Chapter 75-2
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“Not yet, but it was only a matter of time. He intended to kill all her co-coworkers if she didn’t bond
with him by the next full moon.”
“Co-workers?” I glanced at Willa.
She shrugged. “It seems that on the surface, he was trying to make her “happy.” He had her
working at a bar.”
I glanced down at Janelle. “It would be stronger if we were on my land when we did this, but it’ll
have to do. What’s your full name?”
“Janelle Myers.”
“Janelle Myers, do you pledge yourself and your magic to the Wolfspire pack, your loyalty to me as your alpha, and do you swear that all your actions forward will be in service to me and mine?”
My power thundered through the room, and she shuddered. “I swear.”
“Then welcome, witch. From henceforth, I am your alpha, and you are my subject.”
Warmth spread through me as we connected, and she shivered. I gave her a few minutes before I helped her rise. “Sorry. It can be painful to go from alpha to alpha without a proper severing of the first bond. I’ll have Saul take a look at you next.”
“It’s not necessary. I need rest and another witch.”
“Amelia and Finn will see you to another bedroom where you can rest.” I paused.
“No.” She shook her head. “I cannot. We need to leave soon. Morven will be here any minute.”
“We can’t leave yet, Janelle. Morven can’t touch you here.”
“No, but Morven has three other witches with him. They can kill you in your sleep.”
“We are not without magical protection,” I told her as gently as I could. She was shaking with fear.” We can’t go back up. We have to go around to Claudine’s territory. There’s a ship at the dock that will take us, but it’s not leaving for four days.”
“Anything can happen in four days,” Janelle whispered. “This is not an escape. It’s simply a prolonged execution.”
“Rest.”
Quietly, Finn and Amelia opened the adjoining room and led Janelle through it. When it closed, I snarled at Willa. “Why is my mate near death?”
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“Her plan. Not mine,” Willa said mildly.
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“Apparently, she’d tried to make it to the infirmary before, but Morven wouldn’t allow it. She shifted
to human in the middle of our fight. I couldn’t stop in time. Next time I have to beat the shit out of
her to save her, I’ll try to be more careful.”
Frustrated, I raked my hand through my hair. This whole time, I’d had to sit on my hands in this damn motel while everyone else did the work. If I’d even gone in the neutral territory, Morven could have sensed it. I’d never felt so helpless in my life. “Tell me what you learned.”
“Not much. He’s careful, and his attentions were mostly on Kiana. He spent most of our time
together asking me what would make her happy. Either he is in love with her…
“He doesn’t know the meaning of the fucking word.”
“… or he needs her to be willing for whatever plan he has. I took a tour of the land. It felt strange
there. I can’t explain it, but the longer I was there, the longer I wanted to stay. There had to be
magic attached to it. And his shifters? Weird. Straight up weird. Happy. Helpful. Warm. Obedient.
Even the children seemed to be following some kind of script. Janelle was the only witch I was
introduced to. If he’s hiding more, he hid them from me too.”
“Did she…was she…where was she living?”
Did I want to know?
“She had her own suite. Guarded, and I don’t know anything beyond that. When I saw them, he didn’t touch her,” Willa said gently. “Like I said, he seemed to want her willing.”
That only loosened the knot in my chest a little. I desperately wished I’d brought a witch with me, but Irene wasn’t at full strength after her fight with Anya’s twin sister, and Lunessa had disappeared
back to her coven, I assumed to heal. All Irene was able to do was provide us with a hex bag that
would widen Kiana’s null powers. As long as we were within fifty feet of her, we would be protected
from witchcraft.
“Elonso saw her leave and let her go. I met with him once while I was there. He seemed to be the only one who wasn’t like a fucking golden retriever. I don’t know what that means, but even Morven
is leery of him. He turned Bridget. Maybe we can turn Elonso.”
“No. There’s usually too much shared power to turn a second. Elonso is new as Morven’s second. He killed Morven’s second for the position a year ago. I’m surprised he hasn’t had an accident
before now.”
“You think Elonso is gunning for alpha?”
“Probably. We couldn’t find much information on him, and at the time, it didn’t seem important.
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Maybe it’s time to dig a little deeper.”
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The door opened, and Saul stepped through. “She shifted, and she needs to stay that way for at least eight hours to properly mend everything. I don’t even know how she walked ten feet, let alone several miles, but she’s done considerable damage to her healing. By tonight, she should be able to shift again without too much pain. I’m sorry. I know you are eager to speak to her.”
“Just as long as she’s with me.” I glanced out the window and saw the sun rising. “I’m going to be with her. I’ll need someone watching over the witch at all times. Everyone be on guard. I expect
Morven will be here within the hour.”
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