I don’t miss the look she and Zane exchange. Evie gives me a careful look, like she’s trying to decide just how much to tell me. “Just tell me,” I finally say.
Reid shows up out of nowhere. “She’s gone.” Zane curses low under his breath. “We could track her,” Reid starts.
“But Slate’s our best tracker,” Zane fills in.
Evie finally turns to me. “Remember the other night,” she starts.
“Let’s go somewhere a little more private,” Zane says. He ushers us over to an area where there are no people around. The guys provide a wall around us, and Evie turns to me. “Remember that horrible creature from the other night? The one Slater killed?” I nod, my throat tight. “That’s what Sam and Jace are.Were,”she corrects. “Jace is dead, but Sam got away that night. Itold you that they were awful to me, but I didn’t tell you that they took me from my room one night and carried me into the woods. They were going to take me to their leader, but Zane intervened, thankfully. But they shifted into those horrible creatures.”
My heart is beating overtime, and I will myself to take in everything she’s saying. “So, they’re wolves too?”
“No. Zane, can you explain it?”
Zane turns around so he’s facing us. “They’ve got a guy, they call him their master, calling the shots. This guy just so happens to have a vendetta against my family.” His jaw is set, and I can see the anger coming off him. Evie puts her hand in his, and he seems to relax slightly. “They use dark magic to force a shift, but they’re not really wolves. So, they transform into a form of dark magic. What they’re doing is beyond dangerous and really evil.”
“And Sam is one of those...things?” I ask.
“Yeah. They’re called Skinwalkers, and somehow, they targeted Evie. They knew she was my mate before I did. We don’t know how. And now, they know you’re Slate’s mate. That has to be why they came after you.”
“But why this bracelet?” I ask.
“That’s what we’re going to find out,” a new, powerful voice says. The fact that Zane doesn’t jump in surprise like Evie and I do, let’s me know he knew the man was coming. I turn and take in the man who looks like a slightly older version of Zane.
“I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you’re Zane’s dad,” I tell him.
He smiles easily. “You would be correct. You must be Tessa. I’m James.” He puts out his hand, and I put mine tentatively in his. His hand is so large, it nearly swallows mine whole.
“I think I’ll just stick with Mr. Blackwood,” I tell him.
He smiles again, and it reminds me so much of Zane. Another guy moves into my line of sight, and I take in the big man. “This is Joe, my enforcer.”
“Oh.” I swallow. “You’re the one that takes out all the threats.”
His eyebrows rise just the slightest bit, and I feel everybody turn to look at me. “That’s what Slater said.”
Mr. Blackwood laughs. “That sounds like our Slate. Now, let’s see about that bracelet.” He puts his hand out. “May I?” I step forward and put my hand out. He takes my hand in his and turns it in all directions, looking at the bracelet.
“I’m not really sure why everybody’s overreacting. It's just a bracelet,” I say. Zane’s dad doesn’t say anything, but he keeps looking at it.
“Well, for one, it’s real silver,” he finally says.
“Is that a problem?” I ask.
He meets my gaze. “Real silver burns our flesh. Nothing we can’t recover from, but it’s a nuisance.”
“But I’m not...one of you.”
He nods and looks at Joe. “Any thoughts.”
The enforcer steps close and picks up my wrist, examining it in the same way Zane’s dad did. It seems to take forever, and I try to be patient. I really do. “If we don’t get back to the game, Slater’s going to know something’s up. And he needs to focus on this game; they need this win.”
Zane’s father nods. “They do. Okay. That's all for now. You can head back into the game.”
I take a step back. “Really?”
“For now. Let’s watch Slate finish his game, and we’ll go from there. Zane, give me a moment, would you?” Zane’s dad gives Reid and Quint both a hard look. “Keep close.” They both nod, and I follow them as they start back towards our seats. We make it to our seats just a few minutes into the second half. Hopefully, Slater didn’t notice anything.
Chapter 32
