Free Uprising (Alternate Earth Series, Book 2) by S.J. West

guilt for not telling Leah the truth, but it’s really not my secret to tell. As a parent, I can understand why Xiulan wants to keep it from Leah for as long as she can. It would only cause Leah pain to know that she’s about to lose the mother she just found. If I were in Xiulan’s shoes, I would be doing the exact same thing; enjoying what little time I have left with my child, and relishing every moment. I would postpone Leah’s heartache for as long as possible.
    Mason and I find Malcolm and Brand speaking with one another in the library.
    “Have you heard back from Nina yet?” I ask, needing to know if she’s successfully convinced Peyton to help us.
    “Yes,” Brand tells me, not exactly looking happy about the fact. “Peyton has requested that I meet with her in person. I think she wants some reassurances that we’ll keep our end of the bargain if she helps us.”
    “I can’t say I blame her,” I say. “She’ll be putting her life at risk if she does what we ask her to.”
    “I don’t think it’s her own life that she’s most concerned about,” Brand says. “She’s more worried about her daughter’s well-being and getting her away from her father.”
    “Which one?” I ask, knowing how twisted that particular family tree is. “Robert or Will?”
    “Strangely enough, Dillon can’t stand her biological father,” Brand tells me. “Her loyalty has always been to Will over anyone else, even her own mother. Dillon’s never respected Peyton. She’s always considered her the weakest member of the family.”
    “Why?” I ask.
    “I think it’s because her mother submitted to Will’s demand that she sleep with a fellow Watcher in order to become pregnant.”
    “Doesn’t Dillon understand Peyton only did that because she wanted a child so badly?”
    “Dillon only sees it as her mother being spineless,” Brand replies. “She’s still a child in a lot of ways. She doesn’t see the bigger picture, and how much more her mother loves her than Will does.”
    “So what exactly does Peyton want from us?” Mason asks. “If Dillon doesn’t want to leave Will, how are we going to force her to?”
    “Peyton has chosen an isolated island in the Pacific Ocean that she wants to move to, and she wants our help to make sure Dillon never escapes from it.”
    “And how exactly are you supposed to keep a flying werewolf from leaving?” I ask. “Does she want you to build her daughter a cell that she can’t escape from?”
    Brand hesitates, swallowing hard before answering, “She wants us to rip off Dillon’s wings.”
    I literally can’t make any words come out of my mouth. I’m too horrified by the imagery of such a barbaric act of cruelty.
    Finally, I’m able to say, “How can she ask you to mutilate her own child like that? I thought you just said Peyton loves her daughter.”
    “She doesn’t see it as mutilation,” Brand says. “She only sees it as protecting Dillon from herself. I think Peyton’s more worried about the damage being done to her daughter’s soul through Will’s manipulations than she is about taking away Dillon’s ability to fly.”
    “And I assume that she wants one of you to do it so Dillon doesn’t know her mother is ordering it to be done,” I speculate.
    Brand nods. “Yes.”
    “Has she always been this much of a coward?” I ask, feeling my temper get the better of me, and realizing Dillon might be right about her mother’s character. “I don’t see how you can place any faith in someone like that.”
    “It’s her weakness for Dillon’s love that makes her the only person willing to help us,” Brand points out. “She’s so desperate for it that she’ll do whatever is necessary to get it.”
    “You have to know this isn’t right, Brand,” I state emphatically.
    “Right or wrong,” Brand sighs, “it’s our best…no…it’s our only option at the moment. We either do what Peyton wants or lose our chance to save Ava and your Lucifer. I think