Page 111 of Crossed Fates

All their minds.

Silenced beneath my command.

I rubbed my forehead, confused as hell. Then my father whispered my name. Not out loud, but via some invisible connection. I looked at him, or tried to, anyway, but the flashes of light continued to erupt around us. Not gunfire. Not a war zone. Just constant bombs meant to keep us paralyzed in the car.

Holding us captive, I realized dizzily.They’re disabling our senses to keep us here.

Yes, my father agreed.

I hadn’t realized I was talking to him, but it felt right. Easy. Like I should have always had this ability to speak to him telepathically. However, it’d only manifested in me today. Right now. Tonight.

Because of Makayla.

I tried to ask her to explain, but she wasn’t quite ready yet, her soul still healing. But I felt her strengthening with every breath.

Almost there, I thought at her.You’re almost there.

She absorbed strength from me in response, depleting my reserves in an instant. Only for my pack to re-bolster my power in the next second, their psyches all miraculously connected to mine.

It was impossible, and yet, exactly what I required to survive. A sense of rightness settled over me as I explored the links once more, the voices softer now, like everyone had heard my demand to quiet their minds and were doing their best to listen.

Or maybe I’d thrown up a barrier.

I didn’t know how any of this worked, but part of me instinctively understood the hive mind—a part of me that was heavily tied to Makayla. Like she’d been brought here to help me in this moment, to ensure I knew how to take over the mantle as alpha of Silver Lake.

Her soul brushed mine, a soft kiss of reassurance, and I responded with another charge of vitality through our wide-open link.

My pack immediately balanced me, shooting an electric boost through my veins.

I inhaled deeply, reveling in the sensation. It helped me see and hear beyond the bombs going off around me. It revitalized my senses. Gave me a mental map to follow that overrode my reality.

Everything softened, my eyes falling closed as I focused on my new senses, seeking out the minds of the wolves closest to me. We were in three different cars, all encircled by assailants and their unending flashbangs.

But no gunfire.

No death.

Except… as I tentatively reached out to the psyches of my four enforcers on-site, I found a severed link.

How?I demanded, frowning.Where?

The web inside me expanded, showcasing a myriad of invisible strands tied to each life under my rule.

Steve, I realized, stroking the frayed end of his connection. His mind was quiet. Gone.Dead.

Yet another set of thoughts were very much alive nearby, the panicked undertones catching my focus and pulling me to the essence in question.Paul.

Ah, fuck. What’s happening? Why do I feel so weird? Focus, idiot. Keep the gun on Jude. He might have a knife. A hidden weapon. Boss wants him alive.

A low rumble echoed inside me, my wolf furious by the hint of disloyalty lurking inside Paul’s mind.

The male went silent, but I felt his fear.

Oh, fuck,he whispered to himself, his thoughts reigniting with a flourish of alarm.

He’d killed Steve.

But that wasn’t all.