The next morning, they all gathered in the common room and watched as Jerald paced around the room. Jerald was muttering to himself as he deliberated what his final decision would be.
“No.”
“No? Come on man. I thought you were over this.” Thomas said with an exasperated sigh.
“I just can’t let her go. I thought I could live with it, but I’ve been thinking about it and I can’t do it. We just have to find another way to solve the quest, a loophole that can still let us win.” Jerald said.
“There is none. This is the only way.” Margaret said.
“It’s easy for you to say, it’s not someone close to you that’s leaving.” Jerald said with a scowl.
Lynn sighed and walked up to her brother.
“Jerald.” She called as she put her arms around him.
“I won’t let you go with him, Lynn. You’re all I have.” Jerald whispered as he hugged her tight.
“You’re talking like I’m leaving for good. You can always visit me and I can come back to visit too. Besides, you won’t be alone. Contrary to your words, I’m not all you have, you have the rest of the pack. And soon, you’ll have a mate too.” Lynn said as she pulled back to look her brother in the eye.
“I promised our parents that I would take care of you, Lynn. I can’t do that if you’re not with me.” Jerald sighed and Lynn knew that she was close to making him change his mind.
“You’ve done that. You’ve always taken care of me, and you’ve protected me too. But you have to realise that I’m not your four year old sister with pigtails anymore. I’m a grown female, I can take care of myself now. We knew this would happen eventually, there was always a possibility that my mate would be from another pack.” Lynn said.
“I know, but why did it have to be Carson of all people. I can barely stand him on a normal day, I can’t trust him with you.” Jerald scowled.
“If you can’t trust him, then trust me. Trust me to be able to look out for myself. Let’s just give this a chance for a little while, please. If it doesn’t work out, then you can be my knight in furry armour and come rescue me.” Lynn said with a smile.
Jerald took a deep breath and then said.
“Fine, you can go with him.”
“Yes!” Lynn squealed and jumped on Jerald.
“Why are you so excited about this?” Jerald chuckled as he set her down.
“I haven’t been to any other pack, I Know every nook and cranny of our pack, it’s boring. Now I have a chance to explore.” Lynn replied to him
“Hey! You’ve been to my pack a lot of times.” Vance said.
“Your pack is close to ours, and it’s basically my second home so it doesn’t count. I could probably name every grain of sand in your pack, Vance, that’s how familiar it is to me.” Lynn shrugged.
“My mum will be happy to hear that you think of my pack as home, but she’ll be so sad when she finds out that you’ve found your mate and it isn’t me.” Vance said.
“She was always hoping we would end up together.” Lynn said.
“She’s not the only one that held on to that hope. You both would have been the perfect match.” Jerald said with a scowl directed at Carson.
“I get it, Jerald. You hate my guts, you don’t have to rub it in my face all the time.” Carson said as he rolled his eyes.
Jerald walked over to where Carson sat and pulled him up by his collar.
“If you, or any one else in that pack of yours hurt even a strand of her hair, I will annihilate you.” Jerald growled in Carson’s face.
“You can hold a grudge against me all you want, I don’t give a shit. But don’t threaten my pack, it won’t end well for you.” Carson growled in response.
“Both of you, enough.” Lynn said as she separated them.
“We have enough problems as it is.”
“If you both leave now, you can get to Carson’s pack by sundown.” Thomas said.
“Must they leave today? Can’t I have another day to say goodbye?” Jerald asked.
“We’re running out of time to solve this quest, Jerald. The sooner we get to the end, the better for us all. They need to leave today.” Thomas said and Jerald sighed.
“Fine. Lynn, you can go pack some of your things.” Jerald said.
“Some?” Silver asked and Jerald frowned.
“This is just a trial visit. She’ll go with him and get a feel* for the place. If she decides to stay, then she can come back and take the rest of her things. If not, then she’ll return here.” Jerald said in a tone that brooked no argument*.
“I can live with that. Thanks brother, you’re the best.” Lynn said and left them to go to her room and start packing.
“I really hope I don’t regret this decision.” Jerald said with a sigh.