Chapter 73

~Grace~

“I’ll need time to figure this out,” Christopher told me. We were back at the Rogue base, where stacks of open tomes littered Christopher’s room.

I paced the room, trying not to step on any books. “That’s the one thing we don’t have! This isn’t something we can wait around for! You said it yourself, they only have 24 hours!”

I realized I was shouting, but I didn’t care. We weren’t anywhere we weren’t supposed to be, and I was angry. I let him mark me for this!

If this was some way Christopher was trying to get out of helping me, he’d pay for it.

Maybe he thought he cut himself a deal too sweet. Make a deal with me, get me to let him mark me, and then let the entire Lycan clan die off so there was no competition!

I growled at the thought, anger bubbling hotter within my chest.

“Grace, I understand your need for haste, but I’m being as honest as I can about this situation. If it’s really as dire as we think it is, I can't just go and throw spells at it that I’m not sure will work. I just need some time to find the right one!”

I lowered my head, looking up at Christopher through narrowed eyes. I didn’t believe him.

Christopher looked at me for a moment, but after I didn’t say anything, he threw his hands up in the air and sighed.

“Okay. Fine. It’s not my family on the line, so I’ll do what you want. Give me another five minutes and I’ll pick something out.”

I stared at him a moment longer before lifting my head again.

I guess I could give him five minutes. “Fine.”

As I turned around, I caught him muttering something under his breath, but I chose to ignore it.

Opening the door into the night air, I took a deep breath. I leaned against the balcony railing.

A breeze blew through my hair, and I shivered. I forgot to bring a jacket when I came out here.

I knew I had to keep my cool, but everything was pressuring me, and I could feel the cracks starting to form. I could only keep myself together for so long.

Every second felt like I was constantly fighting back a panic attack, and why wouldn’t it? Everyone I loved was about to die, or their lives were on the line. And the only person who could fix it was me.

And I put my trust in a sleazy conman.

I rolled my eyes, and looked up toward the moon.

Has anyone ever had to deal with a situation like this before? Was I doing a good job? What could I do better?

It felt like I was doing absolutely everything I could to save the Lycans, but could I be doing more?

What if I fail?

Will there be a new legend that gets passed around a couple of decades later, recounting the tale of how the Lycans were entirely wiped out and the werewolf lover who abandoned them in their time of need did nothing to save them?

I closed my eyes. I knew that wasn’t true, but would that be how everyone else sees me? Is that how Alex sees me?

I couldn’t tell him how I was helping the clan without upsetting him, but was that the right thing to do? Would he die without me by his side, wondering why I left him and the clan?

My heart ached, and I felt the increasingly-familiar, all-consuming feeling of grief begin to spread through me.

I couldn’t lose him. I won’t lose him. I would make sure Christopher would follow through on his word and fix this.

I promised.

Standing up from the railing, I looked back into Christopher’s house. It’s been about five minutes. He better have something good.

Walking back into the house, I instantly felt warmer. Only a few lamps were turned on for light, and the size of the book pile seemed to have doubled in the time I left.

It was… impressive. At least he made it seem like he was actually looking.

Christopher stood over a stack of at least half a dozen books, all of them open to different pages, but he leaned over the top one. He looked tired.

We stayed up the whole night, and we weren’t going to sleep any time soon. I guess he was sacrificing something for the Lycans after all, no matter how disingenuous he was being.

“Well, did you find something?” I asked, making my way to him through the maze of books.

He jumped and looked up at me. He must have been so enthralled by his book that he didn’t notice that I reentered.

“Oh, Grace, it’s you… I didn’t realize you were right there.” He brushed his hair back, out of his eyes. “But yes. I think I found something. I’m not completely sure it’ll work, but from what I’ve skimmed over, I think this is our best shot.”

I felt immediate relief. Finally some progress.

“At least with the time constraint we have,” Christopher continued, muttering under his breath. He really did look exhausted.

“Alright, well let’s get to it,” I said, motioning toward the door. “It should be simple, right? I mean, we just go back to the Black Lycan clan and do the ritual over the Lycans, and then they’re cured.”

Christopher shrugged. “In theory. But first, I’ll need a test subject.”

“What? What is that even supposed to mean?” I began, startled.

He sighed. “I need to make sure this will work. I just need one Lycan. If it works on them, then we can do it on a larger scale.”

I shook my head, panic rising in my chest. “No, no absolutely not! That will take too much time, a-and what if it doesn’t work?”

Christopher looked up at me slowly, hunched over the desk. “That’s why I need a test subject. If it doesn’t work on them, then we can find something else that works without wasting even more time and resources doing the ritual on a large scale.”

His voice was slow and low. He must have been so tired that he couldn’t keep up his usual playful persona. It was a little off-putting, but I didn’t miss his quirky remarks and pet names for me.

But… what he was saying made sense. I didn’t like that we couldn’t just do the ritual now, but… It would be better for the clan if we tested it out first.

“Okay, okay… Fine.” I finally said. “What exactly do you need?”

“I just need a single Lycan. Bring them to the clearing near here. I’ll be waiting.”

I listened to him carefully. I knew the clearing he was talking about.

Alright… so I just needed to bring a Lycan here. But who would it be? Who would be willing to be experimented on?

It was too dangerous to bring Alex, and if the ritual actually worked, I’d run into the same problem I’ve been trying to avoid this whole time: Alex murdering Christopher.

But I couldn’t trust just any Lycan. They may not understand my methods. Who…

Then, I knew.

Enzo.