Chapter 3

3

SERAPHINA

D eath enters my vision quest, slinking onto the screen before me and painting it in blood.

I see crimson stains on the sleek wolf fur, a dark trail beneath, the blood twisting into a hand and reaching for me. I see drops spreading on the snow, a beautiful contrast of red and white, warm and cold, life and death.

Then his eyes fix on me for one disorienting moment, and he’s gone.One moment alive and boisterous and glowing with health and the next…

Kieran is dead at my feet. And all his pack lay slaughtered behind him, their blood converging into a raging river. The tide pulls me under its violent waves.

I am drowning in blood.

His name is on my lips. Kieran. I pump my arms to get to him, fear chasing me like a rabid beast. My heart thrashes in my chest, my breath released only in spurts. This can’t be. I just found you. To have him taken away so suddenly, brutally?—

The scream tearing from me severs the connection, cutting the vision off like I simply pressed a button on a TV, but that won’t stop what I’ve seen from coming to pass. It’s inevitable.

I swipe at my lips, still tasting copper, and extinguish the smoking sage in the abalone shell in front of me. My fingers shake, my arm trembling and the rest of me filled with a distinctive cold chill.

The vision lingers with me like a bad taste in my mouth.

It’s almost time to open the shop, but I’ve made the decision to go to pack lands before I rise from my cross-legged position on the floor. Even if we’d left things unspoken and up in the air, I can’t play this like any other one-night stand. I can’t play games. Not with Kieran’s life.

The vision is clear and if I don’t deliver the warning, then something terrible will happen to him. Can I stop Fate? The question lingers along with the last memories of the river of blood.

“Madeline?” I call toward the storeroom where my sister is supposed to be unpacking our haul from the gemstone and mineral expo.

The sound of her box cutter slicing through the tape is the only indication that she’s back there.

“Madeline?” I find her with her earbuds in, dancing and not paying attention to the world around her.

I ease back, rethinking telling her what I have planned. She’ll only try to stop me or get involved herself, and putting her in danger is unacceptable. My stomach drops, churning at the thought of anything happening to my sister.

The nameless threat…the vision never clearly showed what will happen to the pack. I’m taking a risk on more than one front by going there to speak to Kieran.

And Madeline doesn’t know what happened between him and I, even if she looked at me curiously when I’d been reading our family’s Book of Shadows this morning. More specifically, pouring over the spells for undoing magic.

She will definitely ask me about it sooner rather than later, but I have no words for what happened the other night. And the inevitable conversation feels less important now that I know what’s coming. Kinda.

I have to leave my own thoughts behind and focus on saving Kieran. And avoiding my sister.

Relieved she didn’t hear me, I quietly retreat to the register and scribble a quick note telling her that I’ll be back, but failing to say just where I’m headed. The less she knows about this whole thing, the better for her, and her safety is paramount.

It’s a death sentence for a witch to set foot on, much less walk right onto, pack land and up to their alpha. Kieran is one thing. A whole pack of territorial wolves is another. But there is no other choice.

I have to warn Kieran, and it has to be immediately.

Because if my past failure taught me anything, it’s that when my visions hit, there is little time to stem the tide of their impending destruction.

Kieran

T he diner’s door swings open and in walks Seraphina. My fated mate. I instantly stand to attention, my spine snapping straight and every part of me leaning toward her. I can’t take my eyes off of her.

The same magic that bound us last night ignites between us. It’s palpable, powerful. Does everyone in the damn diner feel it, too? My heart thunders as if a pack of wild horses was suddenly set loose.

But instead of the warm smile I want to see, her heart shaped face bears a grimace, her brilliant green eyes shining and never leaving my face.

The air shifts and churns around her and her lips tremble on her approach. She barely makes it to the table before speaking, the words hitting me with the force of their meaning. “Kieran, you’re in great danger.”

“I’m always in danger,” I try to reassure her.

My wolf is happy, urging me to take my mate again.

I ignore it, struggling to focus on Seraphina’s rapidly moving mouth while she tries to speak to me.

“You’re all going to die. I know it sounds awful, and random. Please listen.” In her hand, she’s carrying her amethyst necklace from last night. “Please take this.”

She places it in my open palm, moving my fingers with hers to cover the stone.

I know what it’s for, protection. She’s quite serious.My gaze drops to hers and we hold eye contact for one beat, two, her hand clammy against my overheated skin.

“Please,” she repeats. “You have to listen to me. There is something awful coming and the vision I had, I saw you, I saw your pack—” She’s out of breath, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

“Okay, calm down. Let’s go talk away from everyone.” I wrap my arm around her shoulders to bring her against my side.

She nods, her eyes alert, the magic between us practically a rope pulling me into her orbit.She doesn’t resist my touch and yet the moment our skin connects, my entire body reacts.

My skin, my veins, my heart. My wolf pushes for release and roars at me to claim her the way I’m meant to claim my mate.

I have to get a grip.

“Follow me.” I lead Seraphina outside to the picnic area and take a seat at one of the tables with its paint peeling off like a bad sunburn.

“Kieran, you have to listen,” Seraphina interrupts, unable to still long enough to take a seat. She glances down at my hand like she’s making sure I have the amethyst pendant.

“It’s okay, I promise,” I assure her. “I face threats all the time. You didn’t see anything new. You said this was a vision?”

She nods again, biting down on her lower lip and looking so fucking vulnerable I want to keep her close. “Please put it on. This will come to pass. It wasn’t in the past, and it wasn’t just some dream. I wouldn’t come all this way and step foot onto pack lands just because of a dream. My visions, like that, are warnings. It’s a warning of what is to come.”

“So what are my odds, you think? One to ten? One to five? Do you have some sort of—” I lower my voice, “witchy guarantee.”

She flinches. “This isn’t something you can take lightly.”

I sigh, knowing my attempt at levity has failed. “Listen—” I start to say.

Behind us, a female is closing in. I smell her. I shove the necklace into my jeans pocket and turn in time to see Gloria approach.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Gloria says, placing down two large plastic cups filled with ice water. “I didn’t get you to sign off on the Fill the Pantry event, Alpha.” She glances over at Seraphina. “Oh, you are new here. Haven’t seen your face before.”

Seraphina stares at me and then at Gloria like a deer in headlights.

“Now Gloria, that is not a way to pry into my business or be rude to my guests. We’ll talk about the event another time when I am not otherwise wonderfully preoccupied.” It seems like the most diplomatic thing to say in this case and I’m floundering. Utterly at a loss for the right thing to say or do or be.

Gloria turns her attention to Seraphina again. “I really am so sorry. I was just ….” she trails off. She sniffs the air. I freeze. “Who are you?”

“No worries. I was just leaving, I guess. I’ve already said my piece.” Seraphina tucks her chin and glances away as if something over by the trashcans is infinitely more interesting.Her dark hair hides her face from view.

“No, you weren’t.” I glance back to Gloria. “Gloria, could you leave us alone? We have business to discuss.”

At that, neither Gloria nor Seraphina seems happy with me.I’m not handling this well.

Gloria finally turns on her toes and swishes her hips back through the door to the diner and out of view. The moment we’re alone, Seraphina swivels around to face me again. She is not happy. Her hair stands on end, her cheeks pale but her eyes overly bright.

This time, my wolf reads her and whimpers. I can practically taste her magic. And it tastes like fear.