Page 77 of Ruined Wolfsbane

I follow the mage back to Briar and resume my place on her left side. She looks so tiny surrounded by us.

With tears silently streaming down her face, Emmy turns to my dad. “She was supposed to be safe here! You were supposed to protect her!” she screams at him, voice breaking in anguish.

After yelling, Emmy shakes her head and starts going through her supplies while muttering to herself. I’m guessing she’s starting a potion of some sort to help Briar.

Bastian edges in front of the mage, likely worried Dad will hurt her for her blatant disrespect. While my dad is a benevolent alpha, he still has to keep order. Disrespect earns a mild maiming at the least. Sighing, I tense, ready to intercept Dad to keep the mage safe. I can’t let Briar’s dumbass cousin get herself injured or killed.

“Hey, mage lady,” Bastian starts. I snort at his wording. “I know you’re upset, but you really can’t speak to the alpha of North America’s largest pack like that.”

Emmy’s eyes widen as she looks at my dad. Instead of backtracking like a sensible person, she asks, “You’re the alpha of pack Wyldhart?”

“Yes, Emmy, I am,” my dad tells her patiently. He doesn’t snap or snarl at her, and I wonder what the fuck is going on.

She turns her wide eyes to Briar. “Jesus fucking Christ. What the hell is your mom mixed up in, Bri?” She strokes a shaking hand through Briar’s hair before looking back up at my dad. “I don’t give a flying fuck what position you hold. You were supposed to keep her and Aunt Evie safe! You failed. I’ll show you respect when you earn it.”

I wince as she finishes. This is how the world’s stupidest mage gets herself killed. I sigh, trying to think up some story I can give Briar. Something that will explain why the man she’s terrified of killed her cousin without her hating my entire family.

Instead of throttling the mage, my dad flinches like she hit him. Blowing out a breath, he agrees, “You’re right. I failed. It won’t happen again. I swear it.”

I meet Bastian’s and Xander’s wide eyes. What alternate dimension are we in that Alpha Wyldhart lets a mage talk to him like that?

“It better not,” the bold-as-hell mage huffs. “Where is Aunt Evie, anyway?”

“She’s dead, Emmy,” my dad responds gruffly, devastation flitting across his face before he blanks it. That’s… strange. Dad seems to care a lot for a woman he didn’t know.

“What? No!” Emmy lets out a gut-wrenching cry at the news. Tears track down her cheeks and splash onto Briar’s hair. She bows her head and grieves for Briar’s mom, silent sobs shaking her slight shoulders. After crying for less than a minute, Emmy pulls herself together. I begrudgingly admire her ability to deal with her emotions. Emmy angrily swipes her hands across her eyes. “When?”

“Seven, almost eight, years ago,” Dad says slowly, brows lifting in surprise that Emmy doesn’t know the answer. “I thought your parents knew, Emmy.”

“No, no one knows back home.” She stares at the ground. Flicking my eyes between Emmy and my dad, I see the confusion, anger, and sadness cross his face. Emmy focuses back on Briar. “Fuck. Briar doesn’t have time for this shitty trip down memory lane.”

CHAPTER 31

XANDER

“What herbs are you using?” I ask the mage as I try not to focus on the sight of my mate’s broken body and just how badly I failed her.

Will I ever stop failing the people I care most about?

My heart stopped beating when I realized Briar was missing. It didn’t start again until I heard the faint staccato rhythm of her heart. When I first saw her down here, I assumed the worst. It’s hard not to when she looks worse than Bastian after a fight he deliberately lost.

Emmy turns back to me and raises one red brow. “Why? Do you even know what herbs are, wolf?”

I snort. “Yeah, mage, I do. I’ve worked with the pack doctor often.” After we had to get Bastian patched up on a weekly basis in our teens, I asked the pack doctor if he could teach me a thing or two. Ten years later, I’ve become almost as knowledgeable as he is.

If I weren’t destined to be a beta, I’d love being the pack doctor. But the pack’s safer in someone else’s hands. All I do is get people hurt.

“I’m impressed,” Emmy responds dryly. “Guess you’re one step more evolved than the average wolf.”

I bark out a laugh, and Bastian cackles at her backhanded compliment. Kai looks down to hide his smile.

One of the enforcers growls at Emmy’s insult. The sound cuts off as quickly as it started. Looking up, I see Blake, one of the enforcers, looking at the ground as my dad pins him with a fierce glare.

My eyebrows jump up at Dad’s protectiveness of this mage. I’d love to know the story of how he knows her. That’ll have to wait until Briar’s better.

And she will get better. She has to. I can’t live in a world without her. Almost losing her makes me reconsider staying away from her, but I know it’s best for her if I do. She doesn’t need my fuckups constantly dragging her down.

“I’m using a mix of yarrow, milk thistle, and ashwagandha, if you must know, wolf.” After she finishes crushing everything, Emmy dumps the herbs in a bowl. She pours clear liquid from another jar into the bowl. Once everything’s mixed, the mage chants under her breath. The mixture glows a deep blue briefly before returning to a murky green-brown color.

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