AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I really need to figure out how to tamp down some of the jealousy. There are few men with The Sovereign Pack. And few wolves in their pack that take proper mates. For some reason, they're rarely fated to each other, and because they rarely leave their own zone, it isn't often they get to find their mates. I don't envy them. Now that I know the difference, I would never again choose to forgo having my mate by my side. Even if she is this mouthy little woman beside me. I'm learning to like the push and pull.
"We're ready," Tess answers for both of us, clearly sensing my distraction. I meant to take charge while we're here, to make her feel safe and protected beside me. Instead, here I am drooling after her instead of paying attention.
Good Goddess, Tess has no idea what she did the moment she allowed me to mark her.
"Yes, we're ready," I echo after a beat too long to make it sound natural.
Waverly eyes me with concern. "I'm going to need your full attention for this," she says. So my focus on Tess has definitely not gone unnoticed.
"I understand. You have it." I resolve to be more discreet, but there's no way in hell Tess doesn't stay at the very least on my peripheral. She always has a portion of my attention—since the moment I caught her scent on my territory.
“There are two things we've noticed awry. The first of which is a missing book." Waverly moves closer to the center bookshelf, her fingers skimming the spines and landing in an obviously empty space between two other ancient texts. I glance at the book she handed Tess, but it's clearly not the book that belongs in that spot. It's too large an opening.
"What book is it?" I can't imagine how any person—shifter or otherwise—would be able to walk in here and pick one book from the stacks. There's plenty of valuable information here. Some of these texts would easily be worth millions to the right buyer.
Waverly shakes her head solemnly. "A book of dark magic. Not the kind of thing you want in just anyone's hands. The contents of the book are… difficult to actually access, but anyone with a bit of research prowess could, in theory, figure it out for themselves."
"Dark magic?" I repeat.
"I'm afraid so. The dark arts have mostly disappeared from practice in this modern age, but there are still fringe groups that try to keep the old traditions alive. I believe they are who might be responsible for the Luna's death." Waverly's lips purse as she studies the empty spot again. Whatever, specifically, is in that book, it clearly isn't the kind of thing that should be out in the world.
"So you don't think the Luna's death was natural?"
"I know it wasn't," Waverly answers, a stormy expression on her face as we make eye contact.
I had my own suspicions. I was only a boy the last time the Luna Sovereign position changed hands, but I still remember how seamless it all seemed back then. One Luna passed, and a new Luna took over. I imagine the smaller packs—those that don't regularly deal with the Luna Sovereign—probably wouldn't have even known the transition had happened until they heard rumors passed down from bigger packs.
"What's the other thing?" I ask. "You said two things."
Waverly wordlessly slips past Tess and I, leaving the library and heading for the back door. Tess sets her book carefully on the edge of the desk for safe keeping, and we follow, exchanging a concerned look. This all seems to be growing worse by the minute. I can tell she's still worried about her sister, and it pains me to not be able to resolve that issue for her at the moment. When this is all done, I'm going to drag her sister back myself if I have to.
Update on Tasha?I request.
Tess reaches out for my hand, and I thread my fingers through hers to pull her as close as I can. If I was uncertain before about the instability of this whole situation, now my uncertainty is only increasing by the second.
I have eyes on her, Lewis answers. His voice fades, he's moving too far away to mind link. I'm pretty sure he tries to say,don't worrybefore the connection severs.
A part of me regrets the fact that Luca isn't here. My Beta is one of the best trackers our pack has. He's quick and reliable. But I didn't dare pull him away from following Maren French Henry. We still don't know what she's doing, other than skirting around all over town close to our pack lines. She's asking a lot of questions about Tess, though the locals haven't seen her to know who she is. According to Luca, the lack of answers only seems to feed her interest.
I want Tess's sister to be safe. But if it's a matter of choosing Tess's safety over Tasha's, my choice will be easy every time.
"Here," Waverly announces halfway down the garden path, bringing me back to the present concern.
She steps aside for Tess and I to see what she's talking about. It takes me a second, but when Tessa gasps, I follow her gaze to the stone path that winds through the garden in the backyard.
War has come.
The words are written in blood across the path. Despite a day having passed since the Luna's death, the words don't seem to have faded at all. Whoever put this message here wanted to make sure it would stick.
"It rained yesterday," I point out. "But these words still look fresh. I'm not trying to accuse anyone of anything but…" I trail off, hoping the insinuation is clear. This doesn't look like a message left a day earlier.
"Try touching it," Waverly suggests, looking confident that I'll change my opinion.
A little blood never scared me. I lean down and sweep my fingers through theW.My entire hands comes away with blood dripping from it, way more blood than you should get by barely touching bloody rock. I recoil at the sight of it, and so does Tess beside me.
"Dark magic," Waverly says quietly, her eyes scanning over the garden as if she has any chance of finding answers there. I'm sure they've already combed every square inch of this garden.
"Dominic," Tess gasps my name. She pulls her hand from mine and points at the tree line in the distance. "Rogues."
