Page 32 of Wicked Fate

As we went to meet the Blackwood pack, I looked over my shoulder, ensuring the vampires weren’t sneaking up on us. The cold magic they emanated wasn’t strangling me, but I didn’t want to be careless in case something changed.

Knowing we needed to hurry, I did the one thing I didn’t want to do. I pulled away from Ryker and linked,We need to move faster to meet up with them.

I don’t give a damn if they’re pissed, lil rebel.His gaze settled on me.You were just attacked, so if you need a minute to collect yourself or be rattled, that’s what we’re fucking going to do. The Blackwoods may be our allies, but you trump them in every way.

In less than a few hours, he’d made this declaration twice.The cold man I’d first met had completely vanished… at least, for me, and I liked that he wasn’t like this with everyone else.

Still… the idea of leaving families to panic didn’t sit well with me.I know, but I know how I’d feel if I thought the vampires were coming and I needed to protect my family. I promise, I’m fine. I dodged it, remember?

The fact that they aimed for you is bad enough.He growled faintly, taking my hand, and we all picked up our pace.

A hundred yards away, the Blackwood wolves burst through the trees, snarling and sniffing the air. Dozens of them in wolf form circled out wide, noses in the air, hackles raised. They looked at me and stalked toward us, eyes wild and teeth bared. They were ready to fight.

“It’s okay! They’re gone.” I lifted both hands, but it probably wasn’t as comforting as I wanted it to be with a gun in one hand.

The wolves slowed, their eyes locked on Ryker and me. I hated that we couldn’t communicate both ways, but we no longer had a royal pack to intercede, so two-way communication was impossible when one pack was entirely in wolf form.

Two larger wolves who had to be some of Reid’s top in command circled us in tight formation, eyes glowing and breath heaving from the run. Their teeth weren’t bared, but their stance screamed accusation.

Ryker inched closer to me, and I could feel the tension coiled through him like a live wire. We had to be careful how we handled this. We’d gone on a search for a potential threat without alerting them. Granted, I hadn’t considered it because I didn’t believe the strange man was a threat, but I should’ve considered that the vampires would be searching for answers.

“We need to go back to the neighborhood,” I said quietly, lowering the gun. “We need to talk to Reid and Sun about what just happened.”

The largest dark blonde wolf shook his head in what seemed to be frustration but then nodded, indicating we should walk ahead.

Ryker exhaled, shoulders tight. “Let’s go then.”

The other wolves broke formation, two of them darting ahead to signal the pack, the rest falling in behind us like a silent escort.

We walked in tense silence, the forest thinning as the Blackwood neighborhood came into view.

What remained of the previous night’s horror was everywhere—makeshift bandages, fresh graves, the scent of blood and grief still thick in the air. Shifters stood on porches, some in human form, others not, all watching as we approached.

Their eyes narrowed. Not just at us.

Atme.

A dozen conversations cut off the second our boots hit the main path. Faces turned. Chests rose with tight, shallow breaths. They didn’t speak either. The silence was worse than a snarl.

And then he appeared.

Reid stepped out of his house at the end of the row, a cane tucked under one arm, shoulders hunched but steady. The flannel hanging off his frame couldn’t hide the bruises or the pain etched into his every step, but his eyes burned with something stronger than hurt.

Sun stood beside him with one hand clenched in a fist at her side.

Ryker’s grip on my hand didn’t tighten. It didn’t have to. His pulse through the bond was steady. Fierce. Unapologetic.

But Reid’s gaze locked on mine, and the storm that gathered there promised that we had to answer. “What the hell happened, Ember? And why weren’t we informed that a threat was nearby before you ran straight into danger, risking us all?”

CHAPTERTEN

My heart skipped a beat. How much more damage had we caused between our packs? Relations were already teetering on the edge due to the manufactured fated-mate bond.

The shifters who stood outside their homes stared our way.

Sun stood beside Reid, jaw ticking and eyes cutting straight through me.

I stopped. We needed to give them space right now. They were upset, and the worst thing we could do was come up on them like we were trying to dominate the conversation.

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