Page 23 of Stormbinder King
I tried to slide down the side of the shed and escape, but he took a step forward and blocked my exit.
“Where did you learn not to respect Alphas? I gave you an order.”
“Who areyouto order me around?” I asked indignantly. “I’ll tell Prince Jack and you’ll get in trouble!”
The big man’s lips twisted up, and he cocked his head, as if figuring out how he wanted to wring my neck.
“What couldPrince Jackdo to me? Now get over here or I’ll pull that skirt up and whip your little ass.”
I gasped in horror, and he gripped my wrist with one strong hand.
Instantly, there was a loud burning sizzle where our flesh connected.
The big man drew his hand back quickly, the harsh lines of his face looking almost diabolical now as he twisted his wrist around to look at where the tips of his fingers were red and raw with the burn of magic.
I smelled something foul in the air, a bitter acid on my tongue.
“You’ve been ensorcelled,” he said, his voice a mixture of disbelief and fury.
“Basic protective spell,” I heard a lazy voice drawl, and the big man jerked around, his other arm still trapping me against the side of the building.
“This is no basic spell!” he spat out. “This is highly complex and unstable magic. What have you been doing while I’ve been gone, little brother?”
Little brother?
Wait, was this Symeon, the Alpha King?
8
The big man’s voice was low and dangerous. “It looks like you’ve been messing with dangerous spells you don’t know much about.”
Jack tossed a berry in his mouth as he strolled toward us, his stride unhurried and casual.
“You don’t knowwhatI can do, brother.”
“Who is this woman?” the big man interrupted abruptly in his hard voice.
Shit, was he talking aboutme?
“My mate,” Jack said. “Andromeda, this is King Symeon. First Alpha of the Pack and my brother.”
The king looked at both of us, his nostrils flaring. He wasn’t touching me, but I still felt the imprint of his hard fingertips on my skin.
“You don’t have a mate,” Symeon said.
“Yes, I do,” Jack retorted in a silky voice. “Claimed, bound, and spelled.”
He wrapped his hand around my throat as he faced his brother.
“The forest is so dangerous, don’t you agree? I want my fated mate to be protected. That’s why I put the strongest possible protective spell on her. So no one else’s filthy hands could touch her.”
Without another word, the King turned on his heel and left.
I felt unsettled, sick to my stomach.
“What was all that about?” I hissed to Jack, shrinking into my mate’s arms.
“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart,” Jack said easily, drawing me back into his comforting arms.
