Page 78 of Fated to the Wolf Cowboy
“We’re just going to talk. Brady’s wolf is already on edge so I thought talking to you together would be less confrontational. You haven’t sealed your bond yet, making him a bit unstable,” he explained. “I could feel it the second you pulled up. I didn’t mean to react with aggression. So please, just try to calm down so we can get to the bottom of this.”
Damn right I was unstable. My wolf and I were in an agreement that whatever was going on was a clear threat to our mate.
Tricia clutched my hand. She felt it too.
“Just get it over with,” Luke advised.
Thomas cleared his throat. “I got a warning from the Grand Council about you today, Tricia.”
She sat up and her jaw dropped as she shook her head in confusion.
“The Grand Council? I’m nobody. How would they even know I exist?”
“Your Alpha reported you as a threat.”
“What?” she and I said at the same time.
“Morris did that?” she added. “Why? I’ve never threatened anyone.”
Thomas sighed. “I know you’re a witch, Tricia. The Grand Council has apparently begun not just tracking witches, but classifying them. And you have officially been labeled as one.”
My heart dropped. They were tracking my mate?
“That’s not a secret, Thomas. She’s never denied being a witch. The Clementine incident, remember? That was her. Didn’t Luke explain that to you?”
“I informed him,” Luke admitted as he and James both burst out laughing from behind us as Thomas shot them a look to shut up.
“I’m never living the Clementine thing down, am I?”
“I’m sure it’ll pass with time,” Thomas said.
“Yeah, a lot of time. Like years and years,” James said.
“Enough,” Thomas told him.
“She fled her Pack in New York because they’re tracking down and killing witches, Thomas. She needs sanctuary,” I informed him.
“I was heading to California. There’s rumors about Westin Pack being a safe harbor for witches, a place I could live without fear. If it wasn’t for Brady, I’d already be there by now.”
Her words sliced through my heart.
“You’re safe here, too. Right Thomas?” I asked.
Despite whatever this was, I had to believe it was true. He wouldn’t turn out my mate, would he?
“For many generations now, witches have lived on the fringes of Packs. Every Alpha knows it, but the fear and bloodshed stopped a long time ago. At least here. Witches were suspected to be rare, but as more and more come out into the open we are seeing that isn’t the case at all. So many have extrapowers and that scares people. It scares the Grand Council who is supporting the efforts to reduce threats to our kind. They are defining those of us without powers as purebreds.”
Tricia sighed, but her hand tightened around mine.
“Purebreds? That’s bullshit and you know it!” I yelled.
“Brady, settle down,” Luke warned. “James and I are only here to control you if it comes to it.”
“Control me? Why? What are you saying?”
“They’re saying I’m a threat to Collier Pack,” Tricia said in a soft but steely voice. “I’m the threat here. Not you. Am I right?”
Thomas picked up a piece of paper from his desk and looked it over carefully.
