Mated By Fate by Christa Wick
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Two hours later,Camille entered the meeting hall, her gaze searching the crowd for two people—her daughter and Seth. She spotted Esme in a far corner, the young witch wearing a scowl as she tried to touch Jack Cooper's head.
The old wolf tried to move out of reach, but his wife firmly propelled him back toward Esme. Something to do with that headache he'd had since the ritual, no doubt.
Good. Esme would be too distracted to notice anyone but Jack for a few minutes. Camille ducked behind a very tall, broad-shouldered wolf, her mind so absorbed in picking Seth out from the crowd that she didn't recognize the man she sheltered behind.
He turned around, his warm, West Virginia accent immediately giving him away. "Good evening, Dame Stone."
"Cade." She acknowledged him with a quick upward glance. "Where is Seth?"
"I hear I have you to thank for almost getting me shredded limb from limb."
There was no menace in his voice, just mild curiosity.
"If you mean the first blood ritual, Coop tossed out your name after Silantra brought the ritual to his attention." Camille's nose twitched, the magic in her still strong enough to send a little spark of annoyance along its tip. "Not my fault Coop knows you're the only wolf Esme is comfortable around besides Seth."
"Actually, it is your fault." His tone flattened, but he didn't press any harder. Extending one finger from the hand wrapped around his glass, he pointed across the hall. "Seth is over there, at the head table. If you ever attended any of these events, you'd know that."
Her fingers flexed, more energy dancing at their ends. She swallowed a knot of pride, wanting to get rid of the wolf next to her, but a nagging whisper said he would be useful.
"Come with me…please." Camille said, heading for Seth's table. As she walked, she expended a small amount of energy on a look-away spell, hopefully too small to prick Esme's radar.
Reaching the table, she caught Lana's attention first and offered an apologetic smile before bending down to whisper in Seth's ear even though every wolf around her would be able to hear.
Lesson one—it always helps if the beasts think you are underestimating their abilities.
"Denver is missing," she said.
Seth's brows knitted together for a second before he shook the idea off.
"He's somewhere licking his wounds."
"Or letting someone else lick them for him," Cade joked as he reached the table.
Camille's gaze cut through the crowd to land on Esme before flicking back to Cade. The slow burn of green ringing the old witch's irises erased his smile.
He nudged Camille. "What's this about, then?"
"I was casting for more signatures," she started, her hands coiling and uncoiling around each other. "And I thought I detected something—"
Lesson two—always make them think they reached the desired conclusion before you.
Lana's gasp interrupted the older witch. "Why didn't you notify us?"
Ignoring the pack leader’s plump little mate, Camille focused her words on Seth. "It was faint...and fleeting. I could only catch it the one time—somewhere around Wayland, just this side of it."
Lana interrupted once more. "Esme or I could have recasted. You should have—"
Camille rapped a bony knuckle on the table top. "I was certain it was just an echo, someone having passed through and gone, maybe one of the very latents we're sheltering now. Some have come in from that direction"
Seth nodded. "But?"
"The minute I said it could be a cub, Denver left."
"Tell me you didn't let him leave alone?"
Camille straightened like a spring rod at the sound of her daughter's voice. She swiveled her head, not far enough to face Esme, but enough to acknowledge her arrival. "You think he listens to me? To anyone?"
Camille turned back to Seth. "He handed me a radio on the way out and checked in at the end of the first hour. I waited another hour, but he still hasn't radioed again. That's enough time for him to reach the area and find good reception."
"Especially that high up," Seth murmured.
Camille heard Esme step to a side table, ordering the guests away as she stripped the linen tablecloth to expose the wood. She slopped a hand into the cranberries on one plate, squeezing until her fingers were red with their juice. Marking a compass on the table, she chanted. Still chanting, Esme grabbed a nearby candle and spilled the melted wax in the center.
Her words growing in volume, Esme's eyes glazed and then her lips stopped moving. She stumbled backward, Cade catching her before she hit the ground.
"Where is he, baby girl?" He hoisted Esme up, her soft pleading moans as she caught glimpses of her mate being tortured unnerving everyone around her. "Come on, Ems. Tell me where he is before you pass out."
She tossed her head, blonde curls bouncing as she clawed at Cade to release her. "Harrow Mill."
Hearing the location, everyone around Esme froze.
Harrow Mill was an unmarked battlefield in the Hunters' war on the clan. A former enclave of shifters, Hunters had attacked the location en masse, not a single member of the dozen wolf families surviving.
Camille broke the silence. "There would be plenty of echoes there. Plenty of—"
Every shifter around Camille swiveled until they were staring straight at her, wolf fire flaring in their irises. None of them wanted a reminder of the cubs who had been herded like sheep into the old building and slaughtered.
"I'll go with the—" Camille started.
Esme's hand chopped through the air, silencing her mother.
She pointed at Seth. "I'm going on the retrieval. With or without anyone's permission."
Seth nodded, kissing Lana's cheek as he rose and signaled to the gathering members of his pack. "Let's roll."
Watching the door shut behind the rescue party, Camille bowed her head.
And then she smiled.
