Page 16 of Midnight Deception

Questions roll through my mind, but they quickly disappear as we come to a stop outside a large set of double doors. Magic seems to emanate from the room, and I instinctively take a step back.

“The room feels alive,” I whisper, my voice suddenly hoarse as I warily look up at the doorway. The magic ebbs and flows, ever changing and almost sentient, as it reaches for us.

“You can feel that?” Luna stares at me in shock, her brows high. “I’ve never met anyone who senses magic like you.” Making a noise of surprise, she reappraises me, a small smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. She gestures to the closed doors. “This is one of our practise rooms where we can use our magic at full strength, particularly spells that aid in fighting and defence.”

Swallowing against the lump in my throat, I realise I want to enter that room even less than when I first felt the magic coming from it. I’m not here to learn how to fight with magic, that is not my purpose. And why would they bother to teach it to me if they aren’t going to receive any benefit from it? From the goodness of their hearts? Somehow, I doubt it.

Not noticing my discomfort, Luna continues her explanation. “What you can sense is the shield. It stops any rogue magic from escaping or causing damage, adapting to the type of magic being used at the time.”

I suppose that would explain why the room almost feels alive, constantly changing to the needs of the users. This doesn’t stop me from feeling unnerved by the strange sensation though. Everything here feels odd, sentient, and aware. Pressing my hand against my chest, I absentmindedly rub at the spot just below my collarbone where it throbs with the loss of my bonds and connection to my wolf. The longer I’m cut off from them, the less I feel like myself. It’s a strange thing. When I first discovered I was destined for multiple mates, I was worried that I’d lose who I was. In reality, they complete me and are integral parts of who I am, and without them, my mind feels like it’s unravelling.

Blissfully unaware of my internal breakdown, she knocks on one of the doors leading to the strange room, the sound echoing around us. We’re not kept waiting long, as the doors swing open by themselves, the scent of magic thick in the air. Without waiting to see if I’ll follow, she enters, a bright smile on her face.

Taking a deep breath, I pray to the goddess for strength, steel myself, and enter, expecting the magic of the room to suffocate me. The shield surrounds me instantly, as if knowing I’m something different, a tingle of its magic running over my skin. A sense of intrigue reaches me, and it makes me think once more that this room is more alive than Luna’s telling me. Either they don’t know, or they are hiding it from me… although why would they want to?

To my pleasant surprise, once I’m inside and through the shield, the effect is more like a low buzz that can be tuned out rather than a horn blaring for attention.

The room itself is long and rectangular, with a domed glass ceiling filling the space with light. There are a couple of chairs and tables pushed against the far wall, but they don’t look like they’ve been used in some time. Several plain wooden doors line the long wall opposite where we’ve entered, and from what I can see, they look like supply cupboards. In the centre of the room, where Luna is greeting a male, is a sunken section with mats.

Glancing over her shoulder, Luna smiles at me and gestures me forward. Reluctantly, I do as she wishes, running my eyes over the man who I’m guessing is one of my tutors. He’s tall and dark-haired like most of the witches here, his skin a golden caramel, and if I’d have to guess, I’d say he was in his forties. His loose trousers and top, along with the way the room is set out, make me think this is physical training, and I’m about to protest when Luna starts speaking.

“Master Dune, I’ve brought your newest student for you to meet.”

He’s examining me with the same wary curiosity that I’m watching him with, his eyes narrowing slightly as if he’s trying to figure out what my power is. “You must be Laelia,” he says, obviously having heard of me already. “The half-blood.”

The half-blood.

I know I should be deferential, since he’s one of my tutors, but I lose my patience, placing my hands on my hips. “Yes, I’m a werewolfanda witch. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any choice as to my genetics. You’ll have to take that up with my mother.” There’s a heavy pause, and I see I don’t have to explain that’s not going to be possible. He knows who my mother was. “Are we going to have a problem?”

Approval shines in his eyes, but his expression doesn’t change. “Good, you’ve got a backbone. You’ll need that to survive here.”

His comment takes me aback. I hadn’t expected him to approve of my little outburst. I am a little concerned about that last part though. Does he mean because of who I am, or because things are more savage here than it seems?

I don’t have long to think about that, however, as the atmosphere suddenly changes. I get a brief warning that someone is entering the room from the fluctuation in the magic around it and a dull tugging sensation in my chest. Dread settles in my stomach as I put two and two together, knowing exactly who just stalked in.

“You asked to see me—” The new voice cuts off abruptly, and my chest tingles in a way that makes me grit my teeth.

Atlas.

I turn around to face him and take in his snarling expression. With the amount of snarling and growling this male makes, one would think thathewas the werewolf here.

“What the fuck isshedoing here?”

The venom in his voice makes the small, needy part of me that’s linked to my bond shrivel up at his obvious hatred. Ignoring that voice, I allow his hatred to roll over me, absorbing it and letting it strengthen me rather than pull me down. I don’t know what goddess decided to bind the two of us together, but they have a cruel sense of humour. My father raised me not to judge people on things like gender, appearance, or race, and to give everyone a chance, and that’s something I’ve always lived by.

However, with Atlas, I’m thinking of making an exception. I don’t take being spoken about in that way, not anymore, and especially not by him. Pinning him with a stare that my father always called my death glare, I curl my lip.

“Oh good, it’s you.” The sarcasm rolls right off my tongue. Knowing it’ll piss him off, I dismiss him with a look that shows I find him to be lacking and turn to Luna and my new instructor. “Please tell me he’s not going to be teaching me.”

“I see the two of you have already met.” Dune looks amused, slowly crossing his arms over his chest.

Snorting, I raise my brow. “He’s the reason I’m here. Atlas abducted me.” Scowling at the male in question, I glance back at my instructor and lightly shrug as if it has little significance to me. “He’s also my mate.” I don’t admit that part of me pines for him, or that I feel better with him here and more like myself despite the fact that Ihatethat. Nor do I tell him that when he snarls and insults me, it wounds me—something I’ll never show no matter how deep the cuts go.

Atlas throws his hands in the air in response to my comment. “Luna was there too, yet you seem pretty friendly with her,” he accuses, jerking a finger towards his cousin. For a moment there, it looks like jealousy is ruling his actions, but he quickly clamps his jaw shut and silently fumes. After a moment, he seems to pull himself together and, ignoring me completely, he turns to the instructor. “Why am I here?”

Dune has watched this whole exchange with a bemused smile, and now he nods his head in my direction. “You’re going to help me teach her.”

Atlas’s face shuts down, his magic briefly flaring around him in an icy blast of air. “No.”

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