Page 71 of Fated to the Lone Shifter
I frown. “Sure it did. She freaked out.”
“No, Noah. The wires weren’t even connected. The trick failed—but the flame still appeared.Shelit it anyway.”
I blink. “You think she’s...what? A magical arsonist?”
“I don’t know. But how does she heal so fast? Or light a broken match?”
I breathe in deep, willing my wolf to settle. “Maybe the trick worked and then the wires came loose. You know how janky that setup was.”
Marcus doesn’t answer right away.
“I hope you haven’t said anything to the Captain...for your sake. You know how little stock he puts in unnatural conspiracies.”
Marcus shakes his headNo.
“What about ‘the authorities’? I’m sure they’d love to hear your theories on…what should we call it? Magic?”
He freezes, caught.
I step back, giving him an out. “Look. Just… be smart. Don’t say anything you can’t take back.”
He exhales slowly. “I just don’t think you should get too close to her. We don’t know what her game is… or who she really is.”
I nod, letting it settle. “Come on,” I say at last, spreading my hands like a magician. “We’ve got fires to make disappear.”
He follows me to the Training Room. For now, he won’t say anything. The greatest protection supernaturals have is how crazy the truth sounds.
And I plan to keep it that way.
I pace in front of the firehouse gates after midnight, checking the scent lines and motion sensors again, restless energy clawing beneath my skin. That’s when I get her text:
“Come to the circle. Bring nothing but yourself.”
My heart stutters. Of course it’s her. It’s always her.
I text back. “What the hell are you doing in the woods…alone…again?”followed by“I’m on my way.”
The woods are cool and damp, leaves crunching under my boots as I make my way to the sacred circle we stumbled upon weeks ago. I check the sky. We're two nights out from a full moon. Too close for comfort.
When I step into the clearing, she’s already there—dressed in black, her eyes blazing.
“You okay?” I ask, crossing to her.
She nods.
“I’m fine. I wish I could say the same about Tori.”
I stop, waiting for the whole story, expecting I’ll only hear a small portion of it.
“Marcus turned her in. I’m almost sure of it. He’s been telling my contacts about the magic.”
She waits for me to process this. I run my hands through my hair.
“What do we do? Marcus is my friend. I…I can talk to him.”
“I’m not suggesting you take him out, Noah. But we need to end all of this now. Let’s find out who is behind these arsons.”
She points to the items on the ground—stones arranged in a deliberate ring, fragrant herbs tied in bundles, and a small silver dish already exhaling tendrils of smoke. The scene hums with energy, and something about it tugs at a primal part of me—familiar, unnerving, and sacred all at once.
