Chapter 120

Grace

My hands shook as I held the tablet. I tightened my grip on it as the lines continued to fade and re-draw as Eason's dot continued to move. The red grew brighter as it continued to move. Even as the relief washed over me, knowing that we had some idea about where Eason was, I couldn't shake a nagging, dreadful feeling.

My, Cecil's, and Richard's dots were both white and steady, but Easons started to flash.

"His dot is flashing."

"Is it still red?"

"Y-Yes," I said shakily. "Why is it doing that? What does the red mean?"

He said nothing for a moment. A heavy silence hung around me.

"Charles?" I asked, my voice cracking at the end. "What does it mean?"

"Grace..."

"Just tell me," I whispered. "Please just tell me."

He let out a soft sigh. "It means he's in pain and imminent danger."

The world seemed to shatter around me at those words. The implications were terrifying. My heart was racing. I could hear the world starting to fade away. I could barely breathe. It had only been a few minutes since I found the tablet. It had been just a few hours since he was here at City Hall with me.

My eyes stung. The guilt made my chest tight. I couldn't breathe.

"Grace," Charles said firmly. "Hold on to my voice, you understand? I need you to breathe. As long as that light is there, Eason is alive."

Tears spilled down my cheeks. "Y-You have to find him."

I sucked in another breath.

"I can't..."

I could hear his words again. My heart started beating painfully in my chest.

"After everything..."

"We'll do everything we can to find him," Charles said. "Okay? Is it still moving?"

I looked down, nodding, though he couldn't see me. "Y-Yes... still heading west."

A little arrow appeared on the corner of the tablet, pointing in one direction. I swallowed.

"I think a compass just appeared."

"That's good," Charles said. "It means the tablet is reading your intent and responding. You're doing great."

"Tell me it's going to be okay," I whispered. "Tell me. Lie to me if you have to."

"I'm not going to lie to you, Grace," he said firmly. "It's going to be okay."

I sniffled. "Y-You were telling me something about a ritual before Fenris c-called."

"Do you really want to hear what I've found out?"

"Is it better?"

"No."

My stomach lurched. I could almost hear Eason screaming in pain, the rattling of shackles on stone. I could smell blood and see his eyes staring out into nothing. That crisp suit and the gleaming casket flashed through my mind again. It was a nightmare come to life.

"Focus on the dot," Charles said.

I tried to get my vision to stay on the dot and push all the images out of my head.

"For as long as it's there, there's hope. More hope than you think."

"Tell me."

"Healers are damn hard to kill."

I closed my eyes. "Okay..."

Charles's words were a ray of hope in the darkness of my imagination.

"Any more landmarks?" Charles asked.

"N-No, they're still heading west towards the warehouses." I swallowed. "Are you near there?"

"We're gunning it," he said. "Makes me wish I had learned to fly."

I blinked. "Is that possible?"

"Not something possible with my magical disposition. I could never get a scepter to work for me in that way."

My lips twitched. "You have magic, too."

"I do," he said. "Maybe sometime during that sparring session, I'll give you a show... You think Cecil will like it?"

I sniffled. "If it's pretty? Probably."

"I'll see what I can do about it."

I sank onto a couch, clinging to his calm and reassuring tone.

"They're turning left. I think they're still in the city. It's hard to tell. The lines aren't complete. What does that mean?"

"That the enchantments weren't completed or that they've eroded... It might be part of how Blood Moon is thinking they're going to pull off this ritual. I'll let Seraphina know. She might be able to help."

I watched the tablet screen with bated breath as Eason's dot came to a halt. I waited and waited, thinking they were just at a light, but it didn't seem to move. My heart clenched in my chest.

"It stopped, Charles. I don't understand... Wait, it's moving again, but much slower."

I frowned. "In a direction that doesn't make much sense."

I squinted, trying to focus on it until the tablet expanded the view until the dot was much larger, but it seemed to be moving very slowly.

Almost like Eason was walking.

"Try to imagine the map with layers, ground flood, subterranean and below, like a schematic of a house. We need to know if they've taken him underground or if they're just in a building. Can you do that?"

