Page 7 of Wicked Fate

Ryker’s deep howl ripped through the trees, echoing with a desperation that wrapped around my ribcage and squeezed.

My wolf whimpered, wanting to run to him but knowing that we couldn’t risk turning our back on this threat.

I slowly climbed out of the brush, scanning the area for the reason I was feeling this way. My injuries ached as my muscles stretched. I’d just stepped cautiously between two sizable oak trees when leaves rustled right behind me, in the spot I’d just moved from seconds ago.

My heart leaped into my throat as I spun around and foundsomethingthere.

No. Not something.

Someone?

But how? Nothing had been around, or I wouldn’t have come out.

His presence blurred and warped as if the forest had exhaled and created him from its shadows.

My breath hitched.

He wasn't a vampire, a shifter, or a witch. I didn’t know what he was, but he stood as still as stone, tall and lean, with power radiating off him like heat waves. Not cold like the vampires. Not musky like shifters. Not of earth like witches.

Something powerful and otherworldly.

His hair, a long, dark auburn, rippled as if wind had curled around only him. His skin was a shimmering golden brown, and his eyes were similar to liquid gold, burning just beneath the surface. The strangest thing of all was that his ears were sharply pointed.

He didn’t speak or move. He tilted his head and stared at me like he could see inside me.

I swallowed, but my throat was dry. The scent—like roses and lilacs mixed with storm-soaked earth—flooded my senses. It clung to him like a second skin.

My legs tensed, every instinct torn between fight and flight. I was both fascinated and terrified. But fascination seemed to be winning out. There was something about him that resonated with me.

My warm new magic changed its cadence to match the rhythm of power that seemed to emanate from him.

His golden eyes turned more molten, like he was seeing everything within me.

My pain.

My power.

My past.

My soul.

And the part of me that wasn’t just wolf.

I couldn’t breathe. Not from fear but fromrecognitionthat I didn’t understand.

What the hell was wrong with me?

Ryker’s frantic paws beat the ground, and Briar’s, Gage’s, Kendric’s, and Xander’s frantic footsteps raced toward me. They were desperate to reach me, Ryker so much so that he’d clearly shifted into animal form.

The energy between the stranger and me thrummed, and my wolf growled in fear and anger. She didn’t like what my new magic was doing as it spiraled through me, making me dizzy.

He took a single step forward, and I stayed frozen as if I were transfixed.

Ryker’s panting breaths came closer. He’d be here any second, and my wolf stirred restlessly, wanting to get away from this man. Yet my feet refused to budge as our eyes remained locked together.

The strange man tapped his nose.

Barreling into the clearing, Ryker snarled.

---