Page 118 of Primal Bonds

Regret twanged through Adric. He’d grown up with Kane, the other shifter just two years older than him. But there was no time to mourn.

He released him and turned toward Corban, but the bastard had run, leaving his brother to distract Adric while he escaped. Corban was already disappearing into the trees.

Adric shot after him, but the wolf had a good head start, and Adric was bleeding from wounds he hadn’t known he had.

His cougar’s blood was up. It urged him to give chase, but the man knew it could be a trap. And even if it wasn’t, Corban was leading him out of the park and away from Evie and Jace. He slowed, but his cousin did, too. Then the air around Corban shimmered and twisted.

Adric halted and watched from a safe distance as the wolf disappeared. A fae had ’ported the bastard out.

Adric let out a furious snarl. And he scented silver, not a night fae’s unpleasant scent, which was one more layer of mysterious to this whole hellacious business.

He shifted to man and started limping back toward Kane. The wolves must have chomped on his leg, too. He had to pause a minute to pulse some healing energy into it. He couldn’t afford to be at less than full strength.

That done, he contacted Beau, bringing him up to speed with a few terse sentences. “Put out a call to the nearest soldiers,” he finished. “Corban’s gone rogue. Their orders are to kill him on sight.”

“If he’s still in Baltimore,” the bear replied. “A powerful fae could ’port him anywhere in the world.”

“I know.” Adric gripped his quartz and willed his pounding anger to subside. “Meanwhile, get a healer to Druid Hill Park ASAP. Jace is hurt and Kane is dying.”

“Evie?”

Adric expelled a breath. “I don’t know, but I’m hoping she’s with Jace.”

“I’ll tell Kyler.”

Adric gave Beau his current coordinates and returned to where Kane lay on the ground, breathing shallowly. Adric knelt beside him. “Shift.” It was his cousin’s only chance at healing.

Kane closed his eyes and changed to his man. He remained motionless, his head at that odd angle, his narrow face ashen. His lips twisted. “Can’t feel…my legs or arms.”

“Fuck.” Adric sat back on his heels, his chest tight with a mixture of pity and anger.

Kane moistened his lips. “Sorry…I—he’s my brother.”

“Fuck that. I’m alpha. You swore an oath to me.” And we were family.

Kane’s gaze slid from his. “I know.” To break an oath was a terrible thing. It must have torn his cousin up inside. Probably he hadn’t even used his full strength against Adric—his wolf wouldn’t have allowed it.

Kane’s eyes closed, his only movement the shallow rise and fall of his chest.

Adric glanced around. “Where in Hades is that healer?” But he knew it was already too late.

His cousin did too. “There’s something…you should know. Our dad…Leron…he let the night fae in. The Darktime.”

“What?”

“He knew…he couldn’t win alpha…in a fair fight. So he invited the night fae. They were happy…to feed on our misery. To make it worse.”

“God’s balls.” Adric scraped his hands over his face. But it made sense; he’d seen it himself. Too often, the night fae had been conveniently near at the clan’s worst moments, ready to feed off their anger and despair.

Blackness filled his head. The guilt of assassinating his own uncle was a weight he carried with him. Always. But at that moment, he would’ve gladly stuck a knife into Leron’s black heart all over again. So many men and women dead or hurt to feed that prick’s ambition…and the young, innocents who’d never even had a chance to live.

And now he’d killed his own cousin.

Tipping back his head, he let out an anguished growl that iced the blood of every animal within hearing range.

Kane’s mouth quirked in an ironic smile. “You’re better…alpha. Leron would…have hated that.” His breath sighed out and his eyes blanked.

“Damn you,” Adric bit out. But he closed his cousin’s eyes before rising to his feet. Then he called Beau, telling him to send a couple of soldiers to remove Kane’s body from the park before some human stumbled upon him.

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