Page 79 of Teeth To Rip & Tear

My sleep was more restful once the pain had broken like a fever.

I expected to be on edge, surrounded by a motley crew of naked wolves, but I had the best sleep of my life.

When I woke, I was alone.

I sat up, wiping the crust from my eyes with the back of my hand, as I studied Kaleb’s room. The door to his private bathroom was open, just a crack. Two people argued, the words barely audible. The rush of the tap covered most of the sound.

Kaleb and Wyatt?

I wondered where the others were. Dean, at least, would have stuck around. Had something happened?

“Did you see the bracelet?” Wyatt bit out. “That’s not weak magic. You said she wasweak, her Sídhe side polluted by her wolf blood. If she’s as powerful as her grandmother—”

“It doesn’t matter,” Kaleb argued.

“Doesn’t matter?” Wyatt scoffed. “That bauble saved Dean’s life, and we’re all just going to pretend it didn’t? Does she know?”

“The Huntsman suspects.” Kaleb sighed heavily.

“That isn’t what I asked,” Wyatt growled. “What if shecanclose the Gate?”

“Her grandmother faded,” Kaleb argued. “Spent, for whatever reason. Perhaps from forming the Gate or simply from her time in the Human Realities, I don’t know. But do you want Mallory to risk herself? What if closing the Gate takes her fromus? What if she cannot survive back in Tennessee because her magic isgone.”

“Her grandmother lived for hundreds of years in the Human Realities!” Wyatt growled.

“Éabha was the eldest daughter of Mother Spider,” Kaleb argued. “She was an old and powerful Fae.”

“How many Wolfkin have died fighting?” Wyatt sneered. “How many of our grandfathers, uncles, and mothers fought in the Huntsman’s war? How many humans get eaten every year because ofhergrandmother and that damned Gate!”

“Don’t put those deaths on her.” Kaleb snarled. “Don’t blame Mallory for things that happened long before her birth.”

Silence, save for the sound of rushing tap water.

I’d suspected my grandmother had something to do with the Gate, but hearing it confirmed was difficult. Had she torn apart reality to escape the Huntsman?

I didn’t notice as the door opened, revealing Dean with a food tray in his hands.

“You went for breakfast.” I sagged with relief. Dean hadn’t left me.

His eyes crinkled at the corners. “Of course I did. I didn’t know what food you like, so I got a bit of everything.” Dean handed the tray to me and sat down on the edge of the mattress. “How do you feel?”

I grabbed one of the sausage links on the plate and took a bite before I answered. “Better,” I told him. “That wolf skin-contact thing is no joke.”

He gave me a strange look. “When it works.” He murmured, glancing at the bathroom room. “Mitchell is reporting to the Huntsman. We had to carry you back to the portal and we were spotted by several humans.”

“Did someone call the police?”

Dean shook his head. “Not to my knowledge. Kaleb had to use one of the Huntsman’s charms to dissolve the manticore’s body.”

“Kaleb can use magic?” I wondered.

“The Huntsman’s magic.” He clarified. “Wolves cannot access any magic or shift unless the Huntsman gives permission.”

My cheeks heated, and I looked down at my plate. “All because his wife ran away with a wolf?”

“Mitchell told me about your husband. What you said to Faith about the way he was.” Dean admitted, frowning as he stared at the uneaten food on my tray.

“Mitchell has a big mouth.” My nose wrinkled. “The police said it was suicide.” I put the tray down, my stomach sour.

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