Chapter 29 Rowen
ROWEN
Ivy leaps across a log, her tail flicking in the wind. Did you bite Tobias yet?
I avoid looking at her. She’d know if I had.
Why not?
I huff. Do you know how to ask your boyfriend-slash-fated mate if you can bite his throat? If so, I’m all ears.
Ivy tilts her head in a way that would’ve been the biggest eye roll in the history of eye rolls if she was human. He’s obviously crazy about you, Ro. I don’t know what you’re so afraid of.
Sage pounces on a leaf. I’m with Ivy. You need to claim him. That way we’re not drowning in pheromones every morning.
I curl my lips at him.
You know that’s only going to stop once you claim each other, right?
Shut up. It lasted for weeks even after you and Red claimed each other.
Sage snorts a laugh.
I turn away from them. It’ll happen soon. Just… chill out.
The urgency to claim Tobias has been overwhelming—and distracting. Everyone in the pack sees it, yet only a few have been brave enough to comment on it. I need to talk to him about it, and soon.
It’s one thing to tease him with my human teeth when we fuck; it’s another thing entirely to pierce skin and seal him as mine without a conversation about it. Fate might have woven us together, but I refuse to take Tobias’s right to choose away.
We curve toward the northeast corner of the property.
The woods are fairly quiet today, and it’s unusually warm for mid-February.
The snow is melting and making the earth soggy, which means Mom is in one of her moods.
She hates trying to keep up with the paw prints, footprints, and boot prints in the house.
Ivy walks beside me, light on her paws as she scans the trees. When she sees a rabbit, she sprints after it. She and Sage are in fairly good moods, as are the rest of the pack. But me? I’m walking around with lead weights on my heart.
I heard Tobias murmuring again last night. He tried to laugh it off, but the strain was obvious.
Our fated mate bond is getting stronger—soon I’ll feel what he feels. So why won’t he let me in?
If I ask again… will he pull away?
A black bird circles high above, wings glinting like oil against the winter sun. I pause to look at it.
There it is again.
Ivy squints up. The bird?
We’ve seen it a few times. The raven caws and flies in a figure eight. The last time was… I don’t know, a few days ago. Right after our trip to the city.
Sage sits and shakes his fur out. Red has seen it too. Sometimes, there are two of them.
A wolf howls on the horizon, and we all bolt in that direction.
Bronson, Raja, and Cliff from the Cedar Ridge pack are near our usual meeting point on the west side of the property.
Bronson’s black pelt gleams in the winter sun.
His ears flick as soon as he sees us, and he barks a command to the others to sit beside him.
We all greet the alpha with a dip of the head.
Afternoon, wolves. His tone is rough, like he hasn’t been sleeping well. Any news from your quarters?
No, it’s been pretty quiet. How about you?
He glances at Raja, and the smaller wolf cowers a little. Why don’t you tell them what you told me?
The younger wolf hesitates. I’m pretty sure someone is watching our land.
Sage cocks his head. Just your land, or all of ours?
All of ours. Keira and I… The fur along his shoulders twitches before he continues. We were near Hollow Cliff’s land two days ago. I know we shouldn’t have been there, but we wanted to see the caves again. Anyway, we… felt something.
My hackles rise. Every wolf knows when someone is watching us, if they’re close enough. It’s an instinct. I’ve felt something off and on too. Have you found any trails?
No, that’s the thing. Bronson sits. We’ve been scouting for two days, and we’ve seen nothing. Hollow Cliff says the same thing. No evidence of trespassers. I planned to call your alpha tonight with the news, but perhaps you can relay the message.
Sage dips his head again. Will do. Thank you, Bronson.
How’re things with Clearwater these days?
Ivy scratches behind her ears before lying down in the sun.
Sage answers. Good and stable. Forest told you about the vamps we killed, I’m assuming?
He did. Still not sure what to think about it.
Same here.
Bronson looks off into the distance. Speaking of vampires, is Jericho still with you?
Yes.
He blinks slowly, as if the news pleases him. Good. I rather like that vampire. And I think it’s nice to see packs embracing our old ways. He turns to me. And the marked one? Any news with him?
I can barely contain my growl. I don’t like his tone. Tobias is still with us. He needs our protection.
Bronson doesn’t answer right away. Well, it’s good to see you. Tell your alpha hello for me.
We turn back, cutting to the east through the woods. His unease with Tobias sticks with me. What was that about?
Sage glances at me. Don’t read into it. He treated Red and Neal the same way when they first joined our pack. He’ll come around.
Ivy steps up beside me. Think it’s true? About someone watching our properties?
I look at each of them. I’d be surprised if they aren’t. Foxx knows Jericho is out here. He’s probably sent people to keep a lookout, just like he did with Trivanka. Besides, I’ve felt someone watching us too. I’ve told everyone that and you keep acting like I’m being paranoid.
Sage bristles. I agree. He’ll come for Jericho, eventually.
My lips curl back. It might be Bronson’s fear messing with my head, but something doesn’t sit well with me about a spy being in our area.
