Page 71 of Cage Me

Him and Styx share a look I can’t read before he answers me. “We’re adding cabins to our territory by the river as we speak. There will be more than enough room.”

“That’s good to know. I’ll keep the offer in mind still.”

His head shakes as he laughs. “Stubborn through and through. We’ll be seeing you, Spencer. Nice to meet you, Drake.”

My mate nods but doesn’t reply as Corvin and Styx keep walking in the opposite direction.

“He’s been trying to get me to join their pack for over a month now,” I tell Drake when I start to sense there was something he didn’t like. “Seems nice enough.”

“His mate,” Drake says with tension, watching them disappear down another street. “She’s from Tartarus.”

Ah, that makes more sense.

“Yes, but she lives here now.” Maybe joining the pack still isn’t the best idea. “We can build our own home. We don’t need a pack.”

Drake looks down at me and shakes his head. “Seeing someone from Tartarus so soon just threw me off. I trust your judgment.”

He’s really too nice for his own good sometimes.

I turn him until he’s facing me. “We won’t live somewhere that makes you uncomfortable for any reason, Drake Cage. I promise you that. If you see her again and the same feelings still arise, then we have options. The shed isn’t all that bad.”

He finally cracks a smile. “You’re rather incredible, My Little Dove.”

“I know.” I wink at him, then reach for the witch’s pocket. “Now, how about we get the hell out of here and go hunting?”

Chapter 27

DRAKE

Once we get out of the main part of town, Spencer retrieves a portal spell from the pouch and takes us about an hour north to a city she’s been through before. Though, when we get there, it isn’t anything like the one we just left.

There is only one building still standing. The rest are caved in on at least one side or merely a pile of rubble. The paved streets are cracked and have holes every so often that look like bombs went off.

“Huh.” Spencer shrugs and holds her head higher. “Some sort of battle must have happened here in the last month, but I don’t sense dark magic, so I don’t think it was Kel.”

Tartarus might be filled with some dark souls, but destruction like this isn’t normal. “Why would people destroy homes so thoroughly?”

“This is No Man’s Land,” she answers. “Home of the Houseless, the rejected, the lawless. Crossroads is the exception.” Her hand gestures around us. “This is pretty normal unless you live in one of the House territories.”

“Why don’t you live with a House?” I ask, wondering if they’re not as safe as they sound.

“Thanks to my father, I was banished from my pack,” Spencer replies. “Though, I don’t actually know if the Alpha Supreme Kinsley would let my banishment stand. She’s been turning Fire and Fluorite into an honorable House, something that place hasn’t been in much too long. We could always go back there and see what happens if you didn’t want to be in Crossroads.”

Taking Peter back to the place where he killed his father doesn’t sound like the best plan, but I appreciate the fact that she instantly caught on to my discomfort and was open to change.

I have no doubts Crossroads will be a good home. I’ve seen the way people have cared for my mate in their own ways, and I don’t want her to lose that. That just isn’t how Tartarus was, and living under the command of someone raised in that world gave me pause.

Though, I don’t know Styx. Maybe there’s a reason she’s here and not back in the shadow world. I shouldn’t preemptively judge.

“Seeing as how things aren’t as I last saw around here,” Spencer says, “how about we shift and run for a while? I don’t want to teleport too far north and miss Kel if she’s headed south.”

We just had a long sprint this morning, but my wolf still perks up at the idea of getting out again. I can’t blame him and agree with Spencer’s idea. Teleporting can only help so much.

“I won’t ever say no to a run.”

She steps back first, her skin glowing briefly before energy swirls around her. My eyes attempt to watch every part of her shift, but her body contorts so quickly that I feel as if I’ve missed the whole thing when her wolf appears just a few seconds later.

The stunning white beast stands proudly before me. Her bright blue eyes spark with interest as she comes closer. I hold my hand out, and her head settles into my palm.

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