Page 4

CHAPTER FOUR

M y heart began to pound even harder than it already had been from the last thirty seconds of bullshit. Ryker’s entire body turned rigid, reminding me more of a vampire than a shifter.

Still, I could feel Sun’s eyes homed in on me. “It’ll have to wait,” she spat. “Reid is injured and clearly not thinking straight right now.”

“That’s the thing. He is.” Cassi winced. “That’s why we have to talk now . It’s important.”

Despite the desperate plea in Cassi’s voice, Sun didn’t turn her head. “Fine. Once they leave.”

Cassi cleared her throat and jerked her head to the side slightly. “Ember and Ryker should be part of this conversation. Reid is your alpha, and he did request them to come here.”

Gage snorted, and Sun’s head finally jerked toward the witch.

A vein pulsed in Sun’s neck. “He’s severely injured, his father died, and nearly half our pack just got slaughtered. He needs to rest before having discussions with anyone outside our pack, or make any decisions, especially regarding her .”

I’d opened my mouth to say something when Briar spoke from her spot directly behind me. “I know you feel that you’re making the right call, but believe me when I tell you that, if you disrespect his wishes, it will create a wedge between you.”

Glancing over my shoulder, I noted that Briar’s face was lined with concern, but her sharp jade-green eyes were set in determination. Frustration bit through the bond.

No doubt she was thinking about when I’d almost forced her to desert our allies and leave with me against her will, my plan having been to run away solely to protect the two of us while leaving the rest of the packs and shifters here to continue to be murdered. That lesson would always stick with me.

Sun’s lips parted like she wanted to argue, but then she clamped them shut. Her jaw clenched for one long, stretched-out moment.

When I expected her to march into the house and slam the front door, she pivoted on her heel. “Fine,” she bit out. “But not for long.”

Without another word, she entered the house, her feet squeaking against the hardwood floors. She stood at the door, waiting for each of us to enter.

Ryker gritted his teeth so hard his jaw cracked.

My wolf both whimpered and growled, the strange combination sounding foreign in my head. She was as conflicted as my human side. If Reid wanted to talk, I wasn’t in a position to decline. I had my own questions about the night my pack had been murdered and Reid’s pack’s presence there, but an almost equal-sized part of me didn’t want to go in, given how upset and uncomfortable Ryker seemed.

Cassi hurried by at a run, like Sun might change her mind if she didn’t act quickly.

I slid my hand into Ryker’s, the jolt stirring to life as Gage, Xander, and Kendric climbed the stairs.

Everyone but Ryker, Sun, and I was clearly eager to get this conversation over and done with.

Ryker’s fingers tightened, holding my hand in a death grip as we entered the house together.

The air inside the house hit differently—warm.

Too warm.

Like the heat had been cranked in a desperate attempt to burn away the chill of death that clung to everything outside. But it couldn’t.

The faint scent of blood hung in the air, from outside and from Reid. My stomach twisted and my heart ached as I realized that, even inside the pack members’ homes, death would haunt them.

The hallway stretched out in front of us, leading deeper into the house.

I’d only ever been inside Perry and Mavis’s home, but the layout was identical—the same narrow corridor running toward the back, the same pale walls, and the same scuffed hardwood floors beneath our boots.

The farther we moved into the house, the more claustrophobic it felt.

Every breath came heavier, every step echoing louder, as if we were intruding on something we shouldn’t be part of.

My palm stayed locked in Ryker’s, the jolt of our connection anchoring me, but it didn’t seem to be helping him at all. He hadn’t said a word, and I wasn’t sure if restraint or resentment was boiling beneath his skin. Probably both.

Sun kept glancing over her shoulder, her shoulders stiff and her jaw twitching. It was clear she didn’t want any of us here—especially me .

One thing was certain.

No matter what this visit would cost, I needed to know what had actually happened that night when Reid and the Blackwood pack had come to our land. If they hadn’t attacked us, and the vampires had been cloaked with a diluted wolf shifter scent, then how had they known to come?

We passed a bathroom and then a small bedroom.

Another few steps, then Sun stopped in front of the last door on the left. She took in a ragged breath and opened it.

My pulse stuttered as she waved for us to follow and marched inside.

Ryker stood still, so I tugged on his hand. We couldn’t speak without the others hearing, so I hoped he understood my intention—I wanted him to come with me, but I would go without him.

