Page 14 of To Keep A Wolf
“What the hell does that mean?” I demand.
I have minutes—seconds, really—before Jadick bursts in and ends this reunion. Then, he’ll do who-knows-what with me. And Kari. Well, I’ll never see her again. I don’t need a crystal ball to know I wasn’t supposed to see her now.
“My brother has always been the worst of us, Mac.” Kari’s words rattle me. Maybe because I sort of believe her. But then I remember what she did to Levi. To me. My heart hardens, and I grip the bars, squeezing the cold iron against my hands.
“You’re one to talk,” I say. “You played me for years.Years. Grooming me. Using me. And then you betrayed me. For what? This?”
“I saved you,” she says, her tone vicious.
I step back, fury driving me. She’s not worth getting caught for. She’s not worth whatever Jadick will do if he finds me here.
“You’re a liar. And you deserve all of this and more.”
I turn to leave, done with whatever need for closure drove me here in the first place. My strides are long and purposeful. I have no idea where to go next, but I know there’s nothing left for me inside this room.
“He’s going to kill you, you know.”
I let go of the knob.
Slowly, I turn back, hating myself for letting her words get to me. “What?”
“The wedding is a smokescreen. It’s the wedding night you should worry about.”
I snort. “I can take care of myself.”
“If only that were true.”
Rage heats my blood, and I turn for the door again. “Go to hell, Kari.”
“He’s found a witch.”
A witch. Frankie’s words come back to me. She said he was looking for a witch, a hex, named Rina. Something about the curse of our pack. If he’s found her…
I glare at Kari through the darkness. “What does that have to do with me?”
“It’s what he wants you for, Mac. What he’s always wanted you for. Blood. Death. You’re just a sacrifice.”
“What?” Her words make no sense, but a ring of truth echoes inside them that keeps me from telling her she’s crazy.
“How is this such a hard thing to grasp?” She makes a sound of frustration. “He doesn’t give a shit about this wedding or the Jades or anything else. He wants to finish what my father started. And he needs your blood to do it.”
“Does this have to do with the curse?”
“Of course it’s about the curse. It’s always been about that stupid fucking curse.”
“What is he going to do?” I ask.
“Perform the ritual that will end the existence of fated mates.”
My heart thuds as I think back to dinner and the speech Jadick gave. The promise of a better future for our pack—without fated mates to deal with. “Why?”
“Why what?” she snaps.
“Why bother? Our pack already rejects our mates. It’s the law. And he’s alpha now. Everyone already follows him. Why bother with the ritual? What else is in it for him?”
“So naïve,” she says, clucking her tongue. “Why does any asshole do anything? Power, of course. Mates are the only thing more powerful than the alpha bond, and he knows it. Without it, he’ll have absolute authority over every wolf here. No one will ever question him because no one will be strong enough to do it. He’ll secure his place as alpha—forever.”
Stalking back to Kari’s cell, I peer in at her, breathless. “Tell me how to stop him.”
