Winter's Wrath: Sacrifice (Winter's Saga #3)

“No, nothing.”


“The damage to your frontal cortex must have been severe.” Evan looked at Creed with his keen physician’s eye. “I would be curious to see your MRI. It’s possible your memory will come back. Sometimes it takes longer for the brain to heal and new pathways, synapses to form.” He said all this while holding a thick turkey sandwich inches from his mouth. He stopped talking long enough to take a giant bite and chewed thoughtfully, completely unaware of the mayo smeared on his upper lip. Meg reached over with her napkin and smiled as she rubbed her littlest brother clean. He shot her a dirty look.

“You may be a brilliant doctor Ev, but you’ll always be my baby brother. Use a napkin.” She smiled and tossed him a new one. Evan rolled his eyes and kept talking around his full mouth. “And your physical abilities have increased. Meg says the scientists at the Facility thought it was because you were exposed to more of the Infinite serum during the accident.”

“How do you know that?” Creed fixed his eyes on Meg.

“It’s all part of my evolved gift,” she shrugged nonchalantly. She didn’t want to talk about herself.

Creed hesitated, obviously wanting to know more, but seemed to decide to drop it for now when he bit into his sandwich.

“This is all very interesting,” Cole said, “but I’m more worried about what’s going to happen once Williams realizes your mutiny.” Cole had been careful with his words around Creed since he awoke to find the soldier sitting on the sofa of his house. He wasn’t happy about any of this, Meg could tell, but he was showing restraint, and for that, she was grateful.

As for herself, Meg didn’t know what to think about having Cole and Creed back in the same room. To be honest, her stupid girly emotions just needed to shut the heck up so she could concentrate on saving their asses by offing Williams. She had enough to worry about with everyone else’s emotions trying to tackle her to the ground. She just needed to disconnect from her little crushes on these very different boys in her life, so she could focus. Meg huffed angrily at herself.

“Meg?” Cole’s green eyes were watching her face.

“Hum?” The heat flooded up her neck to her cheeks when she noticed the whole room of metas had been watching her internal struggle play out through her facial expressions.

She stood abruptly, taking her half-eaten sandwich to the trash and tossing it.

“What is the plan?” Meg asked the room.

“What’s going on?” A groggy voice came from the doorway. There stood Margo, looking adorable with bedhead and beside her, rubbing his eyes, was Theo.

“Mom! You’re awake!

“Creed?” My mother looked wide-eyed at the boy she considered one of her sons and rushed to him, hugging him tightly. “Oh, thank you God. You came back!” She pulled back from her motherly embrace. Creed’s arms hung at his sides, not sure how to return the affection of a woman he didn’t remember. Margo searched his face the way only a mom can and said, “I know you don’t remember me, but I remember you well enough for the both of us.” She smiled widely at the large, silent, soldier—tears glistening in her warm brown eyes.

“It’s damn good to see you, Creed,” Theo offered a fatherly pat on the soldier’s solid back. “Margo, let the kid go. You’re gonna scare him away,” he teased before turning to the room and nodding at the two soldiers he’d never seen knocking at the glass back door. “I’ll get that,” he said casually shuffling toward the door mumbling to himself about this all having to be a dream.

“Come on in,” Dr. Andrews said to the two huge strangers at the door dressed exactly like Creed. “I’m going to assume you’re friends of Creed’s.”

Gavil and Slider exchanged unsure looks before following the human into the house. “Creed, I believe you’ll handle introductions?” Theo said waving to the soldiers.

Margo hadn’t moved far from Creed’s side. Meg sensed her mother’s joy at seeing the boy—the son she couldn’t save as she had the other three children. Meg blinked emotion out of her eyes, brushed her dark curls off her face and forced herself to focus on Gavil and Slider.

“Yes, sir,” Creed said, walking toward the men. “This is my brother Gavil Young, and this is our friend Slider Reznikov.”

“Gavil?” Margo breathed, eyes narrowing.