Page 22 of Cursed Magic (Rejected Fate Trilogy #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

I stiffened against him, the urgency of Briar’s message slicing through the haze of desire. Reality flooded back in a rush, reminding me why I’d held myself back from Ryker and this connection in the first place.

“What is it?” Ryker pulled away slightly, brows furrowed.

“Briar.” Dread settled heavily in my bones. “Something’s up.”

“Of course my pack wouldn’t alert me.” His jaw clenched, and he exhaled a shaky breath. “The witch?”

I nodded, forcing myself not to step forward and close the small gap between us. My wolf whimpered, and an emptiness ached deep inside my heart. “She’s essential if we’re going to stop these attacks. We should go inside.”

He kissed me once more as though sealing a promise, then pulled back with obvious reluctance. “Let’s go.”

We fixed our clothes in silence, both of us battling the bond that screamed at us to stay together. He took my hand, sending sparks through my body and giving me comfort that we were in this together .

Ember, this isn’t a joke, Briar connected again, her frustration surging through the connection. The Shae pack’s backup are close by and want us to meet them. The witch returned a lot quicker than any of us expected.

“We won’t have a bond for long if we can’t stop the Blackwoods.” I didn’t hide the fear in my voice. We’re on our way.

Ryker’s hand tightened. “They’ll make a mistake. Maybe if we can capture the witch, we can get some answers.”

He tugged me toward the back door, and my wolf eased forward. The yank to complete the bond ebbed with a goal in sight. Not only did we all want to save our species and protect our own kind, but now I had an added incentive to be able to complete the bond with Ryker and live a long life by his side.

We rushed inside to find Kendric, Gage, Xander, Briar, and Raven standing in the center of the living room. No other vampire was there, which was the norm since we’d begun staying here.

Kendric stood, his posture unyielding. He and Raven were about ten feet apart, silent and stiff, proving that their spat wasn’t over. Xander and Gage exchanged a glance, and their frowns deepened at the sight of Ryker. Even in a crisis, they weren’t going to make it easy on him. Briar paced the center of the room with restless energy.

“What’s going on?” Ryker demanded.

Gage gave a humorless chuckle. “Oh, now you’ll join us. It’s nice to see you again, alpha .”

Ryker’s expression darkened, and his entire body went rigid.

“The witch came back thirty minutes after she left.” Briar tugged at the ends of her hair. “The Shae pack backup is about twenty-five minutes away, which means we ought to get moving to scout the area.”

Okay. This wasn’t nearly as awful as Briar had made it sound, but even now, anxiety wafted from her.

For her to be this upset, I had to be missing something. Instead of focusing on her worry, we needed to discuss facts. That should help her process what came next. “Is it Cassi? The pack witch?”

Raven shrugged. “Unclear. The ones watching aren’t sure what the witch looks like.”

A chill swept through me. “The Blackwoods were keeping her hidden.” I’d never realized it before now. “The first time I saw her was the day the fated-mate bond flared between Reid and me. And then I saw her a second time at the ceremony.” I tried to word the last part carefully, not wanting to reiterate the fact that I’d come close to mating with another person.

Ryker’s body vibrated, making it clear that he understood exactly which ceremony I was referring to. “I’ll take great pleasure in killing the asshole.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s the real Ryker talking, but who fucking knows anymore.” Gage wrinkled his nose and crossed his arms.

Xander lifted a brow. “Ember should know. Does he have signs of the magic influencing him right now?”

My stomach churned. I did not want to become a pawn in Ryker’s pack issues. We hadn’t completed the bond, and we were still two separate packs.

Ryker’s eyes flashed with anger, and a familiar darkness settled over him. “We don’t have time for this.”

The sheen still hadn’t appeared, but I didn’t want to say that because I feared it would make the situation worse. “ Listen, don’t put me in the middle of your pack arguments.”

Gage snorted. “Please. You’ve been upset with him over the same thing. Just because you two clearly made up doesn’t mean that we’ve decided to forgive him.”

The uneasiness in the room spiked, an awkward silence hanging around us.

We didn’t have time for this nonsense. “We’re wasting time fighting each other when we need to be focused on the real enemy—the Blackwoods. Or did you all forget about them and how they’ve killed the majority of our packs and families?”

The men glanced down at the wooden floors, refusing to look me in the eye.

Good.

I looked at Briar. “You said the Shae pack is close?”

Briar slowed her pacing while Raven placed a hand on her stomach and answered, “Yes. Bruce called, asking for you, but you weren’t here, so he agreed to talk with me instead.”

My breath caught. I didn’t understand why, but I didn’t like him talking to Raven. Even though I trusted her, and the vampires were clearly our allies—Queen Ambrosia had even punished her son on live video for other vampires to see what would happen if they turned humans into vampires—Ryker and I were the middlemen between our two species.

Teeth grinding like he felt similarly to me, Ryker asked, “What did he say?”

Wringing her hands, Raven sat in the center of the leather couch and looked at each of us except for Kendric. She repeated what Briar had already told me but added a little more. “He has about forty pack members spread throughout the Sinclair property and the property line from the Blackwoods’ territory to the national park. The witch they located is on the national park side, so everyone but ten moved in that direction. They’re trying to make sure their scent doesn’t get detected so the Blackwoods won’t know they’re being watched.”

