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)
Such a weapon in the hands of a madman… I only know of the evil wizard from history. I wasn’t alive when Mathias last terrorized magickind, but if history is even half accurate… I shudder.
“How have I not heard this news? Why isn’t all of magickind talking about it?”
“You know the rest of the Council.” Bram shrugs.
Indeed. Notoriously closemouthed, even to magickind’s detriment. They would rather appear indecisive than be publicly excoriated for their decisions.
“You’re leading this effort?” I ask Bram.
“Indeed. I formed the group. Mathias must be eliminated.”
“Agreed. But you cannot be here. Anyone involved in this resistance puts Kari in danger.”
Kari, standing near Bram, scowls. “You can’t tell me who to serve in my own pub.”
I turn to Tynan. “A few days ago, she was attacked by a witch named Rhea, who was looking for you. Small brunette dressed like a streetwalker. Ring a bell? She blasted Kari with a dangerous green spell I’ve never seen.”
Tynan and Bram exchange a glance, then shake their heads.
“Sorry. I don’t know her,” O’Shea adds.
“Well, Rhea knows you. She demanded Kari tell her what you and Shock discussed.”
Tynan frowns. “Since his family has long supported Mathias, I wasn’t keen on the idea of his involvement. Maybe he got wind of that fact.”
“Who is this Rhea, and why would she spy on Shock? Or attack a human to learn about his conversations?”
“I can only guess.”
I’m done guessing. “Bloody hell, I need answers! My mate is in danger!”
“I’m not your mate!”
Kari’s hands-on-hips protest tramples my last nerve. I should want distance between us…but something primal isn’t having any of that. The wizard in me insists she is my mate and won’t let her go. “Say that again, and I will take you over my knee.”
She rolls her eyes. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Want to try me?”
Bram clears his throat. “I know why. Shock Denzell is a member of the Doomsday Brethren…in theory.”
“So…Rhea supports Mathias?” I ask. “And Mathias wants to know where Shock’s loyalty lies, so he’s using the witch to find out?”
“I think so, yes. Ask many more questions, however, and I’ll conscript you.”
I scowl. “Who else has joined? Who must I keep far from Kari?”
Bram sighs. “This information cannot go beyond these walls, and I’m trusting you only because you were my sister’s childhood friend, and you’re clearly overprotective because of your unanswered mating Call.
“Lucan MacTavish fights with us…or he did until he was felled by mate mourning. Mathias took Anka from him while Lucan was protecting the Doomsday Diary. We have been unable to locate her.”
That news strikes terror in my heart and reinforces all the reasons I’m determined to keep Kari safe.
“His brother, Caden, is helping a bit,” Bram goes on. “Isdernus Rykard—”
The nutter outcast?
“Along with Simon Northam, the Duke of Hurstgrove. Tynan, here”—Bram points to the other wizard—“joined recently. An immortal human warrior, Marrok of Cadbury, trains us in human combat. And Shock Denzell plays the double agent.” Bram shrugs. “We’ll see whose side he ends up on.”
Those men are from all walks of magic and humankind, highborn to low, from dedicated to dodgy. “That’s only eight warriors, including yourself. How will you fight Mathias’s army?”
“Good question. We’re…working through the details. Interested in joining? I came here to ask you and your brother.”
Once, my automatic answer would have been no. Wolvseys aren’t interested in battle or politics, just sex. But I have Kari to think about now, her safety to put first. Would my involvement provide Kari more protection or put her at greater risk?
Or is that the wrong question? Maybe I should be asking what will befall magickind—and humans alike—if the Doomsday Brethren fail?
I already know the answer.
“I’m in. But my mate’s safety comes first,” I insist.
“I am not your mate.” Kari shoots me a mutinous glare.
“Naturally. We’ll help you defend her,” Bram agrees as if Kari never interjected. “You and Raiden will be good additions to our force.”
“I can’t speak for my brother, but—”
“You won’t be able to keep either of them from chasing random skirts long enough to fight,” Kari drawls.
Two urges slam me at once: to lay down the law and to kiss her senseless. She makes me crazy with her vulnerable, mutinous streak of feminine independence. Yet that maddening backbone is one of the reasons I fell for her.
“Get back to me about Raiden,” Bram orders, then turns to Tynan. “We’ve done all we can here. Back to work. When you’ve figured out your…situation here, pop over to my house. Marrok will start you on human combat. I’ll school you on the magic you’ll need to stay alive.”
After a quick shake of hands, he and O’Shea exit the pub. Closing time comes around, so the regulars and random customers all file out, too.
Finally, Kari and I are alone.
With a flick of my wrist, I lock the door. Then I cup her shoulders, holding her firm when she tries to squirm away. “Listen—”