Page 55 of Wolf Marked

“What?” Kade gasps, staggering back.

She frowns. “You heard me. The first night I shifted, I scratched Laith. We just confirmed it whenheshifted for the first time.”

Kade takes another unsteady step backward. His face is pale in the darkness, his eyes wide. And wounded. Elara catches herself before she can take a step toward him. Even after everything, she still wants to comfort him? What is wrong with her?

Kade’s shoulders drop. His chin rises an inch. “For what it’s worth, three lives have been destroyed tonight.”

Elara opens her mouth to point out that wasn’t what she was going to say, but she quickly clamps it shut again. Maybe he’s right. Right now, it feels like her heart has been decimated.

She turns on her heel, the tears coming freely as the moon descends, indicating the night is almost over. On one of the most painful nights of her life. She dashes away a tear before it can fall. For some reason, knowing Kade could hear it land on the forest floor feels like an admission of how much she’s hurting.

She picks up the pace, heading back to her car and fighting every nerve in her body not to turn back around. Despite everything, walking away feels wrong.

Even though she finally knows the truth. Kade turned her.

And that a war is coming.

One she’s determined they will never face together.