Page 50 of Shifting Hearts

FOUR

Blood in the Water

Lucian

C rystal Falls smells like secrets.

Most towns reek of desperation or decay. But not this one. This place hums under the skin. Like it’s alive. Like it’s listening. Every gust of wind through the trees feels like a whispered warning. ‘ You shouldn’t be here.’

Too bad. I’m not leaving until the blood debt is paid and until I know why this thing I’m tracking is leading me back toward the mate I don’t want but can’t seem to fucking escape. Emilia.

She says she doesn’t play games, and I hope that’s true. Because this time, she doesn’t even know the damn rules.

We hike toward the lake after the sun has set.

She walks in front of me, her head high and her hips swinging, like she owns the trail and dares the woods to challenge her.

She’s smaller than I remember. Leaner, though it does nothing to take away from her appeal.

But there’s power in the way she moves now.

A confidence that I can’t deny only adds to her sex appeal.

She doesn’t flinch when the underbrush crackles or when a bird screams overhead. She’s not the girl I rejected. She’s a weapon now. And gods help me, it’s only making everything worse.

I keep my distance. Not because I want to but because I have to.

I can feel her even from ten paces back, the pull in my chest and the burning in my blood. The tether hums between us, taut and dangerous. She’s the bond I never wanted, the mate I walked away from, and the truth I don’t have the strength to face.

The lake appears ahead of us like a mouth in the earth, black and still, reflecting the angry the crescent moon above. The waterfall crashes somewhere in the distance, but here, it’s quiet. Too quiet.

Emilia slows and I quickly catch up.

“This was the center of the vision,” she says softly.

I nod once. “I can feel it, him. The rogue was here.”

She crouches at the edge of the water, fingers brushing the damp stone. Her nails are painted black, chipped at the edges. She should look fragile here, like prey. But all I can think about is sinking my teeth into her skin. Mounting her, marking her, and claiming her.

No. I shake the thought away. Now’s not the time for these thoughts. Actually, it’s never the damn time.

“There’s something in the air,” she murmurs. “Can you taste that?”

I inhale deeply. Blood, coppery and tangy. It’s old and barely there. But still clinging to the water like a memory.

“I smell it,” I growl. “Underneath the moss and cold. Human and wolf.”

“Two sets of blood?” she asks, shocked.

“Maybe more,” I reply. “But the trail splits here. Like they wanted to confuse anyone following him them.”

She rises, and her eyes flash when they meet mine. “Or they’re waiting for you to take the wrong path.”

I exhale slowly. “Wouldn’t be the first time I made that mistake.”

Her gaze hardens, but she says nothing. We move further down the bank, stepping over fallen branches, through thick mud and reeds. The closer we get to the bend in the lake, the worse it smells.

It’s not just blood now but rot. Something dead is nearby.

Emilia pauses. “Do you hear that?”

I freeze and listen intently, opening my senses and allowing my wolf to step to the forefront. Then I hear the snap . A twig somewhere close, too close.

I shove her back behind me just as something leaps from the trees. It’s fast. Huge. Feral. But it’s not a wolf. Not fully , anyway.

It crashes into me with enough force to knock the breath from my lungs. I go down hard, rolling, fists already swinging. Claws slash past my face and teeth snap inches from my throat. It smells wrong. Like sulphur and blood and something half-made.

I grab it by the neck and slam it into the ground. Hard. It snarls, guttural and wet, before it twists out of my grip like it doesn’t feel pain.

“Lucian!” Emilia shouts.

She throws something, a glowing sigil, into the fray.

It hits the creature’s side, burning into its flesh.

The thing screams before it staggers. This is my chance.

I shift partially, just enough to let my wolf bleed into my hands and my jaw.

My claws tear through its chest, raking deep.

It howls once, then vanishes, disappearing into black mist like it was never real at all.

I pant. My gaze scanning the area around us. What the hell just happened? Where the fuck did it go? Emilia stares at the place it stood, eyes wide, lips parted.

“The fuck was that?” I ask.

She doesn’t answer right away. “It wasn’t a wolf, not completely. It’s something that has been corrupted it, altered.”

“Do you think it could be rogue magic?”

“No.” Her voice is quiet. “This is something much older than rogue magic . I haven’t ever experienced something like this.”

Fear taints her words, so powerful I can almost taste it, It’s the first emotion beside anger I felt from her since I first saw her tonight. A chill settles over me. If she’s afraid of this, then I should definitely be worried.

She turns to me. “It came for you, Lucian, not me. You’re not just being hunted.” I narrow my eyes. “You’re being tested . ”

I wipe blood from my jaw and step closer to her. She doesn’t move away, allowing me to get into her personal space.

“We need to figure out what that thing was,” I say. “What made it and what it wants.”

“Don’t you get it?” Her voice cracks. “It’s not after your territory. It’s after you . Maybe it’s always been after you and I’m just the collateral damage.”

“You’re not damage,” I say angrily, staring into her eyes.

She laughs bitterly. “Right. I’m just the mate you threw away.”

I grab her arm before she can turn away. She jerks against my hold, but I don’t let go. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?” she snaps, eyes flashing in anger and pain. “Tell the truth?”

“The bond…”

“Isn’t enough,” she spits, cutting me off. “Not when you already decided I wasn’t worth keeping.”

Fuck. Her pain is raw. Real. And the worst part? She’s right. But I can’t say the words she wants. I can’t give in. Not yet.

So instead, I whisper, “I need you.”

She goes still. Not romantically. Not yet… maybe not ever. But I need her to survive this. To find this thing and to make it out of this town alive.

She swallows hard. Nods once. “Fine. Let’s go.”

I release her. But long after we leave the lake behind, her scent still clings to my skin. And the echo of her words haunts me like a curse. I never meant to hurt her, to make her feel dispensable. But what I did was necessary. It was for the best…