Page 76 of Wicked Fate

And worse—he was standing in front of her.

Protecting her.

My wolf lunged forward as my warm magic buzzed. Ryker’s hand shot out and clamped on my shoulder, firm and grounding.Lil rebel,I’m not protecting her. I’m protecting you from doing something you’ll regret.

My teeth ground together. My hands clenched into fists. “She’s messing with us. We can’t trust her.” All I saw was red, due to the way he was trying to protect that woman.

Baby, please,he linked and wrapped his arms around me, causing the jolts of electricity from our bond to help ground me.This is what she looked like when she spelled me that day. That’s what I mean by I’m protecting you, even though I love you being this damn jealous. Not gonna lie.

I cut my eyes toward him.Seriously, you’re getting pleasure out of this?Now that he’d shocked some rationale back into me, I could feel happiness floating from him.Asshole.

Do you still see the tether that connects the two of them?Briar asked.

I hadn’t even looked, just reacted. Being more level-headed was a good idea. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my adrenaline rush.

Once I contained the anger, I pulled back and kissed Ryker’s cheek before stepping from the one place that always felt like home.

My attention landed on the older lady, who’d at some point stood and taken several large steps back. Cassi stood beside her with her arms lifted, ready to defend her.

I ignored all that and located the thin, very faint thread of a shadow that connected her to Ryker.

It was exactly the same, which meant she had to be the same person. There were no other tethers that led back to him.

I took in the older woman, trying to figure out which facade was real, wondering if neither of them was.

Cassi looked between us, biting the inside of her cheek. “I understand you feel uncomfortable, but don’t we at least owe her an opportunity to explain herself?”

Gage wasn’t buying it. “I may not be good at school subjects, but even I know the math ain’t mathing.”

“This is how she looked when I first met her.” Ryker lifted both hands. “When she spelled me. I didn’t recognize her in the prison, but when Ember said she saw the connection between us, I didn’t challenge it. I wanted answers.”

I tilted my head, examining her and noticing faint wafts of shadow coming off her in waves… like she was using magic. “Well, this isn’t her true appearance.”

Adara’s mouth dropped. “Why would you say such a thing?” Her gaze darted to Cassi in accusation.

“She didn’t tell me anything.” I lifted my chin, wanting her to feel my scrutiny. “I can see witch magic.” I wasn’t going to give her or Cassi more information. Cassi had been on her way to rebuilding the bridge she’d destroyed, but her hiding that the witch was using magic put her back at square one.

“What? That’s impossible.” Adara wrinkled her nose. “You’re a wolf shifter.”

I rolled my eyes. “Thanks for telling me. Otherwise, I would never have known.”

Gage snickered, and Ryker tried hiding his smile unsuccessfully.

“Fine.” Adara flipped her wrist and returned to looking like someone near her mid-thirties. Her dark hair was still matted, and dirt clung to her face. Her cobalt eyes seemed dull. "I usually hide my real appearance.”

Every head snapped in her direction.

“You what?” Ryker gritted.

“I cloaked my appearance when you visited me.” Her voice trembled. “I didn’t want you to be able to find me again. Not after what the vampire queen had done to me.”

I tensed with alertness. “Why?”

“Because when I was a young child, the vampire queen visited our coven. She asked if there was anyone who could cloak, and our high priestess said no. However, the vampires could smell the lie, so they began slaughtering us, one by one. Finally, one of my sisters broke the covenant not to share the truth about our magic and informed them that my mother was a true cloaker—one of the rarest magical abilities found.”

Ryker cursed under his breath. Cassi’s head jerked toward Adara, wide-eyed. I heard a few gasps as my head spun.

Had we finally determined who the cloaker witch was?

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