"Do you think the elders are aware of the fae connection?" Sam asked.
"That is a good question. I an… why would they be? But who knows what they know," Greta answered. "I would have never imagined they had so kind of insane child hidden in the council doing research for them and making potions."
"Zoe is… creepy," Sam grunted. He couldn't think of a word that quite fit her. She was really young and yet clearly very intelligent. And she was strangely fixated on August. "Didn't August say sothing about her being different?"
"Yeah. I wonder what she ant," Greta replied.
"She was talking about how she saw Zoe with the Veiled. Her pupils were black when she was looking at her," Grae mumbled. "We should have brought Zoe with us. Maybe she could have helped."
"No way. I don't trust her at all. Whatever useful information she has would be compromised by her own motive," Greta replied.
"August didn't seem afraid of her," Sam pointed out.
"That doesn't an she is not a threat. Look at what she is capable of," Greta scoffed.
Sam's expression beca pained as he thought about Greta lying unconscious on the cell floor—of not being able to reach her when she was in trouble. He swallowed back the panic that imdiately rose again in his throat at the fresh mory. "Point taken."
"So what now?" Grae exhaled heavily and returned his attention to August. She appeared so peaceful, as if she were just sleeping.
"We keep her safe and comfortable and… wait," Greta sighed. "Like I said, I can't find anything obviously wrong with her, but I can run so tests. I don't have any of that stuff here, so it will require going ho to grab so things." She turned to look at Sam, and he nodded.
"Maybe it really is just exhaustion," she added.
"That theory sounds familiar," Grae grumbled. They had thought it was just exhaustion when August collapsed after biting Marius, but then she was in a coma for three weeks. "She can't be out that long again."
"Then get close to her—let her know you are here. Your presence helped last ti. Maybe it will help this ti, too."
"It's not like I'm planning on leaving her," Grae glared at his sister. "Even if I do want to raze the council chambers to the ground as soon as possible."
"How do you do that without harming the pack house?" Greta asked. "They are connected."
"I don't an it literally," he rolled his eyes.
"I know, but… this is the question we are going to have to address, isn't it?" Greta countered. "How to extract the harmful parts without hurting the whole? How do we know or separate those who are a threat to the pack from those who aren't?"
Grae frowned. He thought about how Lucas was braced to defend August right next to Finn when Grae ca charging at them. Grae would have assud he knew where Lucas' loyalty resided, but apparently even soone like him was too complicated to make assumptions.
"It will not be easy," Grae sighed. "But I definitely know who to start with."
"Do you?" Greta asked. Grae groaned in response. Why did she always have to be so philosophical? And careful? And intelligent? And usually right?
"Greta, you threatened to kill Violet! Is she really the first one who needs to go? Violet is… nobody. Why would you threaten her?" He growled. "And yet, you would question whether I should retaliate against Andreas and the elders?"
"I'm… sorry. I'm not questioning whether or not they should go. It's more about the timing," she explained.
"So I wait for them to get more chances? To do more damage?" He gestured toward August on the bed. "And how does that reflect on and any authority I have?"
Greta groaned. "It's all so complicated. I'm sorry. I don't know the answers either."
"Let's go get what you need from the house," Sam suggested to his mate. They all obviously needed so ti to think.
Greta nodded and rose to leave. "We'll be back soon," she told her brother.
"Be careful," he called after them.
It was risky—Grae wasn't sure he should let them leave in case the elders were bent on throwing them back in the dungeon for sothing stupid. But he guessed that now that news of his return had spread, Andreas would be smarter than antagonizing him in such a direct way as going after his sister.
Everyone loved Greta, and to put Greta in a cell not once but twice would require so major leverage against her. If all they had was sothing Violet claid had happened, it was too lightweight. Andreas knew that. Grae would have her free in a heartbeat with the majority of the pack behind him.
Then there was always the added information about Greta being pregnant, which few knew about now, but if it were to co out in the open, it would be big news. Pregnancies were sacred in lycan packs.
Family was primary when it ca to their species, and pregnant females were inherently protected. Not to ntion that Greta was a Hallowell. Her children would carry on the Hallowell na and, in the absence of any descendants from Grae, would inherit the Alpha responsibility.
No, Grae assud that today the elders were just getting Greta and Sam out of the way so they wouldn't have trouble taking down their real target: August. Zoe said that Andreas was frightened of her. Good. He was glad the elders were frightened of his mate.
He sighed and grabbed so water from the kitchen faucet before returning to her side. He pulled a chair next to the bed and took her hand in his, bringing it to his lips so he could run them over her knuckles.
"I love your hands," he spoke aloud as if she were awake, listening. "It's strange, isn't it? How we could identify soone by their hands alone. I look at yours and know they belong to you. My mate. The one I never imagined existed out there for , let alone what her hands would look like in mine."
A small smile curved on his lips.. She had changed everything in such a short ti.
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