Enemy Fire | J. Saltzman - Legacies [3]

T H I R T Y - E I G H T

Isaac Lahey is not having a good week. First, he gets his ass utterly kicked by an ancient wolf god. Then, his boss falls into a deep coma leaving him in charge of the whole damn school. Now, he has to decide what to do with a student who is old enough to have already graduated and tried to murder a teacher.

His admiration of his alpha only grows.

He doesn't want to lock Cleo away, truly, but he has to think of the safety of everyone at this school. The salt shouldn't be necessary, and he hopes it isn't, but he needs to be ready.

"Put it away, we won't need it."

"Oh, thank god." Isaac sighs as he turns to watch Stella march in, her eyebrow arched as she crosses her arms in front of him. "So, she convinced you too?"

"She was on her own, imprisoned by Malivore for years," Stella says with a small shake of her head. "There are other ways to deal with this other than the Saltzman method which is tried and tested. It has failed every time."

"You think I want this?" With a grimace, he shoves the salt away. "I don't want to lock her away, Stella, but I'm trying here. If she is going to keep hurting people, then I can't just let her out into the world. She'll get hurt or others will."

Pursing her lips, Stella says, "Look, I chose to do black magic. I chose to smash that hourglass, and I essentially chose to become Nyx. I had those choices; Cleo was ripped from her family and forced into becoming a personal murder factory. Our stories are in no way the same, but she knows what it's like to sacrifice yourself for the greater good. Mom would like her. Probably adopt her, to be honest."

"If I were thinking like Ric," Isaac says slowly, "Then I would have to say that your actions were in the past. Cleo tried to murder your cousin less than a week ago."

"It's only in the past because we put it there," she replies. "I hurt so many people." Her voice breaks softly as she bites the inside of her lip. "I ripped away everyone's free will, Isaac. Even yours. Everyone welcomed me back, but... Look, whether you like it or not, you're headmaster for now. You have to make this choice, but you can't just be judge, jury, and executioner. It's not just your choice."

In that moment, Isaac hears Lexi instead of Stella. His alpha had always been kind—kinder than her life allowed—and had always been able to make the hard choices, sacrificing her own happiness for others, including his own.

With a soft nod, Isaac walks up to her and places a hand on her shoulder. "For a teenager, you're very wise."

"Duh. We're the future," Stella quips with a grin that doesn't quite meet her eyes. "Know what you're gonna do?"

Isaac takes a deep breath. "Yeah. Go back to your girlfriend."

Her grin widens before it subdues itself. "Right. I'll go do that. See how they're faring with the wolves."

He watches her go with a frown. "Will I be seeing you later with Vanessa?"

"Don't count on it."

As he makes his way to the art studio, something bugs him about Stella. Never had he seen her actually deflate when Josie is mentioned, only growing happier and grinning like a madwoman. The two had never been closer, but to Isaac, it seemed superficial—a facade put between the two showing how ok they are, neither willing to admit their weakness.

He forces the thought from his mind as he walks in, Cleo instantly looking up. "You must be lost," she says. "Or have you come to send me away yourself?"

Isaac chuckles a bit to himself as he braces his hands against the table. "I spoke to Kaleb and Stella, and they have very strong feelings about you after seeing what you've been through. They shed some light on who you are, but there's a piece missing that I can't quite figure out. Why?"