So we still had the element of surprise. That had to count for something. “But they have no idea which witch it is or who picked her up to take her wherever?”

“Bruce mentioned it was someone from the Blackwood pack.”

“We need someone who’s seen Cassi to go there.” Ryker shook his head.

As if Ryker hadn’t just spoken, Gage focused his attention on me. “What do you want to do, Ember?”

I froze, understanding exactly what they were doing. And I didn’t appreciate it at all .

Kendric nodded. “It’s your call.”

I bit back my frustration. Ryker’s pack didn’t respect him, and I had a feeling this was their way of testing his authority. He was still their alpha, even if they didn’t agree with how he’d handled things, and if I gave in and answered, it would only make matters worse, both between them and between Ryker and me.

Ryker put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed—a silent thank-you for letting him handle this, and said, “We take two vehicles, so if one of the packs calls for backup, some of us can split off. Xander, Kendric, and Gage in one car. Briar, Ember, Raven, and myself in another.”

“I get why splitting up sounds ideal, but I think we’re stronger if we stay together.” Raven tapped on her phone. “Queen Ambrosia’s offered to let us take one of our Suburbans so we can all fit in one car. We can head out now, and Lucinda and the other guards will come as backup closer to the time we decide to move in case it gets ugly, so there isn’t a real benefit to us dividing.”

Raven’s fingers stopped moving. “She wants to know if there’s anything else we require that she can provide.” Her eyes flicked up to where Kendric stood.

I sucked in a breath. Once again, the queen was being super helpful to the shifters. All the rumors of distrust and hatred were being refuted, and I wondered if the Blackwoods had been behind them all with an end goal in sight. After all, who would’ve suspected they would go so far as to kill the entire royal family and their guards?

“If Ambrosia is offering, let’s take her up on it.” Ryker dropped his hands to his sides. “I know we’ve been staying in human form to communicate with the vampires and with Ember and Briar. But we should all change into clothes that are easy to take on and off in case we have to shift. We aren’t sure what we’re walking into.”

Kendric, Xander, and Gage stood still, refusing to budge.

I linked to Briar, Please do as Ryker requested. We need to get moving, and I need to talk to these three idiots alone.

Fine with me. My sister nodded and headed into the bedroom. I’ll grab our clothes so we can change in the bathroom and the guys can have the room.

Thank you.

Ryker growled, and Raven watched the mutiny unfolding before her. I hated that the very people she was trying to help were acting like a bunch of children.

“I said go change. We don’t have time for this bullshit.” His eyes glowed, the wolf coming forward.

“What?” Gage lifted his chin in defiance. “You gonna alpha-will us again? Now at least I know why you didn’t have a fucking problem with it before. We cut you slack because we thought your behavior was due to the loss of our pack. But no. You had your humanity turned off, even around us.”

This was going nowhere. I turned to Ryker, hoping he didn’t get angry at my request. “Do you mind if I talk to them alone for a minute?” Briar headed out of the room with two sets of black shirts and sweatpants.

His eyes narrowed, but as he stared into mine, some of the tension flowed from his body, and his shoulders relaxed ever so slightly. “Fine.”

He brushed a hand along my arm, the sparks springing to life. This had to be his way of telling me that he wasn’t mad at me.

Silence filled the room as Ryker left. He glanced back at me one last time before shutting the door behind him.

When I turned to the three of them, I noticed Raven and Kendric staring at one another.

I felt like an ass for doing this, but Raven wasn’t a wolf shifter and didn’t understand pack relationships. I didn’t want her influencing the others because of her lack of understanding. “Do you want us to meet you out front when we’re ready?”

Her attention jerked to me. She tilted her head, and her face tightened for a moment. “Sure. That sounds great. I’ll be outside in five minutes.” She left too.

As soon as her footsteps faded, I jumped to the point. “Look. What Ryker did is shitty, but this is not the time to fight each other. The Blackwoods are working with a witch, probably more than one, which means things are going to get deadlier—and fast.”

Xander rubbed the back of his neck. “You trust him after what happened? Just like that? ”

“Yes, I trust him. But I understand if you’re not ready yet.” I laced my fingers together. “No matter what, Ryker is your alpha. I’ll talk with him and ask him to tell you all if the magic impacts him again. If he doesn’t, I’ll know because I can see when it’s working on him.”

Xander and Gage exchanged glances, and Kendric folded his arms. All their eyes glowed, informing me they were communicating through their pack links. I wanted to hurry the conversation, but at least they were discussing how to move forward.

“We need to work together until we get through this mess,” I added, hoping to quicken their decision. “I believe Ryker has learned a hard lesson, especially given how important you three are to him.”

The lines on Kendric’s face softened, but his expression remained skeptical. “I’m so sick and tired of not being told critical information and not being part of decisions. I understand that I might not like what’s decided, but I would at least like to have my voice heard. After the three of you pulled that shit the other day, and then we learned about Ryker being spelled, I don’t know who I can trust anymore.”

