Page 163 of Shadow City: Silver Wolf

“Impossible.” My uncle marched over to the car and scowled. “That’s not funny.”

His disbelief settled me. “Apparently, the witch who attended our birth spelled him to appear dead.” I could throw Julius under the bus and tell our uncle that he’d been trying to kidnap me for the bad guys, but I wouldn’t…for now. “We just found each other, but that’s a long story. I’m more interested in why you’re here now.”

“Decades ago, murmurings arose about reopening Shadow City to the world, and the city’s alpha began writing letters to your dad to see if he was interested in returning. We knew there was a chance that someone would try to control us, so since I was the pack beta, we decided that it would be best if I split off with a small number of wolves to form my own pack. This was a few years before you were born.” He motioned to the fourteen men behind him. “About two years ago, your dad contacted me to tell me that he was heading to the city to meet with the alpha. We’ve checked in once a month since then as the murmurs got louder.”

“That’s why you’re here.” It’d been almost a month since I ran that day. “You reached out, and he didn’t respond.”

“Yeah.” He clasped his hands loosely behind his back and stared at the ground. “When we got here, we searched the area and found several men dead in the woods. I’m assuming they were part of those who attacked the pack since they appeared to be military and had weapons on them, and they weren’t silver wolves. And then we found—”

My breathing quickened. For him to not finish the sentence told me everything. “Did you find the bodies of my pack?” Last time I’d been here, with Griffin, Killian, and Sierra, I hadn’t had a chance to find my dead because we’d been attacked again.

“We did.” He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. “And it was awful. The way those assholes tossed them…” He blew out a breath and looked back at me. “Let’s just say they’re buried now in the cemetery.”

“Are there markers so I can find them?” I opened the car door, wanting to see where they’d been laid to rest.

The shortest man behind my uncle took a step forward. His midnight-brown hair fell to the side like long bangs, and his blood-orange eyes glazed over with sadness. Dirt coated his arms and smudged one cheek. He was close to my height but thicker. “We put a cross in front of each and did our best to bury family members together.”

“We were wondering where your body was.” My uncle touched my arm. “I didn’t let myself hope that you were still alive. I’m just so damn glad that you’re here.”

“Me, too.” Having more silver wolves and finding my uncle was a very good thing, especially since my attackers shouldn’t know about them. Not only that, but maybe he could help me get through to Julius so we could get some answers. We’d finally have something up our own sleeves. “But the question is, do you plan on staying?”

“We don’t have a choice.” My uncle lifted his arms and gestured around the town. “They tried to exterminate us. We won’t take it lying down.”

Good. I’d been worried they wouldn’t feel that way, but they were here for a reason.

“Do you mind going inside the house with me?” My uncle glanced at the front door and then back at me. “There’s something I need to show you.”

Whatever he wanted to show me must be important, which made me wonder what we’d missed the other day when we’d had to rush away so quickly. Were there more secrets hidden inside?

CHAPTER TEN

Doyou think it’s wise?Griffin asked, feeling my determination through our bond.

I was glad he was challenging me. Sometimes, people needed to be questioned to ensure they were thinking things through.I think if we don’t go, and there’s something in there that’s valuable, we’ll risk more by not finding out. Besides, I don’t feel anything menacing coming off him like I do Luna, Dick, and even Julius.I hated that my brother had such a darkness shrouding him, but it had to be a product of the environment he was raised in.

I met my uncle’s gaze. “Are you sure no one’s watching us?” I didn’t want to get into the same situation as last time when we’d stayed in the house and couldn’t get to the cars before we were attacked. “Our enemies have bird shifters on their team, and I overlooked them before.”

“We checked for everything once we found all the bodies.” My uncle shivered. “We’re safe, and there are no recent scents.”

“No odd noises that can’t be explained?” Killian asked.

The last time, we hadn’t smelled the bird because it had stayed high in the trees, but it had knocked a branch onto theground. I’d overlooked the odd noise then, and I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

The man who’d spoken earlier raised his head. “We’re good.”

This time, we have Rosemary,I linked to Griffin.

“All right, let me park.” Griffin put the car in reverse and backed up.

We pulled into the driveway, and the four of us were out of the car within seconds.

After shutting the door, I turned to find my uncle staring at Julius and me like he’d seen a ghost.

He shook his head as the corners of his mouth tipped downward. “You two look like the spitting images of your mom and dad. It’s uncanny.”

I’d been told that a lot. My pack always teased my parents, saying there was no mistaking that I was their child. Those comments used to irritate me, but not anymore. I cherished them. “Thank you.”

A few of the silver wolves looked at me a little longer than felt appropriate, and Griffin placed an arm around my waist. “I’m Griffin Bodle, Sterlyn’s fated mate.”

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