Page 45 of Wicked Fate

“What was it?” Reid walked down the steps.

I couldn’t help but notice he still strode slowly compared to normal, but at least he was moving sufficiently without a cane.

“Nothing.” She shrugged. “I had to be hearing things. I didn’t feel any witch magic, just a hint of rose and lilac.”

My stomach dropped… It had to be the strange man. Why did he keep appearing?

Ryker’s head snapped in my direction.What’s wrong? Do you know that scent?

My instinct was to play with words so I could navigate the truth, but I refused to allow myself to do that. I wouldn’t want Ryker to do that to me, and he deserved the same respect in return.The strange man—he smells of that mixture and wet earth, but I don’t sense him right now.

Of course he does.Ryker scowled.

Everything inside me screamed not to, but I informed the rest of the group about the man. If we were going into a fight, they needed to know there could be a lurker somehow magically appearing and watching us.

“Great.” Gage shook his hands with a sarcastic happy face. “Another enemy we can’t really see and who can appear at random. It’s not like we don’t have enough stacked against us.”

“Either way, it doesn’t change our plan.” Reid crossed his arms. “We still have too much to risk by remaining idle.”

Making her way to the grass, Cassi pulled out a map and laid it on the ground. “Can I get two people to hold this?”

Xander and Kendric each took a side, anchoring the map so the breeze wouldn’t take it away.

Not needing to ask, the rest of us gathered around, Ryker taking the spot next to Cassi with his hand held out.

I scanned the area, searching the darkness for any signs of shadows or the strange man. I didn’t feel the warmth or the cold pressure that would signify either of the threats were around. Even though I didn’t think the strange man posed harm to us, I couldn’t deny that his actions did, in fact, seem threatening.

Cassi lit the sage, a burst of orange and red against the dark of the sky, and then blew out the flame and laid it on the damp grass. She then removed the silver dagger and took Ryker’s hand. As soon as her hand touched his, a sensation of discomfort and dread pulsed through our connection, though his physical demeanor didn’t change.

She whispered the incantation under her breath, her words blurring as if we weren’t supposed to hear them. Shadows curled out from her body, and she pierced the edge of the dagger into his palm once again. The blood shimmered and rolled across the surface of the map... and stopped in the exact same place.

“She’s still there,” Cassi breathed.

I let out a breath that I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding. With our luck, they would’ve moved her to a different location we knew nothing about. We were already heading in with limited knowledge.

“Then we move now,” Reid said. “Every minute she stays in their custody puts us at risk since she can track Ryker.”

A jolt of pain shot through our bond, followed by embarrassment and regret.

“We need to head to the middle of our neighborhood.” My mind raced as I thought through the best strategy. “If they do come by the neighborhood to do recon, they’ll likely focus on the perimeter, so taking a car from somewhere in the middle shouldn’t be noticeable.”

Briar nodded. “And we’ll take that back road exit. It was barely used, and they may not even know about it.”

My chest squeezed. Our pack had made sure to stay out of politics, but Dad had feared something might happen someday and had prepared an escape route. He’d never anticipated what the vampires had managed though.

“You all had an alternative exit?” Reid’s brows rose. “You guys never told us that!”

“It wasn’t anyone but our pack's business.” I crossed my arms. “Are you trying to tell me that you shared everything about your pack with us?”

Silence fell, and then he shook his head.

“Light will be here fast.” Bruce gestured in the direction of the Sinclair pack land. “If we want to blend in with the darkness, we need to go.”

“Are we waiting for anyone else?” Xander asked.

“No. No one was well enough to come with us.” Bruce’s face seemed to become paler each day, signifying that he wasn’t doing well with the stress either.

We could all relate. I was so damn tired of being hurt, running, and hiding.

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