Page 17 of BeWolfed

"I think nothing about Oscar Katz is coincidental." I leaned against the counter, organizing my thoughts. "Rose trusted him enough to consult him on blood magic countermeasures. But she had notes—ones that suggested she wasn't sure of him either."

Elowen frowned, her fingers tightening around her mug. "You mean she had doubts?"

"Maybe. Or maybe she just wasn’t willing to trust him completely. But if he was working with her, he might know something we don’t."

She exhaled, processing that. "Then we need to talk to him.”

"We will. But first, we check the quarry sites." I showed her my phone, Lola’s latest text flashing across the screen:Pack on move. Multiple enforcers headed to Shadow Valley. Something big happening tonight.

The timeline was accelerating.

As we moved with unified purpose, I marveled at how naturally we fell into partnership. The mate bond was there, but it wasn’t everything—not yet. It wasn’t dictating our choices, justamplifying something that had already been forming between us. Something built on trust, necessity, and something deeper we hadn’t quite put a name to yet.

Whatever the alpha planned, whatever entity waited beyond the ritual doorway, we would face it together. Not because fate or magic or drugged drinks had forced us together, but because we chose to stand side by side.

And that choice made all the difference.

Elowen

The abandoned quarry stretched before us like an open wound in the mountainside, its white stone walls reflecting the afternoon sun with blinding intensity. I shielded my eyes, my witch sight activating automatically to scan for magical traces.

Three quarry sites on this side of town, and this was the first. From the outside, it looked unremarkable—just another abandoned mining operation. But my senses told a different story. Magic lingered here, subtle but unmistakable, like the metallic taste before a lightning strike.

"Blood magic residue," I confirmed, kneeling to examine faded markings near the entrance. "Recent, but not fresh. Days old, maybe a week."

Rudy crouched beside me, his wolf senses complementing my magical perception. Through our new bond, I felt his focus sharpen, cataloging scents and sounds beyond human or witch perception.

"Pack enforcers were here," he murmured, running his fingers through dust. "At least four distinct scents, including Curtis." His jaw tightened at the name. "And witches. Three... no, four different magical signatures."

My heart leapt. "Can you tell if one was Rose?"

He closed his eyes, concentrating. "Similar magical trace. Could be Rose."

Hope and dread warred in my chest as I pushed to my feet. The thought of her being held captive for some dark ritual made my hands shake with barely controlled fury. Time was running out. Two days until the full moon.

"Let's check inside," I said, my voice steadier than I felt.

We moved cautiously into the quarry, following a path that wound between massive blocks of cut stone. The walls rose around us, creating a natural amphitheater open to the sky. At the center, dark stains marred the white stone floor in a pattern too deliberate to be natural.

"Ritual circle," I identified, my voice tight with anger. "Classic blood magic configuration—seven points for channeling witch power, nine for wolf essence, and one central position for the ritual leader."

"The alpha," Rudy growled.

I knelt beside the nearest point, touching the stained stone gingerly. Magic sparked at my fingertips, but not the corrupted feeling I expected. This was cleaner, more focused. Protective magic—Rose's signature style.

"This is strange," I murmured, excitement building. "These aren't corruption sigils. They're countermeasures—protection spells worked into the ritual circle."

Rudy frowned. "Why would they include protection spells in a blood magic ritual?"

"They wouldn't." Recognition dawned as I traced the hidden patterns. "These were added afterward. Someone came backand modified the ritual space—weakened it, disrupted the corruption."

"Rose," Rudy said with certainty. "She found their ritual site and sabotaged it."

"Which would explain why they took her." I stood, surveying the circle with renewed determination. "She was interfering with their plans, undermining the blood magic directly."

Something glinted among the stones nearby. I reached down and picked up a small silver object half-buried in dust—Rose's protective amulet, the one she never removed, inscribed with our family sigil.

"She was definitely here." My voice broke as I clutched the amulet, its familiar magic warming at my touch. "And she left this deliberately for me to find. It's not broken or torn—it was placed."

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