Page 43 of Tangled Fates

“Come here,” I whispered, “I gotcha.”

But he merely shook his head. “Come on. We need to be getting back to the pack.”

I gasped softly as he slid out from between my legs, and I immediately felt empty without him there. I wanted to drag him back. I wanted to bury my hands into his hair and pull him closer to me. I wanted him to know that he could topple into me anytime. That I could hold up him, prop him up, whenever he needed to rest.

I wanted Hudson to know that it was okay to rest.

However, by the time I got my wits about me, he had already clamored back up onto his feet and jutted his hand into my face.

“Here, let me give you a lift.”

I snickered as I clapped my hand against his. “Good game, sir. Good game.”

He barked with laughter. “You can’t throw yourself at me naked twice and me not do something about it.”

I tossed him a playful wink. “Good to know for future reference.”

“Now, close your eyes and imagine yourself with some clothes on.”

“I know how to do it.”

He paused. “You do? Because I’ve never seen you do it.”

I wasn’t sure if I should tell him what I saw in that field. I wasn’t sure if that was something I needed to share with people around me, especially when they didn’t have much faith in me in the first place.

“Raven?” Hudson asked. “What’s wrong?”

I closed my eyes and conjured an outfit before the warmth of the fabric cloaked me.

Before quickly being soaked to the bone by the rainstorm that still battered our neck of the woods.

“Can you just give me time to process how I’m going to go about answering your question? It’s a bit more complicated than an easy response, and I’m not sure how to… go about it.”

Hudson furrowed his brow deeply before he nodded. “Thank you for being honest with me. When you’re ready to talk, let me know.”

My eyebrows rose. “Well, that was easy. I figured you’d poke and prod until I told you something.”

“I know you’re telling the truth. I can sense it. And as long as you stay honest with me, there will never be any issues.”

That brought me a great deal of comfort. “Mom’s a poker and a prodder.”

He chuckled. “I’m sure your father loved that.”

I smiled. “He hated that shit. It was the one fight they always had, no matter what.”

“Now, do you think you can do the clothing trick after we get back to the pack? Because we are at least ten miles out, and I’m not sure we wanna be hoofing that in human form.”

I hunched my back and grinned. “I think I can manage. Let’s go.”

The two of us quickly transformed, with stitches bursting and fabric ripping at the seams. We pounded the earth beneath us, propelling ourselves forward as lightning illuminated the world around us. The thunder was finally beginning to move southward, away from the pack. And by the time we got back to my father’s place, the rain had completely cleared up.

But I barely got myself inside—while clothed—before Dean and Levi barreled into the kitchen.

“Fucking hell, where have you two been!?” Levi exclaimed.

Hudson rushed up beside me. “What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

Dean threw his hands into the air. “Brody is gone. He’s nowhere to be found. And?—”

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