Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26960 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26960 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
“Trying to convince me you’re not following family tradition?”
“I’m a bitter disappointment to Mummy and Daddy.” His mouth twists. “Why do you want Mathias dead?”
“Auropha MacKinnett was going to be my mate before Mathias raped and murdered her.”
Shock didn’t seem at all surprised. “Bram can use more blokes like you. Good luck staying alive.”
Is that a quip or a warning? I’m still trying to figure that out when Shock disappears—literally.
I’ve seen a bit of magic, but to watch it, someone here then gone… Wicked.
“Odd name, Shock,” I remark.
“From an even odder family. Lots of rumors that he’s half vampire or infected with darklust. No one knows for certain, but everyone gives him a wide berth.”
Half vampire? Darklust? I’m not entirely sure what all that means, and I’m not sure I want to. Magickind’s world is clearly complex, and maybe ignorance is bliss. Ronan shielded me from most of the details.
Another indicator he doesn’t see you fitting in.
“I don’t trust him.” Tynan cuts into my thoughts.
Shock following Tynan here seems odd, as if Mr. Bad-to-the-Bone was sizing Tynan up, gauging his motives…
“Watch yourself around that one.”
“I will.” Then Tynan focuses on me with a concerned scowl. “But let’s discuss you. Dark circles, whisker burn, and a sad frown on that pretty face. Need I ask who put it there?”
I blush. “No.”
Tynan leans in, sniffs behind my ear, then he freezes. “I smell him all over you.”
“I showered! Twice.”
“He must have been very thorough.”
Ronan definitely was. I look away, fearing Tynan can read every thought on my face.
“Which would be all well and good, if you looked happy. What happened? Do I need to defend your honor like any good brother defending his sister?”
The offer, even if delivered in jest, touches me. “No. I’ve nothing to blame but my own foolishness. I hoped he would discover that I’m his mate, but I was an idiot.”
Tears sting my eyes, falling before I can stop them.
Immediately, Tynan comes to my rescue, wrapping his arms around me. “Oh, little one. You love him?”
I nod miserably. “He doesn’t feel the same.”
Tynan holds me tight, kissing the top of my head as the bell rings again. This time, the door crashes against the wall.
Ronan appears, filling the opening with a glare that promises violence before he takes in Tynan’s arms around me and slams the door with a growl. “Get your fucking hands off her, wizard. And come fight me like a man.”
Chapter
Five
Ronan
Slowly, Tynan pulls away from Kari. She clings to his biceps, her blue eyes wide. They’re red-rimmed, too. She’s been crying.
I curse.
“Don’t touch him!” Kari insists.
Her words twist the knife in my gut. Has she had feelings for him all along?
Beside her, Tynan wriggles loose with a smile. “You don’t have to protect me, little one.”
Bloody bastard has an endearment for her? I want to rip the other wizard apart with my bare hands. Using magic wouldn’t be gory or satisfying enough.
I take a menacing step closer, hate thundering through my veins. “You have no right to touch her.”
“Nor do you. You issued no Call. She did not Bind to you. Until then…” Tynan pours petrol on the flames by kissing Kari’s cheek and stroking her hair.
The wizard is messing with my mind. The sight of him touching Kari anywhere, in any way, drives me mad.
And by Tynan’s smirk, he knows it. “I’ll be back.”
Why? To put his hands on her? To drag her to his bed? Never.
I charge Tynan, white-knuckled fists at my sides, ready to kill the bastard. But he disappears, leaving air in his wake.
Bloody hell! When I catch up with the wanker…
Still, the other wizard’s words ring in my head. As much as I hate it, he’s right. Kari isn’t mine. I didn’t Call to her. Unless I do, she can’t Bind to me.
In fact, I woke alone this morning, painfully aware that Kari left without a word. She can spend tonight with another male if she chooses. And every other night. That thought alone unleashes an uncontrollable rage. Entering the Witch’s Brew and seeing her wrapped in Tynan’s arms only made it worse.
I storm over to Kari, take her in my grip, and sniff. Thankfully, Tynan’s scent only drifts over her clothes before dissipating. So she hasn’t shared her body with him. Yet.
“Why did you sneak out of my bed this morning?”
She jerks away and crosses her arms over the sweet breasts I worshipped last night. The mere memory makes me hard, especially since I see my whisker burns abrading her delicate neck. And I still smell myself all over her. Tynan must have noticed.
Then again, he may not care. Tynan’s magical signature—the aura around him—tells me he has not yet Called to a female. Does he find Kari as irresistible as I do? If he mated with her, would she accept?