Page 20 of Fated to the Lone Shifter
Cryptic. Precise. And it lands like a blade to the gut—too close to the truth to ignore. My breath catches, and a muscle tightens in my jaw.
Definitely not something your average probie, or human, would say.
The group laughs and turns their attention back to Marcus.
I step up behind Sera and fold my arms. “That so?”
I perceive that I’ve made her uncomfortable with my surprise attack, but she doesn’t show it. Instead, she looks over her shoulder, her expression perfectly blank. “I read it in a training manual.”
“Oh really. Which one?”
She shrugs. “One of the new ones.”
Liar.
I pull up a chair at the end of the table next to her. The others are too distracted by Marcus’s antics to notice our conversation tightening like a wire between us.
“You ever smell ozone when you’re near a fire?” I ask, keeping my voice casual.
Her eyes narrow a fraction. “Depends on the chemicals burning.”
Another dodge. My wolf bristles.
I lean in, lowering my voice. “How do you like to start fires?”
She leans forward too, her tone syrupy-sweet. “The same as you.”
I'm not used to people challenging me, and I'm not sure whether I like it. Either way, I bite. "What's that?"
“Anger,” she says, voice quiet but unflinching. Her eyes lock on mine, as if she’s daring me to deny it.
She’s digging too deep and hitting pay dirt.
I consider this. Before I can come up with a witty comeback, the front door opens with a gust of cold air. I look back, annoyed, just in time to see a boisterous group of seven make their way into the pub. Unknowns. Except for one.
A man I haven't seen in twenty years.
Bode Lunaris.
Older. Meaner. But unmistakable.
And behind him… the rest of his pack.
My blood turns to ice.
What brought him back to Lolo after all these years?
And just days before a full moon?
Chapter seven
Trail of Embers
SERA
Downtime doesn’t mean off-duty. Not when you're undercover.
I spend my day off in town, blending in with the locals, letting my ears do most of the work while my eyes track everything. The town is small enough that one stranger stands out—let alone a film crew. But it’s not the documentarians that set my nerves on edge.
