Page 58 of The Fated Hunter Wolf

“Raids. Kidnappings. Takeovers. Auctions.” Her voice went flat. “They time them to coincide with political gatherings. More buyers, higher prices, and nobody around to interfere.”

“Who’s ‘they’?”

“Does it matter? The point is, they’re hunting specific types of shifters. The valuable kind.”

Eve was Crux. Sable was Crux. Between them, they probably knew a lot about how wolves were used for their abilities and the packs out there who were only too happy to exploit them.

“That’s why you came after me,” I said. “Not because of the bond. Because you need Orion to be stable for the council meeting.”

She poked the fire, not meeting my eyes. “Logan needs his beta. Without you, he looks weak. Weak alphas make shit allies.”

“And you need allies.”

“Everyone needs allies.”

Right, but somehow it stung. I’d watched her risk her ass to save me, and she was saying it was just politics. She looked up, and firelight caught something in her expression that made me think again.

“That’s not the only reason,” she said quietly.

“No?”

“I couldn’t feel you dying and just walk away. Bond or no bond, rejection or whatever—I couldn’t let you go.”

The admission hung between us. She was giving me truth, finally.

“Why?”

She stared into the flames. When she spoke, her voice was barely audible. “Despite the blackness I see in you…” She sighed.“I’m starting to think you have something more going on in you. You said I have a beautiful soul.”

I blinked. “When?”

“During the blood-sharing. You were half out of your head from blood loss.” She glanced at me, then away.

My chest went tight. This woman, who could tear vampires apart with her bare hands, was telling me that a few words from a delirious wolf had mattered to her.

“Youarebeautiful.”

She laughed and shook her head. “You don’t know what I am.”

“So tell me.”

“You wouldn’t get it.”

“Try me.”

She looked at me for a long time, weighing something. Then she said, “What if there were things in this world that shouldn’t exist? Things that are wrong on a basic level?”

“I’d say I’ve seen enough weird shit that not much would surprise me anymore.”

“What if I were one of those things?”

I didn’t have a smart reply to give. But looking at her—firelight playing across her face, vulnerability in every line of her body—I knew my answer.

“I’d say I don’t give a damn what you are. Who you are is more interesting.”

Her breath caught. For a second, she looked younger. Innocent.

Footsteps echoed from the cave mouth.