Page 27 of Wild Games

His gaze travels to the faint red line on my chin, neat and precise, and not caused by a branch or a fall. To his credit, he doesn’t laugh. Much.

A smile tugs at his lips despite his attempt at sympathy. “What the fuck did you do to her?”

Not enjoying being a source of entertainment for my big brother, I glare at him. “What makes you thinkIdid something?”

He tilts his head, twisting his lips into a crooked grin, as if to say,do you really need to ask?

“Maybe because she tried to slice your head off.”

I turn away from the mirror, happy to see the tiny red mark remains even after the blood is gone. “She didn’t try to slice my head off, this was more of a playful warning.” I sigh. “And she may have had good cause.”

Dean nods and pushes off the wall, tipping his head toward the large communal kitchen. I follow, not wanting to have this conversation, but also thinking maybe Dean can offer me some wisdom. He managed to stay away from his mate for much longer than this. Granted, he didn’t know she was his, but maybe he has some tips.

“I’m sure she did.” Dean moves to the coffee maker and pours two cups. “Want to talk about it?”

Scoffing, I scowl at him. “No.”

Yes.

“Tough.” He rests his palms on the counter and looks up at me with dark eyes that are shadowed by exhaustion. “If something’s going on with you two, and it’s affecting the investigation, I need to know.”

I hesitate. I was about to tell Dean that she’s my mate, but what if he has her removed from the investigation? My wolf isn’t happy about that possibility, so I choose to head Dean’s concerns off at the pass.

“It won’t… She’s already found something; she was coming to speak to you when she… eh… calmed down.”

A commotion outside cuts me off. Shouts and running feet, the kind of chaos that can only mean trouble. Dean’s head snaps toward the window, body tensing as his eyes cloud over, a mind link coming through.

“That was Callum,” he mutters, already moving toward the door. “There’s been an incident. Let’s go.”

I follow, my wolf panicking, frantic that it might be Camille. Where is she? We should never have let her leave alone. If Kain knows who she is, and what she’s here for, so might others.

Find her.

The shouting gets louder as we exit the house at a jog, and I search for hers through the familiar scents on the night air. That's all that matters. But all I get is a jumble of pack members and competitors, and underneath it all, the bitter stench of fear.

“Over here,” someone shouts from the direction of the training grounds. “We need help.”

We break into a run, cutting a swath through the gathering crowds. The training grounds come into view, lit by floodlights that cast harsh shadows across the hard ground. In the centre, surrounded by a circle of people, someone’s down.

Even from here, I can smell the wrongness, that oily taint of dark magic mixed with the copper scent of blood. Next to his head, a small pool of red slowly spreads.

“Move!” Dean shouts, and the crowd parts, clearing a path to let us through.

It’s one of the remaining competitors, a wolf from the northern territories who’s been doing well in the challenges. He’s convulsing on the ground, eyes rolled back, and foam tinged pink with blood bubbling from his mouth.

Eli already kneels beside him, trying to hold him steady, fingers in his mouth to stop him from swallowing his tongue.

“He just collapsed,” Kain says, voice tight with concern. “One second he was fine, doing cool-down stretches, and then… he said something about feeling dizzy, then he keeled over.”

I drop to my knees beside the fallen wolf, my hands moving over him automatically, checking vitals and looking for obvious injuries, but I already know what I’ll find. The magical signature clings to him like a second skin, stronger than anything we’ve detected so far.

“Both of you need to leave.” Eli and Kain look at each other, then back to me. “I’ll explain later, but for now, you need to go and shower. I have plenty of help here, and I don’t need you two getting sick as well. Please.”

Both men nod and leave together, heads tipped in hushed conversation.

“We need to strip him, wash whatever this is off his skin,” I tell Dean. “Now.”

I yank some gloves from my pocket and put them on, trying to make sure I don’t also get affected. I’ll be no help lying on the ground beside him.