Two Drops More

Chapter 29- The Goodbyes Part 1

Braith's POV

I felt ready to pounce at any moment, blind with rage and jealousy. How dare she? Felicia was mine! And how, how could I not have noticed that she was missing? That she'd escaped, gone to that werewolf girlfriend of hers. A werewolf girlfriend that I had planned to kill, just to avoid this kind of situation exactly. Felicia was not supposed to know that Meaghan had been leading the rebellion; Meaghan was supposed to be out of the picture! I growled inwardly, and pushed the thoughts away.

The werewolves were obviously planning something, that much I knew. They would never agree to this battle, let alone suggest it, unless they had a huge ace up their collective sleeve.

I gritted my teeth at the thought of the battle ahead, of the deaths that would soon begin. Even for an admittedly cold-hearted bastard like me, death wasn't something I wished upon the general populous.

The portal was already summoned when I got there, and I stepped through with ease. As soon as we were inside the castle, I drew in a deep breath and revelled as the stench of werewolf left my nostrils. I had made the mistake of taking a breath when we had first entered the forest, and despite refraining from breathing since then, the smell had clung to the inside of my mouth during the whole encounter. It was certainly a singularly unpleasant odour, that of the werewolf. It didn't surprise me- we were natural enemies, I supposed. Even so; did they really have to smell so putrid? I guessed we probably smelled pretty terrible to them, too.

As soon as the whole company was through, I excused myself and grabbed Felicia and Meaghan (not literally, of course). I dragged them up to my room by the scruffs of their necks like dogs (definitely literally), before changing my mind and heading to a spare room. I had no desire to infect my room with Meaghan's werewolf stench.

Well inside, I shut the door and locked it, then cast a privacy spell on the room. Turning around, I observed my captive guests.

'You mean prisoners?' my mental dialogue asked sarcastically.

I wrinkled my nose inwardly. 'Captive guests.'

I think he laughed at me, but I quickly tuned him out and went back to observing the young women.

Meaghan looked defiant and cool, but I could tell she was worried and fearful. Not for herself obviously, only for Felicia. I met her eyes challengingly and she reciprocated my cold stare. However, as soon as my eyes flicked to Felicia and then back to her, she visibly trembled and growled. Protective... Possessive.

Felicia looked conflicted. Afraid (both for Meaghan and herself), and definitely on edge, but still conflicted. She wasn't sure what I was going to do, how I was going to react. To be honest, nor was I.

"What now?" Meaghan asked coolly, hiding her worry like an expert. "You know the werewolves won't hold back, and I won't give you any information."

"True," I said. "But I've already taken all the information you have, which really isn't saying much."

This was actually a total lie- I hadn't checked Meaghan's mind at all. I had simply deduced everything I needed, namely that Meaghan didn't have any important information at all; why would she? The werewolves had offered her up on the chopping block. However, saying I had was a power play, and a good one at that. It gave me an advantage over her, one which I desperately needed.

Their reactions were just perfect: concealed worry, anger, awe, jealousy, a long list of beautiful and colourful nouns. I loved every second of it.

"As for you Felicia," I continued, and Meaghan noticeably bristled. "Don't run away again. I don't have time and I cannot be bothered to punish you right now, but believe me... If you ever try something like that again, I will, and I'll have absolutely no restraint."