Elara POV
I hastily follow Mason into the woods. The very last thing we need right now is Mason drawing attention to our new hiding place. I am not completely convinced that Braden’s theory is right about Mason’s ntal health, but I am kind of leaning towards it.
Mason has been carrying a grudge against his brothers and father since I t him, but after Orion’s death, his anger got worse, not better.
“Mason, wait!” I call, but he keeps walking.
“Mason, would you just talk to , please?” I try again.
“There’s no use in talking to you,” he snaps, turning around to face . “You don’t listen. You just do what you want.”
“Please explain to what’s going on,” I say, pleadingly. “I don’t understand why you’re so angry. You were just as eager as we were to overthrow the Council. What has changed?”
“I wasn’t gunning for the Council,” he argues. “I went after my dad, and he’s dead now. My crusade is over.”
“It’s over for you, but not your children,” I reason. “They know about the twins and will keep coming for them.”
“Exactly!” He exclaims, throwing his hands in the air. “That’s exactly my point, and why I begged you to run away with . The Council is coming for our kids, Elara, and they won’t stop. And instead of protecting them, you want to run into the fire, guns blazing. It’s irresponsible and selfish.”
“Selfish?” I grunt, balling my fists to control my anger. “An entire pack is suffering because of . Running away and leaving them in their suffering is selfish.”
“I’m not going to sacrifice my children for a pack who tossed away like garbage,” he shouts.
“And nobody is asking you to,” I snap. “That’s why we’re here. To keep them safe.”
“It’s only a matter of ti before the Council finds us,” he continues to argue. “Being on the run for the rest of our lives is no way to live.”
“That’s why we’re going after the Council,” I exhale deeply, emotionally drained from arguing with him. It feels like he agrees but only argues for the sake of it.
“You can do it, but I’m not,” he growls. “I’m going to take my kids and start fresh in a new country.”
“Fine,” I shrug, fighting the urge to slap him. “But when the Council kidnaps your kids again, and they will, I won’t be around to rescue them.”
He opens his mouth to continue arguing, but I turn around and walk ho. I pray silently that he does not call my bluff and leave with his kids. It will break Kane and Axel’s hearts.
Anton POV
I roll up the copy of the dungeon’s floor plan and hide it in my desk’s bottom drawer. It is getting harder each ti to sneak out and feed Braden information. But he needs these plans, and I must risk it.
“Anton!” Gustav’s voice echoes through the hall, and I jump in fright.
I quickly close the drawer and walk towards the door, but he bursts into my office before I reach it.
“They are taking this too far,” Gustav yells, his nostrils flaring with anger.
“Who?” I frown, confused.
“Kane and Axel,” he huffs. “Kane raped and killed the witch, Rhiannon.”
“Are you sure?” I ask cautiously. That does not sound like Kane. He is a hothead and impulsive at tis, but not a rapist and murderer.
“We have evidence,” Gustav continues, pacing up and down. “Underwear and hair. It’s at the lab for analysis, but I sniffed the hair. It’s unmistakably Kane’s.”
“There could be another explanation,” I reason. “We know they are using magic. He could’ve visited her before soone else killed her.”
“His hair was in the bed next to the body,” he growls. “And his underwear is soaked in her juices. Oh, and did I ntion she was still naked, spread open on the bed? The fucker choked her to death while having sex with her. There is no other person or explanation.”
“I can’t believe it,” I shake my head, flabbergasted. “We’ve known Kane his entire life. I can’t believe he’s capable of such a despicable deed.”
“It’s that Jezebel,” Gustav huffs, pointing a finger at . “She made him do it. You heard the guards who witnessed Orion’s death. She and the vampire controlled the scene. She’s manipulating them.”
“Gustav, I ...”
“Dammit,” he cuts off. “How did we not know she’s a hybrid sooner? She should’ve been mated to Lucas and Greg.”
“Ifs and maybes won’t help us now,” I say quickly, my stomach in a knot. If Gustav continues with those questions, he will co to the obvious conclusion that Julia and Selena are hybrids as well. It is only a miracle that he has not thought about it by now. “We should find a solution and not dwell on the problem.”
“Those two and their hybrid bitch are getting on my last nerve,” Gustav continues as if I have not said a word. “We’ve been lying low long enough. I’m informing the facilities to send out the first test subjects.”
“Gustav, no!” I shout, shocked to my core. “They’re not ready. They’re unpredictable and, and for fuck’s sake, they’re defective.”
“I don’t care,” he argues. “We take the best ones to sniff them out. Once we know where they are, we eliminate them and attack ourselves. When they are in custody, all this will co to an end, and a war wouldn’t start.”
“Do you even hear yourself?” I ask, looking at him in disbelief. “It’s insane.”
“Desperate tis, Anton,” he says firmly. “The longer those three are free, the more they’ll kill and the closer to a war we get. I’m doing it, and you can’t stop . I outrank you.”
“Gustav, would you please take five minutes to calm down and think this through?” I ask, desperately. There is no way to tell what the test subjects would do if they were let free.
“I decided,” he huffs. “I’m doing it.”
I exhale deeply when he storms out and slams the door. I open my drawer and take out the plans. I need to get to Braden as fast as possible.
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