“Fine.” My aunt’s gaze finds mine again. “Sera, you will contact me every day. You will keep me informed of yourmovements and your findings. And you will remember that no matter what these visions show you, no matter what these records claim, you are still Llewelyn. That doesn’t change.”
“Yes, Matriarch,” I manage to reply.
“Then we’re done here.” She nods to Oren. “Thank you for your cooperation, Alpha. I’ll expect those documents within the hour.”
The screen goes dark, and I release a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
The council members begin discussing logistics—security protocols, investigation parameters, and resource allocation. Their voices blur together as I sit there working through what just happened. My aunt approved the investigation. Gave permission for me to stay in Grayhide. Assigned Reeyan as my official protection detail.
Everything I wanted, except it doesn’t feel like a victory. It feels more like I’ve just committed to a path I don’t fully understand, with implications that reach far beyond finding answers about a curse.
The meeting continues around us, making plans and assigning responsibilities, but all I can focus on is the weight of multiple packs’ attention now fixed on my situation. The investigation that started as a desperate attempt to understand a vision has become something much larger.
And I have no idea if I’m ready for what comes next.
Chapter 10 - Reeyan
The forest swallows us whole, fifteen minutes past the Grayhide border.
One moment, we’re driving through familiar desert scrubland, and the next, we’re surrounded by trees so old and thick they block out most of the afternoon sun. Mist rolls between the trunks like living things, coiling and twisting.
“This is normal?” Sera asks from the passenger seat, peering through the windshield at the unnatural haze.
“For Hysopp territory, yes.” I keep both hands on the wheel as the road narrows to barely more than a path. “They don’t exactly encourage visitors. The forest is their first line of defense against unwanted guests.”
“Comforting.”
My wolf paces beneath my skin, restless and alert in a way he rarely gets. Old magic saturates the atmosphere here, thick enough that even humans would feel it pressing down. For shifters, it’s almost suffocating.
Sera wraps her arms around herself despite the truck’s heater running at full blast. “How much farther?”
“Another mile, maybe two. Evangeline said to follow the main path until it splits, then take the left fork toward the stone markers.”
“Evangeline,” she repeats the name. “Raegan mentioned her. Said she officiated the forced marriage ceremony.”
“She did. Evangeline specializes in magical bindings. Understanding them, creating them, breaking them. If anyone can help us make sense of what was done to your pack, it’s her.”
Sera doesn’t respond. Just stares out the window at the fog-wrapped trees, lost in thoughts I can’t read.
The mate bond thrums between us, stronger today than yesterday, stronger yesterday than the day before. Every hour we spend together seems to amplify the connection until it’s a constant presence in my chest.
She has to feel it by now. Has to notice the pull when we’re close, the way her wolf perks up whenever I enter a room, the electric current that runs through us both when we touch.
But she hasn’t said anything. Hasn’t acknowledged it. And I’m too much of a coward to bring it up first.
The path splits ahead, marked by two standing stones covered in moss and carved with symbols I don’t recognize. I take the left fork as instructed, and the forest seems to close in tighter around us.
“Tell me about her.” Sera breaks the quiet without looking away from the window. “Evangeline. What should I expect?”
“She’s old. Not in years necessarily, but in power and knowledge. Been with the Hysopp Coven longer than most of the current leadership.” I swerve around a fallen branch that wasn’t there on my last visit. “She sees things others don’t. Magical connections, binding spells, the threads that tie people together, whether they want to be tied or not.”
“Sounds invasive.”
“It is. She’ll know about the mate bond the moment she looks at us. Will probably comment on it whether we want her to or not.”
Sera turns to face me for the first time since we left Grayhide territory. “What mate bond?”
My hands grip the steering wheel hard enough to make the leather creak. “Sera—”
