Page 49 of Fated to the Wolf Billionaire

“We need your support. Until the ODL is disbanded, Brielle is not safe, and neither is any wolf mother or pup.”

Kane leaned forward, steepling his fingers as he began to unfold the plan for his rapt audience.

TWENTY-SIX

Fiona

“Yep, looks like it’s about half the size it was before.” I squinted at the barrier, holding up a hand to shield my eyes from the waning sunset light.

When I looked back over at Shay, she was grinning ear to ear.

“That’s awesome. I have a little more juice. I’m going to try again. Can you just stand there and yell when it starts to shrink? I think I might be able to direct the power a little better with you to tell me when it starts working. Otherwise, I’m shooting in the dark.”

“Sure, no problem.”

Shay jogged over to the imposing stone wall, placed her hand on a blackened stone, and closed her eyes. “Okay, here goes nothing.”

I looked back up, nibbling my bottom lip with nerves. Everyone seemed to be going back about their business as if the little fiasco earlier with Brielle’s power spike never happened, but it still made me antsy. What if one of the female wolves was holding a grudge that I had gotten the only eligible male? They were all wicked fit, whereas I spent most of my time editing photographs at my computer and eating noodles from a cup on low-energy days when I couldn’t be assed to make a proper meal.

“Anything yet?” Shay called, and I jerked my attention back to the task at hand.

“Umm, no?”

“Shit. Okay, what if I just…” She screwed up her face in concentration, and I saw the barrier start knitting back together, one painfully slow stitch at a time. Her signature sparkle was mesmerizing.

“That’s it, it’s working!” I bounced on the balls of my feet with excitement. I was already invested in the pack’s safety on a level that was probably abnormal for a newcomer. But, as someone who accidentally endangered them all recently—and who they’d still accepted anyway—I had a vested interest in helping them in any way I could.

Penance.

I was never much for my mother’s devout Catholic faith; it didn’t sit well with me, no matter how hard I tried to be the perfect, saintly daughter. I could never measure up. Now, as an adult, I’d made my peace with that. Or at least I had on good days.

But penance? That I always understood.

The sparkle overhead stopped, and a grinning Shay stepped up to my side.

“It’s so cool that you can see the barrier and the magic. I wish I could.”

“I would argue that it’s cooler to be able to fix things with your magic than it is to watch other people fix things with their magic.”

She snorted and slung an arm over my shoulders. “You’ll figure it out. Besides, if we’re right and you’re a mermaid, you might be able to grow a tail and breathe underwater. That would be freaking awesome.”

I rolled my eyes but let her drag me back inside without putting up a fight.

The idea of being a mermaid didn’t quite fit, any more than my mother’s faith. I don’t know how I knew, only that the more they talked about it, the more it rankled.

I wasn’t mer.

I was something… darker. Not that I’d been able to figure out how to read the book yet to prove my suspicions.

Another thing to add to the pile of my deficiencies.

Shay dropped me back off at Reed’s door with a wave and a grin, and when I stepped inside—thinking of finding that stupid blank book and trying again—his back was to me, his slim cell phone pressed to his ear.

“Yes. The eight-seater jet will do. I also need you to put in a wardrobe refresh. No, not the Sheppard this time. Let’s go with Armani. I’m meeting an Italian dignitary. It’s best to show we support local brands. Matching pocket squares as well. Thank you, Quinn. No, that’s all for now. Tell the crew we’d like to leave in two hours.”

I stood quietly, a fly on the wall as he finished his business with whoever Quinn was. When he hung up, he spun on his heel, pinning me with a sultry look that said he knew I’d been there the entire time.

“Eavesdropping, Stormy girl?”

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