“What happened?” I ask, still stroking his cheek, though I fear I already know.
“My mother feared Thaddeus finding out so fled with me to the mountains where she found sanctuary with a small, struggling pack. This pack was the beginning of what would eventually become Shadowmist.” His expression hardens. “We survived. Grew stronger. She taught me everything about our kind’s history, about the prophecies surrounding shadow blood. And about Thaddeus’s greatest fear.”
“Which is?”
“That he would die by his son’s hand.” Ryker’s smile is razor-sharp. “A vision that came to the last seer before her death. The same vision you saw when Thaddeus forced you to look.”
Realization dawns, cold and clarifying. “That’s why he reacted so strongly. He recognized it.”
“Yes.” Ryker’s hand finds mine again, his touch anchoring. “When my mother died, I swore I’d fulfill that prophecy. Partly for vengeance, but mostly because he needs to be removed. Our kind have suffered under him. The packs are fragmented, fighting between each other. They’ve forgotten the old ways, becoming more human with every year that passes.”
“And your prophecy?”
He swallows. “That shadow blood will heal the fractures Thaddeus created between the packs.”
The weight of his revelation settles. This isn’t merely a territorial dispute or injured pride—it’s a blood oath born of lies and hate.
“And me?” I ask quietly. “Where do I fit in this prophecy?”
His gaze softens as he meets my eyes. “You weren’t part of what Cheyenne saw. You’re the variable no one predicted.” His hand comes up to cup my face. “Which makes you the most valuable piece on the board.”
The responsibility of that position should terrify me, but instead, I find myself standing taller. If I’m unpredicted, I’m also unconstrained by prophecy’s rigid paths.
“What happened to your mother?”
His lips quirk into a smile. “She met her true mate—a wolf in the Fallow Pack—a few years after the Blood War. She moved there to be with him. She and he live there under the leadership of their son—my brother.”
I cock an eyebrow. “Are you saying I have a mother, father, and brother-in-law, and my brother-in-law is another alpha?”
“Is that a problem?”
I throw my hands up, spinning away. “Is that a problem? Ryker! When were you going to tell me?”
“I—”
I hold my hand up to him, halting his excuses. “I don’t want to hear it. I’m to be surrounded by dominant badasses.”
Quick as a flash, he has me back in his arms, holding me tight. “Is that so bad, little wolf?”
His words are teasing, but his eyes are anything but. His mouth slants over mine with a growl, one hand fisting in my hair while the other cradles my jaw like I’m something precious. His lips are hot, demanding, tasting me like I’m the only thing in this world that could satisfy his hunger. I melt into him for a moment—heat sparking along every nerve, blood thundering.
With an almighty shove, I push him back. “Stop.”
He does, immediately. “Are you okay?”
I wave a hand, dismissing his concerns. “I’m fine. I just don’t want to be distracted before I scry. We can do… umm… that, later.”
His lips curling into a self-satisfied grin. “That, hmm?”
I roll my eyes. “Stop making out with me and let’s get this show on the road. Show me how to use the Well.”
Ryker sighs heavily. “You sure I can’t talk you out of it?”
“Positive.”
He studies me for a moment, pride and concern radiating from him before he sighs again. “Fine. Come here.”
He guides me to the pool’s edge, himself behind me.
