Page 43 of Drew

After he’d started trying to woo Fredrica, Maddox had surprised them all with the news that he was a drummer in a relatively popular rock band. It was lucky Fredrica could work remotely, as she’d traveled with him.

“Where will you go?”

“I’m going to head north, across the border. Going to visit my cousin.”

Drew froze. “Why the fuck would you want to do that?”

Callum shrugged, his gaze locked on the door of the most recent shop Mitch had entered.

“To Thatcher’s pack? That’s what you’re telling me? You’re going to Thatcher’s pack?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

Callum’s head rolled against the headrest. He didn’t seem thrilled about his decision. “Just a feeling.”

Drew’s stare was hard. “Reconsider.”

Thatcher’s pack was dangerous. Thatcher was a power-hungry alpha who would stop at nothing to keep his firm grip on those beneath him in his pack. Not to mention they had a deadly rivalry with another pack.

“Naw. Been feeling the pull for a while now.” He sighed. “Elliot is pretty far north. I hope I come across her before hitting his pack’s border.”

They could only hope. “You’ve been there before?”

“Nope. Elliot would come here some summers. You remember?”

Drew remembered. Even as a teen, Elliot’s alpha power had been intense. He was a big fucker, and it surprised Drew that Thatcher hadn’t removed Elliot from his pack. “I remember you used to have nightmares about Thatcher when you were little.”

“Yeah, well, I blame my folks for that. They should have known I was listening when they talked about him. The stuff they said was scary.” Callum shifted in his seat. “To a little boy, that is.”

“They think he killed your uncle.” Drew didn’t care if he was blunt. He needed to be sure Callum had thought this through.

“They don’t know for sure.” He scrubbed his face with his hands. “Look, I know, all right? I’ve been trying everything to avoid going, but I can’t anymore. I’m ready to find her, and something tells me that’s the direction I need to go, and it needs to be now.”

Rumors about Thatcher’s pack were troubling. Downright fucked up was more like it. Callum’s uncle, Elliot’s father, had gone missing when they were young. Most believed that a rival pack had attacked and murdered him, along with several other strong alphas within the pack.

Callum’s family thought differently.

Convinced that Thatcher had either killed them himself or ordered the hit, Callum’s parents had tried to get Elliot’s mom to move and join their pack. She’d been torn. She wanted to protect her family, but part of her believed her mate was still alive and would one day return. That belief, mixed with a crippling fear of Thatcher, had kept her rooted in place.

“They still practice the Curusm.”

The outdated mating ritual was barbaric, demoralizing, and abusive.

Again, the beta sighed. “I know. Elliot says it’s modernized. The women who take part are willing volunteers. They have to sign up for it.”

“Promise me that you will not join that event no matter what happens.”

Callum’s stare was angry and harsh. “I argue with Elliot over it every time we talk. It’s barely a step up from rape. I will not participate. I might not even make it as far as that pack.”

“Has Elliot run in the Curusm? Is he mated?” It was an appalling idea.

“No, but this year, he’s overseeing it.”

“People watch it?” Drew said with disgust.

Callum snorted. “No, to regulate it. He makes sure everyone is behaving appropriately. He assures me there’s no rape. He’s there to ensure that it’s safe. But you still won’t see me getting involved in anything to do with that ritual. Look, he’s on the move!” Callum said suddenly, pulling Drew’s attention back to the storefronts.

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