Charmed Wolf

him. “What are you doing with the sword then?”
In response, Ryder rolled his eyes as if the answer was obvious. “Testing the fae with it. You open the door and I’ll run him through.”
Now I was glad we’d stepped inside after all, even though Rune was nearly vibrating with barely restrained emotion. At least my pack couldn’t see the way I winced when Ryder rolled out his suggestion. When he suggested stabbing Ash.
Even if that being in the cell was fae, it looked like my friend. I had to ask: “What happens if you stab him and he isn’t fae?”
Ryder shrugged. “I guess he’d be dead then.”
“No.”
The word felt like it had come from me, but it hadn’t. Instead, Rune was the one speaking.
“Go,” he continued, gaze carefully averted from his friend’s face. I got the impression that if their eyes locked, further violence would be inevitable. The walls closed in as the air around us once again filled with electricity and fur.
But at least Rune was speaking. And in whole sentences, too, as he continued:
“Hunt the other fae, then send Athena here when you can spare her. There’s enough metal in the cell to hold Ash until then.”
I expected Ryder to argue. Dominant wolves don’t like to be bossed around and they liked even less having someone’s sword at their throat.
But maybe the pair really were friends, because Ryder merely nodded. “Take care of yourself,” he told the air between me and Rune. Then he turned on his heel and stalked off.

Chapter 29
The moment Ryder’s scent faded, Rune slumped against the wall. He was barely holding it together. I needed to get him away from our audience so we could put his pieces back together.
And if I wasn’t much mistaken I was also.... I glanced at my watch. Yep, I was late to my brunch date.
To that end, I tagged Willa. “I’ll be away for a while. You’re in charge. Red-alert status.”
“Alpha. Do you think leaving now is wise?”
Ignoring her valid rebuttal, I continued. “Caitlyn will be shadowing you. I’ve decided it’s time she starts training for the job of Heir’s Beta.”
Which was true...but not the whole truth. Still, it would explain Caitlyn’s presence while I....
Rune tensed and I spun around in time to catch Willa striding through the doorway. Caitlyn was on her heels, but the teenager settled against the wall as far from us as possible rather than intrude.
Because there was definitely something to intrude upon. Our gazes clashed then Willa called me on the dodge.
“Now is not the appropriate moment to think a generation in the future, Alpha. You have yet to choose your own Beta and there is no Heir. Unless....”
Her gaze had dropped to the reopened wound at my neck. Her nostrils flared and she leaned in closer....
And Rune growled. Not the ordinary complaint of a human-form shifter. This was all wolf. Dominance and instinct. The same warning that had preceded him pressing his sword into Ryder’s throat.
I stepped between them, hand drifting behind me to calm Rune. Only, that didn’t make sense. He wasn’t one of my wolves to be boosted by contact with his Alpha. He likely neither wanted nor needed my touch.
And yet...his fingers clamped down over mine before I could withdraw. They were ice cold but solid as iron. His growl faded behind my back.
Willa’s eyebrows rose yet further. Before she could speak, I defused whatever misplaced guesses were forming in her mind.
“You know Butch is my Consort. That’s all that’s going on here.”
She didn’t believe me. Just like she hadn’t believed me when I was a teenager and snuck out to attend human parties with Natalie. She started to lean in a second time, eyed the darkness behind me, then asked, “Alpha, may I?”
I turned my cheek, providing bare skin for her to sniff. “Ah,” she murmured after a moment. “Do you want me to prepare the Consort’s quarters then?”
“Consort’s quarters?”
“You didn’t think we left the safety of such an important cog in the wheel to chance?” Her voice turned schoolmastery. “During previous generations, the Consort has been relevant for nine months until the birth of the Heir. Of course, in your case....”
I didn’t let Willa ramble further. “Yes, prepare the Consort’s quarters. I’ll make the announcement to the pack when I return. In the meantime....”
My exit speech was interrupted by pounding on the inside of the holding cell. Ash had pressed his face up against the window, the better to hear our conversation. But his gaze was fixated not upon our lips but on my neck.
“Alpha, we need to talk about this.” He must have bellowed at the top of his lungs to send words through the thick walls so clearly. Perhaps that’s why he looked nearly as wild as Rune did. His hair was in disarray, his collar crooked. This wasn’t the gentle Ash who cooked my breakfasts and listened without talking back.
No, this was someone we’d determined was fae, or at least allied with them. I turned away, but his words froze me in place.
“Your neck. This isn’t right.”
For a moment, it felt as if the entire pack was listening. Ever-present bird song faded into silence. The heartbeat of the clan clenched then went still.
Meanwhile, Rune’s fingers trembled in mine. I needed to get him out of there.
“Can you handle the pack until I return?” I asked my father’s Beta.
“Of course,” Willa answered.
Without another glance back at the holding cell, Rune and I left.
I SHOVED RUNE INTO the passenger seat of my minivan—far more utilitarian than his convertible since I was used to hauling around pack mates—and hightailed it out the gate. Only once we were beyond sight of the guardhouse did I pull over to plan my next move.
One glance at Rune proved he needed another minute before he was ready to talk about it. So I dealt with the other non-pack-mate whose emotions were in jeopardy.
“Running a little late,” I texted Natalie.
Her answer came far faster than I’d