Page 54 of Plus-Size Sold Mate
“They came because of her—”
Barely managing to lift my head, I find some of the pack gathered, eyes wide with alarm and anger, like they can’t believe something like this could happen. Eve’s grip on my shoulder tightens.
“What did you do?” someone asks with more venom than I expect.
The question feels more like a jab to the chest as those walls come up around me again, isolating me. The reality of it all stings against my skin like a burn.
I did this to protect them, but no matter what I do, it’s wrong. If I hadn’t used my magic, the children could’ve been taken, but since I did, I’m the reason they were here. I can’t win.
“She’s the cause of this,” a mother hisses as she grabs her child, keeping them close while she looks at me with the kind of vitriol I thought was behind me. But I was wrong.
Swallowing hard against what feels like barbed wire against my throat, I try to force the shakes from my hands. “I would never endanger your children…”
Still, nobody moves, as if they’re afraid of what might happen if they do. Given how loud and insistent the others are while they fling their anger in every direction, they wouldn’t be able to get a word in anyway.
Only to make matters worse, the ocean roars behind us, echoing the chaos.
It all becomes plainly clear now…
I’ll always be the outsider standing alone while everyone else only sees the danger I represent, and not a woman who just bled herself dry to keep their loved ones safe.
Chapter 18 - Luke
The agony siphoning through the bond hits me first before anything else, and the moment I sense the disturbance by the beach, I’m already running.
By the time I reach the sand, Sera’s on her knees while Eve stands by her, expression twisted with concern. I catch the scent of the retreating wolves, and I look over my shoulder at the guys as they follow.
“Track them.”
Without missing a beat, the three of them nod, and a hint of excitement moves through Dominic, apparently ready for a chase. “You got it.”
The torches are out as I approach, and broken rock fragments scatter the beachfront while the scorched, metallic smell of magic burning too bright lingers in the air.
The others part as I move through them, reaching my mate, who looks like she’s been torn apart and is barely hanging on.
“Sera,” I murmur, crouching as I use one hand to grip her shoulder while the other cradles her cheek. She’s trembling faintly, and her skin is pale, as if the life has been sucked out of her. My thumb brushes against a trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth, and every instinct in me flares at once.
“I’m fine,” she whispers, though her eyes barely meet mine. If anything, that far-off look immediately tells on her. She’s far from it.
The tether between us feels more like a frantic pulse now, depleted and riddled with pain. Not wanting to overwhelm herin this state, I try to keep my end as quiet and calm as possible, regardless of how my mind is reeling.
Then, I register the voices around us, along with the old suspicion and accusations as they rise.
“This is what we said would happen,” someone says, far too sharp for my liking.
“This destruction…this is what you want us to embrace?”
Before I can hold it down, something in me breaks, and I stand. The movement is slow and deliberate as I turn to face the others, eyes glancing between them, partly blocking Sera from view.
The stance is enough to tell the others they’ll have to go through me first.
“Enough,” I utter, not raising my voice, but allowing it to carry with tense calmness. The sight of her barely upright behind me sharpens my authority.
The murmurs falter, with some exchanging hesitant glances. They pull back enough to be noticeable as I allow more of my inner wolf to surface. It rolls across the group in a wave like a shift in pressure, and I know they feel it.
I look toward Eve. “What happened?”
“They surrounded us. The wolves from Wraith Peak…they tried to attack, but Sera stopped them,” she says honestly, expression a mix of concern and subtle fear given the tension coursing through the pack.
