Page 19 of Wild Fated

I ground my teeth. She needed to stop talking.

“What do you think you did that required you to leave your pack and live the rest of your life doing good?” I didn’t answer, but Lana wouldn’t let it go. “You and Kael. Your alphas really twisted your minds, didn’t they?” She was breathing hard, taking long strides to keep up on the incline. “Packs are about family, support, loyalty."

A derisive snort escaped me. "Yeah, and with family comes expectations, obligations, and all the other shit I don't want to deal with."

"Because you don’t want to screw up again?" Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Because I don't want to be responsible for anyone else." I spat the words, my chest tightening.

Lana reached out and grabbed onto my arm, pulling me to a stop. "You're not responsible for me, Destin. This is my choice."

I stared out through the trees. “Good to know.”

We arrivedat an abandoned hostel two hours later. The building was weathered, its wooden beams greyed with age and overgrown with moss. The hostel had been built for human hikers but had been left to rot decades ago. Even the closest small town was over twenty kilometers from here.

I set up a lantern since the sun was dropping. The wooden walls creaked in the wind as I dropped my pack and unloaded the simple food I'd brought. Sandwiches and dried meat. I pulled out a small propane heater and heated water in a metal canister.

"You’re pretty responsible for someone who doesn’t want to be." Lana watched me.

I grunted without looking up. Once the water was hot, I stepped outside and returned with a handful of herbs. I dropped them into the canister, and the air filled with the scent of chamomile and mint.

Lana took a mug gratefully, and we sat in silence, sipping the tea. The warmth spread through my chest. I watched the way Lana’s hands wrapped around her cup, the way her eyes flickered in the dim light.

When heat beyond the tea began building in my middle, I stood and stretched, scanning to determine the best way to set up our mats. The only times I’d been here, I’d been alone. I walked to my pack and pulled out the tightly packed blankets.

“I have one. Not a mat, but a blanket.” Lana reached for her bag.

I nodded and set the extra on the floor next to my bag. Then the light on the lantern flickered, and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I stilled, my eyes scanning the room.

"Did you hear that?" Lana whispered.

I nodded, my body tense. "Stay here." I pulled my knife from my bag and moved to the door. The night was still. I listened, straining to pick up anything out of the ordinary. Then it came again. Not a sound. A feeling.

I sucked in a breath as the door handle suddenly froze over.

Chapter

Nine

Lana

The air turned cold and strange as Destin growled and released the door handle.

“What is it?” I reached for the dagger.

Destin stormed across the room and looked out the window. I followed, standing next to him. The night was a blanket of black, with the moon obscured behind the trees, but three dark silhouettes cut through the sky, their wings beating a thrumming rhythm that I felt deep in my chest.

“What the—?” Those were too big to be ravens or even eagles. My mind spun, searching for any kind of explanation.

Dark creatures. The last time I’d felt air like this had been the attack on Black Lake. I was only ten years old?—

Glass shattered, and Destin rolled his body between me and the window. “Get down!” he growled, but I was sure as hell not going to hide while he fought off whatever was coming at us.

Destin spun as one of the dark creatures dove through the window, its talons outstretched. The other two were quickto follow and aimed at me. I crouched, ready to meet them, but those black wings were faster than I anticipated. A flash of movement from the corner of my eye, and I saw Destin grappling with the first bird, its talons raking at his face.

I growled, trying to focus. The dagger was in my hand, and suddenly, the pieces snapped into place. They knew it was there. Why else would they be attacking a random hostel in the middle of the woods? We were far from pack protection, and I had one of the most powerful items in the history of our world.

Stupid.

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