Page 40 of Fire Touched

I notice Elijah and Moira stand side by side. Not one in front of the other, but shoulder to shoulder.

We watch on in stunned silence as Verron, the Earth alpha, joins the crowd. ‘We have a signed agreement to release your alpha to you. You have the respect and apologies of our pack.’ Without bowing, or taking his eyes off the Water wolves, Verron inclines his head.

Julian bristles. ‘You’re going to regret this.’ His voice is loud and clear.

Verron tenses. ‘I hope we can part on amicable terms. We could have designed the contract around the barrier, but we chose to make it a clause which ensures it won’t harm you or your people today.’

The tension is palpable. My eyes scan the Water wolves, not all of them in wolf form. My gaze snags on a familiar one. A blonde woman. Courtney. I clutch the bottle I retrieved. She gave me this. I should have asked where she got it from. Who made it. What was in it. She will help me undo what I’ve done.

The others are focused on the exchange between alphas. I slide into the shadows and slip around the guesthouse, aiming for the side of the barrier where I might be able to get Courtney’s attention.

I glance over my shoulder, but if the others—including Katherine—notice my absence, they don’t show it. Misery settles in my gut. What the fuck was I thinking? Severing their bond? Am I that insecure a man? I don’t have a reason to be.

Trying to keep from grousing aloud, I wind through the thick trees, and over to the Water wolves. Courtney’s sharp gaze finds me, her cold eyes widening in surprise. Alarm, even. She dashes over to me, the two alphas still sniping behind her. For now, the Water wolves are held at bay.

Courtney skids down a hilly incline to meet me. ‘Did you do it?’ she asks, breathless.

Guilt grips me. ‘Yes. And it was a mistake.’ I hold the bottle out. ‘What was this?’

Courtney’s face contorts. ‘You broke it, now, what you’re having some crisis of conscious? Man up, wolf.’ Her gaze finds Carter in the crowd, but to her dismay, he’s shoulder to shoulder with Katherine, with no intention of going anywhere. She shakes her head. ‘He’s mine.’

‘I’m sorry, but I don’t think he feels that way.’ My gaze finds Ella at his side, unwavering. ‘I think… I think he has feelings for someone else.’

A loud crunch, and something warm spurts down my face. I stagger back, realisation dawning. ‘You hit me,’ I sputter, wincing at my broken nose. She really has a fondness for doing that.

‘He is mine,’ Courtney snarls.

I wipe my hands off on my pants. ‘No. He isn’t. And even if he was, he’s chosen not to come back to you. I’m sorry, I know that must hurt, but—’ This time I’m ready for her. I dodge her strike, and instead wrap her up, disabling her attacks.

‘Let me go!’ she hisses.

‘Shut up for a minute. Look I made a mistake, and I need you to tell me how to fix it. What was in that stuff you gave me? Who made it? How do I undo the effects?’

Courtney tilts her head back to meet my gaze. A sudden, chilling cackle escapes her lips. ‘Never telling. Let me go, Fire wolf, or I’ll drown you here and now.’

‘I didn’t want to have to do this.’ I raise my hand, hot with fire, close to her face. ‘But no, you won’t. Tell me. I have to fix this.’ I try to ignore the pain radiating from my nose, the stickiness coating the lower half of my face. A quiet voice in the back of my head says, You deserved that. It sounds remarkably like Elga.

Courtney squirms in my grasp. ‘Stop it.’

‘Tell me.’ Something raises the hairs at the back of my neck. We both pause and look out at the Water wolves and those on my side of Terran. Tension brims. ‘Something’s happening.’

Courtney chuckles. ‘Do you really think my alpha is the forgive and forget type?’

We stumble closer to hear what’s going on. Ella is shouting at Julian. ‘He is not going with you. Nor am I.’

‘I don’t want you,’ Julian snarls. ‘Let’s make this simple.’ In one swift move, he breaks out of the ropes binding his hands and grasps Verron in a tight headlock. ‘Give me my nephew, or the Earth alpha dies.’

I stiffen. Everyone stiffens.

Prescott holds out a hand. ‘Please, don’t. We can talk about this.’

‘I’m not really a talker,’ Julian says, squeezing. Verron pales under his grip.

‘Shit,’ I mutter.

‘Just to be clear, if anything happens to me,’ Julian says, ‘my wolves will destroy every last one of you.’ His smile is a slash across his face.

Carter steps forward, gently fending off our friends. He raises his hands. ‘I’m here, Uncle. Let him go.’

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