Page 51 of Hunter

“Because. Viktor. He can do that as well but when he did it, it made me sick.”

“He’s drawing on ancient magick that isn’t derived from wolves. Our magick is within us.”

“But how do you have it and not me?” A tight jab of jealousy poked her.

“You have it too. Right here.” He gently placed his palm on her head and brushed his thumb over her forehead. “Your third eye will lead you, lead your light. You have spent far too much time with humans, suppressing and hiding your nature. But don’t worry, we’ll correct all that.”

“I don’t think so. I’m not staying with Hunter. Especially after what just happened.” Willa took a step into a well-worn path. “This way.”

“We are headed toward the village?” Julian hesitated, gesturing in the opposite direction.

“As much as I’d like to see everyone, I keep my notes hidden within the lost city. It would be far too easy for someone to find them while I’m not in my house. The formula had to stay here.”

“Where exactly is here?”

“In the rainforest.”

Julian tugged on a leaf and plucked it. “Yeah I can see that.”

“There was once an ancient Mayan civilization. A lost city. It’s here. Beneath the canopy. Literally thousands of structures.”

“Society never ceases to amaze me.”

“Our ancestors knew of these things, I’m sure. You never paid attention to Mama’s stories.”

“Who’s the one disappearing? Oh yeah, that would be me. I listened well enough to that part.”

“I listened too.” She shoved at his shoulder with a laugh. “Who knows what we are supposed to believe? One day we are living in a pack. The next, our parents are dead, and we’ve all split up. Until today. Now, it’s just you and me. I was told we would never mate and now…well.” Hunter. Willa’s face tensed, and she kicked away at the brush with her feet. “The path ends up here.”

“I suspected it wasn’t all a lie. They knew if we spent too much time within a pack, we’d attract the attention of others. And not the good kind. As it is, the rogues managed to nab you and you were experienced. Problem is that even though you’ve been running as wolf, you aren’t experienced in fighting. Your instincts failed you that day.”

“Thanks a lot, Jules. As if I wasn’t feeling bad enough.”

“I’m sorry, Willa, but we’re a product of our environment, not just our genetics. Mama and Papa did everything to protect us, but they discounted the need for us to be with other wolves.”

“Yeah, well, what makes you so special? You’re rogue too.”

“I’ve spent a lot of time with wolves. Not here in the Americas but I’ve traveled the world. I never spend enough time in one place to join a pack. I’ve been in thousands of fights, rarely losing.”

“Is that why you left Jake and his parents? It wasn’t fair to them.”

“Jolia was a second mother to me. They took me in, and I loved them. But what’s inside me, I couldn’t stay in New Orleans. Challenging Marcel wasn’t a path I could choose.”

“How is it you didn’t spend time with Hunter?”

“I didn’t draw attention to myself. He’s older than the others. I’d been with Jake’s family for a long time and they’d moved round. By the time I landed in Acadian wolves, Hunter wasn’t around. He was off establishing his own pack.”

“Nice pack he’s got. His beta is an asshole. How could he not see that?”

“I don’t know. He might have been a good actor.”

“You’d think the Alpha would know.”

“You can tell me, you know?” Julian stated, wearing a sly smile.

“Tell you what? Shit.” As the eight-legged creature landed on her, Willa jumped backwards, bumping into her brother. “Get off me!”

“It’s just a bug.” Julian swatted it off her arm and laughed.