Page 44 of Tangled Fates

“You should be mine to take care of,” I said. “I would do anything for you.”

“But I’m not yours, Ryder,” she said, pulling me forward, resting her forehead against my own. “I won’t survive this and that’s ok.”

I pulled away abruptly. “What does that mean, Serena?”

“It means if I die, then Katarina survives, that’s what we all hope for,” she said leaning into me so I could wrap my arms around her. “Katarina has to break the spell; if she doesn’t, we are all doomed. On Beltane, I need you to come back. If she does break the spell, her husband Caston will be coming at her with everything he has.”

I shivered as I watched the flames envelop her, bad thoughts floated in my mind wishing it had been Katarina and not Serena. It was a shifter custom to burn the dead and it pleased me and my wolf that they followed this custom. Katarina cried quietly as two of her men held her.

Rage roared through me. I should have fought harder for her, but… if this was her destiny, then there was nothing I could have done. She never told me why it was so important to help break this curse, but if this was her dying wish, then I would make damn sure Katarina broke that spell.

After the flames died down, we stripped, and we all ran for Serena. Katarina ran in her human form while the rest of us shifted. For someone who didn’t have an ounce of magic, Katarina kept her pace with us. I pushed myself, feeling like I should punish myself when the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

Thank you. Let her in when you find her.

My wolf shivered hearing and feeling Serena’s presence, coming and going quickly. Fuck, I missed her already, but what did she mean with that last part? We took one last lap around the castle before the wolves slowed and so did Katarina.. I shifted immediately with the guys, throwing on my clothes quickly before they lost their shit around their mate.

“Thank you, Ryder,” Katarina said, before hugging me tightly.

Growls permeated the air, making me smirk, squeezing her tight just to fuck around with them.

“I’m sorry it took me so long,” I whispered, the guilt eating at me.

“No, don’t,” she said, pulling away. “You brought the most important thing; we will manage with whatever we have.”

“We appreciate you, man,” their alpha, Zev, said, as the blond Lucien wrapped an arm around Katarina.

He was an enormous man, who looked like he could rip me apart. They all looked like they could really hurt me, but the dude with the multicolored eyes wasn’t there anymore.

“I’m sorry we took so long, and we didn’t grab everything. We ran into complications and I must get back to Soren and Gray,” I said, feeling anxious that I had left them, but glad that I did.

I got to say goodbye to Serena, except I knew the twins would be upset when they found out what had happened.

“Anything we can do to help? Do you need supplies?” Lucien asked.

“Gold?” Zev asked.

“No, thanks. I just need to get back to the guys,” I said impatiently.

“Ok, please let us know you are alright soon.” Katarina smiled but her eyes still held sadness in them. “If you can stop by, even better.”

One of the men growled and I chuckled.

“I’ll send a letter, I don't want to piss off your mates,” I said, looking at their enormous castle. “I’ll try and bring whatever I can back, but I can make no guarantees.”

“If it's too dangerous, don’t do it.” Katarina shook her head. “Just be safe.”

“Ok, you break the spell and I’ll see you on the other side,” I said with a nod, before I backed away to my car.

“Ryder!” I turned to see the last shifter with multicolored eyes running to me. “Don’t ask me why, but here.”

He gave me a small velvet bag. It held some stones, a diamond necklace and some gold.

“I had a vision and I saw you would need this,” he said, putting his hands in his pockets. “I don’t know when or why you will need them, but keep them with you at all times.”

I stared at the bag feeling weird that in the last week I had had two people give me something I would need to use in the future.

“Thanks,” I said, uneasily. “You see the future?”

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