The Wolf Prince's Fated Heart - Page 83

Tim takes a shaky breath and his muscles grow tense. He stares at the metal table for a moment, contemplating.

I cross my arms and wait. I’m not the one who’s a prisoner here. He doesn’t have any choices other than talking to me and spilling everything he knows about what Jason and the radicals are doing.

“I met him at the Base Club almost a year ago,” Tim says slowly. “He noticed me sitting at the bar and offered to buy me a drink while he was waiting for his friends. We started talking, and I liked what he was saying. He invited me to join his group, and before I knew it, I was attending these meetings twice a week.”

“What were they about?” I ask, intrigued. I’d always considered Tim a stable, boring individual who’d be offended by people who made conspiracy theories their reality. He surprised me by meeting Jason and ending up as part of the group.

“Freedom. Personal, social, and environmental. Equality and fairness,” he adds.

“Freedom from what?” I ask. I’m smart enough to connect the dots, but I need him to spell it out for me.

“For what,” he corrects.

“Okay, for what?” I ask again.

“To do and live whichever way we want,” he replies simply. “I’m not good at explaining this, but Jason can be very convincing. I was hooked. So much so that I didn’t even blink when he invited a few of us to a VIP meeting where he told us about the existence of different species.”

My chest tightens. So not only did he know about the existence of wolves, but he was actually a follower of the Silver Dawn Coalition who think they need to be eliminated.

Maybe, after Jason described precisely what a wolf-shifter is and does, it made sense to Tim. He went from liking the notion of freedom to becoming the enemy of another species altogether.

“What did he say about the wolves?” I ask.

“Only the truth,” Tim says, with a conviction so strong it makes me worry for his well-being. “Of course, he understood that humans and witches aren’t strong enough to fight them alone, so he created a separate group to which he invited his loyal followers and wolves that were fools enough to believe they deserved to live.”

“He needed more people to fight, so he lied to the wolves to get them on his side,” I conclude, taking it all in. I get the reasoning behind wanting more supporters, but it still sounds harsh.

“Exactly,” Tim replies. “But the packless wolves were happy to find a place to belong, so they jumped at the chance. Their desperation was laughable. They’d do anything for Jason.”

“So, you believe all wolves to be bad?” I ask. “Including the ones that joined your cause.”

“Obviously,” Tim replies, giving me an annoyed look. “Don’t be naïve, Cassie. Once a wolf, always a wolf. Don’t you get it? It’s like a disease. They’re not the people that you think they are. They’re wild beasts wearing sheep’s skin. They’re vicious. Soulless.”

As horrible as that sounds, I have to keep myself under control. I can’t afford to let Tim see how much his words hurt me.

“If wolves are your only enemies, then why did you kill humans and witches too?” I challenge.

I want to argue that not all wolves are monsters, that some are decent people, but I doubt Tim will listen to me. He’s too far gone for that.

“We had to keep the wolves in our group happy,” Tim replies as if it’s obvious. “We have plenty of enemies amongst humankind too. Even some of the witches are wolf lovers. Disgusting traitors.”

“Your logic is flawed,” I tell him. “You can’t just kill an entire species for not believing the same thing as you do.”

“We’re only trying to protect the humans,” he argues, raising his voice, but then all of a sudden, he deflates. “At least that’s what I was trying to do. I still believe that Jason meant to do good, but he crossed the line when he started threatening you.”

“What do you mean by that?” I ask, my eyes wide. “What do I have to do with it?”

“Jason wanted me to access F-Rec to help him track down our enemies,” Tim explains. “I didn’t want to lose my job. It was the only thing I had left after our breakup. It was the only way to stay in touch with you without stalking you. I didn’t want to give that up, and I told him that. I thought he understood me, but he didn’t. Instead, he threatened to send a group after you. Some of the things I did, I had no choice. You have to believe me, Cassie.”

With a trembling breath, I absorb his words. My insides go numb as I’m faced with the knowledge that I was on the terrorist group’s radar.

“Did he send people after me?” I ask slowly, bracing myself. “Were any of those killings from the news linked to me?”

He shakes his head. “The only way they were linked to you was that I’ve given him the locations in order to protect you.”

“Those were humans, Tim,” I hiss. “You say you got into this to protect humans from wolves, but in the end, it was you who ended up killing them.”

“I didn’t kill anyone!” he exclaims.