Unable to rebuff the positive vibe from Andrew, I gave a hesitant smile and nodded. “Sure, I guess that would be okay.”
Andrew held out his hand. “Come on, then. Our room is just down the next hallway.”
He entwined my arm with his as we walked, a strangely comforting gesture considering I’d known the man for less than an hour.
“I met Candy this morning.”
Andrew nodded. “Oh, yes, she’s super excited to have another female in the house. She wouldn’t stop talking at breakfast about going up to see you. I hope she didn’t bug you too much.”
I chuckled. “No, she’s sweet, and very bubbly. I’m sure we’ll get along fine. Although, with the way things are right now, I can’t see myself staying here for very long.”
Andrew paused, his face drawn into a frown. “Oh, really?”
I shrugged, suddenly feeling self-conscious and defensive. “I didn’t ask for this, Andrew. I won’t give over my life in order to save your asses. And things with Caleb are…complicated.”
Andrew’s expression softened and he patted my hand. “I understand, Morgan, I do. But really, where will you go if you leave? Lazarus wants you and the second you step foot off the property, he can lay his claim. None of us asked to be born into this. We’ve all had to make adjustments in order to accept our fates. It may take some time, but you will come to understand just how important your role is to our group.”
I bit my bottom lip, contemplating his words. “I don’t know how to take that. It’s like you’re saying I’m trapped here.”
Andrew shook his head. “Life is about making choices. You feel like you don’t have a choice right now, but you do. You could choose to die. Fate has marked you for death and without our help, without Cal’s powers, you will die. It’s as simple as that.”
I flinched at his words, my mind tracing back to the night in the psychic’s tent. The woman had used the same words: you are marked for death. I slid my hand out from his and wrapped my arms around my waist.
Andrew frowned. “Listen, you’ve got a lot to think about, but how about we set aside all of this talk of leaving for a little bit and go see Kelly?”
I nodded as he motioned down the hall and remained quiet as we walked. I didn’t know how to process all of the things I was being told, but one thing was certain—if I decided to walk out on Cal, I’d be walking to my death. Maybe not right away, but eventually it would happen. Would Cal let me do that? He had said he couldn’t stand to lose his Huntress, couldn’t stand to be like the others who had lost theirs. So would he let me leave if I tried, if it was so clearly a suicide walk?
We paused outside a closed door, Andrew’s hand on the knob. “I have to warn you, Kelly is in a type of coma. She can only communicate through me.” He curled his lips slightly as if touched by a deep sadness and I immediately shifted my thoughts away from myself.
“What happened to her?”
Andrew attempted a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “She’s been like this for about six months now. She suffered a kind of problem when we bonded, unique to my particular powers we think…prophesy can become overwhelming to the brain, evidently she couldn’t handle it. Her body froze up.” He sighed as he laid his hand on the doorknob. “I’m the only one who can communicate with her via our mental link. I talked about sacrifices, adapting. She’s made the ultimate sacrifice.”
“If she knew that this would happen before she bonded with you, would she have done it again? Would she be willing to sacrifice?”
“Yes. She’s told me that many, many times over the months. She would do it again because it has meant a change in the tide against the beasts. The wolves’ numbers have run rampant. They are producing more and more bitten werewolves and are encroaching on the humans, killing to the point of discovery. We must fight back. Because of Kelly’s power, we are slowly starting to regain the advantage. With the Huntress, with you, we can win against Lazarus.”
Geeze, no pressure or anything. His words were so strong, so determined that for a moment I would have agreed to go and bond with Cal right there and then. But as sudden as that conviction came, it left again, and I remembered that I was just a plain girl, a university drop-out with no ambitions, no drive and no goals. I was not Huntress material, no matter what Andrew and the rest of them thought. Someone clearly made a mistake in choosing me. Obviously, Cal understood that. He didn’t even want to fulfill the bond to me, at least not on an emotional level.