Page 43 of Fated Wolf's Destiny

Once I’ve dressed, I return to where I left him only to find him awake.

“There will come a time I take you to task for leaving our bed without waking me,” he rumbles, the dim light casting his facein sharp relief, highlighting the shadow of his stubble and the flicker of something unreadable in his eyes.

“If there’s to be a next time…”

“There will be,” he calmly assures me.

“You’re going to tell me the truth,” I demand, my voice firm despite the swirling emotions raging inside me. “No more cryptic warnings. No more half-answers. I want to know everything.”

Ryder runs a hand through his hair, the pain from his movements easy to see. He looks as if he might say something and then doesn’t. I think he might try to leave again, to shut me out like he always does, but then he exhales sharply, his shoulders slumping like he’s carrying a weight too heavy to bear as he rolls to a sitting position on the edge of the cot.

“Fine,” he says, his voice quiet but edged with something raw. “You want the truth? I’m the alpha of the Nightshade Pack.”

“I know that.”

“Do you want to hear what I have to say or not?” He waits, and when I say nothing, he continues. “We’ve existed here, in Shadow Hollow, for thousands of years, hidden from the outside world.”

“And what about my grandmother?” I demand, my voice trembling with emotion. “What about the pain your pack caused her?”

Ryder’s eyes flash, but he takes a calming breath. I try to calm myself, as well.

“You think I don’t hate what happened to your grandmother? You think I don’t carry every decision that every alpha before me had to make?”

A heavy, charged silence follows his words, neither of us move. The space between us feels charged, like a live wire waiting to snap. My chest heaves, and I, too, take a long breath, letting it out slowly.

“You’re a part of this,” he says finally, his voice softer now, almost pleading. “Whether you like it or not. Your grandmother’s blood runs in your veins. That makes you one of us.”

I shake my head and speak quietly. “I’m not one of you.”

“You are.”

I shake my head. “I’m going to find what happened to Arthur and why.”

Ryder stands, pulls on his clothes, and steps closer, his eyes locked on mine. The intensity in his gaze makes my heart race. “You’re playing with fire, Bella,” he warns, his voice low and smooth, almost like a caress.

“Maybe, but I think it’s time somebody struck a match,” I whisper, holding his gaze.

The silence that follows is deafening, the gulf between the things we each feel responsible for stretching out between us. The unstated feelings simmer, and I know neither of us is willing to walk away.

“We’ll find a way, Bella.”

I can’t get words to form or leave my mouth, so I just nod.

Pacing the small space, the words Arthur wrote keep looping in my head. But it’s not about just shifters, secrets and my grandmother being banished.It’s about the Crimson Claw—how and why they’re being created and controlled, and by whom.

Ryder walks into the break room, which has a small kitchen, and makes a pot of coffee. His brooding presence is as infuriating as ever. He’s shut down, his expression unreadable now that he’s finally cracked open the door to the truth. He hasn’t let me in, not really. I’m trying to understand, trying to see everything from his point of view, but it’s really hard.

The sound of the clinic door opening snaps me out of my thoughts. Lucas steps inside, his easy smile disarming in a way Ryder’s will never be. There is nothing easy about Ryder. Lucasglances between the two of us, his brow quirking as he takes it all in. His wicked grin says he knows exactly where his brother has been and what he has been doing.

“Wow,” Lucas says, shutting the door behind him. “I thought I was going to be walking into a battlefield. I actually had plans to get a hose.”

I stop pacing and glare at him. Ryder smiles. “I should have told you that after a while the goofy grin and silly sarcasm begins to grate.”

“You might try the easy charm and sexy smile,” I say to Ryder.

Lucas steps into my line of sight, drawing my attention back to him. His expression is softer now, more thoughtful. “Look, Bella, I know you’re pissed about your grandmother, and you have every right to be. As for the Crimson Claw, I think you may know more than we do.”

Ryder nods. “They’re an anomaly, but I think Arthur was putting it together. Incidentally, not everyone in the pack agreed with the decision to banish your grandmother.”

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