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David was already aware of the bug you planted in Hexen Manor by the time Garett and his companion had that conversation. They intended to lure somebody to them, presumably you, but when Taylor showed up they killed him anyway.”
I watched Everett, sensitive to the process of emotions unfolding on his face. Flashes of guilt and grief reminded me that he was still coming to terms with what happened to his Beta, but now there were glimmers of rare anger I thought were reserved for David. “So there aren’t any objectors to David’s plans? I thought they had at least a quarter of Dalesbloom’s numbers who disagreed with him.”
“There may very well be, but it’s clear that David used them to give us false hope of finding an inside aide,” said Sebastian.
“If he knows about them, chances are they won’t survive very long.” Everett shook his head, then wrinkled his nose and bared his teeth in frustration. “Fuck.”
“Sibyelle, that’s Lothair’s mate, right?” I chimed in, remembering what I had overheard from Billie and Gavin about the dragons. “Isn’t she pregnant?”
“Yes. She’s about eight months pregnant, in fact,” said Sebastian.
“The Mythguard have a policy against exterminating pregnant shifters,” Everett pointed out.
“Normally, yes, but they’ve made an exception for this one. Their assessment has determined that Sibyelle will continue to be a threat after delivering her child, and her child poses a strong risk of becoming hostile if raised by the Inkscales,” explained Sebastian.
“Isn’t there a way you can save the baby?” I asked.
Sebastian shook his head. “Not this time.”
That was brutal. I didn’t envy Lothair and Sibyelle for their situation, but I also didn’t have any sympathy for them. They were both evil, heartless people for the deaths they caused—killing Gavin’s parents and Everett’s packmates. I didn’t think an unborn baby deserved to die, but if the only alternative was either leaving Sibyelle alive or ripping the baby out of her… maybe it was best to just slay Sibyelle and let the baby die with her.
What a horrible fate.
“So you can begin preparing for the extermination then?” asked Everett.
“We will, yes.”
“What does that entail?”
Sebastian moved the papers around, revealing an aerial photograph of the town of Dalesbloom taken by satellite. An identical photo beside it was detailed with lines and circles illustrating a plan. “The Mythguard will send a reconnaissance team of three into Dalesbloom territory to confirm where they are stationed and to gauge their security. They will locate all of the individuals in the extermination order, and once they have confirmed sights on them, they will call in snipers to set up and systematically take them out. The goal is to eliminate them while keeping as much distance as possible. Alongside the lethal snipers, we will also have snipers with tranquilizers to deal with any remaining shifters in the immediate area. The most volatile individuals will be taken into custody and reconditioned, some may be relocated, and the others will be gathered together and debriefed by the Mythguard. A strict curfew will be placed on the surviving members of Dalesbloom until a new hierarchy is established with the aid of the Mythguard. The Inkscales will be completely dispersed to prevent the group from reforming.”
“Wow. So this is going to be a long process even after the exterminations are done,” I said.
“It always is,” said Sebastian.
“What can we do to help?” asked Everett.
“You won’t do anything but stay here and keep your packmates safe. Now that David has proven his homicidal intent, the Mythguard is taking offensive measures and any other shifters that get involved in the process may be subjected to reconditioning, relocation, or worse.”
I could see how it would pose such a risk to us. If an Eastpeak or Grandbay wolf ended up killing another shifter, it could potentially classify them as hostile too. Gavin was lucky no such classification was made of him after killing Catrina—but I’d heard that event was a special case, and as an Alpha, he was granted certain exceptions in order to protect his pack, allowing him to act in defense of high-level threats. Catrina was obviously out to kill, given that she’d murdered Joseph before then.
Everett examined the photos, then looked up at Sebastian. “When will you begin?”
“Tonight.”
“Are you going?”
“No, I’ll be stationed just outside of Dalesbloom to oversee the situation.”
“Alright. And after this…” Everett stood straighter, looking Sebastian directly in the eye. “You will leave Muriel alone, right?”
Sebastian hesitated. “I can’t guarantee that we will leave her in Grandbay. The Mythguard may yet decide that she is safer being relocated to a confidential residence.”
Everett and I both growled. “It’s not up to you where Muriel decides to live,” I said.
“No, but it places her at a higher risk to be living among wolf shifters,” said Sebastian.
“You think she’s at risk of being poached for the Lycan ritual even after David is taken care of?” challenged Everett.
“The problem is we don’t know who else might get the idea to do that. You may trust Gavin and whoever else resides in Grandbay, you may even trust your own packmates, your own mate, but that doesn’t matter to the Mythguard. What we see are potentials and possibilities, and any shifter with a unicorn in their midst poses the threat of harming them.”
Everett shook his head, sharing my disgust. “I’ll be filing an appeal to the Mythguard if they decide to extract Muriel. She’s probably safer in Grandbay than she is anywhere else in the entire world.”
“You’re welcome to try,” said Sebastian. He began to collect his papers and return them to the briefcase.
I could feel Everett’s anger simmering within myself. We both held our tongues as Sebastian gathered his paperwork, then stepped away with Brad and Carla, heading to the door. As he stepped outside, Everett hovered behind him, his hand on the door. “And Sebastian,” he said, “I suggest you not lie to either me or Aislin about her future as a possible recruit again. We may be revisiting this later.”