Page 87 of Eclipsed Heart

My blood boiled, and I blinked, trying to take a moment to gather my thoughts. “Where did they go?”

Lynerd snorted. “Like you don’t know. Stop playing games. You’re no better than he is.”

Growling, Bodey walked past me and shoved Lynerd back. My mate rasped, “Talk to her like that one more time, and Iwillteach you some manners. You’re about to push me too damn far.”

Lynerd stumbled back a step and caught his balance. “And here I thought we were friends. But I guess that’s what happens when you’re mated to someone likeher.”

In a flash, Bodey punched Lynerd in the jaw, causing the twenty pack members behind him to take several steps forward.

We didn’t have time for this shit, but Bodey’d given Lynerd what he was asking for. Alpha will infused my voice as I commanded,“Stand down.”

The pack members halted their progress, though their faces contorted, trying to break through my command.

Lifting his fist as if to punch Lynerd again, my mate snarled. “We are friends, but that will change if you don’t get your ass in line when it comes to my mate. I will not stand back and let some entitled douchebag talk to her that way.”

Fucking punch him again,Jack cheered through the link.

Things were escalating, which was the opposite of what I’d hoped.

Lucas replied,Don’t encourage him. This isn’t what we need right now.

“What did he say when he came for her?” I needed the full picture before I linked with Zeke. He had a way of bending the truth to skirt around telling a lie, so I wanted to be as prepared as possible to know what to ask him.

Tilting his head, Lynerd focused on me. “You didn’t tell him to take her?” He pointed at me. “I want to hearyouanswer.”

He wanted to see if I would lie. No matter what, I’d look bad—either I didn’t have control over Zeke, or I was trying to hide my involvement. “No. I linked with him three hours ago to tell him we were on our way to check in with you and to talk to one of the witches here. That we might finally get some answers. That’s it. I didn’t instruct him to do anything other than make sure everyone remained safe.”

“So that’s how he got around the lie.” Lynerd’s hands fisted. “He played on what you said to him as if Sybil being here with us made her unsafe.” His breathing turned rapid. “Maybe that was his plan because, without Sybil here, our pack is greatly weakened.”

“Is Sybil your strongest witch?” Samuel rubbed a hand over his mouth.

He nodded and winced. “If we’re attacked right now with the force we were two days ago, a lot more than five of us would probably be killed.”

The information hung heavy around us. “Did Salem join the coven here to increase its power?” River hadn’t filled in that information.

Some of the anger in Lynerd’s eyes ebbed. “You’ve been catching up on our pack history, haven't you?”

“Yes, and you aren’t answering the question.” If he was going to call my ass out, then I’d give him the same courtesy.

He chuckled, catching me off guard. “Yes, thatiswhy she joined the coven here. And Sybil’s the priestess today, which means we need her back. Now.”

“What do you know about Salem’s death?” I wanted to hear his version of the story to see if it clicked in some missing pieces.

Any leeway I’d gained with him in the last few minutes vanished. His neck corded. “Both she and her husband died, leaving Sybil an orphan.”

His response made me even more wary of him. “How?”

“Don’t you think our time should be focused on theliving?” Lynerd growled.

“Refusing to answer is defyingyour queen,” Samuel said, standing even taller beside me.

“Sure, let’s focus on that instead of Zeke taking off with Sybil, which she supposedly didn’t authorize.” Lynerd glared at him.

When I saw Zeke again, I was going to strangle him. Just enough pressure to slowly dwindle his oxygen, so it was slow and painful. He was causing issues, and it felt like he was doing it on purpose. “Don’t worry. I’ll address that with him.”

“I need more than that,” Lynerd snapped. “I need her back herenow. Once you get her home safely, we can talk about strategy.”

For a moment, my suspicion wavered. He wanted me to find Sybil and bring her back, which meant that my memories could be restored. If he was behind taking them away, I would think that he’d want to be the one to get her, not the other way around.

---