I’m seriously going to need to go on a bloody, vicious hunt after this is over to heal my bruised ego.
“How’s this?” She places a measly amount of chopped steak in front of me on the floor. I sniff it but don’t scent any poison or potions.
I understand her offering me a small portion. She doesn’t want to waste food if I refuse it again.
Fuck it. I close my eyes and imagine I’m tearing the meat from the bones of my enemies and not out of a bowl on a witch’s kitchen linoleum.
She squeals happily when she sees me eating.
My wolf pants happily and smiles.
Ugh. Why do I crave her approval already? She must be messing with my emotions, and I just can’t sense how she’s delivering the spell.
Jade chops up some more meat and waits for me to finish before dumping the rest in a clean bowl. “I’m so happy you’re okay. I was getting worried.”
I stare into her hazel-green eyes and truly wish she wasn’t born a witch. Even if she doesn’t know she is a witch and isn’t aware yet that we are enemies, sheisour enemy.
Shewillturn on us.
* * *
Jade says goodnight and locks herself in her room… again.
I sniff the door to scent for magical warding to prevent my entry, but I don’t sense a thing.
A lock won’t help her much if a supe or witch, or even a strong human wishes to get inside. It might slow down an attacker for a moment, but that’s all the time Jade will need to grab her gun and put a bullet between someone’s eyes.
I remind myself that I likely wouldn’t heal from that.
She gets ready for bed, but I don’t smell her arousal tonight. The witch must be done with her lust games, or, if she’s innocent, isn’t in the mood.
My wolf is rabid with the thought that Maxum scared her the way he did. Logically, I know I shouldn’t be upset. But she has ignited protectiveness in me. Perhaps it’s just my recent loss that makes me want to protect. Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten this close to her.
But my wolf doesn’t seem to believe she killed Osen, and I have a strong inclination to agree. She might know nothing about Osen, even if she is a pawn for the Witch Council.
Or…
I shiver… if she’s part of the ASO—the Anti-Supernaturals Organization. Their goal is to get rid of supes by brainwashing supes to kill their own kind. No one knows who runs it, but our money has always been on an underground movement of fanatical witches and warlocks.
Witches are bad enough without being part of the elitist crowd. Supes had hoped that at one point, we had a tentative peace brewing between our kind. And on the surface, it appears the Witch Council was playing nice. But we know they aren’t as friendly as they like to pretend.
The terrorist group, ASO, is likely who killed Osen. And the Witch Council is probably pulling their strings through secret channels.
Thank goodness the supernatural disappearances have stopped. But now we know some of the missing weren’t from that horrendous magical scheme.
No, from what we understand, ASO uses unwitting supes against their friends. Osen had been investigating along with my small group of friends—the same friends that Jade was spying on.
I wonder if Osen didn’t submit to ASO’s brainwashing techniques and died because of it.
If that’s true, it means he died to save our quirky little family.
Standing outside of her bedroom door, I contemplate what to do next. I’ve already snooped as much as I can in the house.
Convincing myself that it’s only because someone was watching her, and I might catch them if they come after her, I stay close to her room. I can also hear if she communicates with someone during the night.
Dozing in her hallway, I wake to hear her whimpering. I immediately know this isn’t the same sound she makes when she’s climaxing.
Right now, she sounds scared. But I can’t scent or sense anyone else in the room with her.