Page 33 of Fated to the Wolf Prince

Witch. My wolf sneezed, disliking the charred-bone smell that always accompanied a witch’s magic. On closer inspection, I saw little sparks of silver mixed into the magic flowing from her sides. If this was some kind of curse, did that mean she didn’t have a mystery illness? Had hermotherdied of foul play?

I didn’t have time to process the implications further because, to my horror, her wolf began to sway drunkenly. She was fine and happy one minute, and the next, she struggled to stay on her feet. I wanted to shout, to warn her, to dosomething, but I didn’t have the chance.

Because my beautiful, precious mate collapsed before my eyes, her shift reversing, leaving her naked and convulsing on the ground.

I was backin skin in an instant, cradling her head and yelling for my pack.

Gael and Reed skidded to a stop, anxious grimaces on both their faces.

“What happened, Alpha?” Gael barked, his wolf still close to the surface after such a short shift.

“I don’t know, but something’s wrong. Go get the healer. Reed, keep everyone back until he gets here.”

Leigh and Shay were there, hovering in wolf form as soon as my men departed to do as I’d ordered.

Leigh shifted back, blurring from reddish-taupe fur to long, tanned legs in a second flat. I didn’t care that a naked supermodel was standing in front of me; all I could see was my mate, arms thrashing and head tossing despite my best efforts to keep her still, safe.

“Roll her on her side! We don’t know why, but this happens every time she shifts. She’ll come out of it soon and be embarrassed as hell. I swear on the Goddess’s tits that if you’re rude to her about this, I’ll tear your balls off and feed them to your asshole of a second.”

I snarled at her implication that I would ever knowingly embarrass my mate, not in the least worried about her threats, serious though she was. In fact, I appreciated her undying loyalty to my female. She needed us, needed our strength, if we were going to figure this out. Leigh’s hands were surprisingly gentle for such a brash she-wolf as she steadied Brielle’s legs, supporting her knees and shins so she didn’t bash them on the ground.

Shay didn’t shift back, instead curling up at Brielle’s side, inserting herself between me and Leigh to get to her friend. Brielle’s tremors were beginning to slow, and she curled one of her hands into Shay’s fur, gripping it tightly enough that it had to pull, but Shay never made a sound, only rested her canine head in the crook of Brielle’s elbow. Worried wolf eyes met mine briefly before flicking away.

If I hadn’t already known that Brielle was a woman of worth, the deep loyalty she inspired in her friends would have proven it, no question.

In wolf society, strength was respected. The strongest line ruled, the strongest wolf was Alpha, and only the strongest survived. But here was my mate in a moment of extreme vulnerability, and they hadn’t attacked. They’d protected.

But how strong would she be once we removed that drain on her power? The longer I spent with her, the more convinced I was that she was no psi, and this drain only underscored that in my mind.

My heart clenched in my chest as I ran my hand over her sweaty temple, smoothing the hair back from her face again and again. I hoped she found it soothing, but it was as much for me as it was for her. I could no more stop touching her than I could lop off my own arm and walk away.

I sensed another male approaching me from behind and snarled back over my shoulder, only to find Gael, gray sweatpants clenched in one fist and a blanket tucked under his arm. He stopped at my shoulder, dropping the sweats for me to put on, and offered me the blanket.

Careful not to move her, I quickly fanned the thin, soft material over her—and Shay, who refused to move. Leigh helped me tuck it around, and then I heard the familiar clank of John Henry’s medical kit as he ran to where we all knelt, just inside the tree line.

“So, she fainted the first time she saw you naked, huh, boss?”

“Now isn’t the time for jokes, John. Something is very wrong. She told me she’s always struggled to call her wolf and stay shifted, but when she did, I saw—” I stopped short, the words refusing to come out. Now that she was motionless in my arms, a wider awareness returned, and that included the dozens of wolves crowding less than ten feet away, trying to see whatever they could around Reed’s dress-pants-clad form.

No, better not to share every detail. Not here, when we didn’t know who had called the ODL or what they were after. Besides, I wanted to know what herfriendsknew, as well. Surely they’d already tried to figure out what witch’s magic was plaguing her?

“Lay her down flat for me, and let me check her pulse.” John was all business, and I appreciated that he’d dropped the jokes. This was serious, and whatever was hurting my mate, it wasn’t natural.

TWENTY-THREE

Brielle

Iwoke slowly, as if rising up through something sticky and dark, like muddy Jell-O. My tongue felt thick and dry in my mouth, and at first, I had no idea where I was or what had happened.

Then it clicked. Shame and humiliation flooded me, and I heard a groan from somewhere.

Gentle fingers soothed over the side of my neck, and a soft shushing sound broke past the pounding of my heart in my ears. Next came sensation, and I felt the soft plushness of wolf fur—Shay’s, no doubt—against my naked front, Leigh’s strong grip on my ankle and— I sucked in a breath, his cinnamon-orange scent comforting me while oddly making me want to cry at the same time.

Kane. My strong, dominant alpha mate, witnessing the lowest of the low of my weakness.

Something inside me cracked, and tears began to well over my cheeks.

There was no way he’d want me now. I’d tried to warn him, but there was just something different about seeing a majestic wolf collapse into a naked, vulnerable woman.

---