Page 42 of Fated to the Wolf Billionaire

When in Rome, put on the damn toga.

A second later, he started to do that rumbling thing in his chest, and I melted a little more.

Good decision.

“So, fill me in on what I missed while I was out,” Reed said, directing the question to Kane and the attention away from us, which I appreciated.

Kane ran his hands through his hair, and as I studied him, I could see the marks of exhaustion. Not just in his face, but in his posture too.

“Brielle’s powers, now that they’re free, are significantly stronger than before. That’s pretty much what we expected. What wedidn’texpect was that they’d continue to be so erratic.”

His expression was grim in a way that made me uneasy. Brielle was one of the sweetest people I’d ever met, and I had no doubt she was an asset to the wolf community. The fact that they wanted to shun her, hurt her because of who she was, was completely unfair.

I tried not to think too hard about what the mark on my hand meant for my future child. I’d learned a bit more about what was going on with the pack in the week since Reed had been knocked out. Olivia had been happy to answer all my questions, at night before she fell asleep and I snuck away to sit with Reed.

She was someone I could easily see myself becoming best friends with. We just… clicked. But what she’d explained about the omega seal on my palm and the Omega Defense League? It was enough to keep me on birth control permanently.

The idea of bringing a beautiful, perfect baby into this world and having the ODL rip her out of my arms?

Fuck no.Fuck no.

But as I looked around at this pack, this strong group of wolves, I had hope that they—no, as Reed’s mate, I was part of this problem now too. Thatwewould fix it. Protect our daughters, change the hateful laws.

Kane soldiered on with the bad news. “Her powers surge, then plummet, then surge again. Each surge seems to batter the priestess’s hold on the barrier magic that protects her—all of us—in the enclave. Keeping you two on track with your healing actually helped, because when they started to surge, she’d pour that extra power into healing one of you. But now, with nowhere for that extra energy to go…”

“I guess that explains the big crack in the middle of the barrier.” I said it offhand, thinking out loud.

But Kane’s eyes sharpened on me. “What do you mean?”

“Umm…” His attention was unnerving, the glow of his eyes and the dominance he wielded not hitting me quite the same as Reed’s warm, endearing power signature. “The last time I was outside, there was a big crack about a third of the way across the top of the barrier. I assumed you all knew—that the priestesses would have told you?”

He shook his head, frowning with worry as he looked at Gael.

“That’s more serious than we thought, though it does explain what I need to tell you next.” He grimaced apologetically. “The priestesses think we need to find something called the omega stone. It hasn’t been seen for centuries, since before the omega purge.”

“So not at all a challenge to locate. We’ll just hit up the local superstore, pick up one handy-dandy omega stone, and all our problems will be solved,” Leigh said with an eye roll.

“Okay but what is a rock going to do about Brielle’s powers being erratic?” Reed asked, and I gripped his hand more tightly.

“The omega stone isn’t an ordinary rock,” Galyna interjected, already shaking her head. “It’s a thing of legend. I’m frankly surprised the priestesses think you’ll be able to find it.”

Elodie nodded her agreement, wearing a bewildered expression. “Yeah, it’s half fairy tale at this point.”

“If it’s a fairy tale, why haven’t any of us ever heard of it?” Brielle asked. “It’s never mentioned when people talk about the omega wars.”

There was a long pause while Galyna and Elodie stared at each other. Galyna’s expression was grim when she finally looked away and spoke again. “Some fairy tales don’t have happy endings. They aren’t the kind meant to be told.”

“Okay, if you could cut the cryptic and give us some hard facts here, I’d really appreciate it.” Leigh looked pissed. “I’m sick to death of being constantly in the dark and twelve steps behind. We need to know what the heck we’re dealing with, y’all, if we’ve got a chance of standing up to the ODL. My baby’s life is on the line, and I’m ready to kick ass and take no prisoners.”

There was a chorus of agreement around the room, and I was surprised when Reed tightened his grip around my waist and chimed in with a “Hear, hear.” His breath ruffled my hair, and suddenly, I understood why the touch was so important for this conversation. It was visceral comfort, reassurance that no matter how bad things seemed, we weren’t alone.

Galyna ran a hand over her close-cropped hair, the gesture very similar to her brother’s favorite move. “We don’t know everything either. I’m not sureanyonestill alive does, but we know some. You should tell it, El. I’m not as good a speaker as you are.” Galyna waved brusquely for Elodie to take over.

“The omega stone is beautiful, a perfectly smooth chunk of celestite the size of an ostrich egg. But beyond the fact that it’s a precious gemstone, it’s somehow bonded to the land. Pack Caelestis is actually named after the stone, though most of the members nowadays would be horrified to know it.”

I turned to look at Reed, and he must have read the question in my eyes because he whispered in my ear. “Pack Caelestis was Kane’s father’s pack, which he’s now inherited. It’s the oldest, strongest pack in the world because their Alpha line is unbroken and has been for generations.”

I nodded, then turned back around to listen to Elodie’s tale.

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