Page 22 of Fated to the Warrior Wolf

I held the little cotton ball to the crook of my arm where Brielle had just drawn my blood. I was a little surprised when she knocked on my door with the testing supplies in hand, but apparently, she traveled with blood draw kits.

Normally, I’d find it weird as hell, but I’d decided not to ask why and just be glad I didn’t have to wait longer to know the truth. Granted, I didn’t know how long it would take her to get a sample from Leigh.

Limbo was a circle of hell. I was sure of it.

A piece of English muffin bounced off my forehead, and I snarled at Reed and his too-damn-amused smirk.

“You aren’t even listening. And don’t glare at me like that. Dirge threw the bread.” He gestured to his twin brother, who wore a wide grin on the other side of the table.

“Somebody had to.” He winked at me, then went back to tucking into his plate with relish.

“What?” I asked, more tersely than I should have given I had been ignoring pack business, which was a bad look for the second.

“We asked if you’d gotten the arrangements made for Karissma’s arrival. She doesn’t want it to become widely known she’s here with the pack.”

Oh.

“Yes, she’s coming in a few weeks, unmarked packtransportation, and we’re putting her up just outside the village in private lodging that meets her specifications.”

Kane nodded, looking relieved at the idea of having her close. Personally, she made my fur itch. I had no desire to spend time in the powerful witch’s sphere of influence. But it was different for him, given the curse and the family connection.

So, I kept my feelings to myself and said a small prayer of thanks to the Goddess that Karissma didn’t want to stay in the castle with the rest of us.

“Great. Care to share what you’re thinking that’s got you so tied up in knots?”

Reed held my gaze steadily, allowed among friends of equal dominance, but given the circumstances… my wolf could only see it as a challenge. I felt when he pressed forward, my eyes glowing with his displeasure.

“Shit, you really are upset. What’s wrong? Is Leigh okay with the baby? I assumed with Bri living under the same roof, she’d be fine.” Reed straightened his collar, a nervous habit of his.

Somehow, her name on his lips just pissed me off further.

I hadn’t felt myself stalk forward, but I almost tore Kane’s hand off when he put it on my shoulder, stopping me before I ran into the long, mahogany table that had probably been in his family a thousand years.

“You don’t have to sit down, but you will not attack a member of our pack. Tell us,” he urged, but it wasn’t lost on me that he didn’t force the words like he could have. He was a good Alpha, and I could feel the concern through our pack bond, right below my sternum.

I sighed, scrubbing both hands over my face before spinning away from his touch, turning my back to my pack before I could utter the damning words.

“My wolf wants her, but we don’t have marks, and…”

Waiting wasn’t going to make it better, but still, I paused. The words were like bile on my tongue.

“She says the baby might not be mine.”

I don’t think anybody even breathed, it was so stony silent in the room. But when I finally turned around, the three of them had expressions of shock and disbelief on their faces.

Reed looked just as shocked as the rest, and that realization did settle my wolf a fraction.

“Hence your request last night,” Kane murmured, running a hand over the back of his neck. “Shit.”

I nodded, words failing me, as I waited for Reed to say something.

Tell me it’s not you, brother.

“Well, who the fuck’s it supposed to be?” Dirge looked absolutely confused. “She spends her nights quietly, alone in her room or with the trio, and I haven’t seen or scented another male on her besides you since I was let out of the feral cell. Are you sure she wasn’t just messing with you? She’s a firecracker—she might just have wanted to pull your tail.”

I blinked slowly, letting the words sink in. Was that possible?

I thought hard, going back over the last few weeks. We weren’tclose, of course, because she was angry with me. But I’d seen her every single day, even if only in passing. Had I ever scented another male on her?

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