“Did you mean what you said to him?” I hear Lydia whisper to her husband. “Are you going to keep that agreement?”
His response is not what I expect.
Romulus keeps his head facing forward, but it shakes slightly. “The next eclipse is in eighteen months, but it’s going to feel a lot shorter than that.”
I stumble over my own feet.
What does he mean by that?
I just heard the promise he made. It was true to everything he said before.
So why then now do I imagine he’s suddenly changed his mind?
Then, without even turning to look at me, he says something that is directly meant for me to hear.
“We have a lot to prepare for if you’re going to become one of us, Sabrina.”
&n
bsp; This time, I come to a full stop.
I can’t believe what I just heard. Surely, I must be misunderstanding him because I can’t believe that even for a second, Romulus would consider turning me into a wolf shifter.
Especially not after all of the trouble I’ve caused. Not after tonight.
“What?” I ask him. I’m not the only one frozen in place. I take a few quick steps forward so that he will hear me, but neither he nor Lydia turn around. They both just keep walking ahead.
I know that they heard me. Lydia has her hand on the side of Romulus’ neck as the gaping wound continues to spurt blood. It seeps through the space between both of their fingers and runs down the side of his shoulder and onto his arm. I look back at the boys to see if they heard what their father said too.
And I know they did.
I know I didn’t imagine it.
“We’ll discuss this later,” Romulus says, up ahead. “For now, I think it’s best if we head back to the house.”
To where it’s safe.
Rory’s eyes are still a blazing gold and filled with a ferocity that’s both shocking and magnificent. Marlowe simply stares ahead, his expression disbelieving.
Kaleb is the only one that reacts to me as I look back. He gives me a small grin that is so full of contained energy that I can see how hard he is trying to downplay it.
He heard. He heard Romulus say I would be one of them.
I could shout. I could scream it into the treetops.
But now is not the place. Now, we still need to get out of here. We need to get away before Remus changes his mind … something I wouldn’t put past him.
When we get to the road, Rory’s Jeep is there. One of the other boys must have brought it. Marlowe reaches into the back of the cab and pulls out a pair of jeans which he throws at his brother. Rory grabs them before the jeans smack against his chest and slides them on.
Kaleb and Marlowe pile into the Jeep and offer me a hand inside while the other members of the pack take off—some from vehicles parked on the road, and others just head off into different directions through the woods.
Romulus heads back in the direction of his stolen car with only one narrow-eyed glare back at me.
I pause before taking the hand offered to me.
I stand there in the middle of the road paralyzed, as I watch everyone else disappear.
At long last, I’m alone with them. With Rory. With Marlowe. With Kaleb.