A War of Hearts and Fate: A Wolf Shifter, Fated Mates Standalone Romance by Henderson N. E

Author:Henderson, N. E. [Henderson, N. E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: N. E. Henderson Books
Published: 2024-04-03T00:00:00+00:00

27

KATE

My body is as still as a statue, my eyes mirroring his unblinking stare.

Is that relief in Jagger’s blue gaze?

A choked scream from behind rips me out of the trance I’m stuck in, my body jerking around to face Ivy. The horror in her eyes looks through me as the sacks of food fall from her arms.

“H-he sliced t-that guy’s th-throat,” she stutters.

I grab the sleeves of her dress, pulling her into an embrace.

“H-he’s dead, i-isn’t he?”

“He was a hunter, Ivy,” I inform her. “He was going to kill us both.” I squeeze her and then pull away so that I can look her in the eyes. “Jagger saved us. He’s my friend. You don’t have to be afraid of him.”

Her heart pounds so fast I can feel the pulse in my ears. A minute of silence passes when her eyelids snap up, her shell-shocked eyes meeting mine.

“I’ve never seen a…” she trails off, her gaze peering around me.

“But you were there when we watched Henrik get killed,” I say, confused.

“Salem told me not to watch. I didn’t see it happen. Plus, my eyesight isn’t like yours. I wouldn’t have seen whatever you saw from where we stood.”

Her body tenses up a hair’s breadth before a squeak slips from between her lips as she backs fully against the brick wall. That’s when his steps register from behind me.

“Kate,” he whispers.

Warmth envelops my chest at the sound of his voice. My wolf perks her ears, having heard him too. There’s a pull inside of me, but not like a command; more like a connection fusing together, like recognizing like.

Slowly, I turn, and when I’m facing him and my eyes land on his, he jerks me forward. Banding his arms around my waist, I can’t do anything other than wrap mine around his shoulders.

“After you left, I thought I’d never see you again,” he admits, fear in his tone, but I’m too stunned to respond, so I hug him back. For the first time since I left Moonwake, I find breathing easier.

A minute passes when he slowly pulls away. “Don’t ever do that to me again.” When I don’t respond, just continue staring, Jagger adds, “Do you hear me, little sister?”

“Sister?” I say, but it’s more to myself than to him.

Why would Jagger call me little sister?

I know what Salem said, but it isn’t fathomable.

It just isn’t.

My focus veers off in thought because what if I’m not allowing myself the option to consider what Salem said as the truth? But then my gaze catches on his throat, and my mouth drops open, that train of thought forgotten as my feet retreat, stepping away from him when I see the claiming mark.

“You’re mated. But…” My chest deflates as air rushes out. “I-I don’t smell Trez. I smell someone else.”

My heart rate kicks up a notch at the realization. No, he can’t be. My brother loves him too much for Jagger to have found someone else. And I thought…

“You smell different too,” he says as if that’s an answer to the question I haven’t asked.

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