Page 72 of The Night Burning
I wanted to argue that Raika should leave too. I should too. I had agreed to meet Nortrix south of here. I could go with everyone else, sleep a few hours at the inn, try to recharge, and then meet him for the challenge.
But I had to admit, I also didn’t want to leave. Not yet. Not while I still could hold on to this place and what it meant to me.
Raika went to my house, while I searched the infirmary, the town hall, and the library. If any of us found Tyren, we would text each other. The moment I found him, he would get an earful. If he so much as argued with me, I would give him an alpha command. There was no time to joke around.
I entered my office in the town hall and paused. A lot of the paperwork was gone, but there were still a few things I could take with me: my family portrait on the counter behind the desk. The fountain pen my mother had given my father on his fortieth birthday. A card Minsi had made him for Father’s Day, that he had kept in one of the drawers, even though we didn’t celebrate most special dates like humans did. And a couple of other things that had sentimental value. It felt silly and at the same time necessary to take those with me.
I heard footsteps outside my office and stiffened. “Tyren?” I asked out loud, though from the heavy boots sound clanking on the hard floor, I knew it wasn’t.
Delco appeared at the door.
My muscles tensed at once. “What are you doing here?” Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.
Delco strolled in. “I heard what happened.” I frowned. Already? “Nortrix issued you a challenge. That’s quite the bold move.”
I crossed my arms. “He’s trying to take me down while I’m weak. Or at least, while he thinks I am weak.”
One of Delco’s eyebrows cocked up. “Well, from where I’m standing, he’s right.”
I didn’t like where this conversation was going. “My pack has had some misfortune, but you shouldn’t worry about it. I have it under control.” What a shitty lie.
“If you say so.” His eyes settled on the portrait in my hands. “Your father was a strong alpha. Ruthless. He didn’t hesitate to do what was right.”
A growl started in my chest. “Delco, I doubt you’ve come here to gloat. So tell me, what the hell are you doing here?”
He lifted his chin. “I came to collect what you owe me.”
Shit. “The favor. Delco, I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m in no condition to leave my pack and help you with whatever you want.”
“Oh, but what I want is nothing you can’t do.”
“What is it?”
“Nortrix’s challenge. I want you to lose it.”
It took me a second to make sense of his words. “You want me to lose to Nortrix? You’re asking me to let him kill me?”
“Yes, I am.”
Anger became a heavy ball in my torso. “Why?” It wasn’t as if Delco would benefit if Nortrix won. What would he gain if Nortrix became the alpha over my broken pack and cursed pack lands?
“That … is none of your business.” He strolled to the door, but paused under the doorjamb. “I think my request is simple.”
“And what if I don’t accept?”
The gleam in Delco’s eyes darkened. “Then, you’ll be at war with me too.”
* * *
A minute after Delco left,I got a text from Raika saying Tyren was at my house, packing all of his video games and electronics. He was pissed, but who wasn’t?
I now had to find another ride for him. Or I could drive him and Raika to the nearest town so they could join the others. I would probably sleep there with them, if I could rest with all the tension rolling over my shoulders, and tomorrow go from there to the meeting place.
And then what? I would fight Nortrix with all I had and try to win, or would I do as Delco asked and lose?
On one hand, if I won, my people would be safe from Nortrix, but the Whitecrest pack would be absorbed into the Nightshade. My people didn’t seem too happy with me as it was, and then suddenly I would have a lot of reluctant wolves under my thumb. Not to mention, I would be going against Delco’s request, forsaking the deal we had made, and he would declare war against us—a pack on the edge of collapse.
On the other hand, if I let Nortrix win, I would die. My pack would be absorbed into Whitecrest, and only the moon knew how Nortrix and his wolves would treat them. There would be no one here to fight for them, to defend them. Besides, the thought of leaving Raika and my siblings behind at the hands of such a cruel alpha made my chest hurt.