Page 113 of Shifting Hearts 1
Taron nods. “You’ve always been loyal, Lucian. But love makes wolves blind. This girl, this Emilia, she is dangerous. She walks both lines, the witch and wolf never really one or the other. The Council cannot allow that imbalance to fester.”
I grit my teeth. “The Council doesn’t get to dictate the bond.”
Grayson sneers. “You think that bond will protect her? There’s already a bounty on her head.”
“What?”
“Ten thousand, alive. Twenty, dead.”
The rage is instantaneous. I shift halfway before I even realize I’m doing it, my claws extending, my fangs bared, and every muscle burning to tear someone apart.
“You put a bounty on my mate?” I growl.
“She’s not registered. Not cleared. She used blood magic in front of a Council hunter.”
“To save my life!” I roar.
“You think the law bends because your cock is hard for a half-breed?” Mirella snaps.
The clearing goes silent, but the mistake is hers. Because I lunge and she wasn’t expecting it. In less than two seconds, I have her by the throat, her back slammed against obsidian.
“You come near her,” I snarl, “and I will burn this entire fucking Council to the ground.”
The other Alphas draw their weapons, but I don’t flinch. But Idolet her go. Eventually.
They don’t arrest me, and they don’t reprimand me. Because they know who I am, and what I’ve done to keep this peace intact.
But the warning is clear, you’ve chosen her. Now, the consequences will follow.
I’m halfway back to Crystal Falls before the scent hits me. Smoke, Ash, and Magic. I run harder, faster, my wolf surging beneath my skin forcing me to allow him out. When I reach the cabin, the wards are still intact—but the air is thick with power.
I slam the door open. And find her waiting. She is Calm and Still. Like a woman ready for war.
“They know,” she says quietly.
I nod. “There’s a bounty on you.”
“I figured.” She rolls her eyes.
She looks down at her hands—tattooed with sigils, still glowing faintly.
“I’m not sorry.” I say, not hiding how I feel.
“You shouldn’t be,” she says honestly. “We didn’t do anything wrong. It’s these damn archaic laws.”
I move toward her. She watches me like she’s deciding whether to pull me close… or push me away.
“Do you still want this? Me?” I whisper. “Now that the world wants me dead?” I take her face in my hands. “Because I didn’t just choose you, Emilia. “I claimed you. In front of the council that governs my world.”
FOURTEEN
Marked
Emilia
There are three choices. Run, fight, or bind myself to him in blood and bone. And for the first time in years, I don’t want to run. Not because I’m not scared… I am. But because when Lucian looks at me, like I’m his, like nothing else matters… I finally believe I might be more than just the magic they hate.
I might be enough.
