Page 37 of The Wolf and His Forbidden Witch
Aurora
Aurora crossed over on a path leading to the Sacco meeting lodge. Resisting Grayson’s touch had been more difficult than she expected. But with the Saccos willing to talk, this might lead her and Grayson one step closer.
Closer to what exactly?
She bit her bottom lip. What future she and Grayson could have together was still murky at best. At least with the negotiations behind them, they could start to figure out their path.
The dark wood of the meeting lodge came into view. She was getting ahead of herself. This was the Sacco pack she was talking about. They hadn’t been easy to work with thus far. Over the past couple of days, they must have come to their senses that the Franconia pack had offered them an attractive option. Lars did call her back saying they were willing to discuss the deal, which was more promising than anything she’d accomplished yet.
Once inside the meeting space, she addressed Kane and Lars with a friendly greeting. Kane regarded her with a frosty look. She brushed off his gruff demeanor. Typical alpha.
“I was glad to hear from you,” she said with a smile.
“Were you now?” Lars’s brow rose.
“Yes.” Something seemed off. “You said you were ready to talk about the proposal. It’s quite a generous offer.”
Kane and Lars exchanged grim glances.
Kane walked over to a table with the folder. He picked it up and tossed the contents across the floor of the lodge. “The deal is off.”
She blinked. What was going on? Her pulse skyrocketed. Something was very wrong. “Why?” Her voice was a rasp.
“We know you’ve been deceiving us,” Lars accused.
“Deceiving you? What are you talking about?”
“You come here pretending to be one thing—amediator. You said you would help us come to an agreement we could both live with. You claimed to be a neutral party.” Lars leaned closer, his eyes churning an eerie ice blue. “A lie,” he spat. “You’ve been sleeping with their beta. You’re biased and not to be trusted.”
Her heart raced and seemed to slip down to her feet. They knew. Somehow they found out. The more they stared at her, the more constricting her ribs felt tightening around her lungs.
“It’s not like that,” she defended herself.
“No more lies.” Kane raised a meaty index finger.
“We know.” Lars’s eyes widened. “You’re not only sleeping with Grayson—you’re his mate.”
The eerie laughter that followed sent shivers crawling up her spine.
She stepped back toward the door. “How do you know this?”
Lars arched one brow with a satisfied grin, looking beyond Aurora.
“I told them,” a woman’s voice announced.
Aurora’s gut twisted as she turned to see Victoria. The tall, red-head’s surprising presence jolted her.
“Victoria, what are you doing here?” Her palms felt hot. This was bad. Horribly wrong.
“Fixing what you’ve ruined, you witch whore.” Victoria slapped Aurora across the face.
The impact knocked her off balance, but she managed not to fall. Her cheek stung with a burning sensation. She covered it with her hand to soothe the pain.
Victoria’s eyes gleamed with golden fury. She raised one hand. Claws extended from them—sharp enough to pierce vital organs.
Aurora’s heartbeat echoed in her ears. The gravity of the situation settled on her like a bleak curtain that threatened to smother her. She was alone in a cabin with three wolf shifters who glared at her like they wanted to tear her into shreds.
Victoria stepped over and ran the tip of one of her claws over Aurora’s cheek. She didn’t dare move, holding in a shudder.
