Page 188 of Cursed Bonds: An Alpha's Destiny

“Gotta be someone from Eren’s pack, right?” he asked.

“And they weren’t seen?” I said. “People would have recognized someone from Scottsdale skulking around. Or they should have, for fuck’s sake.”

Tank’s jaw worked from side to side. “What if it was one of those lone wolves Eren recruited? No one would recognize them.”

I shrugged. “Could be someone in the pack. Somebody who’s still upset that my fated mate is a witch.”

“You’re grasping at straws, Jace,” Kirsten said. “No one in your pack would do this. They’re all too loyal to you.”

It was possible that a stranger had snuck in to do the damage, but with tensions as high as they were, an unfamiliar face should have been cause for alarm. How would they have gotten into the center of town to mess with the truck?

A terrible thought occurred to me, one I couldn’t dismiss easily. Stephanie. The idea that she would betray us again after helping rescue those kids made me sick, but who else could have done it? An angry snarl came from my mouth, unbidden, and I turned to Tank.

“Get your ass to the store. Tell Oliver or whoever is in charge today that we need the camera footage for the parking lot. If we’re lucky, one of the cameras would have picked up your truck and whoever fucked with it. Go.”

Tank nodded and bolted for the door, nearly colliding with Waylan, who came rushing in.

“Harley? Is she all right? I just heard.” His face was leeched of all color. I imagined I’d looked much the same when I came in.

“She’s fine,” Kirsten said. “Just getting X-rayed.”

Waylan sagged back against the wall. “Thank God.”

Now that I knew Kirsten was all right, my anxiety and terror flowed out of me, and a seething anger I had a hard time controlling took up residence inside me. I stalked back and forth across the floor, clenching and unclenching my fists.

“Bro, you gotta take a breath,” Waylan said. “Everyone’s fine. You gotta chill.”

“I can’t,” I hissed, leveling him with a glare. “I want blood.” The last word came out as a growl.

“Until we know who did it, there’s no one to get blood from, Jace,” Kirsten said.

I looked at her, and the same fear rose up inside me again. How close had she been to dying tonight? How close? Why hadn’t she shielded herself? She’d answered that question, but it wasn’t good enough for me. She was too selfless. Usually, that was a noble attribute, but the selfish part of my mind wished she’d be a little more mindful of herself.

A nurse arrived, pushing Harley in a wheelchair. She gave us all a weary smile, looking a little uncomfortable at the sight of Waylan.

“Hey, guys,” she said.

Waylan inched closer to her, his pupils dilating at the mere sight of her.

I scrubbed my hand over my face, roughly rubbing at the skin. “I still don’t see why you couldn’t have put up a spell to protect yourself,” I said to Kirsten.

“I already told you, Jace,” she said with a hint of frustration. “I didn’t have time. I was too busy thinking of—”

“Of everyone else. Yeah, you said.” I didn’t like the petulance in my voice, but I couldn’t hold it back.

Kirsten gave me an icy stare. “Yes, Jace. Everyone else. Would you rather that I didn’t protect them? Have someone be killed because the truck couldn’t stop?”

“But what about you?” I shouted, my terror and frustration finally boiling over. “Who protects you?”

Kirsten jerked back, and a few nurses glanced in our direction.

“Can you calm the hell down?” Harley asked impatiently.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I need some fresh air.”

I stalked to the exit, shifting before my feet had even hit the sidewalk and sprinting into the forest beyond. Simply being in my wolf form helped ease some of my stress. The freedom pushed my human cares away, allowing me to think clearly.

The first clear thought that crept in was that I was handling things terribly. All my life, I’d been able to do whatever needed to be done. I prided myself on being calm and making judicious decisions for my pack. With Kirsten, it was like my entire brain was scrambled. I freaked out easier and had a hard time controlling my emotions. Was this what love was? Just going through life like a maniac, terrified something would happen to the person you cared most for? That, coupled with my feelings of inadequacy, was a recipe for disaster. My brain wasn’t working right, but how could I go about fixing it?

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