Dorian met my gaze as Emma urged him to join us. I looked away, unsure of how I was feeling. “I need to talk to Margo for a minute,” he said before leading me a couple of steps away. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I sighed and looked back at the hospital, feeling as though somebody was watching me. “We were in with Adam for a bit. He’s not doing well.”
“He wasn’t hurt that badly, was he?”
I didn’t want to share somebody else’s secrets. “He’s a bit down. Chloe’s worried about him.”
He touched my chin. “I’m worried about you.”
“Don’t. I’m fine.”
“Good, because I need to talk to you about something. I’ve been going over this thing with Amelia in my head, and it doesn’t make sense anymore.”
The sudden change in topic had me reeling.
“Doesn’t make sense?” I pointed at the hospital. “I just visited somebody whose entire family is alive because of this thing with Amelia. Are you saying it would have been better to let them die?” An awful, dark feeling crept around my heart. Was Adam better off for surviving or had I condemned him to a worse future? I shook it off. If Dorian trusted my decision to work with Amelia, I would never have even thought such a thing.
His face fell at my accusation. “You know quite well that’s not what I meant. Things are getting way out of hand, and it would be safer to take a step back until we understand what you’re doing.”
“And what if I think it would be safer for you not to shift?”
He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he looked disappointed in me, and that bothered me even more than his words. “You know I can’t do that.”
“Maybe the same goes for me!”
He chewed on the corner of his lip. “You couldn’t purposely use your power before you met me. Amelia is drawing it out of you, and we don’t know how that will play out. Seriously, Margo, I think you should stop for a while, and get some distance from her.”
I folded my arms across my chest, a hot rage rising in my body. The one thing that made me special, and everyone wanted to take it away. “Oh, you do, do you?”
“Don’t be like that,” he said. “It might be easier if—“
“Easier?” I scoffed. “For who exactly?”
He held up his hand. “You don’t understand. The pack—”
“Right, of course, the pack. And if I obey like a good little werewolf mate, then how high will you want me to jump next time?”
He looked as though I had struck him. “What? Where is this coming from?”
“You’re bossing me around!”
“I didn’t mean it like that. How can you think that?”
“Because that’s what it sounds like to me!”
“That’s not what I’m trying to do.” He took a deep breath. “I’m scared that Amelia is pressuring you, pushing you too far, and the rest of the pack seems to think that—”
“Wait a second. Was your meeting about me?” I demanded. “Did you actually go there to discuss me and not involve me at all, not even tell me about it first?”
He paled. “That’s not it. The issue came up is all.”
I inhaled sharply. “I’m an issue now? A problem to be dealt with? So what did you decide, Dorian? Are you going to get rid of me if I don’t fall in line?”
He looked up, swearing under his breath. “Do you honestly think so little of us? Of me? You can’t blame people for being concerned, and I know how Amelia can be.”
“I can handle Amelia,” I snapped. “I’m not afraid to say no, Dorian. This was my choice, and if you think you can start telling me what to do,” I lowered my voice because the others were probably listening by now, “just because you’re a werewolf or a boy or whatever the hell it is you’re using to justify it, then you must be on something because I’m the one who gets to decide what I do.”
“You have to know I didn’t mean it like that,” he protested. “I’m not trying to tell you what to do, but it’s freaking me out how weak you get. Can’t you see that we’re messing with things we don’t understand? That’s how spirits get trapped, remember? What if you wait until we figure out what harbingers actually do, and then—”