“Don’t you dare say a word,” Barthos snarled in Angeline’s ear. His brutal hold on her shoulder hurts. Her father has his hand on her other shoulder, and her eldest brother Herro is standing close behind her.

Angeline made the mistake of looking up once, meeting Cara’s look of hurt and betrayal. The pain inside hurt so much more than what Barthos was inflicting. She didn’t need him threatening her to keep her quiet. Angeline knew that in her mother’s poor condition she was not well enough to be moved. She would die if they were driven out from another town again.

“I am certain that when your daughter wakes, she will tell you that we are the reason she’s alive,” Darian said his voice booming and silencing the crowd.

Angeline tried to take comfort that Cara’s husband and pack were standing up for her. It didn’t work. She felt sick inside, and helpless. The sting of red burning her cheeks was nothing compared to what she deserved to get for standing idle while Cara and the pack took the heat for her actions.

“We came here as your allies to warn you of the danger you are in from one of your own. We’ve done that even though you’ve accused us after we helped you.”

“Please, don’t be offended. They’re just afraid.”

Angeline lifted her gaze and found Killian’s damning gaze focused right on her. She didn’t blame him. He couldn’t possibly know the cost of what he expected her to do. If it was only herself she had to worry about she would have gladly intervened and told everyone how the pack helped them and that it was she who found Unis. But it wasn’t just she who would be affected. This might be a new town but it wasn’t a new position she was occupying.

Town after town found out of her abilities and cast them out. Chased them out, even burned them out of their home. Her family had lost everything more times than she could remember because of her ability to see what would happen, and her insistence on doing something about it.

“We will leave now and warn you that our land will be patrolled. So, whichever person here is the murderer, I want you to know that if you are fool enough to return to Rizer land, you will pay with your life.”

“Wait,” official Paragon called after them. “Would it be possible for you to track down the killer for us?”

Darian ignored the pleading look he was receiving from Cara. “Before we were accused today, I might have considered it. Now, I think it would be best to allow you and your people to figure out your own problems. I can’t allow my pack to be put at risk trying to take care of people who are too afraid to see that we mean them no harm.”

“Let them go,” Unis’ father bellowed and the obvious idiots of Freebasin yelled out their agreement. Arguments were breaking out all around as people disagreed with each other. Angeline ignored them. She was watching Cara leaving with the pack. When she looked Angeline’s way again her expression was cold and hurt. Darian was glaring at Angeline and so was Killian, but as Darian and Cara kept walking they turned their gazes away from Angeline while Killian did not. He was so furious with her it was like he saw no one else.

“Stop looking at them,” her brother Herro said. “That one with the black curly hair looks mad.”

“He won’t hurt us, Herro.”

Barthos shook Angeline hard. “You don’t know that. Shut your mouth.”

“Have a care, Barthos,” her father warned Barthos.

“We should leave before they drag us into their plans,” Herro said.

Barthos increased the pressure of his grip trying to get a reaction out of Angeline. She didn’t look at him until Killian left the building and his eyes were no longer pinning her in place.

“It’s wrong to not say anything,” Angeline said when her father looked at her again.

“Don’t start. This is your fault. If this is the highest price you have to pay for your interference you should count yourself lucky.” He looked to Barthos and Herro. “Let’s get her out of here.”

Herro took hold of Barthos’ wrist. “Let her go,” he said in a stern voice. The two stared at each other for a moment before Barthos finally released her.

Her father turned her toward the door and pushed on her back to make her walk faster out of the town hall. “You’ll do exactly as you’re told from now on, young lady, do you hear?”

“Yes.”

“She’s not going to listen,” Barthos snarled with narrow eyes directed at his younger sister. “She cares more about everyone else than she does about her own family.”

With Barthos there was no point in arguing because even if she did argue and prove she did in fact care, he’d just grow angrier with her for making him look stupid.

“You have to listen,” Herro pleaded with her. “Mom was very sick last night. She is too weak to get out of bed now. If we are pushed out of Freebasin, she’ll die.”

“I’m not trying to hurt anyone. I just wanted to help.”

Her father exhaled on a hiss of breath. He bent over and picked up a bucket. “If you really want to be helpful, go get water from the well and bring it back to the house. Your mom needs fresh water. Soup would do her a world of good too.”

Angeline accepted the bucket from her father and started for the well.

“Are we sure we can leave her alone to get the water?” Herro asked.

“She only has them when she’s sleeping. Besides, you have to go and check the traps we set yesterday to see if there’s anything we can eat.”

This meant that it would be Barthos asked to keep watch on her. Angeline ran down the small streets to the well that was situated in the middle of the largest circle of houses in the community.

She lowered the bucket into the well checking over her shoulder for any sign of Barthos. Angeline didn’t see Barthos but she did feel someone looking at her. From the heavy concentration of it, she was pretty sure it was one of the wolves.