Beyond the Border | ✔

32 | rule 59

RULE 59: KNOWLEDGE DOES NOT ALWAYS MEAN POWER. DO NOT DWELL ON WHAT LIFE ONCE WAS ON THE OUTSIDE.

✷ C H A P T E R T H I R T Y - T W O ✷

"I can assure you we don't need Levi's help," I crossed my hands over my chest and impatiently tapped my foot, repeatedly, hoping the ticking noise would annoy Theo into compliance.

    With the discovery of the mutilated doll still fresh on our minds, Theo promised we would not abandon our search for Ma. I did not know that entailed roping Levi Weller into the mix. I swallowed my distaste for the man the other day when I thought I would never have to lay eyes on him again, but Theo had other ideas.

Theo's wolf was on the brink of surfacing ever since the doll was discovered. As a result, his focus shifted towards finding out who planted the doll; his wolf would not allow him to focus on anything else. However, he knew the search for Ma was important to me, so he made a plan. He would bring Levi in to help with the search.

I could tell by the confusion drawn on his face, he was not expecting any resistance from me.

    He looked puzzled when he said, "he's an expert."

    I shifted my stance. "He claims to be. I don't buy it."

    Theo's face morphed to display his unenthusiasm. Clearly, he did not like my skepticism. Yet, I knew deep down, if Theo really wanted me to meet with Levi, then he had the power and strength to make that happen.

    Currently, we were back at the psychology building at Bridger University. We were only a few feet away from the lecture hall Levis taught in yesterday. While I was compliant on our trek here, a few feet away from the door, I had decided to raise my concerns. I did not want to enter the big lecture hall and discuss looking for Ma with a total stranger — someone I could not trust — especially someone who claimed to be an expert on the Borderlands.

    It felt nauseating to think of the Borderlands as being something someone could be an expert of. There were real, breathing human beings behind the Border. While only a handful had left, it did not sit right with me that the Outside would have enough information to specialize in knowledge of the Borderlands.

    "He has a master's degree," Theo arched his brows, a single ringlet falling into his face. My fingers ached to move the hair out from his line of sight, but I forced the urge down.

    Again, Theo's words were foreign to me. I did not know what a master's degree was. Yes, we did have literature from the Outside in the Borderlands, but the literature was limited and often did not have details of the modern world as it appears now. "That means nothing to me."

    "Sage," Theo's face lightened, his eyes shifting. I could tell he was growing impatient with me. His fingers pressed into the side of his leg as he tried to hide his elongating nails. His wolf wanted out.

    I mimicked the same tone he said my own name in, "Theo."

    He reasoned with me, "he could help us find your mom."

    Smiling deviously, I said. "So could a witch."

    His face dropped, his claws breaking through the fabric of his pants. "No."

    "You're so infuriating," I grunted, flinging my head back.

    "Something we have in common," Theo had calmed down enough to remove his hands from his side and instead copy my posture: crossing his hands over his chest.

    Dully, I blinked at Theo. Soon, Theo's lips turned upwards as his eyes started to gloss over. He was mind-linking someone. But who? That's when it hit me.