Chapter 28
~ Theo
“W e can’t stay here for long,” Sebastian says. “The Council will come looking for us.”
“But did we get all the answers Clarissa was looking for?” I ask.
“I’ve got some clothes for her,” Toshi says. “They aren’t the best, but they’ll do. Is she awake?”
“No,” I say. “She’s still asleep by the fire.”
“How do you know this place again?” Sebastian asks.
“Why? Because you think I’ve thrown us into another trap or because you can’t wrap your head around the fact that I’m trying to help?” Toshi asks.
“Enough!” I bellow.
Clarissa starts to stir, and we all turn our gaze to hers. We are in an abandoned house on the outskirts of the bustling Russian city. Sebastian was able to get a fire going so I could place Clarissa next to it while Toshi went to find her clothes. They would be baggy on her at best, but they would keep the chill off her as long as she sat by the fire. Or cradled herself in my arms.
“What happened?” Clarissa asks.
“How much do you remember?” Toshi asks. “We can fill in the rest of the dots for you.”
I watch her eyes water, and Sebastian is immediately at her side.
He sits down and spreads his legs, then pulls Clarissa into his chest. She sinks into him, and a part of me breaks inside. How easy it is to sink into him for comfort despite the connection we found in Norway. I look over at Toshi and see the heartbreak in his eyes, and I know he longs for her as well. Yearns to reach out for her and pull her close like I do.
“She remembers enough,” Sebastian says after a few beats of silence.
“What do you want to do, Clarissa?” I ask.
“To be honest, there’s nothing else we can do,” Toshi asks. “The Council knows you’re alive, and I’m sure they’ll try to—”
“Enough,” Sebastian says. “Clar
issa knows.”
“But she isn’t speaking,” Toshi says. “We need to hear it from her. I need to hear it from her.”
Sebastian and I both throw him a glare before he nods his head.
“This isn’t about you,” Sebastian says with a growl. “For now, we sit.”
But a knock on the abandoned house door pulls Sebastian to his feet. He jumps in front of Clarissa, his claws bared and his growl rumbling. I can feel my body rising taller, seconds away from morphing and destroying the only pair of clothes I have on my back. Toshi’s eyes land heavily on the door as another knock resonates through the house, but this time a voice accompanies it.
A voice I recognize.
“Theo. Open this door.”
“Chief?” I ask.
I storm for the door and rip it open, finding the Chief of the entire Bear species standing at the door. He looks haggard. Worn.
His clothes are tattered, and the necklace he has around his neck is barely hanging on by a thread. His eyes fall over my shoulder, and I hear Sebastian’s growl grow louder.
“Is she here?” the Chief asks.
“Who?” Toshi asks.