Page 72 of Fated to the Wolf Cowboy
“What? Lily’s an experiment?”
“I don’t think they actually did anything to her. Thomas found her quickly with the help of her brother. He had eyes and ears on the inside that helped them retrieve her before anything bad could happen. Or at least that’s what I’ve been told. I wasn’tpart of Collier Pack back then. Though if I’m remembering right, I think they were still mating when that happened. Poor guy. I definitely have a newfound perspective for that story now.”
“That’s so scary that she was with them. Around the city they were snatching up shifters all the time. People would disappear for a few weeks, sometimes months even and then just show back up. I remember this one group of girls that had only been gone for a like two or three weeks and they all returned pregnant and about to pop. It was crazy and terrified everyone.”
I didn’t understand why she was telling me all of this until it hit me—Tricia had been a victim of the Raglan, an experiment.
She must have seen the look on my face because she gasped. “No. No, no, no. I wasn’t an experiment. I never spent any time with the Raglan. I’m just an average witch.’
“There’s nothing average about you,” I argued.
She took some time to explain her powers to me.
“So you see, I did sort of screw you over and all that nonsense. I just didn’t mean to do it. How was I supposed to know she’d find you?”
I sighed. “I know you’re right. But dammit, a little warning next time, please. One mate is more than enough for me. Besides, next time I could very well run off into the sunset with a skunk or something.”
She burst out laughing and I knew we were going to be okay.
“So none of that explains why you left New York with so little and why you’re so scared now, because I can feel it, Tricia. Maybe I shouldn’t be yet, but I can.”
“I asked if you knew about the Raglan. Our kind in New York are terrified of their experiments. They’ve been huntingand killing them, Brady. And then a few months ago, rumors started up about witches, too. It didn’t take long before witches started going missing. My friend thought I was being overly paranoid, and then she wound up dead in a dumpster. The day I left the city, trackers were chasing me. I didn’t realize it right away, but I’d called on the tunnel rats to help me in the subway. The same thing that happened with you and Clementine. My scent was on the rats and distracted the trackers who went after them instead of me. This allowed me time to get away. But, Brady, once a tracker gets your scent, they struggle to let it go. They could still be tracking me even all the way out here.”
Tricia
Chapter 21
I was surprised by how good it felt to share everything with him. It hadn’t been easy, and I got emotional a few times, but it was somehow therapeutic. It helped that he didn’t seem to judge me at all. I didn’t even think he minded that I was a witch. It boggled my mind.
Shortly after I was done telling my story, Jessie stopped by with dinner. It didn’t matter what it was because I was starving and just grateful for food. But it was delicious, too.
We moved to the card table they had setup for us to eat dinner.
Jessie didn’t seem phased that I was a witch either. She had said her best friend was a witch as well. Did that mean there were more of us here in Collier?
I had always thought that to be safe I would have to relocate to Westin Pack. Was it possible there were other Packs just as accepting?
I’d never even considered that as an option.
Could I stay here in Collier with Brady? Would they allow that now that people knew about me?
It was almost too much to hope for.
After dinner we cleaned up together and it was the most normal thing I’d ever done. It didn’t even feel real, more like I was living life on some fake television show or something. It wasthe kind of meal that real people had, or at least seem to, yet I had never truly experienced.
“All done. It’s a lot later than I thought. We should get to bed,” Brady said, yet something in his tone seemed to hesitate.
“What’s wrong?”
“There’s only one bed. But don’t worry. I can rig up something with those camp chairs or just sleep on the floor.”
“Or we could just share it. That thing is huge.”
It may have been a blowup mattress, but the thing was a king sized bed. I was certain the two of us could easily fit on it.
“You’re sure? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything.”
“Then don’t. I unloaded a lot on you today, so I get it if you want some space to unpack it all. But don’t sleep on the floor for my sake.”
