Page 26 of Cage Me

“The last time I saw Kel was in Tartarus,” I say, answering her first question. “She had moved into my house and kept me frozen in place outside. I saw her leave one day, and it was over a month before the part of her spell that kept my body contained broke. I can only assume that was when she went to Earth. I followed after, but it took me weeks to get across the islands to the castle, and then I had to wait to be interviewed before being allowed in.”

“No wonder you were so pissed off when you came through that portal.” She smirks, and the look has a smile growing on my face as I cup her cheek.

“But you took all that rage away the moment I saw you.” My breathing becomes ragged, and I’m tempted to kiss her again, but her next words take away my opportunity.

“Well, it hasn’t taken away mine,” she says with a growl. “We need to find her and set your wolf free.” She pauses, her eyes roaming over my still exposed tattoo as she frowns. “He shouldn’t be trapped.”

The way she says the words with such conviction and allows her stare to linger over the black ink, I start to wonder. “Can you sense him?”

Briefly, her lips flatten. “Maybe? There are flickers of something that I thought was just the bond, but when I touched the marks there, I not only felt the heat of the energy between us, but there was also a coldness, a hollowness that threatens to…”

She looks away and doesn’t finish her sentence. I can only guess what she might be thinking, but I don’t ask her to elaborate. She’s already given me more today than I expected for weeks to come.

“I will find her and make sure she can’t hurt you or your family,” I promise. “Nobody will hurt you because of me, Spencer. Nobody.”

Her head lifts, and she meets my steady gaze. “We will find that witch. I’m going with you.”

“What about your mother and brother?” I ask, hoping they’ll be enough reason to keep her away from this mess. I don’t want Spencer anywhere near Kel. Not when I’m unsure what the witch may be capable of here on Earth.

“I’ve been safe here for months,” Spencer says confidently. “I can ask Kasha or Natalia to keep an eye on them. They’ll be fine as long as the witch doesn’t come here, tracking your scent.”

“And if she does and we’re nowhere near your family?” I ask. It’s a reality I’ve already thought about myself when it comes to Spencer and has given me pause on leaving at all.

Vengeance isn’t worth having if I lose everything else in the process.

Spencer seems to consider my words while also being distracted by the wolf on my chest. I slip my shirt back on and hold her cheeks within my hands, forcing her eyes to focus on me. “We don’t know each other, but if you believe nothing else, then know that I can handle Kel on my own. Stay here, protect your family, and wait for me.”

Her head shakes within my palms, and she jerks out of my hold. “No. I mean, you’re right, we don’t know each other, which is why you’re also wrong. I didn’t just let you in to be left behind.” Her hand gestures between the two of us. “Your rage, it’s like my own, building with every passing second. I won’t stand by and do nothing. You didn’t let me deal with my father on my own. This witch is nothing different.”

I hate to admit that she’s right, but she is, and if I’m being honest with myself, I don’t want to leave her behind. Not when I’ve only just found her.

Nearly a thousand years of living alone in my own head, trapped in my body as Kel convinced everyone I had a broken mind, a shifter who couldn’t control his inner beast, making sure no one went looking for me. Not a single person I’d gotten to know over the years had questioned her, thanks to the magic she wielded. As the years turned to centuries, my home was no longer mine, but Kel’s, and nobody ever spoke of me again.

“Okay,” I say. While I know she may think it’s for her benefit, I’m fully aware that my decision is selfish. “We’ll stick together. Whether that’s here or out there.”

She pauses, almost as if she doesn’t believe me, but finally nods. “Good. Now, let’s go check on my family.”

Her hand flinches, almost as if she’s going to reach out for me, but then decides not to. When she turns and gives me her back, I chuckle to myself. At least this interaction felt more like two steps forward and only one back.

Lengthening my stride, I’m at her side before she can get far. I lean in toward her and brush her hair out of the way before whispering into her ear. “You’re mine, Little Dove.”

There’s a hitch in her breath, but that’s the only sign she gives that my words have their desired effect. Outside of that, her speed picks up and I keep pace with her.

We get to another street, and across from it, I notice an arch that stands probably over five hundred feet into the skyline. It seems to serve no purpose, cracked and covered in dead vines, but I’m sure at one point, people marveled at its size.

“What the hell?” Spencer mutters, bringing my attention to right in front of us instead of lingering at our surroundings.

Two beings stand before us. One man, another wolf shifter, and a woman whose identity I can’t seem to suss out, but she’s some sort of shifter. I think.

She stares at Spencer with turquoise eyes that are shadowed by dark blue hair falling around her face. “You’re interesting,” she says first, speaking to my mate.

Spencer smirks and crosses her arms. “I could say the same about you.”

“Yes, you could.” The woman winks and stands a little straighter. “I didn’t come here for you, but now that I have. Her eyes close briefly and the man with her stiffens at her side, wrapping an arm around her and whispering in her ear so low that even my wolf hearing can’t hear his words clearly.

When I reach for Spencer, ready to get out of here, she’s already walking toward the strangers. Instantly, I’m on alert and sizing up the man. He’s tall, but still several inches shorter than me. His blue eyes flick between me and my mate as he rubs his jaw, a ring with a red stone at the center glinting under the moonlight above.

“Spencer,” I warn her, but she isn’t listening to me.

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