Page 75 of The Soulless Witch

“Settle down if you don’t want me kicking you both out. Or worse,” I warned, meeting each of their eyes. “If I wanted your Alpha dead, he’d be dead already. As it happens, I still need him. Now, do you mind?”

The man bared his teeth, but one look from the woman had him retreating a step. I closed the door from the inside before they decided to follow. It was already past sundown, so the blinds were open, letting in the early moonlight.

It had been four days since we attacked the headquarters and, although both my people and the werewolves took heavy losses, our mission was successful. The Fae had disappeared after leaving the third headquarters in literal rubbles. Despite my attempt to reach Malakai, there had been no reply yet.

The kidnapped individuals, even the few Fae among them, were all safe somewhere in werewolf territory. The Martens were enjoying my hospitality—they didn’t have a home to return to, and I needed them to stay safe until Celeste woke up and decided what to do with them. They hadn’t protested much and were now quietly residing in one of the other wings, pampered by Chester and the rest of the servants.

My eyes turned to the bed, expecting to see Celeste and Isaac sleeping side by side. He had said they shouldn’t be separated, and Allison had explained that their proximity strengthened the bond, helping the healing process. As much as I disliked having him sleep beside her instead of taking her to my room, her recovery came first.

What I didn’t expect, as I took a step toward the bed, was to find Isaac awake and running a hand over Celeste’s hair while she slept. His eyes were unfocused, like he had been staring at her face but got distracted by his own thoughts.

“Touch her again and lose that hand,” I said, making my way to the bed.

Isaac flinched, pulling his hand away as if he himself hadn’t realized what he was doing.

“So you have a problem with me touching her, but you had no problem with me claiming her as my mate?” Isaac snorted, glancing down at the traces of his bite on her neck. “She belongs to me now, so I don’t see how me touching her is any of your business.”

“She belongs to no one but herself.”

Isaac’s eye twitched in annoyance.

“Yet she has my mark on her,” the wolf insisted, sliding a finger to her neck and running it over his teeth marks.

“If you think a mark gives you ownership over her, then I hope you don’t mind sharing.” Leaning over the bed, I hitched the edge of her nightgown, drawing it just low enough to reveal my mark over her heart. Isaac’s eyes grew so big, I almost laughed. “She belongs to me, too, and she has already accepted me, wolf, so I’m one step ahead of you. Now, get your hands off her and let her rest. If she chooses to accept the bond after she wakes, that is her decision. If not, your claim on her means nothing. Do you understand?”

Isaac was still staring at the pale mark on her chest, his expression a mix of sadness, jealousy, and confusion. I pushed the covers to her chin, and as if released from a spell, he shook his head, glaring at me.

“If she was your soulmate, why did you make me mark her?” he snarled, kicking the covers off the bed. He froze when he realized he was naked, then feverishly looked around—likely searching for his clothes. I picked up the clean set Chester had prepared and tossed them at him. Alerted by the rustling noise they made as they flew across the room, Isaac caught them just before they hit him in the face.

“Because I have no problem with sharing.” I shrugged, sliding into one of the chairs and crossing my legs. “Celeste is not the monandrous type.”

“Mona-what?” Isaac frowned.

“Monandrous. It means a woman having only one male sexual partner over a period of time.” I sighed with exasperation. “Most witches aren’t. That’s part of the reason for their image as seductresses and harlots. Humanity is always quick to see the worst in people who refuse to conform to the norm, but I have no problem with polyamory.”

“But that’s not what the mate bond is!” Isaac snarled, his eyes flashing golden as his frustration filled the room. “You expect me to share her with you?”

“I thought you only saved her life to get the answers you want?” I smiled, cocking my head. “If that is the case, it shouldn’t matter who she shares her body and heart with.”

Isaac snarled, but he said nothing as he turned his back to me. Bold of him, but he probably realized that until she woke, I wouldn’t lay a finger on him even if he drove me to the brink of madness.

“Did she say anything when she woke?” he asked and I raised an eyebrow, glancing at the woman sleeping silently on the bed.

“She hasn’t woken,” I replied, uneasiness filling my stomach when Isaac frowned. “I thought she was supposed to wake when you did? A doctor checked on you both and said that physically, you are both healed.”

“Then she should have woken already,” Isaac murmured, striding toward the bed. “I regained consciousness last night and checked on her before going back to sleep. All her injuries were healed, but I can’t…I can’t reach her mind and I should be able to. The bond is there, but she is…separated from me.” He sat on the bed, slipping his hand over hers. I bit back the warning, joining him by her side instead. His eyes moved feverishly behind closed eyelids, his features set in concentration. After a long minute of tortuous silence, he looked up. “Something is wrong, and it’s not the bond. Can you feel her magic? She should have regained some after four days, right? She feels…human.”

I crouched by the bed, slipping her hand from his. I raised her finger to my lips and pricked it with my fang. A droplet of blood slipped out, and I sucked on it, running my tongue over the skin until it stopped bleeding.

“Hey, what do you think you are—”

“No magic,” I whispered, setting her hand down. “Not a drop.” His frown deepened as he met my eyes. “That blade she was stabbed with…some of that poison must have stayed inside her body and got sealed when you healed her. I couldn’t taste it in her blood, but…I have no other explanation.”

Silence filled the room as we stared at Celeste. The color had returned to her face, her cuts and bruises all gone. On the outside, she looked healthy, but on the inside…

“Do you know a witch that can fix her? Someone we can trust?”

Shaking my head, I rose to my feet.

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