Page 101 of Wolf Touched

The air remained clear. There was no lie to detect.

Son of a bitch. Adam pawed at the gravel.That’s how they’ve been finding us.

I grew light-headed, and I didn’t know Aldric the way they did.Then why did Olwyn try the locator spell? If thecars have trackers on them, they already know where we are,I linked to our pack.

Probably a distraction, Raffe answered,so we’d assume they couldn’t find us and we’d stay here. She probably knew you’d feel the magic trying to locate you and sense it didn’t work. Besides, it’s not like any of us expected them to use technology to track us and not magic, so none of us accounted for that.

“Yes, that’s how Supreme Priestess Olwyn got ahold of us.” Keagan ran a hand through his hair. “Aldric has been busy with the king, and she called us to offer us this deal. After King Jovian threatened us, it made sense that Aldric would be tied up with him, so we took her word for everything.”

I shook my head. “The Veiled Circle tried to recruit me, and when I didn’t join, they wanted me dead.”

Ednah’s brows rose. “Why? They made it sound like you could become unstable and destroy the world, but—”

“The arcane-born influences who will become or remain the leader of the supernatural world.” Priestess Caroline clasped her hands together. “That’s what my ancestors figured out during the time of the last arcane-born. They tried to manipulate him and his bond to get him to side with the covens, which ultimately led to his demise.”

I inhaled sharply. “Foster?”

“Yes.” Priestess Caroline closed her eyes. “Him. When he died because of our selfishness, my ancestor repented to the goddess, but another witch stepped forward and took control of the coven and manipulated them. That’s when the coven separated, and my ancestor landed here with her smaller coven. They wanted to learn how to right the wrongs when the next arcane-born came along.”

“That’s not what I was told.” Sedona frowned. “Ithought the priestess of that time went mad and couldn’t lead anymore, so a new one was appointed.” She stared accusingly at Ednah.

Ednah crossed her arms. “Don’t use that tone with me. That’s what’s in theBook of Twilight.”

“I’m not surprised.” Priestess Caroline rolled her eyes. “Supreme Priestess Olwyn comes from a long line of manipulators and users. We wanted to repent, but the wolf shifters took control as punishment from the goddess for us disrespecting the fated-mate bonds and the balance. The other coven members couldn’t admit they were wrong and wanted to find a way to keep their power. Clearly, it didn’t work, and now we’re back to history repeating itself with the arcane-born, but worse, they’re actively trying to kill her.”

“I’m assuming Olwyn didn’t tell you their goal?” I arched a brow.

“Of course she did, to allow us our freedom.” Keagan straightened his shoulders. “She doesn’t want to dictate what rituals they practice or important things they want us to follow.”

I snorted. She did have a way with words. “They, meaning her and maybe the vampires. When they kidnapped me and tried to brainwash me, they made the wolf shifters’ future very clear. You are all to be held captive or killed. She wants to punish the wolf shifters for taking power centuries ago, and you’re helping her accomplish that by attacking us.”

Keagan sucked in a breath. “What about Aldric? Why would he go along with that?”

A deep snarl came from Raffe. “Because he’ll be pardoned, or he thinks he will, and they’ll need someone to help control the shifters. He has a strong wolf.”

No. Dad wouldn’t do that.But Josie’s conviction felt weak.

Silence descended.

“How do we know that for certain?” Ednah laughed roughly.

“You already tried to kill my mate.” Raffe narrowed his eyes. “On campus, with three of your men. I’m assuming Aldric gave the order.”

My mouth dried as I remembered that night and the first time I’d ever shifted into a wolf. I’d been cut off from the others with no help.

“Aldric took me and my beta straight to King Jovian to tell us that the agreement was off. He wouldn’t let me join the other three wolf shifters and ordered us to make sure my three men watched Josie. While they were there, Olwyn made first contact and told us to kill an unstable witch. They were shocked when she turned into a wolf. We had no clue she was your fated mate until King Jovian showed up in Atlanta, upset and threatening us with the real estate cancelations.”

Raffe sniffed, smelling for signs of a lie.

Some of the resentment that had built around my heart toward King Jovian eased. Olwyn had ordered them to kill me, not King Jovian.

“The only way we come out of this strong is to go up against the Veiled Circle together and not fight one another.” Now that everything was out in the open, we couldn’t put off them deciding if they would ally with us any longer. “Raffe has made an offer so we can both win. It’s up to you to accept it.”

“I need time to talk with pack members, our coven, and the vampires. Our goal, once we split off, is to form a council to rule and not have one monarch.” A muscle inKeagan’s jaw twitched. “A decision like this is too large to make on my own.”

“Vampires?” Priestess Caroline lifted a brow. “I don’t see any here.”

“They remained back in the city because of the food supply. Traveling is harder for them because their food source is limited to blood banks, and we don’t have the connections out here for them to eat as they should without risking them needing to feed from humans.” Keagan opened the car door. “But they will be part of the decision.”

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