Burning

Chapter THIRTY

It was time for a story.

A good Church girl found a sick boy in her library. At first she wasn't sure what he was, so she waited to tell her superiors wanting to avoid the severe punishments they passed down. But he was looking for the books they had hidden away so she called them. To make sure he didn't escape, since he nearly had, she brought him to her house.

Luckily his family came for him in time. They took the girl with them for interrogation and to be killed, just like all Church members, but this one was clever. She offered her should-be-killer something that made her decide to spare her life. Here the details of the story are fuzzy because the beterna skill refuses to speak. We don't know why she decided to save her life that day.

After convincing the beterna to turn against her family she had her help start to destroy it. Members kept showing up dead after education visits. A fire was set to burn an entire den alive- watched over by a group of Church members. No matter how tightly the Pack tried to make security, betern after betern was killed. All of this set up by a well trained human.

On the night of the fire, the girl called the beterna and they pretended to save some of the den to encourage the Pack to trust her. The others they burned alive. She was to become a hero. How funny would it be to claim she was a spy for the beterni side? She was charismatic, an actress. She began to break up the family's loyalty from the inside, reminding them of their caged life. Encouraging them to speak about it. Turning them against their true selves.

She reported back to the Church as soon as she was able, but had to try to get rid of the betern following her. They tricked him into a bren while he was injured, to learn more about it and hoping it would kill him, but he was stronger than they thought and he survived. The traitor beterna managed to pull her out before her cover was blown.

And of course there was the betern from the library. He quickly became part of their plan, especially when he began to show promise. She tricked him into protecting her. She lured him further and further away from his Pack and responsibilities by swearing that he was special- the only betern cared about by a human. And then finally, she made him start wishing he were human...

This is the only story that makes sense.

How else do you explain the coincidences? The library books requiring time to gather. The fact a stranger was invited into a house despite the danger. She was housed with the daughter of a Pastor from the Church. Why would a human be brought back to a Pack. Why were so many beterni slaughter by Church members after a visit from the beterna? Why would the human volunteer to help go to the Church if she was told it was dangerous? And most importantly, most obvious- why was that human allowed to live in the first place?

If not for this, why else? Do you understand now, Christopher?"

For the entire story Sheira had paced in front of them, her silver fur bristling more and more. Scott stood over Mariah, who lay unconscious with blood on her muzzle and hands. She'd killed Prim and Hannah. Tore open their throats to the bone. Hannah was so small Gabby could see the white glint from her exposed spine. Gabby was on her knees. They threatened to have the same happen to her if she did go sit next to Mariah.

"That story is insane." She heard herself say. "It's not true.

"Explain then. Now is your chance. How did you just happen to have all Henry's books and why did they take so long to acquire if not to keep him in place?"

"I- don't know."

"Why did so many beterni wind up dead after Mariah went to educate them?"

"How could I know that?"