Page 106 of Wolf Touched

I breathed a sigh of relief that they’d thought about Cat-Keith. I really was frazzled.

Raffe shook his head. “We have enough vehicles—riding with us works.” I could feel his relief. Having them with us, we could keep an eye on them easier.

Everyone climbed into the vehicles, and soon Raffe pulled ahead in the lead.

Heleaned over and squeezed my hand.Get some sleep. You didn’t get much last night.

He hadn’t either, but the best way to get him to rest eventually was if I didn’t fight him. I leaned the seat back and closed my eyes, Raffe’s hand on my thigh.

Still, the image of my parents kept popping into my mind. My chest tightened, and a sob built in the back of my throat.

Octavia leaned forward from her spot behind me and ran her fingers through my hair. She whispered, “Baby girl, you aren’t alone. We’re all right here.”

Between Raffe’s hand, the buzz of our connection, and Octavia petting my hair, darkness took me unexpectedly.

Twelve hours later,I was driving the car, my hands tight on the wheel to the point that my knuckles blanched. I’d slept for five hours, and then Dru had forced Raffe to switch spots with him. Thirty minutes outside of Dalles, we’d picked up three of the vampires who had been waiting for us. Apparently, one of the other vampires had taken an earlier flight and texted us instructions on where to meet him. I took the driver’s spot since I knew my way around. The rest of the vehicles drove behind me, and I had to force myself not to stomp on the gas.

With each mile we drove out of the city and closer to the house, my stomach became tighter. Raffe seemed to feel the same way but for different reasons.

You’re going to stay next to me the entire time?he asked for the tenth time in the last ten minutes.

I’ll try my best.I couldn’t promise because we weren’t sure what would happen, which was why he kept asking.We were in a cycle I wasn’t sure we could break at this point.

I pulled into a section near the lake where people went fishing during the summer that had enough spots for all of us to park. It was about two in the morning, and no one else was out here. Plus, it was a mile from the back of my parents’ property.

Everyone climbed out, listening for any sounds of the enemy.

“There’s a back way into the yard.” This was one of the places where I used to hang out because animals came here to drink. “We need to go on foot from here.” I glanced at the three humans in our midst. “Maybe you three—”

“No, we’re going.” Dru reached into the back and pulled out a bag I hadn’t noticed him carrying. He removed three guns and handed two of them to Octavia and Fane. “We can use these since we don’t have magic.”

I exhaled. I’d been nervous about them coming.

My phone dinged, startling me. I removed it and saw another message.

I swallowed and opened it.

There was a dagger pressed against Mom’s neck and a text underneath.You better get here. Our patience has run out. Tell Keagan he’ll regret this.

“Son of a bitch,” Raffe snarled, and his gaze landed on Keagan. “Someone told her you’re with us.”

Keagan shook his head. “Impossible. I told only the people I trust. Everyone here, Chuck, Earl, and Samuel, who we picked up.” He gestured at the three vampires. “And Warin, who should be nearby.”

Bile inched up my throat, and I rasped, “Warin?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Every ounce of hope I’d had vanished, leaving me cold and hollow. Memories surged from the days I’d spent trapped inside the bunker, being threatened and drunk from by that very vampire.

“Yes. Warin.” Keagan lifted a brow. “He’s one of the oldest vampires in existence. I just don’t know where the hell he is. He said he knew the spot and would meet us here.”

My blood turned to ice, his response confirming everything I already knew.

Raffe froze, feeling my emotions.

I hung my head, and my knees weakened. No wonder Olwyn had texted me. She’d probably known the moment we left Salt Lake City. “They know we’re here.” I scanned the trees for the enemy, but if coven members were there, they could be cloaked. “They’ve had ten hours to prepare.”

“There’s no way they could know. The priestess probably texted because it’s been so long since you saw the text.” Stephanie laughed quietly. “Maybe she couldn’t sleep and wanted to nudge you again.”

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