Free Clarity by Claire Farrell Page A

demanded that we all sit. It was demeaning to be told to sit like a dog, embarrassing that none of us could help but comply. There wasn’t time to voice those thoughts. I was too intent on hearing what he had to say.
    “The female was here,” he said. “She was alone, but we can follow her trail to find the others if they don’t come to us. Now that they believe we’ve no defences, they’re more likely to come to us. I need at least one alive to get to their leader. Remember that before the fight begins.”
    “What the hell are you talking about?” I blurted. “What about Perdita ?”
    “Keep away from the girl,” he said, as if she were nothing.
    “What?” Byron sounded as baffled as I felt. “How can he keep away from her? Why would he?”
    “I don’t want the female to scent any of us on Perdita . The bitch won’t come close enough again if she does.”
    Silence filled the room as we all exchanged confused glances. Byron’s eyes caught mine, and it seemed as though he decided something because he gave me a reassuring nod and faced his father. “Are you crazy? I’m asking very seriously here. Why the hell would we want that creature to get close to any child, never mind Nathan’s mate?”
    I was speechless with anger and shock. That man wasn’t my grandfather. He would never talk like that.
    “In case you haven’t noticed, I haven’t actually found their alpha. He’s tucked away in a hole for all I know. This is the only way to get to him. Lure in his people, take care of them, and send a stronger message back to him, something that will force him to face me himself. It’s the only way.”
    Byron stuttered for a couple of seconds. “By using a teenage girl as bait? Dad, what is this?”
    “This is the plan. I’ve been tracking him for weeks. I can’t catch his scent for love nor money. People won’t talk, at least not enough. But I know their ways. And I know his name, know how he works. I’ve picked up a few important pieces of information.”
    “Such as?” Byron sounded more sceptical than angry, as if pacifying someone he knew was unable to do anything.
    “Such as the one Perdita killed. The one who… the female is his daughter. Loyal daughter. The word is that she’s the type who can’t stop herself from coming for revenge, that she’s unhinged enough to walk straight into the lion’s den. I wasn’t sure when, but I knew it would happen. I knew the others would follow if she survived.”
    “Wait a second,” I said, thinking hard. “You knew this would happen? You knew she’d come after Perdita ?”
    He nodded. I watched him in a daze, barely capable of comprehending what was happening. “Yes, of course. Perdita and her father. I wasn’t sure if she’d be stupid enough to come to our home in front of dozens of people, but she did, knowing full well we wouldn’t be able to respond so publicly.” He hacked out a laugh. “She wanted to show us what she could do.”
    “You… you could have stopped this? You wanted this to happen?”
    “Think about it, Nathan. If we kill everything he sends, he won’t come to us. If we use them to track him down, or force him out of his hole, then we have a chance of confronting him once and for all. We need to find out what he’s after and dangle it on a string. This is only the first step.”
    My heart felt as though the life was being squeezed out of it. I literally couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My grandfather was nuts. Absolutely nuts. Bait. That was what the day had boiled down to. That was why he had returned, to see who would come at us. I wished with a passion that he had stayed away forever. We were all worse off than we had been with him gone.
    I made my way to the door, determined to leave. “Well, you lot can do whatever you like. I’m going to Perdita . No way am I being a part of this mess.”
    “No!” he shouted. “You keep away from that girl. I mean it.”
    A shuddery sensation ran through me, and I froze