Page 48 of To Keep A Wolf
I stare at their interaction, not sure how to feel. Part of me wants that. To just…sink into this whole situation. Let it be normal. Let it feel good, even. But then I think of all the years he missed. All the times my mom shut me out of knowing anything about him.
I turn away and find Levi looking at me.
His dark gaze is heavy, but despite that, an understanding is reflected in his eyes that helps ease my discomfort. Suddenly, I’d rather be back in that van. Alone, with him. Screw Jadick’s wrath. My wolf wants to claim her mate and just be fucking done with it.
“So,” my dad says, ending whatever silent conversation my wolf and Levi’s seem to be having. “Tell me more about Jadick’s plan for marrying Mac.”
“It’s not so much the marrying as the killing,” I say.
“Right. What exactly does killing you accomplish?”
I hesitate, but at this point, there’s no reason to hold back. “It’s about the curse.”
“The one that says we need to reject our mates in order to be stronger,” my father says.
I nod. “As you know, Crigger believed that accepting one’s fated mate not only made the wolf weak, but it made the entire pack weak too. He claimed it would open us up to enemy attacks. Destroy our pack. Anyway, he apparently brainwashed Jadick into thinking the same thing, and now Jadick wants to do some kind of ritual that would literally remove the existence of fated mates entirely.”
“How in the hell is that even possible?” my father asks.
“He’s evidently found a witch willing to help,” I say.
“And what do you have to do with all of this?”
“It seems I’m the blood sacrifice necessary to make it happen.”
My father’s eyes narrow into slits. I can feel his anger pulsing now; a glimpse into the warrior he can be. It’s there and gone quickly though. By the time he speaks again, he’s leashed it and hidden it somewhere deep.
“Jadick sounds a lot like his old man,” my father says.
Tripp snorts, “Understatement.”
“He’s worse,” Levi says flatly.
“The fact that he chose Mac…” Tripp says, frowning. He glances at me quickly. “No offense but I don’t get it. Why you? I mean, you’re not exactly the easiest target. He had to know you’d fight him every step of the way.”
“I don’t know,” I admit. “I’ve been wondering that same thing, and no one’s been able to tell me that. Not even Kari.”
“I can’t believe she survived that alpha challenge,” Tripp says with a shake of his head.
“Kari as in Crigger’s youngest?” my father asks.
I hesitate, unsure where to start. “We were close,” I say quietly. “Or I thought we were. And then she turned on me and killed Thiago. Jadick nearly killed her in the challenge, but she somehow survived…”
Tripp puts in, “Jadick cut her throat, for fuck’s sake.”
I look at Tripp, keeping my voice even. “She was injured. Badly. And he made sure she remained that way. No healing. Just on the brink…” I look down at my hands. “She asked me to end it for her.”
No one speaks for a long moment.
When I glance at Levi, his face is a mask of undefinable emotions. I can only guess at the roiling under the surface, but for now, he’s keeping it hidden. Undoubtedly thinking of the torture she put him through until we were able to free him.
“She was your friend.” My father’s words startle me, and I look up to see him studying me.
“Yes.”
“And she betrayed you.” His glance flicks between me and Levi.
Tripp snorts. “You could say that.”
