Page 23 of Moon Fated

Evelyn’s brows knit together, a testament to the wariness that clung to her like armor. She'd been alone for far too long, trusting no one, relying solely on her own strength. But the path ahead was fraught with peril, and if there was one thing my position as alpha had taught me, it was that even the strongest among us needed an ally.

“I have a truck.”

She finally looked up. “Congratulations.”

“It’s excellent on mountain roads.”

She laughed and tried to shove her hands in her pockets, but she didn’t have any, so instead, she took the dagger back. “I’ll be fine.”

It was adorable to see her discombobulated. Almost as good as when she was angry. “Doesn’t Blake have a Ford? That won’t cut it. You need the reliability of a Dodge?—”

Evelyn put a hand on my arm and shoved just like she did when we were kids, but this time, energy shot through me like lightning. She gasped and pulled back, pretending she’d meant to tuck her hair behind her ear.

But I saw the shock in her eyes. She felt it, too. That meant there was hope. “I can get a map. One of our elders has been there.” It wasn’t a lie. Elder Smythe had told the whole pack about her visit with the witch. I just wasn’t sure if she’d been telling the truth. “I’ll get directions and provide security. I don’t know if you were planning to do this alone, but meeting a witch isn’t exactly a party.”

Evelyn folded her arms, an eyebrow arching as if to challenge the intensity of my gaze. “Last time I checked, invitations were required for parties.”

"Consider yourself cordially invited then." I grinned, and that’s when I knew I had her.

Her lips twitched, betraying her amusement. "Who says I need a big, bad alpha to protect me?"

"Big and bad, eh?" I leaned closer, lowering my voice. "You haven't seen anything yet."

A spark flickered in her eyes, a silent acknowledgment of the heat that crackled between us, wild and untamed. If she was feeling the pull I was, I have no idea how she stood firm. Maybe she wasn’t feeling it.

“Goodnight, Rowan.” Her hand slipped on the door.

“Goodnight, Evs.”

Her face went slack, and my wolf howled. Until that moment, I hadn’t remembered I used to call her that. I turned and strode back to the stairs at the end of the walkway, forcing myself not to look back and see if she was watching.

Somewhere between losing my shit in the clearing and her door, I’d made a decision. Kitimat and Nathan Black be damned.

Evelyn Berry was mine.

Chapter

Thirteen

Evelyn

Iwas meeting with a witch today. I repeated that sentence in my head, and it never sounded less ridiculous. If I, a supernatural creature, couldn’t wrap my head around there being a witch that lived in the woods, then who could?

My wolf pawed at my consciousness, flashing yet another image of Rowan standing in the door of my hotel room. I groaned and took a cup from the TV stand into the bathroom for a drink of water. Rowan had played on repeat in my head all night long.

I think you know why it’s different.

Based on the way my wolf was acting any time he was around, I had a pretty good idea of what he was alluding to. But what kind of cruel joke was this? Rowan was the worst person I could be fated to. Okay, maybe worst was the wrong word. Most complicated? Most dangerous?

Exhibit A, he was an alpha. He was powerful and wasn’t used to hearing no for an answer. He had a responsibility to his pack, and there was no way he’d ever be leaving Black Lake, which led to Exhibit B. Black Lake was barely twenty kilometers from the heart of Kitimat territory. Nathan was the alpha there, and he thought he had a claim on me, though I had plenty of four letter words at the ready for the day he tried to enforce that.

I wanted to believe Nathan had forgotten about me, that he’d moved on to some other unsuspecting she-wolf flattered by his love bombing. But I knew that wasn’t true. It would never be true.

That was due to Exhibit C. Nathan hated Rowan Steele. It had been five years since our packs split, and before I left, he was still explosive when anyone mentioned Rowan or Black Lake. It wasn’t hard to understand why.

Rowan was a friend to me and Nathan, and he’d only taken over after Nathan challenged his father and left. Nathan didn’t see it that way. The fact that Rowan didn’t follow him to Kitimat was all the evidence he needed.

On top of that, I chose to leave Nathan. After he’d made it clear to the entire pack that I was his. Nathan wouldn’t forget that, and he certainly wouldn’t forgive. If he found out I was here? With Rowan?

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