Page 14 of Magic Claimed
Footsteps grew louder outside the room, and then Eike bolted inside, followed by a beautiful red-haired woman who looked no older than me. It was obvious she’d been sleeping. Flat shoes were on her feet, but one heel crushed the back of her shoe in her haste to put it on. Her hair was mussed and she’d thrown a shawl over her sleeping gown that she clasped with a hand at her chest. She was dishevelled, but there was an other-world beauty that glowed from within her. A surprising stab of jealousy shot through me, and I pushed it away. I had no reason to be jealous.
She was magical. No one could look like that without having Fae blood running through their veins. They’d kept her hidden, obviously. If Esoti knew of her existence, she wouldn’t be alive.
The wolves had secrets.
Her green eyes widened as her gaze skated about the floor, taking in the scattered torn clothing, and then to me struggling for breath in Alerick’s arms. I expected her lip to curl and her expression to falter, but her face softened in wonder before her gaze fell to the collar at my neck. Her eyes widened. She knelt in front of me and the scent of freshly cut apples drifted around me. She reached toward me, but stopped. “May I touch it?”
No one asked if I wanted to be touched. Her eyes softened with understanding. I nodded, too stunned for words.
She placed her fingertips on the metal and closed her eyes. She looked ethereal, with the light from the dancing flames from the fireplace created a cross-play of flickering light across her features. She opened her eyes, the answer I already knew in them. “It’s enchanted by a very strong spell. I can’t get it off.”
A small part, the part that always seemed to harbour hope when there should be none to be found, winked out. “Want to. Help me?”
Crinkles formed on her brow. “Of course. You are now mated to three of the most powerful wolf shifters in the world. They need you.”
I went cold. Of course, they needed me. I was another means to an end. Another tool to be abused at another’s whim.
Anise laughed. A soft sound that commanded my attention. “They need you in other ways you’ll come to understand when you’re ready.”
She looked at Alerick. “She’ll have to go back, Alpha.”
“Is there any other way?” Eike said. He held my hand, his fingers curling gently around mine. Warm tingles ran up my arm. I stared at our joined hands for a moment, stunned that someone chose to touch me.Nobodytouched me if they could help it.
“No. The collar will continue to tighten and will suffocate her unless the weaver of the spell releases it.” Anise looked as sad as she sounded.
All things I knew. I waited to see if she’d discovered my secret, but she said nothing. I wasn’t sure if it was because she knew but didn’t say, or hadn’t sensed it. It was hard to tell with the magical.
Alerick plunged his hand through his hair and cursed. Eike looked as though his heart would break.
Jarom turned from the fireplace, his light blue gaze calculating. “That isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”
Chapter Nine
“Not a bad thing? It’s the worst thing!” Eike’s fingers tightened around mine.
“I’d like to know what you mean by that,” Alerick said, throwing a dangerous look at Jarom.
Jarom didn’t flinch. Instead, he slung his elbow on the mantle, firelight dancing over his perfect chest, not concerned at all that I was slowly suffocating. “We need a plant. Since she’s Esoti’s slave, she’s well-placed to get the information we need. Nobody else we’ve sent has got close enough.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Eike said.
It was a temptation to take the comfort Eike offered. Instead, I untangled our fingers and ignored the way his brow scrunched. I’d agree to anything Jarom wanted if it got me out of here. “I’ll do it.”
“We can’t ask you to do this,” Alerick said to me.
“If she is Esoti’s slave, he won’t suspect a thing.” Jarom straightened, his expression hard, when Eike cursed under his breath. “She could be our only chance. If you don’t think she’s Esoti’s spy and she’s our true mate, there’s no reason she won’t help us. That is, if you trust her enough, Alpha.”
I inwardly flinched at Jarom’s true mate comment. A slice of hurt I had no right to feel cut into my heart.
Alerick’s jaw creaked as he clenched his teeth. His body vibrated with promised violence, and yet he didn’t move. “Are you talking as her mate, or as my Second?” His voice was a growl that made the hairs at the back of my neck stand on end.
“Both. She can prove she’s not a spy and that she’s one of us,” Jarom said.
Or I could take this opportunity, leave and never look back. I think I’d take that option.
“Fuck, Jarom. You are one sorry bastard,” Eike said.
Jarom fixed his glittering gaze on Eike. “I might be, but this is a chance we can’t pass up. She’ll agree if she is what she says she is.”
