Page 9 of A Trial of Fate

Damn Rhea and her annoyingly accurate intuition. “How’d you know something happened?” I snapped, perhaps with a little too much bite. Lucky for me, though, she didn’t seem to even blink at the tone I threw her way.

“Don’t dodge my question with another question.” She slid a smaller glass into my hand and raised her own. “You know the drill.” She threw her head back, swallowed the rest of her strong, oaky whiskey, and turned the glass upside down on the table. She arched her brow at me, a sign that I was supposed to follow her lead.

“Fine.” Grumbling under my breath, I tilted my head back, reached for the whiskey, and drained my own glass. I squirmed as the liquid sprouted fire in the back of my throat and forcefully slammed it on the wooden table as a tavern maid wandered past us.

“Going to need another, Elain,” Rhea said, grabbing our empty glasses.

Elain, the barkeep, smiled sweetly as she cocked an arm on her curvy waist and approached our table. “You two at it again, I see.”

“It’s allherfault,” I exclaimed, pointing at Rhea. “I’m the innocent one here. I’m only a half-shifter, so I burn through the effects of this stuff slower than she does.”

Elain laughed to herself as she gathered our glasses from the table. “Whatever you say, Skylar. The customer is always right.” She gave me a playful wink that I was sure was mastered over the years to pull at the heartstrings of the males who still fawned over her beauty.

Elain had dark blond hair paired with warm chocolate-brown eyes that made you melt. Her animal form was a beautiful white fox that you couldn’t miss even if you tried. Elain was only a handful of years older than us and, thankfully, always treated me just like anyone else. She had no idea how much it meant to me, but every time we came to the tavern, I made sure we gave her an extra coin on our tab.

“Don’t pout,” Rhea said as she sipped another helping of the earthy-scented drink. Elain looked at me, and I shook my head, indicating I was fine with the one I already regretted drinking and would be content with the remaining glass of wine. “You cheat,” Rheahissed. “You know you can heal a hangover, right? Just like a wound. You have the magic to heal literally anything.”

“Not for myself,” I countered. “Wait, is this why you drag me out to the taverns with you? So I can heal you after a night of overindulging in liquor?”

She grinned. “I always said you were the clever one between the two of us.”

I took a long sip of the wine, the warmth of the drink churning my stomach and loosening the cage of my inhibitions. I never was able to hold my liquor well. At least not when I compared it to any other shifter in the pack who could easily drink me under the table.

“So,” Rhea said, “what was going on today with you and Gilen?” She always had a clever way of striking straight to the heart of a topic.

“Was it that obvious?” I sighed, sinking my rosy cheeks into the palms of my hands and leaning onto the wooden bar table. “Dear. Gods, Mother and Father… Do we really have to talk about this right now?”

“There you go with the questions again. Yes, it is obvious. And yes, we are going to talk about it. It’s the whole reason why I made you come to the tavern and force-fed you whiskey. I know it’s already working its magic, so… tell me everything.”

I took another gulp of my wine and began to divulge all the details Julia told me in the kitchen about what Gilen did on the beach and how I apparently now have his scent on me. Being the amazing friend Rhea was, she sat in silence as I told her everything. She did not interrupt once and kept quiet until I finished telling my story.

“So, want me to kick his ass for you?”

“What?” I exclaimed, nearly spitting out my drink. “Rhea!”

“I bet Shaw or even Talon could help. They would gladly help, actually.”

“No!” I protested. “I do not want or need you to kick his ass for me. I’m perfectly capable of doing that myself.”

Rhea cocked a brow and slanted her blue eyes in my direction. She leaned back on the wooden bench, looking unimpressed. “Uh-huh. Yeah, calling bullshit right now.”

“I can handle myself, Rhea. I don’t need you or anyone else to do anything.”

“I still call bullshit. With anyone else, yes. You are more than capable of handling yourself. But… when it comes to Gilen. No. No, you cannot.”

I grunted with annoyance and sipped my glass. She had always known about the crush I had on Gilen, but thankfully never spoke openly about it or shared it with the others.

“Elain, I need another!” I shouted without delay. Elain glided through the near-empty tavern with not one but two refills, anticipating our needs as she always did. “Thank you.” I nodded. “I owe you one. Now, back to you.” I whirled my head toward Rhea. “What the actual fuck kind of response was that?”

“Harsh language, Sky—very unlike you.” Rhea kept a straight expression as she took a long sip from her glass. “He’s not the right match for you. I know you’ve liked the male since we were teenagers, but in the long run, I vote no. Actually, hell no.” The joking, fun-loving nature of the evening was beginning to take a turn.

“Elaborate. Now, please.”

My worst fears and insecurities were rattling inside my brain. My self-confidence shattered with the thought that I wasn’tgood enoughfor a male like Gilen. Tainted blood. A male who was going to be the next alpha of our pack needed someone, pure.

“Stop your spiraling,” Rhea demanded. “It’s not you. It’s him.” I clamped my lips shut, not asking the questions I was squirming to keep inside. “You are not meant to be caged, Skylar. As the mate of the alpha, you would be shackled to his will. He would be in charge of every aspect of your life and force you to follow in his command more than anyone else. It would be expected of you. It’s not a fault of his, but it’s just the way he was raised. It’s how Alistar is with his mate, Helen. Gilen would try to own you when you are meant to fly free. Your power is too special to keep hidden in this place or behind his shadow.”

“Gilen is not the type of male to—”

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