Page 11 of Magic Claimed
I’d take Gildaandthe horses. They let me sleep next to them at night in the winter and kept me warm.
“Fate has a sick sense of humour. I’m never going to think of her as my mate,” Jarom said.
That made the two of us.
“That’s wrong and you know it, Jarom. We’re mates for a reason. You’re too blind to see it and too stupid to let your past rule your future,” Alerick said. “You saw her soul. You saw what reallyisdeep down inside her. Now tell me you truly think she’s as bad as what you’re accusing her of.”
A chair squeaked as someone sat behind the desk. “There was something else there. Didn’t you see it? Something hidden deep below, tucked away where no one could see,” Jarom said.
“All I saw was her beautiful soul colour. I’ve never seen a colour quite like that before. It was two colours swirling together so fast they were a blur,” Eike said.
“It was quite unusual,” Alerick said, his base tones melting through me like hot butter. Footfalls padded across the room as he paced.
“Different soul colour or not, she denied being a wolf. I scented nothing on her when I picked her up along the border. We wouldn’t have known she was our mate if she hadn’t forced the Change on us. What other secrets does she hide? You can’t tell me she doesn’t have them.Everyoneknows if they’re a shifter,” Jarom said.
Those were the same questions circling in my mind as well. Jarom had merely given voice to them. More than that, I wished I had an answer for them. A knock sounded at the door.
“Come,” Alerick said, his voice packed with power.
The door opened and footsteps entered, along with the most amazing aroma. My stomach growled so loudly it echoed in the room. I gasped, my eyes flying open as I flattened my hand over my sunken stomach.
“How long were you awake for, little spy?” Jarom’s gaze bore through me as he rose from the chair. He splayed his fingertips on the desk as he leaned over it. Trying for intimidation, no doubt. I wouldn’t acknowledge it worked. Lying on a couch made me too vulnerable, and I struggled to sit.
“Here, let me help you.” Eike rushed to me and I flinched from him.
“Stay away from me.” My voice was husky. Disused. Yet it was better than the whine I’d only been able to utter before.
Eike stopped still as a statue. I didn’t want him to touch me. Not when he’d actually listened to me and did as I’d asked. Tenderness was something I avoided. It was easier never to know it and avoid the pain when it was stripped away.
Jarom snorted. “You’re too soft, Eike.”
He really was. Eike slung an annoyed expression at Jarom’s back and it gave me the opportunity to struggle into a seated position while I wasn’t under their inspection. I held the blanket to my chest, looking for my clothes.
“My dress!” My shoulders slumped when I saw it in tatters on the ground. It was – had been – my only dress and now I’d have to wait until washing day to steal another, unless I could scrounge another one from the rag bin.
Then it occurred to me these men had the power to keep me naked if they wanted to. They could doanythingto me and there was nothing I could do about it. My knuckles turned white where I clutched the blanket.
“We’ll get you another dress. Shredded clothing is kind of a thing around here,” Eike said.
Their clothing was scattered on the ground alongside mine. They’d put on pants while I’d been out, although it left their chests bare. My eyes stuck on the acres of flesh on display. My mouth watered at the sight of chiselled abs beneath velvet skin.
Jarom snickered, “Like what you see,spy?”
“That’s enough!” With a roar Eike flew from where he’d crouched in front of me and pinned Jarom to the wall, his forearm beneath Jarom’s chin. “You will stop this, Jarom.”
Jarom sneered, despite his uncomfortable position, “At least I’m not thinking with my cock.”
I winced, because when it came to it, that’s what being a mate basically was. Not only were you tied to someone, in my case three someones, it was all about breeding and sex for these shifters. I was happy never to have been touched that way before. There was no telling what Esoti would do to a child of mine.
In two strides, Alerick crossed the room and forced the huge, muscular men apart. He was more powerful than both of them. He was a true Alpha. The muscles on his back stretched and bulged as he man-handled them. Eike was pushed back a step with a forceful shove to his chest, while Alerick kicked Jarom’s feet out from under him. The floorboards rattled as Jarom went down. I cringed, my heart hammering against my ribs.
“Stop. You’re scaring her. We judge after we know everything,” Alerick said.
I glanced at the door. It was still open. The shifter who had come in with a tray of food stood to one side, watching the Alpha and his seconds. I launched up from the couch, only for my legs to buckle beneath me. I crashed to the floor in a boneless heap. I was so weak, I couldn’t push myself up with my arms.
A roar had the boards shaking this time, and the next thing I knew strong arms were beneath my knees and shoulders. The world spun and I was lifted from the floor and then cradled against a firm, warm chest. I gasped, looking up into the Alpha’s face.
“You’re weakened. The mating shift is hard for those unused to shifting. You need to rest, Little Mate.”
