Page 57 of Knot Quite Ready

I take a glance at my mother. I don’t think she knew. He said mate-bond not mate. Suspicion rising, I took a second to look at Kathleen and catch a smirk flitting across her face. Yeah, my mom has no idea her mate is alive.

I had to wonder just how many wolves, or shifters as a whole, this is being done to. Removing a mate bond with blood magic is a crime against nature. I mean sure, you will always have your bad eggs in every group. But fuck, Kathleen skipped right over that and became a bad chicken.

My mum, not realizing the nuances in her father’s speech, swipes at a tear from her eye which Duncan notices. “Oh, stop with the pathetic shit, Esmeralda. You gave up your life when you decided to have the child.”

“Because I made a deal with you to keep her,” she blurts out, and my heart jumps at her admission.

“A deal that was null and void because you were too damn depressed to marry anyone from any pack. Fucking spoiled goods! No Alpha wanted you once they saw the state you were in. A useless slab of meat. A fated bond,” he scoffs. “You were absolutely useless. So now I need to take what is owed from your daughter.”

My mom freezes.

“I think we might need to get back on track with this conversation,” it grates on me to be civil, but I have to keep him talking.

He smiles,“ It might have cost a pretty penny, but once we discovered your mothers’ location, we staged a coo and had the mate bond severed. We couldn’t kill the wolf she was mated to for political reasons, so this was the best bet. However, the mage didn’t mention that a severed bond was worse than a dead mate. So when she pleaded to keep you and said she would marry, I agreed. But she was too broken. In the end, she ended out in the commune with all the other common whores. Right place, I suppose.”

Despite trying to keep myself calm, I can’t let this one slide. “She was the lucky one in the end. She didn’t end up with you and all this bullshit. Our ‘commune’ was loving. Kind. It was everything a family should be. You call those Omega’s whores, knowing that you are the one that prevented them from being mated. You created the pack laws, you created the conditions we were subjected to, and then dare blame victims? It’s our fault for attempting to survive the best that we can? You can live in your guided bubble of lies if it makes your nightly colon cleanse work better, but we all know it’s still shit. The only whore I see in this room is the one sleeping on both sides of the bed, right next to you.”

“How dare you, you little bitch?” Kathleen jumps out of her seat, ready to throw down. “You would do well to respect me. I can make your life a lot more difficult. After all, it was my magic that muted your bond. And it will be my magic that rips it apart.”

She slowly sits back down and spreads her hands out on the table. “Imagine my surprise when I’m told to transport the illustrious council only to find out it was Casemiro’s son. Oh, I called him immediately. My loyalty is to your grandfather and his allies, after all. But the icing on the cake was when Casemiro spotted you and told me that you were the spitting image of his intended mate. A quick call and a few dead Pielt sacrifices later, you were on your way to Casemiro’s, bond muted. How poetic is that? The son and daughter of intended mates getting together. Shame it’s not going to have a happy ending. Foryouanyway,” she sneers the last, and cold fury sweeps through me.

This bitch was using Casimir’s old pack as fodder for her blood magic? She is murdering wolves for her gain? How fucking long has this been happening?

She must see the question on my face, and she laughs. “The council leads me right into their homes. Ask yourself, how many tragic accidents happen in one year to shifters? But the truth is there was no need to raise suspicion, not when I had two packs so willing to offer their throwaways in exchange for power and drugs.”

I gape. This bitch is crazy. Full-blown fucking crazy.

Casimir, tell me you are getting this. Because if what she is saying is true. How the fuck do we fight a blood-witch?

On it.Is the only thing he responds but I feel the pain and anger through our bond.

Now I was fighting against whether to use the knife on this bitch or my grandfather, but someone was definitely getting fucking stabbed.

“You can try and sever the bond, but it won’t work.” I hiss at her.

“Charming,” Kathleen says drolly. “Let’s get this shit done with, I have plans.” She runs a finger down Duncan’s back, and I don’t bother to hide my gag. A loud bang echoes around the pack house, and our gazes turn towards the door just as a horse comes galloping in before rearing on its back legs, kicking its front hooves into the air.Fucking, Storm.

* * *

Casimir

The facesof the Council members may as well be carved out of stone as quiet fury flows through them. I watch as Adaline, Letty, Maddison, and Jo weave a spell to counter whatever magic Kathleen is working with. To kill shifters for the chance to be a little more powerful or to get drugs is absolutely mind-boggling. But the fact that all of this corruption was happening and no one was aware? Incompetence. What happened here tonight will stay here. But if the Council didn’t start implementing better policies, we may as well give ourselves to humans for experimentation. We are only as strong as our weakest link, and right now, we are pretty damn weak.

I am itching to move forward, to rip out the throat of whoever participated in the murder of my pack. Casemiro paid for his sins; it is time for others to pay up too.

“How much fucking longer? The bad-guy speeches should be done. We have our evidence. If this bitch starts singing Bad Guy, she will ruin everything. I have a plan of action for when we bust in that joint, and I have to time it perfectly, or it will look lame,” Storm scowls.

I roll my eyes and, despite the circumstance, bite back a laugh.The anger thrumming through her is evident, but even more plain is the disappointment and pain radiating from Calian. She is a perfect distraction, and she plays the part well.

“Can we get this show on the road…” Kathleen’s voice comes through, and my heart jumps.

“That’s it! That is my cue. Time to get majestic up in this bitch,” Storm strips off her clothes and runs out of the woods butt-ass naked before she shifts. The wolves on the property freeze in confusion, and at my signal, our party moves to attack. Ralph whoops as he tears into the first wolf he sees while Calian sighs as he runs after Storm, the Council, Tristan, and I following suit.

We get there just in time to see Storm’s majestic,’ entrance, and I have to admit, it was undoubtedly a 10 out of 10 as far as dramatic entrances into an evil villain lair go.

Chapter31

Aneira

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