I bit my lip, and I tried to imagine it, willing the tablet to understand what I wanted to see. The image trembled and melted before layers of light extended into the air. There were the thinest lines on one level around the area where Eason was, and Eason's dot started to sink beneath that layer.

"They're going underground. They're definitely near a warehouse or inside it. There's a building." I bit my lip. "Wait! Not a warehouse. You're looking for a house, like an old outpost or general store. It's near the entrance to the preserve."

The lines started to shimmer and grow stronger until I could almost see the path that Eason was being taken down.

"Got it. Keep an eye on it. We're closing in, but I need to switch over to the Enforcer communication system. Stay close to the tablet, and I'll call back. We can't risk getting disconnected when we're underground."

I clung to the tablet, watching Eason's dot continue to flash as the call disconnected. The dot continued to move slowly. My eyes started to hurt as I continued to watch it. I heard someone outside the office, probably Amira, but no one came in.

Then, my eyes drifted to where the safe was still open. I stood, thinking maybe there was something else inside that could help me. Could I make the tablet give me better directions or something? I crossed the room to the safe and frowned. There was nothing but an envelope leaning against the wall of the safe. It was a delicate shade of cream and sealed with a dollop of wax and a seal I didn't recognize.

It was strange. My father didn't use wax. I didn't know anyone who did. I pulled it out and gasped as I saw the elegant handwriting on the front.

It was unmistakably my mother's, and the letter was addressed to me.

Alpha Grace Wolfe of Mooncrest

With trembling hands, I opened the letter.

"Dear Grace,

Whenever you're reading this, I hope this letter finds you safe and well and that at least half of what I write will be inapplicable, but knowing werewolves and who you were this morning when you climbed in your bedroom window, I have a feeling that it won't be.

I hope you learn what the phrase a mother can hope truly means someday.

Know that I love you more than words can express. Know that even as I want to ship your ass to the worst pack in the States to scare you straight, I only want what is best for you. The tablet is a gift, a means to ensure that you can be found wherever you are, even in the darkest of times. I hope you never have to use it.

Grace, I know that we have never been as close as I would have wanted, and as I write this, I understand most of the reasons for it being more than just your temperament. If there is ever a time that I hope you take my words to heart, it is now that I can no longer give you any more advice.

Don't let anyone use your kind heart against you, but don't be blinded by the world as it seems. You've grown up in Mooncrest as the alpha's daughter: spoiled rotten, enabled in the worst ways, and ultimately self-centered. No matter how your father and I have tried, all you've had to do is walk outside to be told that you can’t do any wrong and allowed to get away with anything. Werewolf culture around pack leaders and their heirs isn't your fault, but allowing yourself to be wrapped up in the injustice and toxicity of it is something you can change.

Being alpha is not about having your way, being able to do what others can't, or saying what you want without repercussions. Being the alpha of a pack is about protecting, guiding, and making the people under your care feel safe and secure, even if it means stepping out of your comfort zone. Your father had to learn that the hard way, and I have a feeling that you will, too.

The entitlement that's been allowed to grow because of who your father is and what profession you plan to go into will be your undoing if you don't acknowledge it for what it is. Everyone makes mistakes and bad decisions, but few learn from them, and even fewer own up to them in any meaningful way.

Be one of the few. Be an alpha dedicated to making the future brighter rather than perpetuating the darkness that clouds so much of werewolf politics. Be an alpha of change, of the people, of goodness. I have seen the potential in you, Grace, and I hope with everything I am that you will see it, too.

There will be those who oppose you simply because of who you are. Stare them down until they yield. Do not compromise, as every inch you give will be miles for the people in your care. I hope the things I've enclosed in this package will serve you in the days to come.

With all my love and hopes,

Mom."

Tears welled in my eyes as I absorbed the words and pulled out the pages behind the letter. I scanned the page, and hope filled me.

Charles was right.

My mother was one hell of a woman.

I turned and went to the door.

“Amira, we need to talk!”