Page 78 of Rejected By the Alpha King

Jax snarled, and the magic was gone. Maeve frowned at the witch, but Cam’s face was still calm as she bowed her head. “My apologies,” she murmured. “I feared my magic would be erratic here. Sometimes it acts without me.”

Maeve turned to Jax. “I apologize. She did mention her magic was seeping out, but I didn’t think it would attack anyone.”

“Not attack,” Cam said quickly. “My magic was just drawn to her.”

“Apologize to her,” Jax said, his eyes still glowing gold. “Not me, and do not allow it to happen again.”

Turning, Cam bowed again. “I apologize. I did not mean to alarm you. I am anxious.”

I could definitely understand her anxiety, but the fact that her magic immediately targeted me was suspicious. Did she now know that I was a null?

“Once you’re shown to your room, I can take you to see Irene,” Jax said. There wasn’t a trace of suspicion in his voice. I wasn’t dumb enough to think he didn’t care. Instead, I was in awe of how easily his political mask slipped back into place.

“Surely, you do not need to take her,” Maeve said with a frown. “Let your mate. We have things to discuss.”

Jax hesitated, and I cleared my throat. The fastest way to get a target painting on your back was to appear weak. “Amelia and Bridget can accompany us,” I told Jax.

“Fine. They should already be on their way. Follow me.”

Normally I was more than happy to trail Jax and whoever he was walking with, but today, I walked next to Jax. That put me ahead of Maeve and my back to the witch. A bold move. To my surprise, Jax slipped his hand around my waist and pulled me against him as we walked.

Great. He wanted us to be that kind of couple in front of the other mates. I tried not to stiffen.

Maeve would miss something. She hadn’t been in power for so long that she would miss much.

“Suites were assigned at random. It should be plenty of room for you, your witch, your third, and two guards,” Jax said as he stopped at the door. I don’t think you’ve been here since we’ve made some changes. If you have any security concerns, please let me know.”

“This is adequate,” Maeve said as she walked around and wrinkled her nose. I didn’t know what her home was like, but I had a good feeling that Maeve was all about living the high life.

“The beds don’t have any sheets.”

“You are a day early,” Jax pointed out. “The rooms will be finished shortly.”

“Fine. Since we must wait, I suggest we all go visit this witch of yours. I’m curious as to how she survived the attack when Boa did not.” There was a light crack in her voice, and Cam lowered her head. It was obvious that the daughter mourned her father, but just how close was Maeve with her witch?

Hell, Jax left his pack to hunt down whoever had taken Irene. Maybe the relationship between witch and alpha was more intimate than I realized.

In the car, with Bridget and Amelia, Maeve finally turned her full attention on me. “So you’re the daughter of the rogue who would murder to be an alpha.”

“Strange way of putting it considering that most alphas have to kill to get the position,” I said as I met her gaze head-on. My wolf trembled but didn’t back down. Not when Jax was in the car with us. She had so much more faith in our mate than I did.

“True,” Maeve said with a small smile. “Do you think he would have made a good alpha?”

I snorted. “No.” He couldn’t even treat his own daughter with compassion. How would he treat a pack?

Then again, it was starting to look more and more like Dirk Kipling wasn’t trying to amass a pack.

“It’s a shame he’s not still alive to see you in the position he wanted for all this time. There is nothing more satisfying than watching a man go insane when he learns a woman can do a job better than he can,” she said with a cold smile. “No offense, Jax.”

“I regret Kipling’s swift kill every day,” he responded. “He certainly deserved something far crueler.”

“Tell me, Anna, how did it feel when you realized you were mated to the man whose hands still dripped with your father’s blood?” Maeve asked, a wild intensity in her eyes.

“I doubt she felt anything,” Cam murmured.

My stomach twisted. Did the strange witch know that I was a null?

‘What do you mean by that?” Jax growled.

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