Page 61 of Cursed Magic

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

The panic in Bruce’s eyes and voice told us everything. “They’re demanding that the eleven of us come there. They want to know what we’re doing out here.”

I growled. They fucking knew why we were here. They’d attacked all three of our packs. Did they expect us to just lie down and wait for them to finish us off? I’d rather die fighting than lay myself out for slaughter.

“How could they have snuck up on them?” Raven placed a hand on her chest. “Your pack would’ve heard them approach.”

Ryker laughed bitterly. “Not when they’re able to cloak themselves. If this doesn’t prove they’re behind all of this, I don’t know what will.”

“All I know is that they have twenty of my pack surrounded, which is damn near half of what they left alive. We have to listen to them.” Bruce fisted his hands. “I can’t lose any more people.”

Ryker’s jaw tightened. “Ember and Briar don’t have to be there. This could be a setup. The women can go back tothe Suburban and leave while my pack goes with you to handle this.”

For a moment, all I could do was blink. I must have heard him wrong. There was nowayhe expected me to leave instead of remaining by his side.

Frustration lined Bruce’s face. “It’s not that simple. My pack said they know exactly who’s here.” His voice rose, edged with desperation. “They demanded all of us.”

The sun was setting, causing the shadows of the trees to lengthen. Almost like the shadows the Blackwoods used to cloak themselves were laughing at us.

We have to help them, Ember,Briar linked, her determination filtering through me.We can’t leave them behind. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get over what Dad forced us to do that night.

That would haunt me for the rest of my life as well. Though I doubted we’d have survived if he hadn’t, what if we had? Maybe I could’ve seen the shadows that night too, but I’d been forced to run before I was given the opportunity. “There’s no way Briar and I are leaving. Both of us will go with you.”

Raven’s phone dinged, and she swiped the screen. “Lucinda just texted. They’re loading the weapons now and will be on their way shortly. If things go bad, they should arrive in time to help.”

“Then that’s even more of a reason not to disagree. If the Blackwoods want us there,” I said, my voice firm with newfound resolve, “then we’re going. All of us.”

Ryker snarled, and his eyes glowed with barely contained frustration. His wolf surged forward, wanting to command me but knowing at the same time it wouldn’t work. I wasn’t part of his pack…not yet.

Gage sidled between Ryker and me, and Ryker flushed.

Gage stood firm and crossed his arms. “We’re not going unless she’s with us. And if you try to force us, I will join her pack and leave your ass behind.”

Between those words and the way Ryker glowered, my heart cracked in my chest. I never wanted to come between him and his pack, and I definitely didn’t want people leaving him to join me.

Xander nodded. “It’ll cause even more problems if we all split up.”

“We don’t have time for this.” Bruce kicked at the mulchy ground. “I can’t risk something else happening to my pack.”

I took Ryker’s hand, afraid that he would drop it. When he didn’t, I tugged on it as the jolts shot between us. “Let’s go.”

His shoulders sagged, but he nodded.

We hurried through the forest, the trees thickening as we closed in on the invisible line that separated the park from the Blackwood territory.

Each crunch of leaves underfoot seemed amplified in the ominous silence, as if emphasizing that we were entering a very ambiguous situation.

A small clearing opened up, and I could see people clustered together about fifty yards from the edge of the territory.

As we got closer, I managed to pick out Perry and Reid standing in the center of Bruce’s people with at least fifty of their pack members circling them. There was no telling how many more were hiding in the woods and cloaked in darkness.

In my periphery, I searched for signs of iridescent shadows blending in with the darkening sky.

Perry and Reid stepped forward, the alpha and beta ofthe pack as well as father and son. They almost appeared to be carbon copies of each other, Perry the older version.

Reid’s sparkling blue eyes locked with mine then lowered to Ryker’s and my joined hands. The corner of his lips tugged downward. “I hate that you got caught up in this mess.”

Striding in front of me, Ryker moved so Reid couldn’t see me. He gritted, “You don’t get to talk to her. You talk to me instead.”

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