Page 15 of Magic & Secrets
Roque stopped circling me and glanced at his packmates before throwing back his head and laughing.
“What madness is such a question?”
“You smell strange. You’re larger than the other Shifters. What animal do you shift into?” I insisted, pretending to be suspicious of him to prevent his attention from lingering on my own origin.
“We’re the Bane,” he said, and his tone held hostility.
“No,” I insisted while my sisters froze nearby. “Bane Shifters never leave Mt. Elysium. That’s the rule.”
“We make our own rules,” Roque snarled while leaning down to sniff me. “My pack is free now. We do whatever we choose.”
“Your friends were killed by these vile creatures,” I said, hoping to distract from his reservations.
Roque’s wary gaze softened. “We will bring them retribution.”
“After you’ve gotten your vengeance,” I said, fighting the urge to lean into his powerful body, “will you return to your mountain?”
“We’ll see.”
I glanced at Mina and Enya. Their gazes were overly relaxed in a way I knew was unnatural for them. I sensed they found something important in the Lion Shifters’ bags.
Mina cocked her eyebrow and said, “Calla, if you’re done flirting with the Shifter, perhaps, you could assist us with burning these bodies.”
“I’mnotflirting,” I muttered with too much disdain while Roque enjoyed a laugh at my expense. “I’m tricking him into giving me information.”
Mina and Enya didn’t find my comment amusing, even if the Bane Shifters chuckled nearby. My sisters felt the magic bubbling around us. This energy wasn’t from the Bane Shifters nor the dead Lion Shifters. Something new and more powerful lingered in the air around us.
I ought to be on high alert. My death seemed foretold. Despite knowing Roque was the enemy, I wanted to erase the space between us. As soon as I landed in his arms, I found myself struggling to listen to my instincts rather than his.
Roque
VENGEANCE FOR MY FRIENDSshould have been my only concern. Once Calla dropped into my arms, though, I couldn’t even join the battle until the Lion Shifters were chunks of flesh on the ground.
As soon as I set the warrior on the ground, I missed the feel of her. I believed she was the female from my dreams. Rather than seeing through her eyes, I could enjoy the beauty before me. I didn’t want to look away. If I weren’t on a mission of retribution, I would steal away this female and discover all her secrets.
Calla’s beauty distracted my mind and dulled my instincts until I felt more protective of her needs than my own. She claimed to be half-Elven. A decent explanation for her skills and odd scent. Tirso was a name I knew. Her words could be true, and I wanted to believe Calla.
Unfortunately, the female warriors were unskilled liars. My immediate assumption was that they were the newest experiment by the Murade. The human government swore they would never make another Bane Shifter. They even executed the members of the scientific team behind our creation.
That was a century ago. Two things never changed about the Murade: their intellectual curiosity and unquenchable desire to dominate. I didn’t doubt they would eventually create a new slave army.Were these warriors conjured up in the Operation Overlord lab?
An acrid scent filled the air as we burned the Lion Shifters’ remains, yet I remained lightheaded from Calla’s cinnamon aroma.
A savvy Koda had devised a reasonable plan to meet with the warriors and discuss hunting the remaining Haven Junction attackers. The females finished looking for clues and seemed ready to slip away. Taking notice of their behavior, I blocked their escape.
“If you run, we’ll track you instead of our enemy. Is that what you warriors truly want?”
Calla stared at me with the gaze of a female in heat.I approved of her attention.
The other two seemed far less pleased with me. They glanced at Delta and Koda standing nearby. Perhaps, they realized running was futile. Or they were only feigning their attempt to flee to keep us from knowing their true game plan.
“We are staying at an inn in Opal Outpost. There’s a Witch’s protection spell on the area,” Calla said, staring fearlessly into my eyes. “I’m not sure your kind can enter.”
A sly grin washed over my face. Did she think a Witch’s spell could hold back the Bane Shifters? Whether she was trained by Tirso or the Murade, she had to know better. Either way, she offered me a little grin as if her question was part of her trickery.
“We’ll be fine, warrior. You lead the way.”
The three females walked ahead of us, whispering to each other. My heightened hearing allowed me to hear words like “ritual” and “conspiracy.”