“I’m sorry.” I hung my head. Excluding them hadn’t been done on purpose, but we shouldn’t have left them in the dark. I’d even treated Briar that way, and at the end of the day, when you hurt someone, your intentions didn’t matter. The damage was done. “I regret not informing Briar.”

“You’ll make sure that, if you tell her something, she’ll tell us too?” Xander placed a hand on his hip.

They still didn’t trust Ryker, but they trusted me and were willing to play nice with him. “I promise.” Going forward, I’d need to tell Ryker what I was informing Briar of so he had the chance to tell his pack before she did. Trust was easy to lose and hard to build back up.

Gage let out a breath that sounded like surrender while Kendric lifted both hands and said, “Okay. But we’re counting on you, Ember.”

That wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but I’d take it for now. “Thank you. Now let’s get ready. We’re meeting Raven outside in a few minutes.”

The three of them headed off to the bedroom, and I walked down the hall to the bathroom Briar was in. I knocked on the door and linked, It’s me.

The door cracked open, and I entered, finding her already dressed. I quickly removed my clothing and sneakers then grabbed the black shirt and put it on.

What was all that about? She leaned against the sink, watching me.

Snagging the sweatpants, I pulled them on too. We can’t have them refusing to listen to Ryker at all, so I needed to talk to them. They’re going to put aside their issues for now, but they’re still skeptical.

Briar gathered her hair into a ponytail. What’s with the sudden change between you and him?

We talked and addressed everything with each other. I followed suit, twisting my hair into a bun and slipping my sneakers back on. It’s a long story, and I do trust him now, but if he ruins my trust again, there won’t be any salvaging what we have.

She smiled and kissed my cheek. I firmly believe that when he realized how much he loved you, he didn’t know how to tell you because he’d kept it from everyone for so long. He won’t make that mistake with you again.

He loved me.

I could’ve sworn that was what he’d been about to say earlier before he stopped himself. My heart skipped a beat, and I exhaled noisily. I couldn’t get all emotional and lovey-dovey now. Not when there was so much at stake. This would have to wait. Let’s go.

The two of us walked out to find the four guys waiting for us at the end of the hallway. I nodded at Ryker, and he somehow understood and led us through the living room and out the front door. The Suburban waited for us with Raven in the driver’s seat.

Instead of Kendric, Gage climbed into the front passenger seat, which spoke volumes. Raven scowled as Xander, Kendric, and Briar got into the back row, Briar smack in the middle. Ryker and I took the middle row, with me sitting behind Raven.

As soon as we were all settled, she pulled out of the circle and headed toward our destination. Silence filled the vehicle as we sped down the winding mountain trail toward Blackwood territory. The air buzzed with stress, but we all knew this temporary truce was necessary if we wanted to make it through alive.

As we passed the narrow dirt road that led to our pack lands, Briar’s anxiety vibrated through our pack link. I glanced over my shoulder to see her glance down the road with glistening eyes.

Of course…that was why she’d been upset earlier. She’d realized we’d have to pass by our lands in order to get to the Blackwoods’ and might relive memories and the attack once again. I couldn’t offer her comforting words because nothing could fix the grief. The missing pack links of all our members were still ice cold in my chest, reminding me of what we’d lost. So, I did the only thing I could do. We’ll get justice for them.

When her unease receded and her resolve seeped into our connection, she replied, That’s what I hope for, Ember. Justice, not vengeance. I need the Blackwoods to realize that what they did isn’t okay. That each individual life should matter.

Then that’s what we’ll do. We’ll make sure they remember them.

No more words were necessary, both of us focusing on the promise we’d just made. Soon we were driving through the woods past the Blackwood property line, heading to the area next to theirs, Shadowbrook National Park.

Once we pulled off the highway and maneuvered through gravel roads and thick woods, Raven took an abrupt turn that led to a little-used parking area.

Bruce was leaning against his huge pickup truck, talking to three men. As soon as Raven pulled in behind him and parked, he headed to our vehicle.

He came to my door and opened it while pointing deeper into the oak forest that would lead us to the edge of the national park and the Blackwoods’ territory. “Just through those trees. We’ll take a short hike in so the cars won’t be seen.” His gaze traveled over all of us, lingering on Ryker with a calculating look before focusing back on me. “Are all of you ready?”

Even Bruce didn’t fully trust Ryker. “We’re ready,” I said, climbing out of the car.

“Good. Let’s move and see what we can figure out.” Bruce nodded once, his eyes glowing as the other three men moved deeper into the woods and waited for us.

Ryker tensed beside me, but he stayed silent as we exited and joined Bruce alongside the vehicles.

Raven moved to my other side, and we followed Bruce and his three men deeper into the woods, with Briar, Xander, Kendric, and Gage taking up the rear. I tapped into my wolf hearing, finding nothing out of the norm.

We continued on, but then I did notice something telling—there weren’t any animal noises. The realization made my skin crawl, and I grabbed Ryker’s wrist. He glanced at me and squinted, but I couldn’t risk talking. Not now. What if we were being watched?

Bruce stopped dead in his tracks and spun around, his eyes glowing brightly. “The Blackwoods just discovered my packmates.”