Page 33 of Wicked Fate

“We didn’t mean to put anyone at risk.” I kept my voice measured, but the words landed with less impact than I hoped. “Vampires were scouting the area and stumbled upon us. They didn’t cross the perimeter, and we couldn’t alert you since we didn’t have a phone.” I didn’t mention that we ‘d been looking for a possible threat in the first place.

“Why were you near the perimeter?” Sun lifted a brow. “We informed you we would be handling security.”

I opened my mouth to answer, trying to figure out how to respond without telling them someone had come into our room undetected. It would only cause more problems among us.

Ryker stepped forward with an unreadable expression. “It was my decision.”

Sun’s head tilted back. “So you all decided to scout the area. Why?”

“It wasn’t a full hunt.” Ryker’s jaw flexed. “It was a check-in. Quiet recon. I felt that something was off. We kept close and didn’t cross the perimeter.”

Reid’s cane struck the porch with a dull thud. “You didn’t think to tell me? To tell any of us? If something feltoff,we deserved to know.”

Ryker’s arm brushed mine. “I did what I had to do. Ember was in danger. Something had breached the house—something we couldn’t identify. I wasn’t about to wait around and risk it happening again.”

“Somethingbreached the house?” Reid’s gaze cut through him. “And you didn’t care that my entire pack—or what’s left of it—was in danger too? You just left, without consulting or informing us?”

Ryker took a step forward. “It wasn’t after your pack. It was after Ember.”

A growl rumbled low in Reid’s throat. “And how the hell do you know that?”

“I just do,” Ryker snapped. “He watched her sleep and didn’t make a sound. Didn’t stir anyone else. If he’d wanted blood, he would’ve taken it then. He was there for her. No one else.”

Are you going to do anything,Briar asked, moving to my side. She glanced back and forth between the two alphas.

“And you’re just...trusting your gut?” Reid shot back. “That’s the kind of reckless logic that gets people killed. You don’tknowhis intent.”

Gage muttered under his breath. “Of course he’s causing problems. The spell must still be working.”

“I know enough,” Ryker growled, eyes glowing now, his wolf skimming just beneath the surface. And he linked,Shut the fuck up, Gage,before speaking out loud. “He didn’t lay a finger on anyone else. He had the chance and didn’t take it.”

Tension coiled like a whip a mere breath away from snapping, and it came from within our own pack as well as the Blackwoods’. All this conflict was tearing us apart from both sides.

As if this wasn’t bad enough, a tingle slid down my spine like a warm breath. The exact warmth that only the strange man caused.

I turned my head, eyes sweeping the trees at the edge of the clearing, and came up withnothing.

Not a glint of light. Not a flicker of movement.

Still, Ifelthim. The urge to seek him out rose, but I couldn’t do that.

Not here.

Not now.

If I admitted I felt him, both packs would take their frustration out on him.

I took a breath and stepped between the two males, lifting both hands. Reid was still several feet away, but I placed one hand on Ryker’s muscled chest, hoping my touch would ease some of his anger.

“That’s enough.” My voice rang clear but sounded tighter than I’d intended. I didn’t need Ryker to sense my distress right now, because there would be no reasoning with him.

I exhaled, focusing on Reid and Sun. “We should’ve told you,” I continued. “You’re right. If there was a threat—any threat—you and your pack had every right to know. What we did… it wasn’t just reckless. It was disrespectful, and I’m sorry.”

Ryker stiffened but didn’t interrupt.

We were on the same side. We had to get over the animosity manufactured by the vampires in order to get through this.

We, the Blackwoods, and the Shae pack had all lost too much. None of us should be left in the dark any longer.

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