Page 84 of Fated to the Feral Wolf

He accepted the note and stared at it long and hard before answering. “No? Does it look familiar to you?”

I reached over to the nightstand, picking up the coin Brand had given me. Two faces pointing away from each other were etched into one side. But the other was a circle of numerals in some ancient language that I didn’t recognize. And that was what was pressed into the wax.

I held them up to show him, and he looked surprised. “Brand? But… I would ask how, but the man literally disappeared in front of us, so he’s clearly not all wolf, or he’s mated to someone incredibly powerful.” He shook his head, fingering the bit of wax thoughtfully. “How did he even know about the Fetya?”

“I don’t know. But he said help would come, and he’s saved me before.” I clutched the coin a little tighter, as if it could steady the jumble of unruly feelings in my chest. Who was this man, and why had he appointed himself my guardian angel? “If it’s true, that’s a huge relief.”

“If it’s true,” he echoed, tucking the parchment into his bag. “I guess we can figure it out together,” he said with a crooked smile.

I froze, my eyes going wide as a thought struck me. “Do you think he was fae?”

“What?”

“I’m half-fae. Do you think… He disappeared. He knows about the Fetya without us telling him. He’s oddly invested in me. What if he was my fae parent?”

Dirge sank onto the bed next to me. “That would explain some things, but I don’t know how we’d verify it without callinghim back here with the coin to ask. Is that what you want to do?”

Was it?

“No. I have a feeling that we’re going to need this.” I bit my bottom lip as I stared down at it. A tiny bit of metal, but somehow more. And I knew in my bones that now wasn’t the time. My answers would have to wait a little longer.

But there was still a thrill humming in my veins that I might have just met my fae father.

He restlessly ran a hand through his hair and shrugged. “Okay, then. Do you want showers first, or coffee?”

I didn’t even hesitate. “Coffee, please.” I tucked the coin into my pocket and made a mental note to get it put into a setting so I could wear it on a necklace.

Something buzzed before we could walk out of the room. “Is that your phone?” I asked. Mine was in my pocket.

He crossed to the nightstand and scooped it up. “Yep. It’s one of the men I contacted from the old country.”

“Good news?”

His face turned grim as he quickly scanned the message. “It’s news, but it’s not good. We’d better go fill in the others.”

“There you two are!Did you have a wild night?” Brielle smirked as we walked into the shared living area.

“Something like that,” Dirge answered.

“Well, hurry up and get in here. We need to work out our next steps, and we were waiting for you two sleepyheads. There’s coffee.”

“Thank the Goddess.” I was anxious about the next steps, but taking a moment to fix a cup of coffee wouldn’t change it.

We poured two oversized cups of black gold, then headed back to the living room, where the rest of our pack was waiting.They’d saved space for us on the love seat, which I accepted gratefully. I stifled a yawn with my palm as we sank into the cushions.

It really was a long night, and not in a hot way.

“So, Kane and I were up half the night talking,” Brielle started, shooting Kane a smile. “And we’ve both agreed that as much as we want this curse gone, we need to be smart about it. Aunt Kari has said there’s no rush, and we need a plan for handling the ODL before we just pull the plug and bring them down on our heads when we’re not ready.”

Reed nodded, clearly relieved by this decision. “I have an idea on that, actually. Kane, you’re high alpha now. Maybe it’s time to address the Interspecies Governing Council.”

“To what end? The IGC doesn’t even have a wolf shifter as a sitting member,” Kane said.

“To the end of getting the law overturned. Why should wolves still be suffering centuries later for one pack’s bad decisions? Fuck, wolf representation wouldalsobe a step in the right direction.”

Kane nodded, but seemed tense. “I agree, but we all know what the outcome will be.”

“I wouldn’t jump to that conclusion, Alpha.” Dirge surprised me by speaking up and leaning forward to rest his forearms on his knees. “The ODL attacked the Kodiaks and showed up at the great pack gathering without real cause, but off a completely bogus tip. They’re reaching, and that’s a great reason to push back. Based on the Kodiak attack… other species might stand with us.”

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