Page 25 of Wolf Touched

Granted, being strange, not fitting in, and feeling like my birth parents hadn’t wanted me were three things I’d battled my entire life. Facing my birth mother now meant staring down one of my biggest demons; she had admitted those reasons were, in fact, why they’d given me up.

After a long moment, she ran her hands down her jeans and finished, “I mean, my husband.”

The two people who were supposed to have been my protectors as a child now had names, and I knew the face of one better than I wanted to admit. You’d think, at twenty-two, I’d be past all the betrayal and anger, but I felt like a child again, wanting to know why I wasn’t worthy of their love.

“IfDruwould be pissed, why are you even offering?” Raffe focused on the road, taking a sharp turn as we headed east from Seattle.

“Skylar needs my help and a safe place to stay.” Octavia closed her eyes a beat longer than seemed normal. “No oneknows where we live. We stay away from most every supernatural.”

Did she not think we’d pick up on “mostevery”? I rolled my eyes. “So some supernaturals are there. We can’t risk anyone discovering our presence, and that’s if we even agree to trust you. It sounds like a horrible idea.” I pushed aside my desire to agree so I could meet the brother I’d never known I had. He was the only one who was truly innocent. I assumed he had to be older, but she hadn’t mentioned him.

My heart stopped. What if something had happened to him?

“The supernaturals around us stay out of all that drama. They keep to themselves, much like we do.”

Babe, I know you want answers, but she could be walking us into a trap. If Slade was pretend-kidnapped to make it look like he saved you, this could be another act. She’s potentially not even your mother. The coven could be trying to manipulate us again.

I faced forward, staring out my window at the trees blurring by. The sun peeked from behind a gray cloud, but that didn’t stop the drizzle. My body went numb as I processed what he’d said, but he was right. There was no proof that this woman was my mother. The information she’d shared she could’ve gotten from the Veiled Circle.

The problem was I didn’t like thinking that way. When I checked her for magic earlier, she hadn’t had any, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t choosing her words carefully. It had been a highly volatile moment. I could ask her again, but I wasn’t upset enough to sense the truth of the answer.

My emotions were a hot mess. I both wished she hadn’t come but also wanted to know more. I wasn’t sure I could handle finding out she was pretending.

“Thanks for the offer, but we’ll pass.” Raffe leanedforward and turned on the Rolling Stones, indicating that all conversations were over.

And I loved him for that.

Six hours later,we pulled up to a rental house Josie had found online. We were outside of Spokane, Washington, close to Riverside State Park. We’d stopped at Walmart on our way in to grab clothes, food, and other essentials, so we had a ton of things to carry in.

Sky, Josie, and Lucy should go in with Dave and Octavia while the three of us unload the vehicles,Raffe linked with everyone he could and opened his door.

Even though I wanted to help, I didn’t have it in me to argue. The entire ride here, I’d struggled with everything we’d lost because of me. If I hadn’t come into the picture, Raffe would still be making his dad proud, and they’d all be at school, completing their education.

I took in the gray brick house and headed up the slanted porch to the front door, then punched in the code.

By the time the door opened, Octavia and Dave were behind me, with Josie and Lucy, Cat-Keith clinging to her neck, taking up the rear.

We stepped right into the living room, my dark-purple sneakers squeaking on the maple floor. Right across from me, a large window overlooked the side of the yard where a basketball court connected to the woods that led to a park.

Lucy said, “Why don’t you four sit while I put things away in the kitchen?”

The house had an open floor plan, and I could see the dining room and the kitchen from here.

I can help,I linked with her, wanting to pull my ownweight.

One of us needs to stay with Octavia and Dave. Josie’s still a little out of it, so if they try something, she might not be able to handle them, and honestly, I need to be busy.

Okay.That was different.Let me put Keith somewhere so she doesn’t get in the way.

“Come on.” I took the cat, waved for them to follow me, and headed to the L-shaped, dark-brown pleather couch. I hurried and put Keith inside the first door to the left, which was a bathroom. I cracked open the window, letting in cool air. Keith jumped off me and hurried to the window, lay down on the wide sill, and started licking her paws. I plugged the sink and filled it partway with water for her.

With Cat-Keith settled, I went back to the others and sat on the end of the couch closest to the door and kitchen so I’d have more time to react if Octavia tried something.

From the way Dave continued to grimace as Josie helped him into the room, I had no doubt he wasn’t fully recovered.

Raffe, Keith, and Adam brought in the food first and then other items. Each time my mate walked by, my eyes locked onto his ass and the way it moved with each step.

He was so damn sexy and, even better, the most caring person I’d ever known.

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