Page 66 of Seduce Me in Shadow

Sluggishly, I turn my head. The wizard looks incredibly brassed off. Splendid.

A few feet in front of me, I’m vaguely aware of Olivia introducing herself to Sydney and smiles being exchanged. Olivia leads Sydney to another table. I growl, reluctantly letting her walk away as the women begin chatting.

“Sit down,” Duke commands.

Perhaps he’s right. I should. And perhaps I should also rest my head. I’m exhausted. I need sleep. Badly.

I sway on my feet, the room spinning. Duke peers into my face, then sniffs. “I bloody well know where you’ve been. Or rather, what you’ve been doing. Sex at a time this critical?”

“Piss off,” I growl, then collapse into a chair.

“Shut up and look at me.”

Slowly, I open unfocused eyes. “Wha…?”

“Have you been sweating all day? Shaking?”

I nod.

“Craving sex?”

A snort punctuates my answer. “Last two weeks.”

“You just shagged her, and you’re already exhausted?”

In the battle between me and my thousand-pound eyelids, the eyelids win. “Watch your mouth.”

“Answer me.”

Somehow, I find the energy to nod.

“Fuck.”

Usually, the titled wizard is every bit a gentleman. I wince.

“Your magical signature is beginning to take shape. Black, blue, and gray. But there’s something yellow and white trying to merge with it.” Duke turns his attention toward Sydney. “Is she your mate? I know you haven’t spoken the words but…”

“Yes,” I gasp out.

Finally, I admit out loud what my body has been telling me since virtually the moment I met her. It isn’t a happy moment.

“Your transition from human to wizard is upon you,” Duke says in a low voice. “We’ve got to find a female to go through it with you. You’ll need great amounts of sexual energy.”

“Sydney—”

“Is a human. If that’s not bad enough, she’s areporter!If you transition with her, you’ll bed her like a madman for the next few days, then emerge as a wizard involuntarily displaying your special power, which will be impossible to hide. How do you know she won’t publish it in her human newspaper? Pick someone else. Sabelle?—”

“No. Want her.” I point Sydney’s way.

“I know,” he soothes. “But you can’t have her. Not for your transition. Not for your mate. She’ll either expose us to humankind or wind up as one of Mathias’s snacks—or both. I’ll call Bram. He’ll know a witch who will help you.” Duke reaches for his mobile.

My sluggish brain takes in Duke’s words. Everything inside me rebels.

Dredging up my energy, I grab his mobile and bash it against the table. It chirps and breaks into a dozen little pieces of plastic and wires as it dies.

Duke recoils, looking around to see who noticed. “Have you gone mental?”

“I want Sydney,” I demand.

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