Page 6 of Fire Touched

‘He wasn’t fucking your mate,’ I point out.

Elijah winces. ‘True. But that’s no one’s fault. Killian, I think you’re just going to end up pissing Katherine off. Look, they’ve both—all of them—been through enough. Just be cool.’ He elbows me again, glaring at my still-clenched, flaming fists.

I know he has a point. I fucking know it. But I can’t. How can I?

I do my best to calm down, but I can’t stop the anger simmering in my chest. It’s not just about Katherine, though, admittedly, that’s a huge part of the reason I hate Carter. But because we left with him, I’ve helped start a war between the Fire and Water Packs. I’ve royally screwed up, and my pack, and my father, will end up paying for it.

I try to avoid staring at Carter, but he’s so close to Katherine, it’s like ignoring the sun blooming bright in the sky. I inhale deeply, looking to Elijah instead, envious of how calm he seems to be.

‘What do you think of Ella?’ Elijah asks. ‘I’ve never been allies with Water, so I’ve been trying to get a read on her. She seems sweet enough, but she’s quiet. A good cook,’ he adds.

Over the last week, we have fallen into easy roles within our group. Elijah and I hunt, Ella does wonderful cooking and cleaning, with everyone pitching in to help do dishes, and the girls often make up and break down the camps, set the fires and find berries to eat. Carter, of course, does jack shit. I focus on the blonde woman. To be honest, I haven’t paid a lot of attention to her, but she’s been nothing but nice. A little shy, perhaps, but she’s now out in the world, away from home. I think for a moment, weighing my answer. ‘She let me take Katherine. She didn’t have to. She wanted her to be safe.’ That’s a ten out of ten in my book.

Elijah bobs his head.

‘Why do you ask?’

He looks thoughtful. ‘Just wondering if your aggression toward other packs is universal.’ There’s a lightness to his words, but I know he’s not really joking.

‘You think I’m going to cause trouble at Terran?’

‘If I know anything about you, yes,’ Elijah says shortly.

‘I am not the one who goes around abducting people.’ I jut my head to Carter.

Elijah doesn’t respond. After a moment, he says, ‘Any luck teaching Katie her fire power?’

‘No,’ I growl out. ‘I know it’s in her, but she doesn’t believe it.’ I raise my hands in front of me, flames sparkling over my skin.

Elijah blinks, taking a not-so-subtle step away. ‘Well, you can’t force it.’

‘She’ll need it, though. Don’t think Julian won’t send wolves after us. After him.’ I nod at Carter, wishing for the thousandth time we’d left him behind. Okay, I do feel a bit bad about that. He’s still injured, and I swear he’s losing weight. But he’s not our problem. He’s not Katherine’s mate. I am. I turn to Elijah. ‘Do you think… my Tide Witches, or even your Starlight Witches, since they pronounced the bond between Katherine and Carter, they could, I don’t know, undo it, or something?’

Elijah gives me a withering look. ‘Don’t be an idiot. Just trust her.’

I curse at him colourfully. ‘It’s not that simple. I know they’re… connected somehow.’

‘Good grief, I thought it was girls who obsessed endlessly.’ His gaze quickly snaps to Moira, as though fearing she’d heard him.

‘What?’ I snarl.

He holds his hands up. ‘Nothing. Look, I thought you’d have more of an ego on you than this.’ Elijah smirks. ‘Come on, she loves you, dumbass.’

I glare. ‘You sound like Moira.’

‘I take that as a compliment.’

‘Wasn’t meant as one,’ I growl. I duck as he swipes out at my head for insulting his mate. Elijah’s become a pretty good friend, easy to talk to. ‘Do you always have to be so chill about everything?’

Elijah smiles as though everything is right with the world. He turns his gaze to find his mate. ‘Why wouldn’t I be? I get to go home and introduce my dad to the best woman in the world.’

I heave a sigh and set a hand across his shoulders. ‘Yes, but she’s mine, Elijah.’ I laugh as he elbows me in the ribs.

Chapter Four

Katie

At this point in my life, basically living in the great outdoors, I should give up on the shoe industry altogether. I lean on Moira for a moment—catching her off-guard, and nearly making her fall over—and slide my sneakers off. With a backward glance, I glare at Elijah. ‘It’s so not fair that your mate never gets blisters.’

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