Page 27 of Cold Sacrifice

I love you, Wolf.

I missed Jared when I wasn’t near him. That feeling was subtle, usually, but constant. The connection between mates was strong, and the ache at being away from him became actually painful at times. Maybe I’d go to Shadowfield again instead of driving to Silverwood when Wes was finished. Joe could sleep there in the safe space Jared had created for him, and I could sleep in the arms of my alpha.

Five minutes later, Wes released my hand. The tingling immediately stopped. “Did you find what you were searching for?”

“I found…more,” he said. “Something more. But not enough. I’m tired now. I’ll try again soon.”

He looked tired. Abruptly tired. When I’d first entered the room, he’d been calmer, somehow, more peaceful. But after he’d gone searching for his thread, he looked like he’d been physically running for half the night.

He looked exhausted.

I hadn’t noticed anything changing about him, probably because I’d been on my phone. But I noticed now. “Are you okay?” I asked him.

“I’m fine,” he said, pushing his chair back and standing. “Thank you, Kait.”

I stood as well. “The readings…is that what you call them? They hurt you, don’t they?”

He didn’t answer the question, but instead, asked one of his own. “Why are you not afraid? Why doesn’t it scare you that I could slip inside you and know everything you are, everything you’ve been through, everything you want?” For a second, he was actually angry. “That I could possess you like a demon and leave this body of mine and live in yours with you?” He hit the table, making me jump. “Why are you not afraid?”

The reading had really screwed him up, for some reason. I didn’t believe that was because of me, not really. I believed it was because of Voss.

“Well,” I said, somewhat dryly, “first of all, I had no idea you could actually leave your body and live in mine with me. Now that I’ve discovered that, I might be a little more cautious about these sessions.” Then I shrugged. “I have a pretty accurate gut, Wes Korda. I don’t believe you’d do anything other than what you’re here to do. I don’t see you as the bad guy.”

His laugh was abrupt and harsh. “You should, Kait Silver.”

And for a moment, there and gone, I was afraid. There was a flash of something in his face, something that put up my hackles. But it was brief, and then he was the same. Motionless and calm, his eyes covered with dark glasses, his hands at his sides.

“I apologize,” he said. “I’m…tired.”

I nodded, though he couldn’t see me, and walked toward the door. “You can have the snacks,” I said. “Take them home with you in case you get hungry in the middle of the night sometime.”

He tilted his head, something he did, I was beginning to realize, whenever he was quizzical, confused, or just pausing to get a feel for the person he was talking with. “I am home,” he said.

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

He opened his arms to encompass the room. “I live here. I have been the council’s wolf for nine years.”

“Why?” I asked him. “Why would you want to live in this place?”

He said nothing for a long time, and just when I thought he wouldn’t answer and I should leave, he replied.

“Because,” he murmured, “here is where I deserve to live.”

He could have meant that in two ways.

But I was pretty sure Wes Korda had a violent past, had hurt someone, and believed he deserved to suffer.

I slipped from the room quietly, glad to be going. The room and the man who lived in it had become too stifling, too despairing, and too fucking weird.

Still, though, and even though I was simply going on a gut feeling, I believed I could trust Wes Korda.

Chapter Nine

Joe wasn’t in the car when I left the building, but just as I opened my door, he jogged across the parking lot to join me. I was still immersed in the despair of Wes Korda, which was why it took me a minute to feel what had gotten Joe out of the car.

We stood side by side, staring out at the darkness, the air a little too cool for how warm the day had been. It wafted gently over my skin, bringing with it something I’d felt once before.

“You feel it?” Joe murmured.