Things have been too calm since we came back from Prodigy.
Calmer than we expected. I mean, it’s been two weeks since we killed Trivanka, which is more than enough time for word to reach Foxx.
So why haven’t we seen them? He has to know it was us, right?
Why hasn’t he come for revenge? Did he not care about the woman enough?
Or better yet, why has he still not come for Jericho? It’s been three months since we broke into the club and killed half of their coven. Foxx isn’t the type to give up. So what’s his plan?
As if reading my mind, Sage slows his pace. They’re in hiding, Ro. Remember that. The coven is wanted. Foxx won’t make a move without a plan.
I know. I just… fuck, I need all this to be over. I sound exhausted even to my own ears.
Sage nudges me, catching my eyes. I know what he’s thinking: Claim him. It’ll help.
A few minutes later, he catches sight of Red in the distance and jogs off to meet him. Ivy and I head back toward the house.
The scent of oranges and earth wraps around me the closer we get.
Tobias is outside with Jericho and Evan, bundled in a too-big sweater as he takes pictures with his camera.
His cheeks are pink from the cold. I loop around the yard to surprise him, nipping his backside.
Tobias yelps, then breaks into giggles as I circle around his feet.
“Rowen, you dork!”
God, the things that laugh does to me. I haven’t heard it enough lately.
I tackle Tobias to the ground, and he rolls with me, breathless and grinning. I lick his cheek as he shoves at me, laughing harder.
“Okay, okay. Stop.”
Jericho throws a small fireball at a makeshift target fifty feet away. Yesterday, he was practicing his fire portals. After the trip to Prodigy, he’s been more focused. Everyone has… except me. All I seem to think about is Tobias.
I rub my face against his, and Tobias wraps his arms around my neck. He doesn’t let go as he sits up, his hood falling back. I lick his cheek again. He kisses my nose.
A sharp cry splits the air directly above us. We all look up.
The raven has followed us back. It’s spiraling erratically above the trees, its wings beating so fast they’re almost desperate. It cries again, then dives straight at us.
Jericho reacts instantly, flinging a fireball at it.
The raven dodges the blast, flying back up to circle above us twice more.
When it spots the drone, it bolts for it, and we all watch in stunned horror as the bird attacks the piece of metal with its talons and beak.
Sparks rain down from the machine, then the drone crashes into the snow with a heavy crunch.
“What the—” Grant leaps from the porch. “Damn bird broke it!”
The bird seems to hover in the air, wings a blur of inky movement. Something about it is unnatural and makes me shiver. Jericho launches another fireball at it, but misses.
With one last furious cry, the bird wheels upward and disappears into the gray sky.
Evan shakes his head. “What the hell was that about?”
“No idea,” Jericho says.
“The footage might give us some clues? If it’s not totally destroyed.”
Grant rushes over to the wreckage, and Jericho and I join him. The drone is in pieces—half the rotors snapped and the camera housing split open. A total loss. Grant is both gutted and absolutely furious. “Fucking bird. I’m going to wring its neck if I see it again!”
“Let’s take it inside,” Jericho says. “See if we can find anything useful.”
While he takes the mangled drone to the office, Tobias sits down with his camera on the nearest sofa. He scrolls through his photos rapidly. I pull a shirt on and sit next to him.
His lips are pressed so tightly together they’re nearly white.
“What’s wrong?”
“I think I’ve seen that bird before.”
“We all have.”
“No, I mean—” He flips through images quickly, stopping on one. “This. I thought I was losing my mind the other day when I saw this… but look.”
I hesitate before taking the camera. He’s been using terms like that lately. Losing my mind and going crazy. It worries me.
Tobias zooms in on the bird’s head. “Seriously, look.”
At first, it’s just a blob of feathers and shadow. But then I see it—faint lines across the bird’s head. They aren’t normal for a bird. More like the remnants of a shifter’s human traits showing through the skin of their shifted form.
My heart sinks, and I glance up at him. “You think it’s a shifter?”
“You’ve told me some shifters can show markings from their human selves, right? It’s not common, but it can happen. What if this…” he trails off, eyes darting between mine. “What do you think?”
I study the photo again. “Maybe.”
Sage sits in a chair near us, reaching for the camera. After seeing the photo, he shakes his head hard. “Goddamn it.”
“Could it be one?” I ask.
“It has to be. Bronson said they’ve felt someone too, yet none of us have seen tracks. This must be how they’re doing it. By air.”
The room goes silent. Someone really is watching us, then.
Fuck.
I reach for Tobias at the same time he pulls his knees up, hugging them to his chest. I wrap my arm around him, unsure of what to say.
Grant returns a moment later, tablet in hand. He sets it on the table and pulls up a still image from the drone’s last moments.
“See for yourselves,” he says grimly.
The photo shows the same thing Tobias captured—lines across the bird’s head, too deliberate to be coincidence.
His jaw ticks, rage simmering behind his blue eyes. “That bird was not just a bird.”
The only question now is, who is it?