Page 2 of Wolf Touched

Keith’s dark wolf darted off in the direction we’d come from.

I twisted toward Raffe, placing my hands on my waist.What the hell? What was that?

Raffe’s olive complexion seemed a shade paler.Look, I don’t like her or trust her, but I agree that you shouldn’t run off on your own, even to Lucy. It’s best if we both stay with Adam. At least if she tries something and uses magic, we’ll be together. Remember what has fucking happened every time we split up? And we both can’t run to Lucy. It’s better if we stay where we know nothing weird has been set up.

He had a point, though I didn’t like it.Fine.

Branches snapped, and Lucy’s rose scent drifted in on the breeze.

She was here.

Thank God.

I feared that if we didn’t move Josie soon, she might not make it out alive. I couldn’t imagine her and Dave dying like this.

“You’re pack-linking with them, aren’t you?” Octavia gaped. “How is that possible? Unless you completed the bond, but even then …”

My breath caught. “How do you know all of this?” I faced her again. “You might have dormant power similar to mine, but that doesn’t explain how you know about supernaturals. I didn’t, and I grew up with weird things happening around me all the time.” It didn’t seem fair, her being aware of all this when I hadn’t been. How was it possible?

She crossed her arms and stared at the ground. “I was raised with knowledge about supernaturals. Though I don’t interact with all species, I know about their existence, along with the heritage of my ancestors.”

Her words were a punch to the gut. “That must have been nice.” A sour taste filled my mouth. “I didn’t have that luxury. Humans adopted me. The adoption was arranged while my birth parents were alive, so it wasn’t like I was orphaned.” I tried never to think about that part, but now I couldn’t ignore it. “How many of our kind are out there?” I’d assumed I was alone, and I’d hoped that my parents had known they were under threat and gave me up for love, but I wasn’t sure I believed that. What if they hadn’t wanted me because I was odd?

“Not many.” She mashed her lips. “But there are a few.”

“Where?” I asked.

Lucy burst through the firs, cutting off the conversation. Her haunting gray eyes focused on Octavia for a second as she hurried past with Josie’s clothes in hand. When her attention landed on Josie, the skin around her eyes tightened. “Shit! She looks awful.”

That was putting it mildly.

She rushed to Josie, and I followed. Lucy worked on dressing Josie’s top half while I worked on the bottom. As soon as Josie was covered, my wolf calmed. One less thing for her to worry about.

I straightened and noticed that Adam was gone and Raffe was looming over Octavia, not batting an eye. The way he had his hands clenched at his sides screamed that he was ready to attack her.

Did that woman hurt Dave?Lucy asked.

She said she didn’t, but when we found them, she was hovering over him, and there was a dagger in his chest.The image popped into my brain again.She’s not a witch, and I don’t believe she’s spelled, so I’m inclined to believe her.

That doesn’t mean we can trust her,Raffe added, then filled Lucy in on everything.

When he finished, Adam joined us in human form. He was about four inches shorter than Raffe’s six-and-a-half feet, and his loose, curly brown hair had a few twigs in it.

Now that he was here and Josie was dressed, we had to determine our next steps.What’s the plan?

I don’t fucking know.Raffe ran a hand down his face, his muscles tensing and on display due to his bare chest.

I tried not to let his muscles distract me, but my stomach fluttered.

I want her to come with us.I needed to make that point clear.She knows about the arcane-born, and I have so many questions that maybe she can answer.

Don’t worry. She’s not going anywhere.Raffe pursed his lips.Let’s take them to Adam and Keith’s apartment. They can stay in the extra bedroom, and we can take turns watching them.

You meanyourroom?Keith linked, adding to the conversation even though he wasn’t here.The one you’ve clearly forgotten about?

Growling, Raffe snapped,It hasn’t been my room since Sky and I bonded, so make sure you get that shit straight.

I swore Keith just liked getting a reaction out of people.So, take Josie back to her place and Dave and Octavia to the men’s dorm. How do we get Dave inside in this condition?

---