Dark Wolf

clear he’s heading right for me, so I wait patiently for his arrival. He lifts his chin in greeting as he steps up beside me, shooting me a lopsided grin.
“Alpha Ridge. How you doin’ this mornin’?”
I snort, because he’s got to know the answer to that question could fill a fucking book. And he isn’t even aware of everything that happened after Lawson’s challenge yesterday.
So I just shrug one shoulder, looking out over the horizon as it begins to lighten. “Still here.”
“That you are.” He nods to himself, staring out toward the forest just like I am. “I’m glad to see it. That mate of yours. She sure is something.”
I tense slightly. I can’t quite tell from his tone whether “something” is good or bad, and brace myself for his judgment.
As if he can read my thoughts, he grins, nudging me with his elbow. “Only you could have found yourself a hybrid. Your dad would have liked her, but probably for the wrong reasons. He’d have used her as a tool against the witches, but you’re probably hoping to build bridges or some shit.”
I laugh. “Yeah. Something like that.”
Grady turns toward me, his expression growing more serious as he rubs a hand over his bald head. “I’ve got your back, alpha. You know that. And your girl, she doesn’t scare me. I think she’s good people, and the mate bond doesn’t lie.”
“Thanks for that.” I nod, my eyes narrowing slightly as I wait for the but I can sense coming.
Grady sucks at his teeth. He glances away from me, his brown eyes assessing the gathering sunrise, and then goes on. “Even though I’ve got your back, and you know quite a few of us do—not everyone will. Your girl may be a wolf, but that won’t erase the witch in her. You’re gonna have to reckon with that.”
“Yeah. I know.” I nod once, letting him know I understand exactly what he’s getting at. Then I strip off my t-shirt and drop it on the ground, itching to shift and stretch my legs in the woods. I shoot Grady a lopsided grin. “Any other pearls of wisdom for me this morning, old man?”
He laughs, then claps a hand to my shoulder and squeezes. I can feel the calluses on his fingertips, and I’m reminded what a good man he is. Strong, capable, never missed a hard day’s work in his life. And his opinion matters to me.
“Nah, that’s all the runnin’ my mouth I plan to do for today. Go get your run in. I’m gonna throw rocks at Callahan’s window till he wakes his ass up and joins me for a coffee.”
He turns and heads back up the street, and I shake my head in amusement as I watch him go. Callahan’s mate died a few years back, and for whatever reason, Grady never found himself a mate. The two men have become closer than brothers over the past few years, and I’m glad they have each other.
My attention moves back to the forest ahead of me, but Grady’s words stick with me as I step out of my pants and shift into wolf form, sprinting off toward the sunrise.
That’s what this feels like—exactly what he called it. A reckoning. We got some answers last night about how Sable came to be both a witch and a wolf, but there’s still a hell of a lot we don’t know.
Eventually, those empty spaces in our knowledge are going to come back around to haunt us.
And I hope to God we’re ready when that day comes.

4


Sable
I’m standing at the edge of the grave my mates dug for my uncle, watching as dirt rains down on his bloody face. It’s raining, and the raindrops keep washing away the soil and the blood.
The shifters kick harder, pushing buckets of dirt into the grave, but still, it never covers the body. Dirt leeches away from Clint as the rain continues to pour.
Overhead, dark clouds gather, but they don’t feel like rain clouds. This is different. This is something I recognize. The darkness creeps into the forest clearing, casting Uncle Clint’s face into shadow. That insidious evil surrounds me, tendrils of smoke wrapping around my limbs like hands. I fought this energy the night I transitioned to witch. This hideous monster that wanted me to hurt my mates.
But I don’t think I can fight it now. It’s too strong.
And it’s a part of me.
Far below, my uncle’s eyes snap open, staring straight up at me.
I wake up with a start, ripping myself out of the dream.
I’m on my back in bed, staring blankly at a ceiling I don’t recognize. Magic churns beneath my skin, coupled with a strange numbness that permeates my arms, my legs, even my face. I sit up and hold out my hands to see blackness filling the scars on my skin.
Although the sight is vaguely horrifying, I’m too numb to react. I just watch the darkness crawl across my skin for several moments before it vanishes.
But the strange numbness remains.
I glance around me, noting the three men sleeping soundly on the bed. They’re touching me in their sleep, laying claim even as they dream, but I feel… nothing. I look at them and I feel nothing. None of the love and desire that I know should be there. None of the affection or trust.
Almost like they’re strangers.
Then Trystan’s eyes blink open. In the dim bedroom, his turquoise irises look almost gray, but the moment our eyes meet, the numb feeling evaporates. All of my feelings for him—for all of my mates—rush back in as if a spell has been broken.
Trystan smiles lazily, his fingers trailing possessively up my hip. “Morning, beautiful.”
He follows his touch up with a kiss to my bare skin beneath the hem of my sleep shorts, and fire tingles through me, chasing away the last of the strange feeling I awoke with. But it doesn’t chase away the worry.
For a moment, I didn’t feel like me. It