Page 32 of Primal

Noa

Rennick is here.

He’s here and he’s here to see me.

When Amara and Lowri pulled up in front of my driveaway in the High Priestess’s red Toyota and relayed this information, my heart stuttered before slamming into a harder, faster rhythm. For about ten seconds, my wolf surged forward, pressing against the walls of her glass cage with a frantic kind of desperation, as if she might finally break free of the confines she’s suffered under. The knowledge alone that he came for her, forus, was enough to fill her with naive and misplaced hope.

But the rush didn’t last long.

It faded almost as quickly as it came, leaving behind something cold and hollow in its place. A slow, creeping unease rolled into my stomach. At first, it was just a whisper, an aching pit, but the longer I stood there listening to Lowri, learning what andwhowas waiting for me in the clearing, the more it strengthened.

And along with it, so did my intuition.

I don’t know why he’s come, but I know with absolute certainty the pack Alpha isn’t here for a casual visit. There’s anagging sensation at the back of my mind, demanding that I pay attention to it, but I can’t. Not right now. Not when each of my nerves are set ablaze with an unrecognizable dread.

On daze-like autopilot, we left Edie and Eldrith with Ivey and Siggy. The lighthearted mask I wore while telling my Nightingale I had something to take care of wassome of my best acting work, but Siggy saw right through it. Like I’ve said, the omega is wise beyond her years. I may have lied and told her everything was fine, but I was telling the damn truth when I promised her I would be back in no time. Nothing short of divine intervention would make me break that vow to her.

Seren had been adamant she was coming with me, even when I insisted I would be okay with Amara and Lowri keeping me company. My best friend had all but laughed in my face, acting as if what I’d said was the most absurd thing she’s ever heard. In her defense, if the roles were reversed, I wouldn’t let her go alone either. Not a chance in hell.

During the ten-minute drive, the unease doesn’t fade. If anything, the closer we get to the clearing,to him, the more suffocating it becomes, tightening around my chest. My fingers clutch the steering wheel harder than necessary, and I force myself to focus on the road ahead, but my mind keeps circling back to the same dreadful conclusion.

This isn’t going to end well for me.

Beside me, Seren shifts, her sharp powder blue eyes flicking sideways, her empath abilities allowing her to pick up on every tangled thread of anxiety churning inside me. She doesn’t say anything at first, just reaches across the console and takes my free hand, squeezinghard, grounding me before I spiral too deep.

“I’m fine.” Like a reflex, the words shoot out of me before I even realize I’m thinking them.

“You always are,”she murmurs, her voice void of its usual teasing edge. The weight in her tone matches the thick tension choking the air inside my Jeep. With her unpolluted shifter senses, she’s probably choking on the emotions seeping out of my pores. “I know your intuition is telling you to expect the worst, but whatever happens, I’m right here, Noa.”

It’s a small thing, but it’s enough to loosen the pressure in my chest just a little. I squeeze her hand in return before exhaling and refocusing as the tree line begins to thin.

Up ahead, the clearing comes into view, and my pulse stumbles despite every effort to keep myself steady.Two matching black luxury SUVssit in the open space, gleaming in the overcast late autumn daylight. A handful of men I don’t recognize are scattered around them, standing alert, their postures screamingpack enforcers.They aren’t the only ones keeping watch, though.Nearly a dozen Craddock she-wolves are here too, blending into the scenery on the outskirts like silent sentinels. I now understand why Lowri felt comfortable enough to fetch me herself. Her girls have things well in hand here.

I put the car in park and take it all in.

While I don’t recognize the Fallamhain enforcers, there’re a few faces I know here today.

The first and only time I met Canaan Roarke, his calm and reassuring demeanor put me at ease almost instantly. My wolf’s distaste for the opposite sex leaves me untrusting of men in general, but with Fallamhain’s second, I found myself relaxed in his presence. But the hulking man I met five days ago does not match the one who currently looms near the first Escalade. Something in my chest tightens further. His expression is stormy, his usually composed features shadowed with something unreadable, but it’s Rhosyn’s face that makes my stomach twist. She looks utterlywrecked,her green eyes dull, her entire body radiating despair.

I don’t know why she looks like that, and I don’t want to know.

And then I see her.

I had been warned, just like with the rest of them, that she would be here. But knowing andseeingare two entirely different things. The moment my eyes land on her, the weight of what’s coming settles deep in my bones, heavier than before.

Talis McNamara.

Leaning against one of the sleek black cars, her arms are crossed, there’s an infuriatingly smug smirk stretching across her lips. She lookspleased,like she’s just won some grand prize, and everything inside me goes still. The pit in my stomach turns from gnawing dread to full-fledged certainty.

It wasn’t until I saw her with my own two eyes that I put it together. Talis is the reason I feel this way.

Rennick showing up here is one thing, but bringing her—his betrothed, his chosen mate—makes it something else entirely.

The realization makes my breath catch, my wolf shifting uneasily beneath my skin, whining in confusion even as my instincts scream.But it’s too late now because in the middle of the clearing, standing tall and unmoving, ishim.

Rennick.

The man who has all but consumed my thoughts these past five days, and he looks just as devastating as I remember.

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