Chapter 460

• The stunned disbelief that crossed Alexei's face would have been comical if the situation wasn't so grave. A loud growl escaped him in response to what he viewed as his brother's betrayal and his gaze turned to his mate, who was looking so torn that some of the rage he was experiencing evaporated as he caught her expression. "Cedar, surely you can't be considering this? She's our daughter!"
• "I know, and I want to keep her here with us too, Alexei, but it's not that simple," his mate countered, her voice trembling with the wealth of conflicting emotions coursing through her. "Dara is Vârcolac, and we are only now coming to learn just a fraction of what that means. She is stronger, faster, and has abilities that far surpass all of us here in this room, with the exception of Cassia and Kallum. She is not a helpless child to be protected anymore, my love. We need to see that and believe it because that is the truth."
• As her mate took two steps back, Cedar reached out a hand in silent plea for him to hear her out. "Kothari needs us, Alexei, and we are powerless to help him. Gard and Rayne left him in our care and we have somehow failed him through no real fault of our own. Do we sacrifice Kothari so that our daughter remains overprotected here in the pack? When Gard and Rayne come home will you be the one to look them in the eyes and tell them that they have lost their son because we were too afraid to allow our daughter to help him?"