Page 29

WREN

Blood roared in my ears in a cross between pounding ocean waves and staccato percussion.

Brix had sent a mind link message to the rest of the pack, asking them to meet us in the living room.

I knew it was the right thing to do, the honorable one.

It wasn’t fair to make Brix keep this sort of secret.

And if I truly wanted a bond with these men, I needed to be honest about who I really was. Give them all of me.

But just because it was the right thing didn’t mean I wasn’t terrified beyond measure. Brix’s fingers slid through mine, squeezing gently. His reassuring presence calmed me a fraction, but not nearly as much as it typically would have. Too much was at stake.

I was no longer afraid that one of the guys would sell me out to the highest bidder, but I had plenty of other fears. That they would be angry I’d kept this secret from them. That I’d somehow used the gift to manipulate them. That I was an abomination.

Nausea churned in my belly, acid and fear mixing in a brutal stew. It was more than I could take.

Brix gripped my hand tighter as we moved inside, heading toward the faint sounds of voices. He led me through the maze of hallways and into the living room. The moment we stepped inside, all talking ceased. Four sets of eyes snapped to the two of us.

Kingston’s nostrils flared, scenting what I was sure was a mixture of sex and something else, something deeper. “You’ve bonded.”

A smile spread across Locke’s face, but he didn’t move from his spot on the couch, knowing Brix’s wolf would be a bit territorial at the moment. “Congratulations. Both of you. This is amazing.”

Puck’s lips twitched. “I can smell you on our mate, but if you truly pleased her, why does she look so nervous?”

He was teasing Brix, giving him a brotherly ribbing, but it only served to increase my anxiety. Brix dropped my hand, but only so he could wrap his arm around my shoulders and pull me into his side.

“It’s something else.” Ender’s eyes narrowed, his gaze sweeping over me. It wasn’t aggressive or harsh but it was an assessment.

Kingston instantly straightened. “What’s wrong? Did something happen? Is Wren?—?”

Brix held up a hand to silence him. Kingston’s eyes flashed, his alpha nature not especially liking being told to shut up. Brix looked down at me in question.

I shook my head slightly. “You tell them. I can’t.”

I couldn’t get my mouth to form the words: I’m an empath. It felt far too terrifying, even in a place I felt the safest.

Brix’s thumb skated up and down my arm as he scanned the room. “Wren is an empath.”

It was a single sentence, but it might as well have been a bomb. The room went eerily silent as if everybody had been stunned by the blast and were still trying to get their bearings.

King managed to speak first. “How?” he croaked.

Puck gave a slight shake of his head. “They’re extinct.”

“It’s not possible,” Ender said as he shoved to his feet, moving to pace.

Locke looked at me with reverence. “The headaches. They happen when you’re emotionally overloaded.”

I nodded, biting my lip before speaking. “If my shields drop or if there’s too much feeling in a confined space.”

“The Lair the other day… We were all so pissed off. That’s why you opened the door,” King surmised.

“Yes.” I glanced at Puck. “And that first day we met. You startled me, and my shields faltered. So, when you touched me, I felt everything you did. All the pain you were hiding from the world. Everything.”

Puck stared back at me, not even blinking.

“I don’t know what causes the emotions,” I hurried to say. “So, it’s not like I’m invading your memories or can read minds.”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Puck said quietly. “I wouldn’t care if you could read my mind.”

Air left my lungs in a whoosh, relief sweeping through me.

“It’s incredible. A gift,” Kingston breathed as Locke nodded.

But Ender kept on pacing, his jaw working back and forth. I waited, giving him time to work through whatever he needed to. Finally, his footsteps slowed, and he turned to face me. “I just…I don’t know how it’s possible. Even the lore we used to hear. It all just seems like a tale from a storybook.”

My gaze flicked up to Brix, and he nodded. The only reason Brix had believed was because he’d felt it. I needed to give the same to Ender.

I slipped out from under Brix’s arm, feeling the loss instantly. But I kept going, moving toward Ender. The assassin eyed me warily, and I didn’t blame him. I stopped a few feet from him, my hands at my sides. “Can I show you?”

Ender blinked at me, uncertainty swirling in his expression. “Will it change me?”

I shook my head. “I can’t do much. If I do, it has the power to take me under.”

Locke and Puck were immediately on their feet. “No,” Puck ordered. “Don’t do anything that will put you in danger.”

“It’s not worth the risk,” Locke added.

“I know my limits, and I know them well. A little healing just makes me tired and sometimes gives me a headache. That’s it,” I told them.

Locke shook his head. “I don’t?—”

“Please,” I whispered. “I need to do this.”

I needed Ender to believe. I needed all of them to see.

Locke snapped his mouth closed, and I turned back to Ender, holding up my hands. “May I?”

More of that wariness clouded Ender’s amber eyes. “Okay.”

I didn’t wait. Didn’t want to give him a chance to change his mind. I placed my hands on his cheeks the way I had in Puck’s office earlier today. Ender’s scruff bit into my palms, but I relished the feeling as I focused.

Carefully, I lowered my emotional shields, inch by inch. At the slightest crack, darkness poured into me. Agony from all Ender had lived through. Guilt.

I pushed back, not letting more in but taking the darkness into me, swallowing it whole. It swirled through me as I let my light battle it. My head pounded, and my flesh burned as invisible claws of emotion raked through my mind.

“It’s too much,” Kingston snarled. “It’s hurting her.”

I dropped my hands, knowing I had to break the connection or risk doing real damage to myself. I stumbled back, and King caught me.

Ender stared at me in wonder. “It’s true. I-I’ve never felt anything like it.”

Kingston steadied me. “Are you all right?”

I nodded quickly. “I’m fine. I just…I’ll need a little rest.”

“I can get you the headache tonic,” Locke said, moving to head out of the room.

But King stopped him. “Wait.” His gaze roamed over me. “Who knows?”

I swallowed hard. “My mom did. But she’s gone. So, only the five of you.”

Ender cursed. “You’ve been living with this alone?”

“I had no choice. You know what would have happened to me if someone found out.”

King gripped my shoulders as if I might disappear right in front of him. “The whole world would hunt you. Not just the wolves. Not only the supernaturals. Everyone.”