He huffed like he understood my message and then moved alongside me into the dimly lit room.

The curtains were drawn, and a single lamp glowed on the far dresser. The scent of blood was strongest here—coppery and sharp, barely covered by the medicinal tang of salves and herbal ointment.

And there, in the middle of it all, was Reid.

Paler than before, he’d been propped up on a pile of pillows. Bandages were wrapped tightly across his chest and neck, and his half-lidded eyes were locked on me with startling clarity.

Placing one hand in the center of his hunter green sheet, Reid rasped, “I need to speak with Ember and Briar. Alone.”

The silence that followed felt like a fuse being lit.

Ryker moved.

A snarl ripped from his throat, deep and raw. His arm jerked forward, the tendons in his neck bulging like he was seconds from lunging.

Gage grabbed him from behind, arms locked around Ryker’s chest. “Don’t.”

Kendric stepped in front of him, palms out. “Think this through. He just wants to chat with them.”

“Let go of me,” Ryker snarled, his gaze locked on Reid like he could tear him in half with just a thought.

“No, I agree with him ,” Sun spat and pointed at Ryker while glaring daggers at Reid. “You’ve got some nerve. You’re near death and in our home and bed, and you want alone time with the girl you were fated to—after claiming me? No. Not happening.”

Reid’s eyes hardened. “There’s a reason, and you know what it is. There’s a lot that needs to be—”

“No,” she snapped. “Not without me.”

I stepped forward, but Ryker surged again, this time hard enough that Kendric joined Gage, both of them holding Ryker back with every ounce of strength they had.

“Calm down. ” Xander exhaled, shaking his head.

“I swear to Fate, I will rip him apart,” Ryker snarled. “You think I’m gonna stand here while he tries to—”

“Bro, he has a mate ,” Gage growled. “He’s not going to try to make off with your girl.”

“I’m not going to even fucking risk it. I’ll finish him off before he gets time alone with Ember.” Ryker broke free and reached the side of the bed.

“That’s enough!” Cassi shouted and waved her hand. Ryker suddenly lost his balance and stumbled sideways. He managed to catch himself but barely.

Everyone froze.

She stood in the doorway, arms tense and face taut. “We all need to take a deep breath.”

“A breath ?” Sun barked a humorless laugh. “There’s no calming down when your chosen mate nearly completed the fated ceremony with his fated. Or did you forget how sacred that is?”

Cassi picked at her lip. “You’re all reacting to something that isn’t real.”

Sun blinked. “Excuse me? Have you lost your mind? I know—”

“They’re not fated,” Cassi interjected. “Reid and Ember were never fated mates.”

The room spun.

“What the hell are you talking about?” For a moment, I might as well have been back in calculus class with how hard my brain was trying to make sense of what she’d said.

Ryker stilled.

Wrinkling her nose, Sun shook her head. “Don’t lie. Reid felt it.”

“I know.” Cassi’s shoulders sagged. “But only because I made it that way.”

The air vanished from my lungs.

Reid looked like he’d been punched.

“I forged it,” Cassi said, her voice soft. “I faked the bond.”

Silence filled the room as we tried to process what we’d just heard. Even though, individually, each word made sense, the combination left me reeling.

My knees weakened, and my vision blurred. “That’s not possible.”

“What are you talking about?” Reid tried to sit higher, but he grimaced and plopped back down on the pillows. “You can only influence emotions.”

Briar rubbed the back of her neck, her confusion wafting through our connection and adding to my own.

“I can do the basics.” Cassi pressed her lips together like she was contemplating her next words. “But all witches can. My specialty isn’t common, so I limited how I explained my magic.”

“ Limited ?” Sun’s face flushed. “I’m going to need more than that.”

Cassi lowered her hand and drew in a ragged breath.

As soon as her hand dropped, Ryker stood up straight once more. “Use your magic on one of us again and see what happens.” He bared his teeth, his eyes glowing as his wolf surged forward.

“I couldn’t let you attack Reid for no good reason.”

“No good reason.” Ryker snorted.

“Get to the point, Cassi.” Reid lifted his chin.

Cassi’s gaze swept around the room, landing on me last. “I did it to protect the Blackwoods,” she said softly. “To repay them.”

My breath hitched, and Briar glanced at me.

“What the hell does that mean?” Ryker’s growl returned in full force.

Sun rolled her eyes and clenched her hands. “Just come out with it.”

