Page 12 of Wicked Fate

I’d opened my mouth to say something when Briar spoke from her spot directly behind me. “I know you feel that you’re making the right call, but believe me when I tell you that, if you disrespect his wishes, itwillcreate a wedge between you.”

Glancing over my shoulder, I noted that Briar’s face was lined with concern, but her sharp jade-green eyes were set in determination. Frustration bit through the bond.

No doubt she was thinking about when I’d almost forced her to desert our allies and leave with me against her will, my plan having been to run away solely to protect the two of us while leaving the rest of the packs and shifters here to continue to be murdered. That lesson would always stick with me.

Sun’s lips parted like she wanted to argue, but then she clamped them shut. Her jaw clenched for one long, stretched-out moment.

When I expected her to march into the house and slam the front door, she pivoted on her heel. “Fine,” she bit out. “But not for long.”

Without another word, she entered the house, her feet squeaking against the hardwood floors. She stood at the door, waiting for each of us to enter.

Ryker gritted his teeth so hard his jaw cracked.

My wolf both whimpered and growled, the strange combination sounding foreign in my head. She was as conflicted as my human side. If Reid wanted to talk, I wasn’t in a position to decline. I had my own questions about the night my pack had been murdered and Reid’s pack’s presence there, but an almost equal-sized part of me didn’t want to go in, given how upset and uncomfortable Ryker seemed.

Cassi hurried by at a run, like Sun might change her mind if she didn’t act quickly.

I slid my hand into Ryker’s, the jolt stirring to life as Gage, Xander, and Kendric climbed the stairs.

Everyone but Ryker, Sun, and I was clearly eager to get this conversation over and done with.

Ryker’s fingers tightened, holding my hand in a death grip as we entered the house together.

The air inside the house hit differently—warm.

Too warm.

Like the heat had been cranked in a desperate attempt to burn away the chill of death that clung to everything outside. But it couldn’t.

The faint scent of blood hung in the air, from outside and from Reid. My stomach twisted and my heart ached as I realized that, even inside the pack members’ homes, death would haunt them.

The hallway stretched out in front of us, leading deeper into the house.

I’d only ever been inside Perry and Mavis’s home, but the layout was identical—the same narrow corridor running toward the back, the same pale walls, and the same scuffed hardwood floors beneath our boots.

The farther we moved into the house, the more claustrophobic it felt.

Every breath came heavier, every step echoing louder, as if we were intruding on something we shouldn’t be part of.

My palm stayed locked in Ryker’s, the jolt of our connection anchoring me, but it didn’t seem to be helping him at all. He hadn’t said a word, and I wasn’t sure if restraint or resentment was boiling beneath his skin. Probably both.

Sun kept glancing over her shoulder, her shoulders stiff and her jaw twitching. It was clear she didn’t want any of us here—especiallyme.

One thing was certain.

No matter what this visit would cost, I needed to know what had actually happened that night when Reid and the Blackwood pack had come to our land. If they hadn’t attacked us, and the vampires had been cloaked with a diluted wolf shifter scent, then how had they known to come?

We passed a bathroom and then a small bedroom.

Another few steps, then Sun stopped in front of the last door on the left. She took in a ragged breath and opened it.

My pulse stuttered as she waved for us to follow and marched inside.

Ryker stood still, so I tugged on his hand. We couldn’t speak without the others hearing, so I hoped he understood my intention—I wanted him to come with me, but I would go without him.

He huffed like he understood my message and then moved alongside me into the dimly lit room.

The curtains were drawn, and a single lamp glowed on the far dresser. The scent of blood was strongest here—coppery and sharp, barely covered by the medicinal tang of salves and herbal ointment.

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