Page 62 of Cursed Magic

No.

He didn’t get to take away my chance for at least partial answers. I moved around him, catching Ryker by surprise. Within seconds, his widened eyes narrowed, and I saw when he accepted that, once again, I wasn’t going to listen to him.

“If you didn’t want me caught up in thismess, Reid, maybe you shouldn’t have murdered my pack.” I was done tiptoeing around them. It was time for the gloves to come off.

“And we’re all here as requested.” Bruce’s hands shook like his shift was coming on. “So let my people go. You’ve killed enough of them.”

The wind blew, lifting Reid’s shaggy blond hair. “Murdered your…” He looked dumbfounded. “Killed your pack members?” His voice went alarmingly high, a sound that I hoped he wouldn’t be able to reproduce.

“What is she talking about?” Perry ran a hand through his short, dark-blond hair. “Did you do something to the Sinclair and Shae packs?”

“Of course not.” Reid straightened to his full six-foot-three-inch frame. “I don’t know what they mean.”

Ryker pointed at him. “Don’t lie to us. We all knowwhat you’ve done. You setusup to take the fall so you can lead everyone.”

Jaw dropping, Reid stared at me and said, “I get that I embarrassed you at the ceremony. I don’t know what came over me, but I swear I never meant to act that way or hurt you. But you can’t believe our pack to be so evil as to…” He squared his shoulders. “Hegot you to believe that. And you’d know if I were lying.” His gaze shifted from me. “And Bruce, our packs have been friends with yours for decades. We’d never harm you.”

“Unless your scent was cloaked, Reid.” Raven’s voice cut through the strain, reminding us all of the power they had on their side.

“Cloaked?” Reid’s brows furrowed, and he exchanged puzzled looks with Perry and the rest of the Blackwood pack. Their expressions were so genuinely confused that I almost believed them.

A chill snaked down my spine, and cold pressure closed in from all sides.

A lump lodged in my throat, and my entire body tensed.

Reid turned toward me, his entire attention on me. “What’s wrong?”

“They’re coming.” The pressure increased, and it felt as if a tsunami were barreling toward me to pull me under.

Perry whipped his head toward me. “Who’s coming? And why the hell is the Shae pack spying on us?”

“Maybe…” Gage drew out the word. “They’re curious what backstabbing bastards look like.”

The pressure strengthened further, suffocating and thick. I scanned the area, my heart racing as wisps of shadows emerged slowly from the trees. They coiled closer, surrounding the Blackwood pack with eerie precision.

“The shadows are surrounding them. They have to be controlling them.” I wanted to ask Raven how close the vampires were, but I didn’t want the Blackwoods to know that we had backup on the way. At this point, the vampires should be arriving any second.

“Shadows?” A tall woman from the Blackwood pack spun around. “What is she talking about?” Her voice cracked with fear.

That…didn’t make sense.

“Don’t worry. The vampires will arrive in two minutes.” Raven told them the exact information I didn’t want anyone beyond our group to know.

Why would she tell them that?

What do you need me to do?Briar linked as her fear took hold.

I wasn’t sure how to answer, so I said the only thing I could think of at the moment.Survive.

Slowly, I spun around. We were completely surrounded.

“We should run,” a red-haired man from the Shae pack said. “Don’t wait for them to attack.”

This wasn’t supposed to happen. “We’re already surrounded.”

“What are you—” an older man from the Shae pack started to ask, but then a shadow reached for his neck and shredded his throat.

More shadows poured from the trees with terrifying, coordinated speed. Before anyone could react, they swarmed the Shae pack and us, dark forms tearing into our lines. Screams of pain and surprise pierced the air, and blood sprayed across the clearing.

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