Page 97 of Wolf Touched

Holy shit. I’d found my power. The jolt had been faint, my power still tired, but it was there, giving me hope I could connect with the animals. I tugged at it a little more and asked,Are you all okay?

“Are you sure Keith should be there?” Dru asked. “He might have a hard time letting her go.”

Raffe huffed. “He won’t be able to stay away. If they are fated mates, I understand damn well how he’s feeling. All we’ll do is fight if we try to keep him away.”

When I was about to give up on receiving a response, the strange, converged answer came through:Yes, do you need us?

My heartbeat quickened. I could speak to them again, and for some reason, that made me feel more whole.

We need to meet with people at the house, but we don’t want to attack them unless they wish us harm.I swallowed, hating to ask for more from them.Can you be near us in case they attack?

Of course. Anything you need,they replied almost together.

“The animals are going to help us again and be there in case Keagan’s people try to harm us.” I opened my eyes to find all six of them staring at me.

“You just talked to them?” Fane arched a brow.

I bit my bottom lip. “Yeah. Is that not okay? I sorta can feel my power now, even though I’m not upset, and I was able to reach out to them.”

Raffe turned to me, cupping my cheek. “You’re fucking amazing.”

“I’m just glad she won’t be breaking our furniture anymore,” Lucy teased. “I never replaced the coffee table because she has such a knack for destroying things.”

That was the night I’d come home to learn that Raffe was Lucy’s cousin, and he’d had his arm around Josie, pretending to be with her. The hurt had taken me by surprise, and I’d lost control. It was so strange that it was not even months ago when everything had gone down.

The door to the house next door opened, and Josie, Dave, Avalon, and Faith stepped outside. Avalon and Faith had dark circles under their eyes, but they headed over.

“We have coven members in the woods heading up to the house, so we should get going.” Avalon yawned and rubbed her face. “I just hope we don’t have to fight again because we’re drained.”

“Adam, Lucy, and Josie, shift and join them.” Raffepointed to a group of women heading into the woods. “We’ll get Sedona and head up there.”

“I’ll stay close to Josie and run ahead to make sure I don’t see anything.” Dave crossed his arms. “I can let Josie know if something seems odd.”

He could run faster than any of us.

“Okay.” Raffe gestured to Octavia, Dru, and Fane. “You should remain here.”

“What? But Lucy—” Fane started.

Mom cut him off, “If something happens and you get hurt, Lucy will be distracted. She’s a supernatural, and you’re not, so it’ll be safer for her if you stay back. Believe me, I don’t like it any more than you do, especially with her and Skylar in danger.”

Fane’s jaw clenched, but he nodded. He kissed Lucy before he backed away and watched her, Adam, Josie, and Dave hurry away.

Keith, come on. We need to move,Raffe linked and winced, knowing that Keith wouldn’t be happy with what was going on.

While we waited for Sedona and Keith, I scanned the neighborhood. If I hadn’t been involved in the fight, I never would’ve known that something had happened. The place looked normal, though something sinister hung in the air that could only be described as death. I hoped that the souls had found peace.

Sedona, Keith, and Priestess Caroline came out, and the five of us followed the gravel road toward the house, leaving Octavia, Dru, and Fane behind.

Our pace was slow since we didn’t want to push Sedona. The sun kept the chill at bay, and I tried to enjoy being out in nature.

The animals are arriving,Josie linked.Dave sees them. That’s the only thing as of now.

Good. We wanted to get there before Priestess Ednah and her group.

Gravel crunched under our feet. Raffe and I held hands, and I noticed that Sedona and Keith kept staring at each other as if this might be the last time they ever saw one another.

My heart ached. I wished I could promise them that everything would be okay.

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