“We must wait here,” Blair said, placing her hands on her lap. “Kian will be here shortly, and we will both have an important vision in a few minutes.”
“A vision of what?” Wren’s small voice filtered into the room, and I nuzzled my face into her neck and breathed.
“I don’t know what the vision is yet. All I know is that it will be detrimental. Rowan, you need to keep your head on straight,” she snapped at me, and Wren choked back a giggle. “You need to watch your temper through all of this. Your mate needs you.”
I frowned, continuing to breathe in the scent of my mate. She was right, and from the malice in her tone, I bet she had a vision of me losing my shit again.
“Can I ask you a personal favor?” Wren asked Blair, shifting on my lap. “I know this is probably the worst time to ask… but is there any possible way that you can see if my guardian Alice is actually, um, gone?”
Blair hung her head. “I have seen already, child. When Rowan told us what that mutt had said, I checked. I am so sorry. You have lost so much more than any supernatural should have to lose. I regret to inform you that she is gone from this world, but I think someone you thought was gone is still alive. That vision was not clear, but I do not believe that you are without blood family.”
I furrowed my brows at that. From what Wren told me, all of her family had lost their lives. If that wasn’t true, it would be great for her, but if it was, I didn’t want her to hold on to false hope. Then again, Blair hated false hope more than I did, so she wouldn’t have said that if she wasn’t certain of something.
“What does that mean?” Wren’s voice cracked as tears trickled down her cheeks.
My heart ached. There was so much going on, and I couldn’t comfort my mate the way she needed to be comforted after losing someone so important to her. She couldn’t grieve properly because of everything. It was despicable.
“Calm, Rowan,” Blair snapped as Wren’s fingertips trailed down my cheek.
I sucked in another deep breath.
“I’m okay. I’ll be fine. I have you, and that is the best gift of all,” Wren assured me, pressing her forehead to mine. The hair from her new bangs tickled my brows, and I cracked a smile. She looked beautiful no matter what, but the bangs really suited her.
“He will be here soon,” Blair said. “We just have to wait. But I think this vision might turn the tables in our favor.”
“Let’s hope so. We sure need some luck right about now,” I muttered as Wren pressed a kiss to the corner of my lips.
FORTY-SIX
Kian
‘There’ssomethingwrongwithit,’Nightshade squeaked as he tapped at the wards in the Bestial Forest.
“What do you mean?” I asked, stepping into a puddle of melted snow.
The temperature was rising, and the end of winter was here. It made me worry about Wren and how she would fare with the warmer weather.
‘It’s weaker than usual. And I don’t think it’s the witch. I think something else is affecting it. Maybe trying to break it down.’Nightshade’s eyes darkened.‘Trying to break down the whole thing, I think.’
“Let’s hope you’re wrong,” I muttered, staring at the ward flickering blue as Nightshade tapped it.
He let out a chirp in agreement as I turned to Lachlan. “Do you want to talk about the letter?”
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants with a scowl on his face. “Yeah, I guess it’s time. Basically, it was just her letting me know that the war was coming and that werewolves were being used as weapons. She told me she was still alive and that she had been waiting for me. And she told me to stop blaming myself.” He let out a dry chuckle, but I could see the pain behind his eyes.
“That’s good news. I’m really happy to hear that she’s made contact, you know? You’ve held onto hope for all this time, and the Fates came through.”
We continued our walk as Nightshade scurried around in the forest. I made sure to take him out here at least every other day.
“To be honest, the situation with Lilly almost hurts less than the bond not forming with Wren…”
I found myself checking my bond with Wren to ensure she was safe as he said it, something I had been doing quite often. “Rhett hasn’t bonded with her either,” I reminded him.
“No, but they have been more intimate than Wren and I have.” He frowned, and I could see the pain etched on his face.
“I never thought mine would form,” I admitted with a sigh. “But fox bonds are supposed to snap into place when you need it the most. You will bond with our mate, and I know that it’s driving you crazy, because it was driving me crazy until I bonded with her.”
“You bonded with her and then almost right after, Alister did. She was there for me when I was in werewolf form, and she wasn’t fucking scared. That was amazing, Kian. I swore I felt a spark, and I had thought our bond would form, but it didn’t.” He sniffed. “Everything is just fucked up. Especially with Grayson on campus and no one knowing where he went after he turned to goo.”
