Page 45 of Cage Me

“I know Natalia is—” Spencer starts to say, but I shake my head.

“It’s not the witch. It’s just…”

“A lot,” Spencer finishes for me and I nod. She grimaces, then adds, “I hate to admit this because I don’t like believing that Kel is truly linked to you, but what if she knows that you’re about to set your wolf free and break the rest of her curse? What if she’s fucking with you right now while she still can?”

That thought hadn’t even occurred to me. I realize Spencer sees me mostly as the desperate man who wouldn’t let her go, but I’ve lived with this underlying wrath for centuries. It took countless years to control the darker parts of me, and that isn’t a side I want my mate to know.

Except she also needs to be aware that I’m not as perfect as she seems to think.

“If Kel is screwing with me, she’s only pulling on my true emotions,” I say honestly. “I was born into a prison world, built for darkness. Controlling my inner beast was something I had to learn to do on my own after being abandoned by my father before I was even born and then again by my mother when I was ten. My anger problems only grew from there. I’d thought I was getting a hold on them after nearly two decades on my own. Then, she showed up.”

Looking back now, it was as if Kel had known every button of mine to push. The ones to make me sympathize with her, befriend her, and even how to be furious with the witch. Everything except how to make me fall in love with her.

Hell, I wasn’t even attracted to her. Not once had I even considered fucking her. A fact that I’m sure pissed her off nearly as much as my rejection.

Spencer’s hand covers my chest. “I didn’t know about your parents. I’m sorry.”

Her words soften some of the hardness around my heart that has grown throughout the morning. “It’s in the past now. Let’s just get this done.”

Her brows pinch together. “Are you sure?”

No, I’m not, not in the slightest, but I’ve let this go on for too long now. It’s time to take control of my life again.

Holding Spencer’s face between my hands, I quickly kiss her and force a smile to my face that I know will bring her a semblance of peace. “I’m positive. Let’s go inside.”

She nods as her eyes search my face. I’m not sure what they see or even if she buys my bullshit, but either way, she reaches for the door to Spells and pulls it open.

We turn to go inside, but Natalia is already there. “Oh, good. You’re here. Follow me.”

The witch heads toward the alleyway we took last night, but Spencer doesn’t move. “Where are you going?”

Natalia turns back, looks at me, then Spencer before chuckling. “Did you really think that I was going to unleash a wild animal in my shop? That would make me the stupidest witch in existence.”

She makes a point, but there’s still another concern. “What about the dark energy from the curse?” I ask. “Letting that out into the world probably isn’t any better.”

She makes a clicking noise with her tongue and keeps walking as she replies, “It’s like you two don’t trust me. I have this handled.”

Her confidence seems strong, but still, my earlier rage lingers just beneath the surface. The only thing keeping me in check is Spencer’s hand wrapped around mine.

She keeps casting glances at me but doesn’t say anything. I know she’s worried, and I’d be lying if I said I’m not as well. Still, I need to do this.

I need to know if there is a chance that I can have my life back even if we never find Kel.

While I’ve made the assumption this whole time that she’s going to come after me, it hasn’t been far from my mind that maybe she chose to run from me.

Now, she could have been running back to Earth to see if her family is still alive and had every intention of coming back—that’s what I believe most—but she also could have been done with her prison and my stubbornness.

Still, there won’t be a day that passes for the rest of my life that I won’t wonder when she might reappear if we don’t end this. I don’t want to spend my life with Spencer that way. She deserves better than that and so do I.

We get to the park, and I realize we had passed by it last night, but I hadn’t paid any attention. There are thick trees spread out, green grass overgrown by at least a foot, and broken benches. Not somewhere I assume too many people visit any longer.

Natalia stops about thirty feet into the grass and points to a tree, then at Spencer. “You’ll wait over there. Drake, stand in front of me before I put up the barrier spell.”

“You’re not separating us,” Spencer says with a deep rumble.

I put my hand on her shoulder and offer her another forced smile. “Listen to her, Dove. I need to know you’re not at risk of being hurt or I’ll fight the spell.”

Which would then cause me even more pain, but I don’t add that part for Spencer. She’s smart enough to figure that on her own.

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