Page 59 of Cursed Magic

As if Ryker hadn’t just spoken, Gage focused his attention on me. “What do you want to do, Ember?”

I froze, understanding exactly what they were doing. And I didn’t appreciate it atall.

Kendric nodded. “It’s your call.”

I bit back my frustration. Ryker’s pack didn’t respect him, and I had a feeling this was their way of testing his authority. He was still their alpha, even if they didn’t agree with how he’d handled things, and if I gave in and answered, it would only make matters worse, both between them and between Ryker and me.

Ryker put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed—a silent thank-you for letting him handle this, and said, “We take two vehicles, so if one of the packs calls for backup, some of us can split off. Xander, Kendric, and Gage in one car. Briar, Ember, Raven, and myself in another.”

“I get why splitting up sounds ideal, but I think we’re stronger if we stay together.” Raven tapped on her phone. “Queen Ambrosia’s offered to let us take one of our Suburbans so we can all fit in one car. We can head out now, andLucinda and the other guards will come as backup closer to the time we decide to move in case it gets ugly, so there isn’t a real benefit to us dividing.”

Raven’s fingers stopped moving. “She wants to know if there’s anything else we require that she can provide.” Her eyes flicked up to where Kendric stood.

I sucked in a breath. Once again, the queen was being super helpful to the shifters. All the rumors of distrust and hatred were being refuted, and I wondered if the Blackwoods had been behind them all with an end goal in sight. After all, who would’ve suspected they would go so far as to kill the entire royal family and their guards?

“If Ambrosia is offering, let’s take her up on it.” Ryker dropped his hands to his sides. “I know we’ve been staying in human form to communicate with the vampires and with Ember and Briar. But we should all change into clothes that are easy to take on and off in case we have to shift. We aren’t sure what we’re walking into.”

Kendric, Xander, and Gage stood still, refusing to budge.

I linked to Briar,Please do as Ryker requested. We need to get moving, and I need to talk to these three idiots alone.

Fine with me.My sister nodded and headed into the bedroom.I’ll grab our clothes so we can change in the bathroom and the guys can have the room.

Thank you.

Ryker growled, and Raven watched the mutiny unfolding before her. I hated that the very people she was trying to help were acting like a bunch of children.

“I said go change. We don’t have time for this bullshit.” His eyes glowed, the wolf coming forward.

“What?” Gage lifted his chin in defiance. “You gonna alpha-will us again? Now at least I know why you didn’t havea fucking problem with it before. We cut you slack because we thought your behavior was due to the loss of our pack. But no. You had your humanity turned off, even around us.”

This was going nowhere. I turned to Ryker, hoping he didn’t get angry at my request. “Do you mind if I talk to them alone for a minute?” Briar headed out of the room with two sets of black shirts and sweatpants.

His eyes narrowed, but as he stared into mine, some of the tension flowed from his body, and his shoulders relaxed ever so slightly. “Fine.”

He brushed a hand along my arm, the sparks springing to life. This had to be his way of telling me that he wasn’t mad at me.

Silence filled the room as Ryker left. He glanced back at me one last time before shutting the door behind him.

When I turned to the three of them, I noticed Raven and Kendric staring at one another.

I felt like an ass for doing this, but Raven wasn’t a wolf shifter and didn’t understand pack relationships. I didn’t want her influencing the others because of her lack of understanding. “Do you want us to meet you out front when we’re ready?”

Her attention jerked to me. She tilted her head, and her face tightened for a moment. “Sure. That sounds great. I’ll be outside in five minutes.” She left too.

As soon as her footsteps faded, I jumped to the point. “Look. What Ryker did is shitty, but this is not the time to fight each other. The Blackwoods are working with a witch, probably more than one, which means things are going to get deadlier—and fast.”

Xander rubbed the back of his neck. “You trust him after what happened? Just like that?”

“Yes, I trust him. But I understand if you’re not ready yet.” I laced my fingers together. “No matter what, Ryker is your alpha. I’ll talk with him and ask him to tell you all if the magic impacts him again. If he doesn’t, I’ll know because I can see when it’s working on him.”

Xander and Gage exchanged glances, and Kendric folded his arms. All their eyes glowed, informing me they were communicating through their pack links. I wanted to hurry the conversation, but at least they were discussing how to move forward.

“We need to work together until we get through this mess,” I added, hoping to quicken their decision. “I believe Ryker has learned a hard lesson, especially given how important you three are to him.”

The lines on Kendric’s face softened, but his expression remained skeptical. “I’m so sick and tired of not being told critical information and not being part of decisions. I understand that I might not like what’s decided, but I would at least like to have my voice heard. After the three of you pulled that shit the other day, and then we learned about Ryker being spelled, I don’t know who I can trust anymore.”

“I’m sorry.” I hung my head. Excluding them hadn’t been done on purpose, but we shouldn’t have left them in the dark. I’d even treated Briar that way, and at the end of the day, when you hurt someone, your intentions didn’t matter. The damage was done. “I regret not informing Briar.”

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