Page 15 of Fated to the Warrior Wolf

“Thanks,” I said, giving her a grateful smile. “I was just wondering how to explain that.”

“Olivia’s has faded now, and it started about an hour before yours did. So it might fade by the end of the day.” Her voice was skeptical, even as she offered assurances.

“What is it?” I asked without looking up as I carefully applied the sticky covering, making sure none of the edges peeked out.

She was quiet, hesitant, but she finally answered. “Hers faded out hours ago. We expected yours to do the same, but…”

Ah. So, I might be glowy for a while. For the whole pregnancy? That was going to be annoying to deal with.

I flexed my palm, already not enjoying the bulky bandage impeding my dexterity. I had a thing about sticky stuff, but the ick would have to be dealt with in favor of anonymity.

“We don’t know much at all about this mark, so it could be any number of reasons. Nothing to stress about until we knowmore,” Reed offered, though his genuine smile didn’t quite offset the worried crease between his eyebrows.

He was good, but not that good at hiding his emotions.

Gael stormed past us, shoulder checking Reed on his way past.

My jaw dropped at the blatant and uncharacteristic hostility toward his pack mate, while Reed looked confused as he stared at his friend’s retreating back.

But I wasn’t confused.

I knewexactlywhy he was pissed, and guilt flooded me.

Reed was in my room yesterday morning, and he was sitting with me now. Which meant Gael thoughthewas the other man. The nonexistent, completely fictional other man, and not just a pack mate looking out for the knocked-up, lone she-wolf.

“I should probably go talk to him,” I said, casting an anxious glance first at Reed, then Shay.

“Do you need backup?” she asked, her usual quiet tone laced with a threat. Dirge stood over her shoulder, his expression all thunderclouds as they clearly shared the same impression.

Shay didn’t appreciate Gael and me fighting, ever, but I could tell his behavior bothered her even more now that there was a baby onboard. But it was misplaced anger, because this steaming mess was mine to clean up, not his, and shame flooded me along with a flush to my cheeks.

My friends had my back, but did I deserve it at this point? If I couldn’t explain myself, I’d have to fess up to them about what I’d said, and that thought made me feel the size of an ant. They’d be disappointed, and my shame would be eternal.

No, I had to fix this.

And we weren’t going to talk about how a little, primal part of me found his territorial behavior toward Reed smoking hot. Definitely not.

Time to woman up, or whatever.

Ididn’t getthe chance to talk to him immediately after we got off the plane, because we were shuffled as a group right through the quiet terminal to a series of waiting black SUVs, and he conveniently climbed into the one I wasn’t in.

Not that I blamed him. I didn’t really want to share air space with myself either right this second.

But when the caravan pulled through a set of wrought iron gates that probably cost more than my annual salary back home and up a winding cobblestone drive, I forgot all about my self-loathing for a moment. The pack lodge was no lodge at all; it was a castle. The stone castle looked like it belonged in a gothic period romance, with multiple spires piercing the gloomy gray sky. The ground dropped off in a sheer cliff all the way around, and it cut an intimidating silhouette. The ground beneath was beautiful and wild, and on closer inspection, I spotted narrow stairs cut into the natural stone so you could go down for a run. Though in a castle this grandiose, I’d bet there was a way to get down there from inside too.

The roof was some sort of orangey material, the walls a beautiful, natural gray stone. But before we could even reach it, our cars had to cross a large flat bridge, which a quick glance over the side showed was at least thirty feet above the small river running underneath. I quickly leaned back in my seat, not enjoying the height and the view making my head spin a little.

I sucked in a deep breath through my nose and focused on the stunning architecture. The top of the walls were crenelated, like a real, honest-to-Goddess fairy-tale castle, but I could already tell it had been updated with modern amenities. A butler in full uniform stood at the open front door as our SUVs pulled into the circular drive, modern electric lighting shining out to greet us, and I could already glimpse huge oil paintings hanging inside the entryway.

“Holy shit,” Shay murmured from my right. “Was that a real drawbridge?” She looked from me to Brielle, whose eyes were wide as she stared up at the imposing façade of the castle as if a gargoyle was going to swoop down and gobble her up. Olivia was too busy staring up, lips in anoof shock, to respond.

“So, bestie, looks like your man is hella rich,” I joked, poking Brielle on the shoulder to distract myself from my mess of a life.

Dirge snorted from Shay’s other side. He leaned forward so he could see me. “You realize we all are, right? Not just Kane.”

My wordless blinking back in response made him chuckle.

“Kane owns the pack grounds here, including the pack castle, as well as numerous holdings throughout Romania and the rest of Europe. Gael is the eldest son of a family with money so old, it’s dusty, and their wealth rivals Kane’s. Reed and I aren’t quite as silver spoon as those two by birth, but my brother runs one of the largest international restaurant empires in the world, and I’ve had stock holdings since the markets were invented. Compound interest works wonders when you’ve got hundreds of years to let it work its magic.”

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