Page 45 of A Wolf's Heart

Thus started a round of barking and howls from the patrons. “Shut up, you mongrels!” he yelled.

“She’s good,” someone called back. “She’s with the triquetra.”

The bartender nodded. “Apologies,” he yelled over the crowd while getting back to his job.

Emma and I found an empty booth, well, in a way. As we were about to walk by, two males and a female exited it. The male gave a low nod to me before leaving. Emma didn’t seem taken aback by this, but I couldn’t help but wonder if it was because of what that person had said—that we were with the triquetra. Surely, the workers here didn’t know what happened in the arena.

“What is the triquetra?” I asked as I slipped into the booth. Max went under the table and lay down at my feet.

“Kage, Rainor, and Weylin,” she said right away. “Most of our generation, and the generation before them, have called the three of them that since they were kids. They have a connection. No one knows what it is, exactly, but shifters from all over—not just our pack—believe it makes them stronger. Even the council doesn’t cross them.

“The triquetra is actually a Celtic symbol. It has many meanings, but the older generation called them that because, for us, it represents unity, protection, and eternity.”

“This sounds like we are going to need some drinks. What do you want? My treat.”

Emma opted for wine, so I decided to get a glass as well, although wine always hit me a little harder than beer. I hadn’t eaten, and after the fight in the arena, I was starving, so I also put in an order for an appetizer platter. I went to pay for the order, but the bartender declined my cash, citing something about being with the triquetra and that Kage took care of the bill. Instead of arguing, I upped our order from glasses of wine to the entire bottle and walked back to the table with it. It was Kage’s fault we needed a drink; I was sure he could handle it.

Emma’s eyes widened when she saw it, but she was adorable as she held her glass for me to pour, like a kid getting a handful of candy.

“Okay, start dishing the deets,” I said. “Have you known the troublesome trio since childhood?”

She was nervous at first.

“Em, please help a girl out. Apparently, I’m their mate, and I have no idea what I’ve gotten myself into.”

Finally, she had pity on me. “Okay, fine. But sit over here.”

I moved from my side of the table and sat next to her. Emma leaned in close to me.

“I come from a different pack,” she began, “but everyone knew of the triquetra. It started the year Weylin was adopted into their pack. The only reason it was announced was because they were actively searching for him. I remember the Cridhe Pack alpha coming through our territory with Kage. Even though I was only four then, it was a big deal. The whole pack worked to clean up our territory, and our alpha threw a ton of money into everyone’s home to make everything look nice. But when their alpha only searched the orphanage and left the same day, our alpha was pissed.

“Anyway, Weylin was found a few days later at an orphanage on packless territories.”

“Wait.” I frowned. “What were they looking for? Just a kid who was compatible?”

“No, the link. Haven’t they told you yet?” I shook my head. “The three of them have a pack link, the internal communication, but they are able to carry it on in human form. No such thing has ever been heard of before. Rainor and Kage could hear Weylin, but they couldn’t locate him, so there was a massive search put on for him.”

I fucking knew it. “I’ve seen them do it, talk to one another around me.”

“Oh yeah, they do it all the time when I’m in the room and they don’t want me to overhear. Sometimes I wonder if they know they get blank faces when they do it.”

I laughed. “They totally do! Like they are zoned out or thinking really hard about something.” The food arrived then, three times the amount that I had expected. “Oops, I just ordered the one platter.”

Emma smiled. “When you order food in shifter-heavy establishments, be prepared for large portions.”

“Please, have some,” I said, bringing the platter closer to the both of us.

She hesitated, her eyes darting around, biting her lip. It broke my heart because Emma was such a nice person. Finally, she took a French fry and began nibbling on it. “Anyway, once they were together, I heard there were some tests, but primarily it was the council that started the whole triquetra thing. As if Cridhe Pack wasn’t the golden child already. It was easy for the packs to hate them. Easier still for them to send assassins.”

“Assassins? To kill children?” I asked. “How old were they when they found Weylin?”

“Eleven, but this is the way of the shifter world. Regardless of being children, they were a threat. One thing you will learn—threats aren’t taken lightly.” She reached for another fry.

That reminded me of the challenge today. “Like what happened to Clark,” I said. “They exiled him.” She looked saddened for a moment. “Do you know him? He was a black wolf with white paws.”

She shook her head. “Sorry. I don’t go down to the basement often.”

“Do you think there would be a way you could find him for me?”

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