Page 18 of Soul Fated

“Rowan, stop!” A woman ran out of the trees, her eyes glinting in the moonlight.

Rowan turned so fast I knew exactly who she was. His mate. He put out an arm, warning her to stay back.

“That’s him. He carries the scent I struggled to track.” She pointed at me, panting.

Rowan stepped closer, his fists clenching at his sides. His eyes narrowed, and I could practically feel the anger radiating off him like heat from a forge. "You killed them, didn't you?" His voice was a low, dangerous growl. "Those wolves in Kitimat. You were there with Nathan."

My mouth quirked, but I didn’t bother responding. Rowan’s body trembled with the force of his barely contained fury, his eyes boring into me, demanding I cower.

Just another alpha wanting to get into a pissing match. I'd seen it before, and I'd see it again. The silence that followed was heavy, pregnant with anticipation. The rest of the pack looked between Rowan and me, their expressions a mix of confusion and fear.

Rowan’s jaw set in a hard line. "You need to explain yourself.”

My heart hammered in my chest, and I inhaled for seven seconds to force it to slow. "There's nothing to explain. I followed the dagger."

"To kill us," the second added, his tone flat.

“I didn’t touch your wolves.” They wanted me to submit, to show my throat like a good omega, and it wasn’t going to happen. I didn’t kill anyone in his pack. Not yet, anyway.

“You just happened into the wrong tent then, eh, bud?” Rowan’s second glared at me, his arms crossed over his chest so his muscles bulged. Very intimidating.

“Simple mistake.” If my wolf wouldn’t have surged, she'd be dead. I could've stopped her heart there in the tent, even with Catwoman’s trap.

Rowan’s jaw worked, but before he could spout out some other bullshit, Lana walked up to us.

“He had this.” She held out the dagger, and Rowan took it from her. Instantly, Callista launched forward, feral and savage.

I spun, wrapping my arm around her and hoisting her off the ground. “Give it back!” I growled, and Rowan thankfully didn’t have his head up his ass. He shoved the dagger back into Lana’s palm.

Callista’s body collapsed, just as it had before. She buried her head into my chest, whimpering, and my wolf surged to the surface.

“Get your hands off her.” Rowan yanked my shoulder, and his second caught Callista before she dropped to the forest floor.

What was this? The burning inside my chest, the pull toward this woman I’d barely laid eyes on?

In the tent, I’d been sure it was a trick of the dagger. It wanted her, so I wanted her. Simple. Now, standing in the clearing, I wasn’t so sure.

My wolf paced, growling low in his throat.

We were both confused. Addled by dark magic. The dagger had made me believe I had a mate, just like it had made me stay in this campground for the night. It was a powerful relic, capable of manipulating my thoughts, my desires. I would be glad to be rid of it.

“Please don’t let go.” Callista turned, still propped up by Bicep Boy. “When you hold it…” She exhaled, and her whole body moved with her breath. “It’s the first relief I’ve felt since that night.”

Lana blinked, turning the dagger over in her palm. “I don’t understand.”

“Did you ever touch it before?” Rowan’s mate asked.

Lana shook her head. “But neither did any of you.”

“I did.” I shot Rowan a smirk, and his jaw flexed. “Just for research purposes.”

A sharp pain exploded across my left temple, and I whirled to find Lana gripping the dagger backward, the hilt still facing me. “Looks like the dagger isn’t partial. You know, for research purposes.”

Blood dripped down the side of my face, but I didn’t reach up to wipe it off. The cut would heal. I could wash my face when this shit show was over.

“Why did you go after it?” Rowan turned to Callista.

Callista looked at the dagger, and her reaction was immediate. Her body tensed, her breathing becoming more labored. "It's like... I don't know how to explain it. It feels like a magnet. Like I need to?—”

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