Blood Rule (Book 4, Dirty Blood series) by Heather Hildenbrand Page B

leaving them,” I
repeated.
    Grandma nodded and fell silent, as if
she’d expected my response. My mom shot her a look. It was obvious
this had been discussed already and that she was more determined
than Grandma to change my mind. “But if you can make it look like
you’ve separated yourself from them and everyone else leaves,
Steppe may go easier on you. Maybe let them stay somewhere else. At
least until after the questioning.”
    Heat rose into my face at the
possibility of what she was asking. I couldn’t stand even imagining
that sort of separation. From my pack. From Jack and Fee. From Wes.
“No. Absolutely not.” I glared at my mother, challenging her. “And
if you try to force me, I will run away. With my pack.”
    “ No one is running away.
And no one is forcing anything,” Fee said. She gave my mother and
Grandma a reproachful look. “Tara understands what’s at stake. It’s
pretty obvious Steppe has already made up his mind about Tara,
about all of us. If he gets a hold of Tara for questioning … She
needs to understand there’s the possibility she won’t come out
again.”
    “ He won’t go outside the
law,” Grandma said.
    “ He doesn’t have to. He’ll
create new ones to fit his agenda,” Fee shot back.
    Grandma looked like she might argue
further, but Wes cut in. “Tara stays with me,” he said.
    I looked at him in surprise. He hadn’t
said much outside of wanting to tear into Steppe. “You think Steppe
will lock me up?”
    “ I think it’s not worth
finding out,” he said. “And I won’t be separated from you again. We
tried that already, when you went to school. It didn’t work out
well for either of us. From now on, you go where I go.”
    I nodded, lost in the intensity of his
eyes and the pull I always experienced when he looked at me that
way. My arms tingled and I reached for his hand, not caring we had
an entire audience at my back. I gave him the tiniest smile. My
lips trembled, shaky in light of the uncertainty of whatever came
next, but it was an expression of the realest feeling I’d had in
hours. “I go where you go,” I whispered.
    He nodded, his mouth hinting at a
smile to match my own. Someone behind me—Cord?—cleared their
throat.
    “ I’m not going to CHAS,” I
finally said, turning back to Grandma.
    Grandma’s lips tightened into a thin
line. “I never said you should. Fee’s right. Once you go in, I
can’t guarantee Steppe intends to let you out.”
    “ Mom?” I
prompted.
    “ I can’t make you do
anything,” she said. “If I did, you’d wait until you had an opening
and go your own way. I’m leaving it up to you, as difficult and
dangerous as that is.” She eyed Wes.
    “ Which is precisely why
everyone here gets a say in what happens next,” Fee
said.
    “ Like hell,” Wes
muttered.
    Fee ignored him. “My priority right
now is keeping you all safe. Which means, for now, we are leaving.
We have two hours to get home, pack what we can, and get out of
town. Once we’re clear and safe, we can all decide together how to
handle this.” Her words were so diplomatic, so Fee-like, no one
bothered to argue. “Edie, did you speak with Astor?”
    “ Yes.”
    At the mention of the familiar name, I
perked up. “Is that where we’re staying?” I asked.
    Grandma frowned. “No. It’s too
dangerous for him. But he’s helping to provide a safe
house.”
    “ What sort of safe house?”
I asked.
    “ The kind protected with
wards,” she said. “According to Astor, it cannot be breached by
Hunter, Werewolf, or human.”
    “ Then how do we get in?” I
asked.
    “ We don’t,” Fee said, aiming a pointed look at Wes and then me.
“You do.”
    “ What do you mean?” Wes
asked. “How can we get in if it won’t let Hunters or Werewolves
through?”
    “ Because the two of you
and that pack of yours are neither one,” Grandma said.
    Wes and I shared a look. “We’re both,”
I said softly.
    “ And the rest of us?” Cord
asked.
    “