Page 30 of Wolf's Vow

“You’re thinking of killing him, aren’t you?” Killian asked, rubbing his neck.

“Kill him?” I asked. “No, no killing is too quick for him.” I shook with rage as I walked back to myshelter. “No, he’s going to suffer for this,” I vowed as my wolf whimpered at my fury. “I amgoing to make his lifehellfor the rest of his life,” I promised as I walked. “For therestof hisverylong life.”

The door slammed shut behind me.

“I’ll make the bastard bleed for this,” I vowed as I stood seething in silence.

Chapter 8

Rowen

I paced the shelter,back and forth, back and forth.

Wolfe suspected the same thing that I did, that there was someone feeding information to those who were attacking us. I just didn’t know, would never think, that he would suspectme.

I was hismate.

Hisdestinedmate. Even if I wasn’t…why would he think I would ever hurt my pack or him?

Because you already hurt him.

I didn’t like the reminder. It was my subconscious talking, but I didn’t need to hear it.Icarried it with me every day.I hadn’t even realized how much I carried it until I looked into his eyes again, and all I could think washome.

And now…now he didn’t trust me enough to tell me that he thought there was a traitor in my pack, and worse, that he thought it wasme. I looked up at the ceiling; despite being unfamiliar with this place, I had a sense of it deep in my bones. I could smell his scent here. I could almostfeelhim here. While I was still mad at him,furiouswith him if I was honest, he’d still sent me away. Killian said for my protection, but I knew it was to ensure that I wasn’t there when—not if, when—another attackhappened, and to see if it was any different from when I was there.

If this were a role reversal, it’s what I’d do to him.

Knowing that didn’t make it any better.

How long before they knew? How long would he keep me here while he, Brand, Axel, and Diesel changed my pack? Oh my Goddess, Luna, what the hell was the druid going to do when Diesel walked into the Hollow? The male was intimidating, but if he had old magic tied to him, the druid was not going to take kindly to another magic user on their land or in their home.

I wrenched the door open and saw the place was still empty. Of course it was. Why would they need to keep an eye on me if I couldn’t leave?

I’d only ever heard of these old tales of magic when I was a child. It’s how I knew the termlegacy spell, but how the heck was Diesel not an alpha? And how in the hell did the Pack Council not know Stonefang Pack was still using blood magic like this?

Blood magic to tie someone to a territory…that was a long-dead practice. Or so I thought. One thing at a time. I could deal with this issue when the time arose; right now, I needed to find my mate’s beta.

There was no sign of life in any of the houses that I passed. I knew the pack here called them shelters, but they seemed to be their homes, though I wondered if they were allocated permanently to the same shifter or if it was on a first-come-first-served basis.

I followed the path down to the training field, but it was empty. Scanning the houses nearby showed no sign of life in them either.

Well, they couldn’t leave me here, so I decided to start knocking until I found Killian.

He was in the fifth house; the occupants of the other four were still in their doorways, watching me.

“How?” he asked me with a sigh, no longer bothering to hide his animosity towards me. “How are you even more fucking irritating here than you were back there?”

“I’m naturally talented,” I snapped at him as I pushed past him and into what I assumed was his home, but I stopped when I saw an old female shifter with loose, messy gray hair, sitting in a rocking chair, with an even older male shifter holding a wooden cane beside her in his. “Um…”

This shelter was different. There was a bed where a sofa would be, and I saw that the mezzanine, or sleeping quarter, as Killian called it, was filled with trunks. It didn’t look safe, and I doubted the platform could take much more weight.

“I scent Wolfe,” the old male grumbled, bringing my attention back to the old couple. “Is Wolfe home?”

Killian glared at me as he closed the door behind me. “No, Grandfather,” he said gently. “This is Wolfe’s mate, Rowen.”

The old male looked up at me, but I saw with a pang of sadness that his sight was gone, and unlike the shaman, I knew this old male saw nothing when he looked towards me.

“Hello,” I greeted them both softly. “I’m Rowen of Blueridge Hollow.”