Chapter 98-2
Claim
The printer lit up, and Saul stood. “There is not much more than I anticipate being able to do here today. If you find Eloise, I’d like to speak to her immediately.”
Since there was nothing more that I could do here, I looked down at Kiana. “When was the last
time you ate?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, I just came from a bar. Where I ate,” she grumbled.
“Then a nap,” I decided.
“I’m not a child!”
“Don’t worry.” I winked at Saul. “I plan on napping with you.”
“Actually, I haven’t checked on Janelle or Cindy yet. Can we do that first?”
Personally, I wasn’t sure I wanted to do anything with Morven’s witch or his sacrifice, but Kiana seemed attached to Cindy. I hadn’t gotten a chance to know her since she was completely shut down. I could have left her there, but I could feel Kiana’s anxiety. She felt responsible.
Once Saul had collected his paperwork and headed toward his room, his lips moving the whole time while he read, I walked Kiana to Janelle’s room. To my surprise, it took a few minutes for the witch to open the door, and there were sparks coming from her fingers. Once she saw that it was us, she waved her hand, and the sparks disappeared.
When I raised my eyebrows, she looked to the floor guiltily. “I’m anxious,” she admitted.
“So I see. Has anyone done anything to make you anxious?”
“No. I’m just trying to keep to my room until we make it to Wolfspire. I just…I guess I’m just struggling with who to trust.”
“Understandable,” Kiana said, and peered behind Janelle. “Cindy is visiting you?”
Opening the door wider, Janelle let us through. “More like bunking with me. She’s having a hard
time being alone.”
“She can speak for herself,” Cindy said, her voice raspy from underuse. “And if you want me to
leave, I can leave.”
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” Janelle sighed. “We didn’t really get along before I
helped enslave her mind, and now she has a hate/need relationship with me that she’s really
struggling with.”
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<Chapter 98-2
Claim
“That kind of power shouldn’t even be in existence,” Cindy muttered, but she stood from the bed and bowed her head. She was dressed in the same pair of sweatpants and T-shirt that she’d been given on the boat. They sagged off her thin frame, and she looked like she hadn’t washed or brushed her hair in days.
“I should have come to see you sooner,” she said nervously as she looked at me and Kiana. “To thank you. It’s just…I’m having a hard time trusting my memories and how I feel. I know I’ve been trapped, and I remember Morven ordering me to kill myself, but everything else is hazy. Some mornings, when I wake up, I’m not sure who’s a friend and who’s an enemy.”
Kiana looked at me, and I realized she was waiting for me to say something reassuring. “I imagine that will take time. Kiana and Janelle can help you separate truth from fiction when you’re ready.”
“Are you leaving me here?” she blurted out. “London said there were people I could talk to, and I thought he was insinuating that I’d be staying, and I don’t know anything about him. I don’t know anything about you either. I just….I don’t know where I belong now.”
“It seems like Elonso will take you back-” Kiana began.
“No!” Cindy interrupted in a panic. “I can’t go back. Please.”
“All right. You can stay with us as long as you like, Cindy. Until you feel more settled and grounded and know where you want to go.”
“But if you’re going to stay on Wolfspire, you will have to swear allegiance to me,” I interjected quickly. Kiana looked up sharply and narrowed her eyes, but I kept my gaze on Cindy.
“Despite what you have been though, you are still from what I now consider an enemy pack. However, if at any point you decide you want to sever that bond, I swear to do it gently and without question. You will not be trapped with me.”
Cindy looked at me and then to Janelle. “You are taking her with you. Does that mean that you plan
on using her?”
“Janelle was granted safe and temporary passage to my land in return for some information. I have not decided if she will stay. It is in everyone’s best interest that you do not advertise what Janelle can do. It’s not that I want to keep it a secret and use her but that I don’t want anyone else
to use her. Do you understand?”
There was still some unease in Cindy’s eyes, but she nodded. “At least I’ll have Kiana. My memories might be hazy, but I think I remember us developing a genuine friendship. Is that right?”
“It is, but like you, I’m still not entirely certain where I fit in.”
My insides tightened, and Cindy and Janelle frowned at her. “I don’t understand,” Cindy said. “Aren’t
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< Chapter 98-2
you the alpha’s mate?”
“Sometimes we can’t always let our wolves decide.”
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