Page 70 of Wolf Cursed
My eyes burned with tears, but I refused to let them fall. Not in front of these people.
“Ash,” Oscar began, but I ignored him, forcing out the rest of the story before I lost control of my emotions.
“Yesterday, the guy, Vorack, called me and said I still owed the debt and that he’d find me so I could pay him—one way or another.”
Kai cursed under his breath, but I didn’t dare look over. I couldn’t take any more shit about keeping secrets or one more lecture about how I shouldn’t be here.
“You should have told me about the call,” Oscar said.
“I didn’t take it seriously,” I said. Not entirely true, but I’d had other things on my mind that felt way more of a threat. “How would he ever know to look for me here?”
Idrissa whispered something to Isaac, and I looked down at the floor. This was it. The moment they all chased me out of town for being too big of a burden to deal with.
“What a heartbreaking little story,” Silas said into the silence.
I met his glare with one of my own. “Go to hell.”
“Oh, trust me,” he said with a snort, “I’m already there.”
Presley snickered.
“If you don’t believe me, that’s your problem,” I said. “I’m telling the truth.”
“Oh, we believe you, Ashes,” Silas assured me, his gaze condescending and hard. “The problem is that it has nothing to do with that guy out there.”
“What are you talking about?” I shook my head, confusion warping my logic. “You just said he was trying to break into my room—”
“That guy is a spook,” Presley said. “A spy for the hexerei.”
I frowned, remembering Drake’s use of the word. I still had no idea what it meant. “What are the hexerei?”
“Witches,” Drake said with a pointed look.
And one by one, the pieces began clicking into place.
Witches. The pack’s enemy number one. The people who’d cursed the wolves all those years ago and made them into what they were now: Violent. Unsettled. Wild. And above all, mateless.
No wonder they’d been beating the shit out of the guy. He’d come here to spy on them and probably use whatever information he uncovered to make their lives even worse.
Maybe innocent had been a strong word.
“I still don’t understand. Why was he trying to get into my room?” I asked.
“Didn’t we already try this line of questioning?” Presley looked at Silas in mock confusion. “Because I feel like we already tried this once.”
“She clearly doesn’t know,” Idrissa said. “Just give it a damned rest.”
“We’ll give it a rest when we know the truth,” Silas snapped at her. “Kai?”
Everyone turned to him, and I let myself pretend, just for a moment, that he’d be on my side.
But he didn’t even meet my eyes.
“She’s been through some human drama that’s got her all jammed up,” he said flatly.
“We could bring her in,” Drake said. “Make her talk.”
My insides twisted with fear at that. I didn’t need to ask to know whatever he planned wouldn’t make the interrogation pleasant.
