Page 15 of BeWolfed

I swallowed hard, choosing honesty. "I don’t know."

His expression flickered, something unreadable crossing his face before he carefully masked it. I felt the way his heart clenched, the way he tried to shield the pang of uncertainty from me, but the bond didn’t lie.He was afraid I’d reject this. Reject him.

I reached up, tracing my fingers along his jaw, grounding myself in the warmth of his skin. "But I don’t regret it."

Surprise flashed through the bond, and then his shoulders sagged slightly, relief rolling off him in waves. "You mean that?"

"I do." I touched the mate mark on my shoulder, still tingling with magical energy. "We were manipulated into the timing, but not into the connection itself. That was already forming. We both felt it. This just... forced us to acknowledge it sooner."

His relief was palpable now, a quiet storm settling inside him. "We'll figure out the rest together."

A beat of silence stretched between us, something unspoken lingering in the air. Then Rudy exhaled, his hand sliding down to lace his fingers with mine.

"He knew," Rudy said after a moment, anger threading through his voice. "Cash manipulated us into forming the mate bond."

"But he was working for someone else," I added, straightening my clothing with shaking hands. "Some third party who wanted us bonded. But why? What do they gain from it?"

Rudy's expression darkened. "In the current climate, a witch-wolf mating is politically complicated for both of us. It makes us stronger, but also targets from multiple sides."

I considered the possibilities. "Cash mentioned someone who thinks 'freely chosen bonds' might combat the corruption. What if someone is deliberately working against the entity behind the blood magic?"

"Or setting us up to be more valuable sacrifices," Rudy countered grimly. "A mated pair's bond would generate more power in a ritual than two separate individuals."

The implications were troubling. We'd been pawns in some larger game—one where we couldn't even identify all the players. But one thing was certain now.

We weren’t playing alone anymore.

As we made our way back toward the boundary between Shadow Valley and Midnight Creek, I noticed something extraordinary. My magic, so unreliable for years, now hummed with steady purpose, strengthened and focused by its connection to Rudy's power. When I called a small flame to my palm experimentally, it formed instantly—perfect and controlled, without the erratic surges that had plagued me since childhood.

"The bond stabilizes your magic," Rudy observed, watching the flame dance steadily above my hand.

"And what does it do for you?" I asked, curious about the reciprocal effects.

He closed his eyes briefly, seeming to look inward. "Everything's... sharper. Clearer. My wolf senses are enhanced, but there's more control too. Less struggle between man and wolf."

The discovery was unexpected but welcome. Whatever Mr. Cash's motivations for facilitating our bond, it had given us strengths we hadn't possessed separately. Strengths we would need if we were going to save Rose and stop whatever entity was planning to use the full moon ritual as a doorway between worlds.

"We need to check the southern quarry," I said as we crossed back into Midnight Creek's more structured reality. "If they're gathering witches there tonight—"

"We need a plan first," Rudy countered, his strategic mind already working. "Going in unprepared against pack enforcers and blood magic would be suicide."

Through our bond, I felt his protective instincts warring with his respect for my abilities—a complex balance that made me appreciate him even more. He wasn't trying to hold me back. He was thinking tactically.

"Tomorrow then," I agreed. "We map the quarries, gather what information we have from Rose's research, and make a proper plan."

As Midnight Creek came into view, the weight of what had happened—what we'd learned—settled over us. Seven witches, including Rose. A corrupted alpha serving as vessel for an ancient entity. A ritual designed to open a doorway between worlds.

And us, newly bonded, walking into the center of it all.

Rudy

Dawn crept through the windows of Elowen's apartment above the bookstore, painting her sleeping form in gold. I hadn't slept—couldn't sleep—not with the mate bond singing through my blood and Rose's peril weighing on my conscience.

I traced the mark on Elowen's shoulder, still hardly believing it was real. My mate. Three days ago I'd been a lone wolf tracking blood magic corruption. Now I was bonded to a witch I barely knew, while her aunt remained captive.

This wasn't how it was supposed to happen—not manipulated by some mysterious third party through Cash's Twilight Spirit. Not while Rose was still missing and blood magic corruption spread through the supernatural community.

But the bond didn't care about timing. It pulsed between us, unfamiliar yet undeniable. I could sense her presence—an awareness that hadn't been there before—but it was faint, like hearing a sound through thick walls. I knew she was there, but the details remained elusive.

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