Page 7 of Emerald Flame
The wind was really starting to blow.
He glanced at her. He was bristled up and could feel lines of fur along his cheekbones and down his back. His reaction was as much a result of their recent escape as from her typical witch secrecy.
He’d had many conversations with Kiara about her witchness and his dislike of Elegance Territory. She tended to agree with him. But she’d also helped him to understand that it was the dark witch covens and those warlocks and wizards who had embraced the dark side of their powers that had given them all a bad name.
Even so, he was pissed to learn she’d built a refuge in Savage he didn’t know about.
Yet even as he had these thoughts, the part of him that was pure male felt a troubling amount of excitement that he’d be spending some alone time with Kiara. Sex came to mind, as it always did with her. He tried to tamp down his desire, but his damn mating-cycle was acting up.
Of course, the real trouble, as he saw it, was that he believed in the goodness of Kiara’s heart. She cared about their world and tonight she’d put her life on the line to save species different from her ownaltercurse.
He liked her. Hell, he admired her.
But she was still a damn witch.
And a powerful one.
And she’d built a secret refuge in his territory without saying a word all this time.
To say he had serious mixed feelings about the woman, was to say the least.
They were high enough in the air that by the time they cleared the central pine forest he could see the Sand Pit. They had reached the northernmost part of Savage, where the twelve main packs had built a large arena for major dominance battles. Fergus had defeated a wolf in this pit, a vile man who had illegally taken over the Gordion Pack through an attempted murder. Mary, a fae from Revel Territory, had found Fergus in a brink-of-death state in the Graveyard. She’d called on Warren to save him with a transfusion.
The sight of the Sand Pit, however, confused Warren even more. He saw more trees and a few houses in between the Sand Pit and the Caldion compound to the west. He knew the occupants of every home. But not one of those dwellings could possibly be Kiara’s refuge.
She slowed then drew him to a stop.
He floated in the air, but struggled to hold his position given the wind. Lightning once more flashed in the distance. Thunder rumbled.
He shook his head as he searched the ground below once more.What gives? You can’t have a refuge here.
He watched her expression grow grim and her lips tighten into a determined line.I’ll apologize right now for not being up front with you, for doing what I’ve done in secrecy. As I look back now, I wish I’d told you.
But Roberts knows.
She shrugged.It was his idea that I move forward and build the refuge without anyone knowing. Not you. Not alpha Fergus. No one, except him. I’m only grateful he didn’t mention it in front of everyone.
Jesus.He supposed it helped a little to know she’d received permission from his station chief.All right. So, where the hell is it?
He watched her swallow hard.Behind a powerful security spell, the strongest one I’ve ever made.
When the first drop of rain hit, she offered her hand.Ready?
He couldn’t believe this was happening. He slid his palm against hers.Let’s see what you’ve got.
She tugged and pulled him through the spell that protected her refuge from view.
What appeared was a small piece of property, fully landscaped around the perimeter with rocks and evergreens. He could see the nearest houses, the ones he knew well. He flew over them all the time, but he’d thought they were much closer than they were. What kind of illusion had she created? How? Her spellcasting ability once again astonished him.
She took him to the front walk where she landed then released his hand. He didn’t follow her to the front door. Instead, he took a good long look around. The front yard was tidy, nothing out of place.
He heard her footsteps on the gravel path as she joined him. “I’ve found that order is calming to the wolves. Most of them have a form of PTSD from severe abuse by the time they come here.”
He turned to face her. “You run a tight ship.”
“I do. And once the women are inside, I make all the rules clear, as well as what’s expected of the women and what they can expect from me and from their rehab.”
He shook his head. “I’m mad as fire you didn’t tell me.”
