Page 25 of Cage Me

“You don’t know what I’ve been through for the last thousand years,” he says with a hurt in his voice that lashes out at my own chest.

Holy shit, he’s old, but I don’t focus on that tidbit of information for long. Especially not when he doesn’t even appear to be in his thirties, but more than that, the need to apologize to him is nearly overwhelming.

“You’re right,” I say sincerely. “I’m sorry for not giving you a chance to explain yourself or for continuing our earlier conversation. Neither of us asked for this, but that doesn’t mean we can’t work together to figure things out. What is this something that you need to do?”

As I finish speaking, I don’t hear anything Drake might be saying next. I’m held hostage by the renewed flood of emotions within me. Feelings I can assume a normal shifter might have been consumed with the moment they first laid eyes on their mate, but life dealt me a different hand. Mine had required me to be anything other than soft, to not care for anyone other than my mother and brother.

With every new breath I take, the bond between Drake and me begins to turn into something tangible, something I don’t know that I can handle, but that I no longer want to let go of. Especially when I finally hear a fraction of what he’s saying.

“…she kept me trapped and tortured me for over nine hundred years.”

Knowing that someone hurt my mate, tormented him even—now that makes me a little murderous. Something I don’t expect, but also don’t hate.

“Who hurt you?” I demand with a conviction that seems to take us both by surprise, and the moment he ensnares me in his gaze, I hope like hell that I’ve just made the best decision in my life and not the worst one.

Chapter 10

DRAKE

The moment Spencer took back her rejection, it was as if I could finally breathe for the first time in my life. At least for a few seconds, then I remembered the witch that will continue to stand in my way of true happiness until I’ve ended her life.

I hadn’t expected Spencer to take back her rejection so soon. Obviously, I’d hoped, but for the words to actually leave her mouth when I was still certain she’d remain stubborn—that’s something else entirely.

“I’ve mentioned briefly about my bound wolf, but I haven’t told you how he became that way,” I tell her, standing just outside a grassy area behind the buildings on our right.

“What do you mean?” she asks, head tilted and eyes narrowed. “Bound how?”

She must have been more distracted than I realized when I was just speaking.

“I turned down a witch named Kel, and she apparently wasn’t pleased with being told no,” I say. “She put a curse on me that kept me trapped inside my own mind for nearly one thousand years. It didn’t break until Caius broke through to Earth, but she must have used two different spells because my wolf is still chained inside me.”

I lift my shirt over my head to show her the actual chains surrounding my wolf tattoo. One that hadn’t been there before I met Kel. Though, the moment it’s exposed I realize it’s changed.

The chains that are drawn around my snarling wolf have begun to unravel. Not entirely, but he’s not as bound as he used to be.

Shit, even a few of the links are cracking. My fingers press over the black ink, and the same warmth I felt earlier returns, but I still don’t sense my inner beast.

Spencer steps forward, her hand raised. “This is your wolf?”

“A representation of him, yes.” I reach for her and bring her palm closer, curious if physical contact from our mate is what has made the changes I’m seeing, or if it’s just being so far from Kel.

Spencer’s hand carefully settles over my chest, and her fingers splay out over the tattoo. Less than a second later, a glow from beneath her touch begins to grow. It’s faint, but I know I’m not just seeing things because Spencer gasps, pressing harder against me.

“Am I doing that?” she asks, her voice barely a whisper.

“I wasn’t sure before, but I believe so,” I say just as reverently. “You’re breaking my wolf free.”

“Where is this Kel now?” she asks. Gone is the admiration she just spoke with, replaced with a rage I myself have lived with for far too long.

When her eyes move from my tattoo to my face, I can also see the flicker of wrath within their depths. A hint of jealousy that elates a part of me, knowing this woman is beginning to care for me with such intensity.

“I don’t know, but I followed her scent to the portal and confirmed with the guards that she came through,” I say. “Wherever she is, I’ll find her and make sure she can’t ever hurt you.”

Spencer laughs, but it’s not a joyous sound. “Hurt me? That’s not even a thought that crossed my mind. When was the last time you saw her? Do you have a picture of her or something of hers that we can track?”

The way her words come out with a growl has me enthralled. I never thought a woman could fascinate me as Spencer has, but for the first time in my existence, I’m beguiled. I want to know everything there is to learn about my mate. Every nuance, every curve on her body, the things that make her lips tilt upward, and those that do the opposite.

Except her tapping foot tells me that those things will have to wait.

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