Page 86 of Wolf Touched

Dru ran to me and touched my shoulder, and I flinched. Octavia, Fane, and Lucy followed and stopped behind him.

My body hurt worse than I’d realized.

“What happened to you? You need to lie down. You’re all bruised, and your wrists have thick scabs.” His concern grew the more he examined me.

I must look bad. I’d hoped the dirt would come off when I shifted. “I’m fine. We just need to settle things down, and we all need to rest. Sedona is suffering from a deep bite and losing blood.” I pointed to the witch, and Raffe growled faintly.

You are the one who should be tended to first, not that bitch,Raffe linked, thankfully only to me.

Babe, I’m fine. I just need to handle this so we can curl up together and rest.That sounded like heaven.

He shook his head, his fur swaying despite the drizzle.

Dru glanced at Priestess Caroline and said, “I don’t think I’ve met this witch before.”

The priestess raised a brow. “She’s not one of us, and she’s the one who tried to kill your daughter.”

Sedona’s mouth dropped open. “The healer’s your dad?I thought you saidfriend. I knew better than to trust you.” She glared at Keith accusingly.

It wasn’t me she’d trusted. Fair enough. “He’s my biological father, and we just met a few days ago, so calling himdaddoesn’t sound right.”

Her head jerked back toward me, and she winced. “Oh. Right.”

“Dru, can you please help her? She’s given us some very interesting information and hasn’t tried to kill me again.” I couldn’t think of a better way to address that particular instance.

He frowned. “I don’t know how I feel about helping someone who tried to hurt my daughter.”

I exhaled. I should appreciate his hesitation. “I thought doctors weren’t supposed to discriminate.”

“Thankfully for me, I’m not in the hospital.” He arched a brow. “I’m surrounded by witches, wolves, and various other wild animals, so I’m thinking human rules don’t apply.”

I know the other one raised you, but I think I like this father better,Raffe linked.

Oh, I’m sure you do,Keith added.This one doesn’t hate you.

Raffe’s anger flared.

“Look, I’m sorry that we brought Sedona here without discussing it, but Keith had run off and sounded like he needed help.” I blew out my breath, not up to playing games. All I had left was the brutal truth. “Keith asked us to help her because he thinks she’s his fated mate.”

“What?” Sedona spun toward Keith, staring into his dark eyes. “You feel it too? I thought I’d gone crazy. I didn’t want to leave, which is how the bobcat got me.”

“Fated mate? Impossible.” Priestess Caroline marchedup to stand in front of Sedona. “A coven member has never had a fated mate, and fated mates are always tied to their own species.”

Dave laughed from his spot beside Priestess Caroline with Josie on his other side. “Yes, that’s the most common thought, but Skylar wasn’t a wolf, and she’s fated to Raffe, and Josie and I just completed our bond. Things are moving outside the norm fast.”

And I think Fane and I are mates too,Lucy added into the link.

That didn’t surprise me, and when I looked at them, I noticed Fane’s fingers in her fur.

“Grandma, you said our ancestors believed that an arcane-born arrived whenever the balance of the supernatural world was threatened.” Faith cleared her throat and rubbed her hands together. “Supreme Priestess Olwyn is creating an army to take down the wolf shifters, flipping the balance once more. But this time, the royal shifter and the arcane-born accepted their bond, so maybe that, along with these cross-species mates, proves the supernatural world could be in true balance once more, like in the time of the ever-powerful first arcane-born.”

My heart soared, loving the sound of that, but Supreme Priestess Olwyn had control of the Eastern supernaturals, potentially Aldric, and no telling how many others, like the vampire in the underground bunker who’d hated me, Warin.

We had very limited allies. Every single one of us could be mated with someone from a different species, and it wouldn’t mean shit if we couldn’t beat Olwyn and her massive army.

The stress was catching up to me. I almost wanted to lie down and give up. Almost. I’d never turned away from afight before, and I damn sure wouldn’t now. Not when I had more to lose than ever.

As if reading my mind, Priestess Caroline sighed and hung her head. “Faith, that sounds wonderful, but look at the loss we took.” She waved a hand at the dead coven members and wolf shifters. “We were attacked for no good reason. The prince left his father’s pack, the arcane-born is gaining control but doesn’t have the stamina, and we lost a sixth of our coven tonight, making us weaker. There’s no way we can influence anyone.”

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