Page 10 of Rising Reign (The Wolves of Crescent Creek #3)

ENDER

I stalked through the forest, the small animals scampering to get out of my way. Good. They should run.

Gods, I was an ass. In every way someone could be.

Picking up a rock, I threw it as hard as I could at a tree. Bark flew, and a wound remained. Even though Kingston had been the one injured, I felt like the damn tree. As if my chest had a hole that would never be filled.

A twig snapped behind me, and I braced. Whoever it was wasn’t trying to disguise their footsteps. That was smart. They could’ve ended up with an arrow in the shoulder if they had.

The wind shifted, and Brix’s scent caught on the breeze. Of course, it was him. It felt like a low blow, the pack sending the one person they knew I wouldn’t ream out because we’d shared too much.

Brix came to stand beside me, staring out at the creek and the forest beyond. He was quiet for a long while. “It’s Rhys, isn’t it? Your source?”

My back teeth ground together. “Yes.”

Brix was the only one who’d ever met the man. Rhys and I had traded more life debts than I cared to remember. But it was more. I knew what it was like to need to escape a past existence and start over.

“I won’t be responsible for ruining Rhys’s chances at a new life by exposing him. Not even to Wren.”

Brix turned to face me, studying me for a long moment, those wheels clearly turning. “Are you sure this is about protecting Rhys and not about pushing Wren away?”

Annoyance flared. “Of course, it’s about protecting Rhys.”

“So, you’re telling me you’re not scared shitless by how much you care about Wren?”

I bristled. “She’s my mate. Of course, I care about her.”

One corner of Brix’s mouth kicked up. “Good to hear you call her your mate.”

“Fuck off.” Just saying the word made me feel twitchy. My wolf pushed at my skin, wanting out, wanting to be free. I hadn’t let him run in far too long. I was too afraid he’d hunt Wren down and bite her. He thought I was a fool.

And he was right. But I couldn’t see a path through. Couldn’t figure out how to fix all the ways I’d fucked up. So, I just kept digging the hole deeper.

“You know you don’t have to reveal what Rhys is to tell Wren who he is. She just wants to know if she can trust this anonymous stranger. Wouldn’t you want the same?” Brix pressed.

A snarl left my lips. “Why do you have to make a perfectly good point?”

Brix slapped me on the shoulder and gave me a little shake. “You’re welcome.” He held on for a moment. “Don’t fuck this up, End.”

His words hit something deep in my chest, causing it to rattle around in the hollowness there. But it was more. “You’re touching me.”

I couldn’t remember the last time Brix and I’d had any contact that wasn’t sparring or related to ink. But here he was, his hand on my shoulder, not letting go.

One corner of Brix’s mouth kicked up. “Don’t make it weird.” Then he released me and headed back toward the house. To Wren. Because she was the one who’d grounded him, healed him.

The feeling of that echoing hollowness intensified, and I felt more alone than I ever had.

And it was my fault. I knew I didn’t want my life to look like this.

I just couldn’t seem to figure out how to make it any different, how to heal what I’d broken.

Because right now, those fractures and fissures felt irrevocable.

My phone rang, cutting through my downward spiral of self-pity. I pulled it out and glowered at the screen. “What?”

“Is that any way to greet your bestest friend?” Rhys’s raspy amusement filled the line, only intensifying my glare.

“Brix is my best friend.”

“Ouch. That hurts. Thrown over for the broody one.”

It wasn’t as if Rhys didn’t have broodiness in spades at times. He just liked to cover it with his mercurial nature.

“Did you find something else?” I asked.

Rhys was quiet for a moment. “Something’s wrong. You’re more cantankerous than usual.”

“Protecting your ass is getting me in deep shit.”

A different sort of energy crackled across the line. “Someone’s asking about me? Who?”

The undertone to Rhys’s words made it clear that he’d be ending whoever was doing it.

“Not like that,” I ground out. “Stow your sharp implements.”

“Then who?” Rhys growled, not amused.

“Wren.” It was the honest truth, a single word, but it felt unbelievably difficult to say .

There was silence for a moment, and then Rhys burst out laughing.

“It’s not fucking funny,” I snarled.

“I beg to disagree. That mate of yours is giving you a run for your money.”

It was a hell of a lot more than that, but I didn’t want to go there. “You could show a little understanding. It’s your fault I’m in hot water.”

“How in the world is that possible?” Rhys asked.

“She wants to know who my source is.”

“And you didn’t tell her?” This time, Rhys sounded aghast.

My back teeth ground together. “Wasn’t it you who threatened to remove my head from my body if I told anyone your secrets?”

Rhys sighed. “You don’t have to reveal my secrets to tell Wren who I am. She’s your mate, for fuck’s sake. It has to be painful for her to have you hiding this sort of thing from her.”

My hand fisted, claws lengthening until they pricked my palm. “You sound like Brix.”

“At least one of you has some sense.”

“Fuck off.”

“Sorry, far too invested now. I think I need to meet this mate of yours.”

Tension bled into my muscles. “Don’t even think about it.”

“What’s the matter, End? Afraid she’ll leave your cranky ass behind?”

I was already terrified of that. Because the truth was, if I were Wren, I wouldn’t want a damn thing to do with me.