Ian:
Every vein in my head was throbbing.
I could not understand how Troy thought he could go alone and rescue her.
Then I rembered sothing. It was Troy who had created many of the differences between and Clentine.
He had been sabotaging our relationship.
So I began to wonder if he had done the sa thing again.
If that was true, I was not going to forgive him this ti.
I would destroy him.
"You couldn’t keep her safe?" I asked Troy, clenching my jaw.
Grief was visible in his eyes. But I refused to believe him. Because of him, Clentine was gone once again.
"So what is the difference between you and Yorick?" I scread, trying to reach him.
Every ti I moved toward him, soone stepped between us and pushed us apart.
"I’m nothing like Yorick," he defended himself in a slow, soft voice.
"How dare you think you could go alone and rescue her?" I shouted.
And when I noticed that everyone had scattered, I knew it was my mont to approach him.
This ti, he saw coming. But he was a second too late to defend himself before I punched him.
As soon as he fell to the ground, I moved closer and hit him again.
He did not defend himself this ti.
He knew his stubborn pride had ruined everything.
Clentine’s life was in danger because of him.
Before I could strike him again, Leysa ran between us and shoved back.
"Fine, maybe he learned a little selfishness," she yelled. "But he was trying to keep her safe. He saved her from Yorick and his family."
The way she imdiately jumped to his defense told sothing was going on between them. Otherwise, why would she defend him like that?
It was obvious he had ssed up.
"If he really wanted what was best, he should have told us. I would have gone with him to Yorick as well," I shouted back.
I clenched my jaw and turned toward her.
I was ready to charge at her too.
In my eyes, anyone who tried to take Clentine away from was a monster.
And I did not hesitate to raise my hand against monsters.
"If you had gone to Yorick’s place, he would never have let you inside," Leysa continued.
"He knew Clentine had accepted you. That’s why Troy going didn’t raise suspicion. Troy wasn’t a threat to them."
There was hesitation in her voice.
Her body had slouched.
With one hand, she was holding Troy back so he would not charge at . With the other, she kept her arm extended toward to stop from advancing.
"You’re talking nonsense," I snapped. "Why would I believe you? You never liked Clentine. You always put her life in danger. Maybe you wanted her dead."
I swung my hand toward her.
My father stepped in and shielded her.
"That’s enough," Troy shouted, getting to his feet. "Say whatever you want to , but you will not speak about my mate like that."
The mont he said mate, I understood.
It was not hard for to see what was happening.
First Haiden, and now Troy.
The Moon Goddess was clearing the path.
"You think I’m not worried?" Troy demanded. "The mont I left her there, I was coming to you. I made a mistake. I was selfish. But I’m trying to redeem myself."
His voice wavered as if he was close to tears.
"Redeem yourself after you lost her to your psycho brother?" I shot back. "If I get my hands on Yorick, I won’t spare him."
My breath quickened.
My voice deepened.
"Enough," Haiden finally shouted between us. "Control yourself. We need to find ssi. The rest can wait."
When Haiden said that, everyone eased slightly.
But the fire inside was still burning.
My mate was still missing.
"Stop arguing. Let’s find Clentine. More importantly, let’s find ssi," Haiden uttered.
"Did you all forget what Clentine told us? ssi once tried to kidnap her," Fauna spoke after a long silence.
Once again, all our attention shifted to her.
"What if soone told her to kidnap Clentine this ti too?" she added.
Her words made sense.
We all looked at each other.
"Fine. We’ll track ssi’s activity," the Headmaster said, giving a hand gesture that made it clear he did not want to hear any more argunts from .
"Let’s move," Haiden suggested, pointing toward the cars.Of course, we were going to look for Clentine. But not before I took my anger out on soone, and there was one man who deserved a few more punches.
I turned toward Grant. He gulped when he realized his lie had been exposed.
"I thought she was dead," he uttered, trying to crawl away as I approached.
This ti, I grabbed him by the neck. With my free hand, I started punching him.
One. Two. Three.
I kept going, at least fifteen tis, until I noticed his body going limp.
"That’s enough, Ian," my father stepped in again, pulling away from Grant.
He thought he could lie to .
"She is not dead. She will never be dead. Not while I’m alive," I grunted, kicking him once more before stepping back.
When I finally looked around, everyone was staring at as if I had lost my mind.
And maybe I had.
"I’ll co in my own car," Troy said softly, avoiding my eyes.
If he thought I was going to forgive him right now, he was mistaken.
I could not believe that the two people Clentine had always considered friends had hurt her so badly.
I tried to imagine how she must have felt watching Troy, and Yorick play with her emotions. The thought alone made feel sick.
It was easy for them to say, forgive us. They had no idea how difficult that would be for her.
Soone like her, who had only ever been kind, had her innocence and good heart taken advantage of by them.
If I got my hands on Yorick even once, I would burn his entire family.
And Troy, I was not done with him either.
I stayed silent because I did not want to waste ti.
We started walking toward the cars.
Just then, another announcent began over the speakers.
It felt as if soone was constantly chasing my happiness and my love.
"There is good news," the announcent declared. "Alpha ssi has located the monster Clentine and handed her over to the Council. There is no need to panic. The monster is in a secured cage."
As the announcent played, my skin prickled.
I saw Haiden’s eyes turn red. Troy’s jaw tightened.
This was shocking for all of us.
"What does this an?" I asked, looking at my father.
"I’m getting a call," my father said, showing his phone.
It was from the Council Committee.
He put it on speaker.
"Headmaster, I assu you heard the announcent," a woman’s voice said. "Your monster crusader is in our custody. We are holding a eting to decide her fate. It is necessary. People are frightened. Hopefully this ti no monster from the North or the mainland will cause destruction."
It was Lady Sylvia.
There was malice in her tone, as if she was mocking us for finding Clentine before we could.
"What exactly do you an?" my father asked calmly.
"It simply ans we will show the people that Clentine is a monster. There will be a public transition. After that, she will go where she belongs permanently," Lady Sylvia replied.
Then she ended the call.
We all stood there in silence.
So were confused. So were stunned.
I was afraid.
I knew Clentine’s wolf was different.
When monsters first began appearing in the North, her mother had been living in the Dark North.
She had fled the North when she fell in love with Clentine’s father. Later, she realized she had made a mistake. The problem was that she already ca from a highly volatile region of the North, where she had been a powerful she-wolf.
Clentine was not born a monster like my brother and . She was simply different. She carried the blood of the Dark Side because her mother had been born there.
That region was known for producing rare and powerful wolves. Here, however, they were seen as monsters because our territories had never witnessed sothing so strong before.
But how could I explain that to them?
People only understood one thing.
Good and bad.
A normal werewolf and a monster.
"We have to go. We have to stop Clentine’s transition," The mont I said that, I lunged toward the car.
The others hurried after and climbed into their vehicles. Fear was etched on every face because, deep down, each of us knew that Clentine’s wolf was different and that her transition would result deadly for her.
It felt as if Clentine was right within reach.
Yet she was still far away.
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