Page 87 of Wolf Touched

“Wait.” Sedona held her injured arm closer to her. “Is that why there weren’t more wolf shifters here? Did every single one of you leave King Jovian’s pack?”

My stomach lurched. Sedona now knew we were isolated from receiving any extra help. If she’d been a wolf shifter and could pack-link with her people, it would’ve been worse. At least, as long as we watched her, she couldn’t inform the others.

“But why?” She turned to me for answers since the rest of them were in wolf form. Sweat had broken out on her upper lip—a sign that her blood loss was getting worse despite the pressure I’d put on the wound.

There was no reason to lie to her now. She knew the truth. “King Jovian doesn’t approve of Raffe and me being together. He wanted Raffe to marry the Atlanta pack’s alpha’s daughter to prevent the East from splitting.”

She held my gaze. “Keagan is a great man. He understood as soon as the wordsfated matewere muttered.” Sedona swayed on her feet. “Keagan was fortunate enough to find his fated, and he’d hoped his daughter would have the same blessing. The talk of marriage between her and Raffe was a last-ditch effort to make a peace that neither side truly wanted. Then King Joviancame down hard, informing the East that if we tried to break away, he would force Keagan’s businesses and some of the other high-profile, successful companies out of their factories and buildings because Jovian’s company owns all the property. It made us desperate. That was when Supreme Priestess Olwyn reached out again because Aldric was busy.”

I swallowed hard. I’d forgotten about the huge real estate company that Raffe’s father owned. All the chaos had made it seem like the king just ruled the wolves, but he owned the largest commercial real estate company in the United States. My dad had been starstruck when they’d met at the football game, and he’d mentioned that he was a ruthless businessman. This was proof of that; he was holding these peoples’ livelihoods over them.

Maybe I could understand why they’d teamed up with Olwyn after all.

I still didn’t approve of killing anyone, but if Olwyn had made it sound like I could destroy the world, it would be my life for billions.

Some of my anger toward them melted.

My dad is a fucking bastard.Raffe pawed at the ground.He came down hard on them to get them in line and, instead, pushed them toward action. He should’ve known better than that. Aldric should’ve informed him.

I winced, knowing the question I had to ask next. “What was Aldric busy doing?”

“He was with the king, so he couldn’t contact us.” Sedona licked her lips, her words slurring more. “Supreme Priestess Olwyn had to make the call and tell us where you were since they placed tra—” She stumbled, and I caught her, but then we both tumbled over.

I turned, allowing my body to take the brunt of theimpact, protecting her from getting hurt. Pain shot through me, and my vision blurred.

Raffe whimpered, feeling helpless as he used his snout to push Sedona off me. Keith snarled and rushed over to us. Her body went slack as she flopped to the side. She’d passed out.

“Fine.” Dru glanced around. “I’ll help her. We need to get her back to the house.”

“No. You’ll all be safer here.” Priestess Caroline gestured to their houses. “We have some houses available.”

My breath caught as I understood why.

“Take two of our vehicles, grab what you need, and come back.” Priestess Caroline bit her bottom lip. “Faith and Avalon will go with you to help.”

I’m going to run through the woods and check for danger.Keith edged to the outskirts of the clearing.But if something happens to her—

My heart ached.We’ll let you know.

Dave, Josie, and I should go with him.Adam followed after him.We’re the least injured here, and he shouldn’t be alone.

“Okay, then I need someone to go back to the house and get some of theOblood and suturing supplies.” Dru grunted as he lifted Sedona into his arms. “I need to find a better way to slow the bleeding.”

“The arcane-born family and her fated mate can stay with me.” Priestess Caroline pointed at her house. “Take the prisoner there so we can watch her.”

“I’ll go with Avalon and Faith since I know where everything is.” Fane shoved his hands into his pockets.

“You’re not going without me.” Octavia marched over to him. “No child of mine will go off like that into danger. I went to find your sister, and I’m going with you now.”

His brows rose, and a little bit of a smile broke through. If I hadn’t been so miserable, I’d have been happy that he saw he meant just as much to them as I did.

I’m shifting forms and going with them.Lucy darted off toward where her clothes must be.

Everyone split off, and I groaned as I climbed to my feet. Pain raged through me.

Priestess Caroline pointed at Raffe then me. “You two, go to the house. You both need rest. In the morning, we’ll need to make a plan.” She frowned and looked at all the death that surrounded us. “Tonight, we pay our respects to the dead, but Supreme Priestess Olwyn won’t stop at this.”

“The animals told me they would watch over us tonight.” I tried to stand straight, but my body was too weak. Just being upright made me dizzy.

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