Page 71 of Wolf Touched

Cat-Keith hissed but obeyed, giving him the side-eye as she stalked out.

I mashed my lips together, trying not to laugh as Raffe shut the door, climbed onto the bed, and opened his arms.

My attention landed on his neck, where they’d held the dagger against him earlier. Though it was scabbed over, the memory caused cold tendrils of fear to constrict my chest. Once again, I’d come so close to losing him. I didn’t understand why; every time we turned around, our bond was threatened.

His face softened, and he patted the spot next to him.If you don’t get your sexy ass over here now, I will make you.

I laughed, surprising myself.I might want you to force me.

He licked his full bottom lip, and warmth spread between my thighs. My mate was the most caring and sexiest man alive, and he was allmine.

Everyone is awake in this house, and you’re exhausted.His irises warmed to cobalt, my new favorite color,replacing lilac, which had been my favorite color forever.If you make me, I’ll be eager to take you, and then I’d be ashamed of myself. I need you rested because danger has a knack for finding you.

He knew my weakness and fought dirty, but I found myself crawling onto the bed next to him.

Pulling my back to his chest, he nuzzled his face into my neck, and the buzz of our connection sprang to life and took my breath away. I couldn’t imagine a world without him by my side anymore, and the thought of losing him petrified me more than anything.

I don’t want you training with those coven members again,Raffe linked, running his fingertips over my arm.

My body shuddered, already melting at his touch.I don’t have a choice. I despised their plan, but it worked. For the first time, I was able to control my power. I’ve never done that before.

Next time, they could hurt you and not me.Raffe huffed.I refuse to let that happen.

They won’t. I don’t know how to explain it, but Iknowshe won’t.I turned and faced him.

His irises had returned to an icy light blue, revealing his intense struggle with this decision.Babe, I can’t risk losing you.

I feel the same way about you, but she’s right. My power … it’s growing.I refused to consider that Priestess Caroline had been right to use Raffe against me. What they’d done had been too cruel for me to ever approve of it. I’d never wish anyone to watch their fated mate in a situation like that, but it had been effective.If I thought they’d chance doing something like that to us again, I wouldn’t consider risking it. But I believe they won’t, and I need all the help I can get. We can’t hide forever. Whether it’s Olwyn findingus, or the Veiled Circle taking over like they plan, we’ll eventually have to come out of hiding. We both know we can’t sit back and let innocent people get killed or mistreated. And we can’t continue to allow supernaturals to deny their heritage.

He blinked slowly, and the edges of his mouth tipped downward.I hate that you’re right. All I want to do is hide you away and keep you safe. And maybe if the wolf shifters hadn’t been so hard on vampires and coven members, the Veiled Circle wouldn’t have gotten off the ground. The coven is the only way you found answers, and my species could have ruined that for you.

I cupped his face with my free hand and kissed him. I leaned back, needing him to see the expression on my face as I said, “You aren’t to blame for any of this. We had a rocky start, but we figured it out, and you’ve been nothing but supportive of me and our relationship. Hell, you left your pack and future to stand beside me. I don’t want you to feel any guilt because our relationship has only made me stronger. But I need to train with the coven, and if they do anything that makes either of us uncomfortable, I won’t train with them again.”

“I’d do everything all over again as long as I wound up with you.” Raffe’s hands tightened on my waist. “You’re my everything, and my entire goal is to protect you. If training them will make you feel safer, we’ll try it one more time, which means that getting rest is most important.” He pulled me close to him again, and I nestled my head on his chest.

“Now sleep. I’ll wake you up when it’s time for dinner.” He kissed the top of my head.

Nestled in his arms, safe and secure, I listened to his heartbeat and drifted off to sleep.

The next day, I trained with Priestess Caroline outsidemy biological parents’ house. Adam, Keith, and Raffe stayed out front with me, keeping an eye out for anything that seemed off. I suspected that Caroline had come here to prove she wasn’t up to anything.

Lucy stayed in the house with Fane, Octavia, and Dru while Josie and Dave staked out the back to watch for any coven members trying to sneak in that way.

Luckily, nothing was amiss, but I understood why Raffe wanted to be cautious.

I’d hoped that, after my breakthrough yesterday, I could master my power again. Today, I could actually feel the vibrations merge into one distinct collection, and I managed to blow up two apples and a rock no larger than a golf ball, though it had taken nearly eight hours and a ton of concentration. I’d had to force myself to remember the ways I’d been tormented to get my power to spark. Between the bad memories and the exertion, I could barely stand on my feet.

By that point, the sun had set, which meant I’d trained the entire day and accomplished only three lousy things. How the hell was I supposed to fight in a potential war when manipulating such small things strained me?

“You did well.” Priestess Caroline bowed her head. “We’ll train more tomorrow. Make sure you get lots of rest.”

“We’re already done?” Luckily, I was too tired to throw a temper tantrum, so I didn’t stomp my feet, but giving up didn’t feel right.

Skylar …Raffe warned, stepping next to me, sensing how exhausted I was.

Damn fated-mate bond. Not really, but this was one of the times the benefits were less than ideal. If I didn’t push myself, who knew how long this would take to master?

Keith stood behind Priestess Caroline across the driveway near the tree line. He’d insisted on staying directlybehind the priestess in case her “coven-ass tried something sneaky again.”

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