Because of some unforeseen events, of Jude, finding his mate on the way home, Erix has to replace Jude with the escorting group before we leave to go to my old pack. "You discharged Jude?" Erix nodded. "I think it was necessary given the circumstances. He plans to mark and mate the she-wolf by the next moon, and we won't be back by then. The marking can be incredibly painful for some wolves, so it would be better if they stayed here.""But who will replace him?""I link Chance and Carmela and recruit them when Jude confirms he has his mate. They, along with Max, will be with us the whole time we're at Night Shadow. Everyone else will scope out their territory and keep an eye on things for us."I didn't miss how curt he was being with me. "You can talk to me, you know," I reminded him. "If there's something wrong.""Why would something be wrong?"I shrugged. "I don't know. You seem different."I wanted to ask him if something had changed, but I already knew the answer to that. I won
"How's the thing with the pack?" Did you call Wyatt?" I asked him. Erix yawned, removed his hand from my hair, and nodded."He has things under control. He has been questioning the she-wolf again, but she answered 'not to go. Trap or whatever she said repeatedly."I furrowed my eyebrows. The she-wolf had told me that when I was with her. What does it mean? Should I tell Erix? No. Erix gets upset if I tell him. He warned me never to get close to that she-wolf. I decided to keep it to myself. "What does it mean?" I asked him. "I don't know. I told Wyatt to dig deeper about what she was saying," he replied. "Do you think Wyatt can do it?" "Wyatt dealt with the violent types before. He knows what he's doing."Hmm. I hope Erix is right. Something about that she-wolf made me think twice about this trip. If she was referring to the trip to my old pack, does it mean she doesn't want me to go? Who exactly was the she-wolf? Did we meet? Was she trying to warn me? Where did she come from?
Renato immediately bowed his head out of respect and fear for my mate. I was surprised to see him so weak. "Of course. I'm sorry."I was proud of Erix for taking control and standing up for me. He is exactly what a mate should be, and I was lucky to have him; I squeezed his hand into mine.When Renato raised his head again, I felt confident to continue. "Do you know why our pack is so strong? It's because we don't keep secrets from each other. They make us weak. We believe in total disclosure. You're a pack once you come together and work towards the same goal. If your pack finds out what you've done, you'll lose their respect among them, and I assume that's not something you can afford. You need unity."Renato's lips formed a thin line. "I'm aware of my mistakes. If I had known the threats would have progressed this far, I would have done things differently. They're coming for us.""What pack is making threats?" Erix asked. "The Blood pack. Are you familiar with it?" Erix tensed
"I don't know if I can go with you," Erix said after we finished our food and left the diner. We were on our way back to pack, and Erix was stiff. "I don't think I can be in the same room as Killian and not want to kill him." He didn't sound bitter anymore over his mate because he'd moved on from it as I had, but he still didn't like Killian. He found him weak to be an Alpha, and he didn't trust him. He'd told me that a few times during our travels. "It's okay if you don't want to go. I'll be fine on my own," I said. Erix was quick to reply. "No. I don't want you alone with Killian. Take someone from the pack with you." "It's really okay. Kilian is too emotionally unstable to risk or harms me." "Rain…" His tone was a warning not to argue with him on the subject. Erix never tried to tell me what to do, and if he did insist on something, it was because he felt strongly about it and felt it was necessary. In cases like that, I didn't argue with him. "I'll send Carmela with you."
I shook my head and stepped a little closer to him. "I'm sorry about what happened to Isabelle. Is she-" I cut off, not knowing how to continue. How does one ask about the person your mate left you for? Killian didn't speak for a long moment, and for a second, I doubted he would. When he finally did, it sounded bitter… angry. "Is that why you're here? To offer me your pity? If it is, you can save it. I don't want or need it." Killian didn't keep the harshness out of his words. His tone wounded me a little, to my surprise. I wasn't used to this side of Killian. He was usually calm and composed even when he was Alpha. He never snapped at anyone, even me. It was clear that he was dealing with something much deeper now. He had a certain darkness about him that radiated through the air, and I could feel it. It worried and scared me all at the same time. Maybe it was a bad idea to come here after all. "You're worried," he said. "You don't trust me?" Though what he said was supp
Killian did have a responsibility now to Isabelle. It was his child she was carrying. If he didn't reject me, I wouldn't have met Erix. He's the best that came from everything terrible that happened. It led me to him. Killian's eyes were hardened. "It happened weeks ago. Isabelle would have died soon anyway, but you just sped up the process. I guess I should be thanking you. You put her out of suffering."Suffering? Was Isabelle dead? Did I kill her?" "And he took everything from me," Killian continued. "You, my pack, and my position."Suddenly I realized what he was doing now. He's trying to find someone to blame and hold responsible for everything—anyone besides placing everything on himself so he can't take the guilt. I had no idea how to help him. Things like that didn't come naturally to me anymore toward him. He wasn't my mate, but I tried anyway. "Look," I begin. "You can't hold on to guilt or place blame. It will eat you alive and consume you until there's nothing left. D
"She's quite a fireball," Rijel said, his jaws set in amusement. "We could use her." Use me? No. Never. "You'd have to kill me first." I made my voice as low and dangerous as I could manage. They both laughed at me as if I had told them a joke."That's unnecessary, Bella," Rijel said before touching my cheek."Don't touch me!" I screamed at him, stepping away from him, but Rijel seemed he didn't mind it. "We have other ways to make you cooperate with us," Rijel added. "Us? So what, you're a team now?"Rijel turned to Killian and smiled. "You didn't tell her? Well, this is amusing," Rijel said, looking at me with his arms crossed his chest. To say that this man is hot is to be underestimated. He is freaking handsome. He was too young to be the Alpha of a ruthless pack. When I met him at the diner, he was charming and jolly. My coworkers' eyes were glued on him all while he was inside. He is a wolf in sheep's skin. "What exactly do you want with me?" I asked impatiently. "I'm su
When I forced my eyes to open, I stared at a blank white wall. I let my eyes travel up to the ceiling. It was white too. It had the feel of an insane asylum. Shiver ran down my spine. Erix.. where are you? My soul is aching from the distance between him and me. We wanted our mate. My wolf and I felt incomplete. Feeling hopeless, I turned to examine the rest of the room, trying to ignore the pain running through my body. It was a struggle to roll over until soft, cold hands helped me. I tensed, but they still helped me move. I felt the slightest bit of relief when I saw that the hand belonged to a small, thin girl. She was beautiful. Her long red hair fell in waves around her face and cascaded down her back. Her skin was naturally light though she looked recently sun-kissed. The pink of her cheeks only added to her other pretty features. The first thought that came to me was, why was she here with me? Was she a prisoner too? Was she taken away?"Hi," she said and drew her hands. "