Blue Violet - By Abigail Owen Page 0,71

might be able to see the relationships between the wolves despite not being able to see the wolves themselves, saw only blackness in the trees. Finally, Ellie checked on Griffin.

Silence. He’s definitely searching, but not a sound. Ellie could practically feel Griffin’s frustration. She tapped into his thoughts to see what was bothering him and realized that he also couldn’t hear anything. Nothing. Not even the natural sounds of the forest around them. It was dead silent.

Tension seized Ellie’s body. Her fists clenched so tightly that Alex gave her hand a little shake.

“They’re here.” She spoke only through thought and the connection of their hands to everyone in the circle. “Get ready…”

“I’m not often surprised,” Gideon’s deep voice broke the silence. The direction he spoke from was not immediately apparent, although they all heard him clearly.

“…But I am disappointed, Ellie. A bride should willingly come to her new family.”

Ellie gasped. Gideon had never said anything about marriage as part of his offer. Beside her, Alex clenched his jaw. “She has a family already. And you are looking at her te’sorthene.”

Ellie was impressed that Alex sounded so calm. If some other chick had claimed Alex as her future husband that way, Ellie would have set her straight in no uncertain terms. And maybe even with some pulled hair or a black eye.

A brief silence descended, and then Gideon appeared before them at the edge of the clearing. He had assumed the form of a giant black wolf, massive and intimidating and gave what appeared to be a grin. Beside him stood a smaller brown wolf. His voice sounded again, although his mouth did not move. The sound seemed to come from the animal at his side. A tiny, distracted part of Ellie’s mind decided that the brown wolf must be able to project the pack’s thoughts into sound. Then his words registered… “You really think that you can fight us… let alone win?”

As he spoke, the bright gleam of eyes appeared in the blackness of the trees. First she could only see a few, golden and glowing, though Ellie couldn’t see the forms of the wolves themselves. But looking through everyone’s eyes, she could see that they were outnumbered about ten-to-one and that they were completely surrounded.

A low growl sounded in unison from the pack.

For some strange reason, the noise reminded Ellie of the rebel yell. During the Civil War, the Confederate troops used to scream in battle in unison, and it’d been a very effective means of instilling fear in the hearts of the enemy. The pack’s growl was like that. Such a sinister sound, Ellie felt it crawl over her skin and into her mind. She determinedly squashed the fear that welled up inside her. Focus, Ellie, she instructed herself. Keep your family safe.

“I think perhaps you underestimate us,” Alex called out, his confidence absolute.

“I doubt it.” Gideon’s amusement was obvious.

A rumble of agreement sounded from the surrounding pack, almost like they were laughing with their leader. Ellie felt the circle shift, fear running through them all.

“It’s your pack that is at risk here,” Alex maintained, “not us.”

“You insist on fighting? Knowing what we did to Ellie’s very powerful tribe?”

“Well, if you’re that worried, we will happily negotiate a truce,” Alex offered with a cocky smirk.

“What are you doing?” Ellie thought at him.

“Trust me,” he thought back.

She simply nodded and used the time he was buying her to furiously search through her options.

“You have two choices…” Gideon appeared to be growing bored with the back and forth banter. She guessed that the Vyusher had never paused to negotiate with their intended victims before. “…Ellie can leave your family and join us as my wife and queen. Or you can all die here tonight.”

Griffin flashed a thought into Ellie’s mind. Whatever had been blocking him had pulled back. He continued to have trouble accessing the wolves’ thoughts because of the dynamic of the pack mind, but he was starting to pick up bits and pieces.

“The entire clan of Vyusher is here. Every single one of them,” he told her. Using Griffin’s power, she passed this observation on to everyone else in the circle.

Alex squeezed her hand, letting her know he’d received the message. She watched as he broadened his grin, seeming to deliberately taunt the Vyusher leader.

“I have an offer for you…” he called out. “If we defeat you tonight, you will never attack anyone ever again… Svatura, or humans without powers. You may, of course, live peacefully within the