Page 29 of Rising Reign (The Wolves of Crescent Creek #3)

KINGSTON

“If we don’t work on Wren’s shifting and empath gifts, she’ll die.”

Rhys’s words echoed in my head as the entire room crackled with energy. Empath gifts. Fear and rage battled for supremacy as I stalked forward. My hand lashed out, and I grabbed Rhys by the neck, lifting him into the air.

“Who told you?” I snarled.

Rhys clawed at my hand, his face turning an alarming shade of purple. “Told me what?”

“That she’s an empath,” I ground out as I gave him a good shake.

“Put him down, King,” Ender called.

“Give me one good reason why.”

Ender sighed. “He’s playing right now. He could kick all our asses with one hand behind his back. He’s going along for the moment, but that could change, and we need him. ”

I studied Rhys for a beat as he stopped clawing at me and simply let himself hang from my grip. Vampires were strong, but there was something else about Rhys. Something… more .

I released my hold on the bloodsucker and dropped him to the floor, but he landed easily. He cracked his neck as if loosening the muscles I’d abused. “No one told me anything. I saw it in a vision. That’s all.”

Hera shifted then, moving toward Wren, wonder in her eyes. “I knew there was something different about you.” She reached out as if to touch my mate, and I moved in a flash.

Stepping between them, I bared my teeth at Hera. “You tell a single soul, and I will end you. You try to sell her out, and I’ll make that end the most painful thing you can imagine.”

My hold on my control was fraying. All I could think about were the mounting threats. So many things circling. So many possibilities for danger. But if word got out that Wren was an empath? What we currently faced would feel like nothing.

Hera rolled her eyes. “Relax, Alpha. I mean her no harm.”

“And we’re going to need her,” Rhys said, still rubbing his neck. “The witch can help strengthen Wren’s gift.”

A different sort of energy crackled through the room. A second later, Rhys was flying through the air and landing in a heap against a pile of mats. Hera rubbed her fingers together. “Call me a witch again, and you’ll find yourself struggling to breathe.”

Rhys simply beamed up at her. “You know, I’m half in love with you.”

“I told you,” Hera ground out. “Not my type.”

“It can be an unrequited love,” Rhys said, leaning against the mats.

Hera let out a sound of disgust.

“Can we focus on what’s important?” Locke broke into their standoff. “How can Hera make Wren’s gift stronger?”

“I can’t,” Hera said, brushing herself off as if having her magic come into contact with Rhys had tainted it in some way .

I let out a low growl. “Someone explain.”

Rhys stood and gestured to Hera. “My lady.”

She snorted. “I can enchant herbs that will open Wren’s mind.”

That tidbit of information had Wren pushing to her feet. “Opening my mind just means I could get overloaded more quickly.”

Five growls lit the air. None of us was particularly happy about that possibility.

Hera held up a hand. “Wait. When your mind is open, so is your gift. You will be hit with more emotion, but you will also be able to reach more deeply within yourself to deal with it.”

Wren frowned as she mulled that over. “It could work.”

“No,” I clipped.

Wren bristled and sent me a scathing look. “Not your decision.”

“I am the alpha of this pack,” I shot back.

“And I’m not a member of this pack until Ender bites me, so I’m not under your rule.”

“The little vixen has a point,” Rhys singsonged as he glanced at Ender. “For once, your fear of commitment is coming through to help us.”

“Fuck off. Like you’re any better,” Ender snarled.

A headache began to gather at my temples, the mounting pressure making itself at home there. And not for the first time in the past few months, I wanted to deck Ender.

Wren tugged her lip between her teeth, worrying the corner of it.

“What is it?” Hera asked gently.

Wren’s gaze lifted to hers, and I saw so much uncertainty there. “I’ve spent my entire life trying to shove this gift down. I have layers upon layers of shields that my mother helped me create. I’ve only ever let myself open it in tiny slivers. I have no experience with letting it free.”

My back teeth ground together. “Because it could kill you.”

“Not helping,” Brix warned .

“It is helping if it keeps her from getting dead. None of you are considering the fact that there’s a reason empaths are practically extinct. Taking on too many negative emotions can drown them. And if she doesn’t die, it could break her mind.”

“Stop talking about me like I’m not here,” Wren clipped.

I turned to face her, fear and rage springing to life yet again. “I love you with everything I have in me. I can’t watch you put yourself in danger like this.”

Something in Wren’s demeanor softened. She moved into my space and lifted her hands to my cheeks. “Trust me to know my limits. Trust me to be strong enough to find a way.”

“You’re the strongest person I know,” I rasped.

Wren stretched up onto her tiptoes and brushed her mouth against mine. “Then let me do this. Help me. We can figure it out together.”

I hauled Wren into my arms, and she wrapped her legs around my waist as I touched my forehead to hers. “I love you, and this scares the hell out of me.”

“It scares me, too. Which is why I need you with me.”

“Okay,” I breathed.

Wren pulled back a fraction so she could take in my face. “Really?”

I nodded and turned to face Rhys but kept Wren wrapped tightly in my arms. “What did you see in your vision? What does Wren need to be able to do?”

Rhys shook his head. “It’s not like that. I get snapshots sometimes. A few seconds of moving pictures. But more than that, it’s feelings. And the vision told me that Wren’s empathy is the way through. That and her ability to shift.”

I scowled, my frustration mounting. That wasn’t exactly a lot to go on.

Wren seemed to sense my feelings because she cupped my cheek and gazed into my eyes. “It’s a place to start.”

I just hoped the path didn’t end in death and destruction.