anything resembling a heart.
Meeting my wary gaze, Logan smiled. “Please understand: there’s only so much I can do. No matter how much I might pity your case.”
When Logan looked at Ren, his jaw tightened. “Who is your master, Ren?”
“Efron. Your father.” Ren’s eyes remained downcast.
“And why is that?” Logan asked.
Ren glanced up, surprise written on his face.
Logan’s laugh was brief and sharp. “Go ahead. I’ll forgive you. Tell him what I
With some hesitation, Ren spoke, but he kept his eyes on me, not once sparing Logan a glance. “Efron told us that the Haldis pack wouldn’t be formed. Not without Calla. And he said that Logan wouldn’t rule a pack. That he’d failed to rule us as a packmaster should.”
“So you see, Ansel,” Logan said, “I’m being punished too. And this mission that I’m sending you on-it’s one of the ways I can return to my father’s good graces. We can all get what we want. If we work together.”
I nodded as I realized that the repercussions I’d feared because of my outburst weren’t coming.
“And you want Bryn… among other things.” Logan pursed his lips. “You can see that I can’t give orders about pairing you up. But I can probably persuade my father to keep what would have been the Haldis pack without mates for a while. He’s promised that I can be restored to mastery of your pack if I prove myself to him.”
“And that starts with me,” I said quietly.
“It started with Ren,” Logan told me. “But our alpha is sorted. You’re the next step to making things right.”
It wasn’t much. It wasn’t even a promise. But it was something. At this point I would have taken anything. He couldn’t give me Bryn, but he could make sure she wasn’t given to another wolf.
Filling my lungs with air, I used all my strength to push myself upright. Though I had to brace myself against the wall and my legs trembled, I’d managed to stand. Slowly, carefully, I tipped forward, bowing deeply to Logan.
When I’d straightened, he was smiling at me.
“Tell me what to do,” I said.
“First, I’m sending in something decent for you to eat,” Logan told me. “There are details to take care of. While I’m making arrangements, you eat. For reasons that should be obvious, we can’t clean you up, but you will need to be able to walk. Good food will give you some strength back.”
Logan’s smile broadened to a grin. “You won’t regret this.”
He walked briskly to the door, gave a sharp rap on it, and when it opened he was gone, leaving the door still ajar and me standing beside Ren.
I felt a hand press into my shoulder and I turned to meet Ren’s piercing gaze.
“When you see her, don’t forget what she did.” His canines were sharp. “To all of us.”
“I won’t,” I told him. “I’ll never forget. And I’ll never forgive her.”
“Neither will I,” he said. As if to remind me of what I’d lost-what Calla’s choice had cost me-Ren shifted forms. His deep gray wolf bared its teeth at me before darting from the cell.
The door slammed shut and I sunk to the floor, my leg muscles quaking from the effort of standing.
I’d meant those words when I said them, but I wondered if they were entirely true-if Ren asked me not to forget what Calla had done because he knew what it would be like to be face-to-face with my sister. With someone whom I’d always trusted and always loved.
But I couldn’t imagine forgiving Calla.
Exhausted from the effort of standing and talking for longer than I had in days, I lay on the cold metal floor. Sleep crept over me, and I hoped I might dream something other than the nightmares that had dogged me until now.
Before I let go of the waking world, one last thought slipped through my conscious mind.
If Ren wanted to be sure I couldn’t forgive Calla, was it because he was afraid he could?
Andrea Cremer
