Page 65 of Soul Fated

Thirty-Two

Callista

Lana drove, her hand resting on the gear shift. I sat in the passenger seat, still buzzing with adrenaline and exhaustion. I glanced down at the torn upholstery. The leather was shredded, claw marks raking across the dashboard, and tufts of fur were scattered between the seats. I turned to look back at Evelyn and noticed a piece of my coat stuck to the seatbelt. She smiled at me, her eyes filled with tears.

She reached out and touched my arm. "Why didn't you tell me?" she mouthed, and I shrugged. What was there to say? She grabbed my hand and held it tightly as she leaned forward.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered, and I nodded, my throat too tight to speak.

As we drove, I couldn't help but think about the chaos of the meeting. The disbelief on everyone's faces when Lana and I spilled everything.

I was grateful for Evelyn's presence. For the way she’d walked into the room with me, her hand in mine.

Lana's eyes flicked to the two of us. She smirked. "Think we should stop for a milkshake?"

We pulled into the parking lot of Burger Blast, the neon sign flickering against the night sky. It was the only place in town open past eleven and it showed. The parking lot was packed.

Lana grabbed the keys from the ignition, and Evelyn and I slid out the passenger side. We walked in and found the last open booth in the back by the washrooms. The vinyl seats were cracked, and a waitress with greying hair and a name tag that read “Bill” shuffled over to take our order.

My stomach clenched.

Evelyn grinned. “Is that your real name or did you steal someone else’s pin?”

Lana met my eyes.

“My name won’t fit on the tag, so I took an old one.” The waitress didn’t even look up from her order pad. “What can I get you?”

We ordered our milkshakes, then sank into the seats.

"Well, that meeting was something.” I drew a deep breath, trying to think of anything other than the dagger protruding from Bill’s chest.

Lana scoffed. "I've seen less chaos at a Black Lake initiation ceremony."

“Kootenay,” Evelyn corrected. “If we don’t even use the new pack name, we can’t expect everyone else to.”

I raised an eyebrow. "You do initiations?"

Evelyn smirked. "Don't worry, nobody’s going to ask Kitimat to walk over hot coals or anything. Yet."

It was funny, but I couldn’t laugh. Instead, I let out a long breath, turning to look out the window. "I can't believe Lyra was there." The witch hadn’t been surprised at all to hear about how the Alliance was trying to use the dagger. She had to know more than she’d given Rowan and Evelyn when they’d talked with her last.

Lana's expression turned serious. "I know. That was a shock."

I traced a crack in the vinyl with my finger. "Do you think the prophecy is real?”

Evelyn sighed. “Lyra seems to think it is.”

Lana’s eyes dropped. I didn’t need to ask what she believed. She’d seen proof of the Shadow Pack. It wasn’t a stretch to believe the rest of the legends.

Evelyn tapped her fingers on the table. “If the dagger’s here, the rest of the relics could be out there somewhere, too. What if we're already too late?"

“That’s why we’re warning the other packs, right?” Lana looked back to the counter. She was antsy.

I smiled at Evelyn. “Rowan did well. Starting to build the alliance here. Now that we have Tori and Mara, it won’t be long before the other packs join us.”

Evelyn nodded. “But the alpha Alliance up north…I don’t know.” Her lips twitched.

The waitress with the stolen name tag brought out our milkshakes, and I took a long sip, the cold sweetness washing over my tongue.

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