Page 22 of Tangled Fates

I handed her the vial of the portal concoction. She examined it, looking deep into the black liquid.

“Where did you find this?”

“A job,” Soren quickly answered for me. “Can you hurry… please?”

I almost chuckled at his manners. Addie would chew his ass out if he was a dick and she wouldn't give a shit if he was a vampire or not. She looked at us curiously before she left to recreate it for us.

“Why is she scary as hell?” Soren grumbled, looking at the herbs and candles she had at the front of the store.

“Because she could kill you with one artifact before you even had a chance to run,” I said, looking down at the moonstones bushing against him to calm my wolf down.

“You think we have enough things?” Soren asked, moving around, antsy to get back to Gray.

“I’m more worried about whether you have enough food,” I said, going through the list I had made in my head.

“I think so.” Soren sounded unsure.

“I would go get more, we don’t know what kind of shape we could find Gray in and he might need more than you think he does,” I said, thinking of the worst, even though a small part of me was thinking we had lost him already.

“Don’t,” Soren clipped.

I didn’t school my face like I should have and I’m sure he saw the despair I had been feeling lately.

“Don’t fucking give up on him.” His voice wavered.

“I’m not,” I said quickly.

“Then what was that look?”

“Nothing, Soren,” I sighed.

“He’s not…” Soren couldn’t finish the sentence.

“Look, as much as I want to be positive, I have to look at all angles of our problems,” I said, hating that we might lose our friend and brother over this.

It’s my fault if he was dead.

Soren clenched his jaw looking away.

“I should have prepared us better. I went in too confident and?—”

“We all went in too confident,” Soren interrupted me. “We haven’t had a hard job in a few years.”

“I got too comfortable. We will find Gray, no matter if I have to drain my bank account.” Or give my life for his.

I left the last part unsaid.

“Ryder—”

“Ok, I’m done and here is something extra,” Addie said, walking out of her workshop.

The vials of the dark liquid were identical, but I had no doubt they would do what we needed them to do and then she gave us a luminescent bottle.

“What’s this?” I was suspicious as I gave her a wad of cash.

“To save your mate,” she said, grabbing the cash while an ominous feeling came over me. “You’ll know when you need it.”

Serena?

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