Page 32 of Villainous Fate

Riddle four was left.

“Okay, line one says, ‘I’m the darkness that creeps deep inside,’ and I’m going to be honest, my first thought is greed,” I say.

“But does greed lead people to hide?” he asks, following my train of thought.

“Not usually.”

“The line ‘I thrive in uncertainty’ has to be leading us somewhere. Power? Evil? Doubt? Fear?” I rattle off, thinking of how my father rules our pack using these strategies.

“Fear. I like fear for this one,” he interrupts.

“That would give us Promise, Seven, Trust, Fear, Fate. What would the password be?” I ask, knowing where my head is leaning but wanting to see his conclusion.

“Fear Fate. Because it’s the only force as an Alpha, you can’t change. The Fates rule over all of us.” His voice becomes more determined as he speaks.

“What if it’s Trust Fate? Because it is supposed to be the right path for us all, leading us to our Mates, our Packs, our Wolves?” I offer, playing devil's advocate because I think his answer has merit, but I can almost feel Grace tugging on my brain with her constant reminder that we have to trust them to do what’s right for us, the way they brought her to me to save me that night.

Crossing his arms, his brow drops, and I can see him weighing my option against his own.

“Maybe we just don’t give an answer? It’s a risk to go either way, and we have no way of knowing what they were thinking when they made this contest.”

My wolf riles in me. What a cop-out.

“No, based on your encounter with Alvarez earlier, they don’t want us here. We’re going to need every advantage we can get to survive here.”

His face hardens, and part of me wants to say fuck him. I’ll give the password even if he won’t, but I also know making an enemy out the gate is not the best option.

“Look, I’m here because of my girl, Grace. She is the only thing I care about in this world. Not power. Not being an Alpha. Not any of this shit. She deserves to have the life she wants. If she were here, you’d understand, but she believes in The Fates more than anyone I know. Something is telling me we should listen to her.” My eyes plead with him, and my heart aches at the mention of her.

My Grace.

He’s silent for a long moment before he lets out a sigh, running a hand down his face.

“Alright. It’s as good a guess as any. Let’s trust fate.” He smiles, and for the first time, it hits his eyes. He’s kind. Genuine.

They are going to eat him alive.

I nod back, trying to push my protective side away. Mentally building walls so that I don’t see his similarities to Luca.

Not my problem.

Damnit.

“Well, let's get a move on,” I say, clearing my throat to shake off the bonding moment. “We might still get there first.”

Chapter 20

Marcus

Afteranotherthirtyminutes,we reach our destination just as the sun fully sets. Wood fencing surrounds the camp, which sports a makeshift watch tower on each corner. The compound appears to be a few hundred yards across, with a large gate in the middle that stands partially open and is guarded by two men.

Smoke rises out from behind the fencing, and shadows dance in the distance, letting us know they have fires lit around the camp. Voices waft in our direction from the pack members guarding the facility, and the sound of dishes can be heard from one of the tents on the other side.

We made it. With time to spare!

Relief spreads through me, and stress melts away that I wasn’t even aware I was carrying.

Icando this.

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