Cassi fidgeted. “The Blackwoods took me in when no one else would. When my sister tried to kill me, I had to leave home and survive on my own. I had no one I could trust or rely on. The Blackwoods gave me a home, a family, and safety. I wanted to give something back. Something that would last.”

“So you manipulated a mate bond ?” Sun’s voice climbed into something shrill. “You decided to play Fate?”

“No!” Cassi’s voice cracked. “I didn’t do it for power or personal gain. I did it because I believed—because we all believed—that Reid was meant to be more than just the next alpha. That he could lead all the packs. But he needed the right kind of mate to do that, and everyone wanted Ember to take the throne, so it was win-win.”

“You manipulated my sister—let her be humiliated—for a chance for him to become king?” Briar rubbed her hands together as her anger and annoyance constricted our pack link.

Cassi lifted both hands in surrender. “Their bond would have given him legitimacy. He’d have had a powerful mate—someone with lineage strong enough to back him. Someone the other alphas would rally behind.”

I blinked, trying to make sense of it. I’d never imagined that someone could make me feel fated-mate tendencies for someone who wasn’t my fated.

Reid’s expression darkened, the veins in his neck twitching. “I never asked for that. Why the hell would you put Ember and me through that?”

Cassi’s shoulders curled inward, and her voice dropped so low I had to strain to hear it. “I know. You didn’t. But I thought…”

“You thought what ?” His tone wasn’t a growl—but it was worse—cold and clipped. “That I’d want my entire future and mate bond built on a lie?”

Her breath caught. “I thought you’d want to help the packs since wolf shifters were being slaughtered. We needed a strong leader to keep all of us safe.”

“And you thought faking my fated-mate bond was the answer?” His voice broke into a rasp that echoed far deeper than just physical pain. “Did my father put you up to this?”

Cassi flinched like he’d slapped her.

She shook her head hard. “He didn’t know about it, including what my special magic is. And when I influenced your emotions, everyone was happy, so I didn’t think it would cause harm.”

“Because you made sure it felt real.” Sun’s arms were crossed, her voice venomous.

“Wait.” I rubbed my eyes. “Then why did he reject me at the cliff?”

“Something I hadn’t accounted for.” She picked at her nails. “As soon as Sun and Ryker showed up, there were complications. When you four met, my spell started to unravel. The magic couldn’t hold. The closer each of you was to your true fated mate, the weaker the spell became, and then the forced bond began to repel Reid and Ember from each other.”

“So you allowed him to humiliate her?” Ryker pointed a shaky finger at the witch. “You let her suffer. You let the entire damn pack believe she wasn’t good enough. You let him tear her apart.”

“I didn’t mean for that to happen,” Cassi said, sounding broken. “I was trying to give us all a chance to survive! I didn’t know it would hurt so many people.”

“Man, this is fucked up,” Gage whispered not so quietly behind us.

Reid looked like Cassi had kicked him in the chest. “You think I wanted that? That I’d agree to bond myself to someone I wasn’t fated to just for a chance to be king?”

“You wouldn’t have,” she said softly. “But that was the point. Neither you nor Ember would’ve accepted power for power’s sake. Which meant you were the ones who should have it.”

His growl vibrated through the room. “You’re wrong. If you really believed in me, you would’ve told me the truth.”

Sun paced beside the bed, shaking her head, eyes narrowed like slits. “You humiliated Ember, Reid, and me at the ceremony. And now we find out the only reason the bond existed was because some witch decided to play matchmaker with magic?”

Ryker flinched, his entire body vibrating with tension. “You didn’t just screw with Reid and Ember,” he ground out. “You messed with all of us. You know what that rejection did to her? What it nearly did to me, watching her fall apart over a lie?”

My throat burned. My chest ached so fiercely it felt like I was back on that cliff again, staring at the man who was supposed to be mine as he looked at me like I was nothing.

“I thought I was going insane,” I whispered. “Because when you rejected me, I could feel it slipping. The bond. I thought it meant I wasn’t good enough. That Fate made a mistake—or I had. And then I met Ryker and couldn’t trust anything I was feeling.”

Reid’s expression crumpled.

Briar stepped forward, brows furrowed. “So your magic just… forges fake bonds?”

Cassi stiffened. “No.”

Everyone went still again.

Ryker narrowed his eyes. “Then what else can you do? What else have you messed with?”