Page 46 of Wolf Touched

“I know. I’m sorry, but—”

“It’s fine. Just come home. I love you.”

“Love you,” she replied. “We’ll be there in fourteen hours.” She hung up.

I rolled my shoulders and tried to wipe a tear from my eye discreetly. If it weren’t for Raffe needing help, I would’ve changed my mind. Instead, I drove as fast as I dared, hoping like hell we got there in time.

Thirteen hours later,we drove through Salt Lake City, Utah, and headed into the mountains. Raffe had been in and out of consciousness, and I was trying to get him to the doctor.

My only solace was that his breathing and heart rate remained steady. My back was stiff from leaningslightly over the center console so I could touch his arm. I needed the constant buzz of our connection for reassurance.

Between his condition and the fact that I was about to meet my biological father and brother, my emotions were all over the place. I both wanted to get there and dreaded it, but my fated mate’s health would always trump my personal needs.

“Turn here.” Octavia leaned forward, directing me to turn left onto a gravel road. Under different circumstances, I’d have found this area beautiful. Many leaves were yellow with hints of gold and orange, and the spruce and fir trees retained their evergreen canvas like the dark silhouettes of a painting.

Up ahead, the trees thinned, and a sizable brick house appeared. The buzz of coven magic washed over me.

Heart dropping, I stomped on the brakes. The bitch had set a trap.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The tires skidded on the gravel, sending a dust cloud swirling around us. The haze thickened, and I couldn’t see through it.

Raffe lurched, and I reached over to keep him in place. His groan sounded so raspy, and the pain that shot through our bond had my breath catching. He wasn’t doing well, but I didn’t know what the fuck to do about it.

What the hell is going on? I almost rear-ended you,Keith linked.Did you see Bambi or something?

I would’ve found his sarcasm humorous, but between the threat, Raffe’s agony, and his current state, my patience snapped.I just drove through coven magic.

There was silence as the air cleared around us. Then tires squealed behind us as Adam slung his car into reverse.

Let’s get out of here,Adam linked.Before they attack us.

We needed to go, but I didn’t know what that meant for Raffe. Our bond had cooled ever so slightly. If we left, I wasn’t sure where we could take him—an emergency room wasn’t an option with his shifter blood and healing.

Worse, we couldn’t afford to stay anywhere, let alonebuy food and medical supplies. I wanted to scream and flip off the world, but that wouldn’t accomplish anything.

If we left, I couldn’t bring Octavia with us. Part of me wanted to keep her as a bargaining chip, but I doubted she meant much to the coven, so there was no true benefit in keeping her with us. That alone made the decision for me. She’d told me I could trust her, and before even reaching the door, I’d felt coven magic swirling throughout the area.

“Get out,” I commanded as more tires squealed and Keith backed out. Now I had room to back up too, but I had to get Octavia out of the damn vehicle.

“What?” Octavia rasped, leaning forward so that her head appeared between my headrest and Raffe’s. “Why?”

Oh, so she was playing innocent. That wasfine. Slade had given me plenty of experience in dealing with that. “Coven magic. You told us you weren’t part of the Veiled Circle or working with witches, yet coven magic is everywhere here. Get your ass out of the car, or I’ll make you.”

Raffe’s connection faded a little more, and I grew light-headed.

The front door of the house opened.

Shit, they were making a move.

“What? I’m not working with Supreme Priestess Olwyn or her coven.” Octavia bit her lip and hung her head. “It must be because I vanished. The witches who live around here probably spelled the area so no other witches can enter, I’d guess.”

I climbed out of the car, ready to drag her ass out. My blood went straight to a fizz as I yanked open the back driver’s side door. “Well, I don’t trust you, seeing as my skin is crawling from the amount of magic out here. This is your last chance. Get out, or I’ll make you.”

Keith’s car stopped ten feet away, and I could feel hisand Lucy’s gazes on me. The driver’s side door opened, and Keith climbed out as he came to join me.

Two sets of footsteps came from the house, and I turned to find two men rushing out the front door, carrying some sort of bed. My head spun as I took them in. I didn’t feel any magic coming off them, and this could very well be my biological father and brother.

---