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Faith was not pleased with the state of affairs, and two days after Lindsay ran Cherry and Honey off, she took matters into her own hands. Lindsay met her at the door with a dire frown that didn't deter her in the slightest. "You have something that belongs to me," she said. "If it's not returned to me, I might have to take something of yours." Her eyes went to Lindsay's belly, and if looks could kill, Faith would have dropped dead on the spot. Lindsay was very sensitive about the prospect of losing another cub; she'd miscarried twice, and her newest cub was just the wrong side of the danger period in which she'd lost his or her unborn siblings. Her voice carried an icy note as she responded, and Faith took a step back.
"You're already courting death by coming here," Lindsay informed her. "You just compounded it by threatening one of my pack members and my unborn cub. Give me one good reason as to why I shouldn't rip your throat out."
Faith took a deep breath, visibly wrestling down panic. "Mercedes is still my pack member," she said, but she wasn't as sure of herself as she'd first been. "You stole her from me. I demand her back because I did not give her permission to leave."
"Last I looked, I didn't need your permission to leave," I said. "I'm an adult, and I left of my own free will. And I never swore to your pack in the first place - your father made sure of that."
Faith took a menacing step towards me, but Lindsay interposed herself between us. "You need to leave," she warned. "If you don't, I just might forget myself."
Before Faith could say anything, I stepped in. "I'm not coming back," I said firmly. "I won't be abused simply because I'm my father's daughter. You need to accept that and let me go. You can make all the threats you want, but I am not going back. If you're not willing to accept that, that's a you problem and not a me problem."
"What about your family?" Faith sneered. "Don't you care about them?"
"You had them killed when your cronies came back empty-pawed," I said, recalling the bitter news that had greeted me that morning. "So don't go threatening me with their welfare. And even if they were still alive, my words still stand - and Dad would be the first to tell me not to sacrifice myself for them."
Lindsay put a hand on my arm. "Time to go," she told Faith, who looked like all the wind had gone out of her sails. "Mercedes stays where she is. If you haven't left Penzance in the next ten minutes, you won't be leaving at all, except in a hearse."
Faith tried to summon a glare, but all the fight seemed to have drained out of her. It showed with her next words. "Fine," she said. "But know this; you may have won for now, but I promise you, I will get you back. No matter what it takes, you will take your rightful place in our pack. I do not give you permission to found a new life for yourself; you're just going to lose it all when I come back for you. And I will."
"Take it and shove it," I said angrily. "You've got no right to dicate how I live my life; I'll live it as I damn well please. Now get out!"
That seemed to do the trick; Faith bid a very hasty retreat, and I was shaking as Lindsay slammed the door almost on her heels. "Damn, she's nasty," she said.
"She can bluster all she wants," I said. "She's not getting her paws on me. If I have to find a mate and have a cub of my own to get her off my back, I will, and be damned to what she thinks."
"Wise idea," Lindsay approved. "Forming a new tie of that sort will definitely stymie any attempts on her part to try and steal you back. But I'm worried; she's not the type to give up easily. If you're not related to her, why does she want you?"74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvgUreXoIf
"God only knows," I said, sighing. "But she's not getting me; I'll send myself across the Wheel if I ever fall into her paws, and not even the most powerful wolf alive can stop me."
Lindsay nodded, but as we parted ways, I couldn't help the nasty feeling that Faith was likely to do something just as nasty to prevent me from dying. And I was equally sure I didn't want to ever find out what that method might be.
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