Page 128 of Contested Crown

And what did it have to do with Thorn? None of the wolves on it were consorts.

“How did you get out?” I asked.

“Jack started wondering if maybe the consort bond was what was killing me.” Theo looked over again. “So he asked for permission to dissolve it. But Leon said no. Nia came up with the idea of running. All of us managed to get out.”

“Nia?” I said. “Where is she?”

Theo shook his head. “She and Rhys distracted everyone; they let us get away. I don’t know what happened to them. As soon as we got off House Bartlett grounds, our mages started getting sick the way I had gotten sick. We knew the church would help us, so we came here. Coral and I were following Leon because we knew he had to be behind everything. Then, when we were watching what he was doing in Los Santos, we saw Isaac and Jay?—”

He broke off, as though realizing that it might be a sore subject for Cade.

“Were they part of it?” I asked, pretending we hadn’t seen them.

“No. They were worried about this poison in House Bartlett’s magic. For months, Isaac had been performing a spell that was supposed to rid you of your magic, Cade.” Theo wet his lips. “I’m sorry. He had us putting the pieces he needed all over House Bartlett grounds. It was supposed to be for the good of the house. We talked to him, but he doesn’t know anything. He’s still obsessed with the poison. We didn’t even tell him about the mages.”

I got it. Protecting the weakest members of the pack was part of what it meant to be a wolf.

“Have the effects worn off at all? Are you feeling better?” I asked.

Theo nodded, looking over to Coral. “But she’s the only one who can shift. At all. And even she can’t do it too much.”

I exhaled a long breath. I had an idea, but I wasn’t sure anyone would like it, especially the nun who was still fussing over Coral. “She needs to shift.”

Theo shook his head. “She can’t?—”

“I’m going to make her shift. As her alpha,” I said.

Theo’s eyes went wide. His chest stopped moving, and he swallowed. “We aren’t members of your pack. You can’tmakeus be in your pack.”

“Ican,” I said. “But I would prefer not to. Cade and I are working together to figure out what Leon did. The drug he gave you? He gave it to me. It didn’t wear off. We’ve had to find a workaround, and you can too. For now, having an alpha will give you some protections. And that should help your mage.”

Theo was shaking his head, but he was tired, his shoulders slumping, his face crumpling. He scrubbed at his eyes with his hands, taking short, gasping breaths. “No.”

“Let me help you,” I said. “Leon is working with Declan, and Declan wouldn’t do anything that he couldn’t undo. It would be bad business, and he always likes to have a leg up. If you’re part of my pack, I can post some strong, healthy wolves here, and they’ll help you protect everyone.”

“Yes.” From across the room, Coral spoke, her voice unsteady. “I accept you as my alpha.”

“Coral.” Theo’s eyes went wide. “Coral, don’t say anything. You’re not in any state to make a decision like that.”

“I’m in a state to know that Lily is dying, and Leon knows why.” Coral pushed herself up. She pulled on the shirt the nun held out and limped across the room.

I met her halfway, frowning at her. “You accept me as your alpha?”

“I said I did, didn’t I?” She was breathing heavily, the desperation of her gasped breaths shaking her shoulders.

“Okay.” I walked forward the last few steps and leaned down so our faces were close. “If you accept me as your alpha,shift.”

I put everything about me that was an alpha into the words, my voice the force that held the pack together, my strength only there because of her faith in me, my position only solid because of the pack behind me.

With a low moan, Coral shifted, her wolf coming slowly but then faster as her body responded to my command as alpha. Behind me, something cracked, and a whimper made me turn away from Coral. Theo was already a wolf, blinking at me in surprise.

“No! This iswrong. You are allwrong!” The nun was backing away and disappeared before I even thought to stop her.

Around the room, the handful of other wolves were shifting, yelping and whining. Coral trotted close to me, and I crouched down, resting my forehead against her furred one, smiling when she licked my cheek.

“Heal,” I said. “Once you heal, we’re going to fix your mage and get you both back on your feet.”

Coral whuffed a sharp exhale of air, and I stood so she could move past me and nuzzle Theo. The other wolves were coming together. This was going to work.