Page 60 of The Reaper's Vow

Karina sleeps beside me, her body curled toward the door like she's ready to run even in unconsciousness. Blood still crusts beneath her fingernails. Karina fought like hell tonight. Pride swells in my chest even as rage continues to simmer beneath my skin.

I nearly lost her.

Three more hours until we reach my father's territory in Oregon. Three more hours of mountain roads and forestshadows, each mile putting distance between us and the chaos we left behind. My knuckles ache from gripping the steering wheel too tight, but I can't seem to loosen my hold. If I do, I might shatter completely.

The headlights cut through fog that clings to the asphalt like ghostly fingers. My wolf paces restlessly beneath my skin, still half-feral from her terror.

“Karina Rosewood.” I test the words in the silence of the car.

Could it be true? Elena had been long gone by the time I was born. I only knew about her from the stories my father had told me. If Karina is truly her daughter...

“Fuck.” The word escapes on a breath. It’s the kind of revelation that will shatter our world as soon as the news gets out. Keeping her safe will be all-out war.

Karina stirs, her brow furrowing in sleep as if she can sense my turmoil.

The road narrows as we climb higher into the mountains, switchbacks hugging cliffs that drop into nothing below. My father's territory lies just beyond these peaks—the Marek pack lands that have been in our family for generations. I haven't been home in nearly a year, not since my father sent me away to learn my lesson.

Learn. As if becoming the Reaper was some kind of education.

My phone buzzes on the console between us, Elias's name flashing on the screen. I snatch it up, keeping one eye on the winding road.

“Tell me you're alive,” I growl into the phone.

“Barely. They thought they finished me. Rookie mistake.”

“How bad?”

“I’m not going to be running marathons anytime soon. Fuckers barely missed braining me,” he coughs, the wet sound making my jaw clench. “

“Where are you now?”

“Safe house in Ferndale. My father is on his way back.” There's a pause, the sound of liquid being poured. Probably whiskey if I know Elias. “Is she okay? Karina?”

I glance at her sleeping form, the blood still matting her hair, the bruise forming on her cheekbone where someone struck her. My wolf snarls beneath my skin.

“She's alive.”

“Good.” Another pause. “They knew what they were after, Dom. She was their target. Said something about?—”

“Elena Rosewood. I know. Lockhart's people told me before I killed them.”

“Fuck.” Elias exhales sharply. “If that's true...shit will hit the fucking fan, my friend. You’ll be enemy number one. Tell me you have a plan.”

“I'm taking her to my father. If she's who they say she is, they'll come after her again. And with more firepower next time.”

“No shit.” Elias coughs again, and I hear the strain in his voice. “You’re going to need more than your pack to protect her.”

“Can I count on your pack?”

“Look, Dom. If I were Alpha, I wouldn’t even hesitate to join up. But my father is a different story. He's furious about the breach, but he's also asking questions about her that make me uneasy.”

“What kind of questions?”

“The kind that makes me think he might have known who she was all along.” There's a pause, the sound of ice clinking against glass. “Be careful, Dom. I’m starting to think this goes deeper than Lockhart.”

“I know.” This isn't just about territory or business anymore—this is about power that transcends normal pack politics. “Watch your back.”

“Always do.”