''You know how they came up with the word Lunatic?'' he asked.
I shook my head, feeling like I probably didn't want to know the answer. His lips pulled up on one side in a mischievous, lopsided grin.
He stepped closer. ''Because all of the worst m...
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"You came to talk of the attack? Not about my son?" Her tone held hints of mild displeasure, but I couldn't be sure.
I was unsuccessful at keeping the surprised look off of my face. Anna's eyes seemed to analyze every single facial twitch. Something about her gaze made me feel as if I were an auction item being appraised.
I chose my next words carefully. "Why did you think I was coming here about your son?"
"I thought maybe you'd discovered that he was your tether, but I suppose he's not."
"My-my tether? What the hell is that?"
She clicked her tongue. "Oh dear, someone has done a horrible job training you, haven't they?"
She stood from her place on the pillow to shuffle through some of the belongings on a wooden desk. I was too confused to answer so I just watched her. She returned a moment later with an old cloth-bound notebook in her hands. When she handed it to me I felt a rush of static through my fingernails and into my bones. It was power. Whatever I was holding in my hands was pure and undiluted power. I wanted to drop it, but I couldn't.
"What is this? What is a 'tether?'"
"That," she said motioning to the book and lighting some incense in the center of the tent, "is called the Codex of Whispers."
I glared at the book in my hands. It was barely a book, more like a pamphlet or a notebook. "Pretty pretentious name for something so small."
Anna's mouth formed a straight line. She obviously didn't think I was very funny.
"That pretentious book is one of the first journals from your kind," she explained and I shrunk. "They were called Whisperers, you know, the daemons because they were in tune with the spiritual energy of the ley lines that spoke to them in whispers. The sensations, they said, were like feathered touches."
"Mine don't feel like whispers," I mumbled. "It feels like someone is yelling in my ear or dragging me into a pit."
Anna's smile turned patronizing as she looked down on me. Her clothing, while neutral colored, still radiated a type of authority- or perhaps it was the woman wearing it who had assumed authority. She wore a crisp white shirt that billowed as she walked and khaki dungarees that ended just above her bare feet. Auburn hair was cut above her ears making her face seem more severe and her features more pointed.
"From what I've heard, you're stronger than most so that's to be expected," she crossed her arms. "It's also why you need to find your tether."
I threw my hands up in the air in exasperation. "You still haven't explained what that is!"
Her eyes were quick to narrow at my reaction and I took two deep breaths before folding my hands in my lap. I was sick of not having answers. However, yelling at a super-powerful alpha wouldn't get me anywhere. At least, not with this alpha.
