Page 29 of Blood Sacrifice

I chewed, thinking the situation through from different angles. “They either have a physical tracker on you or have a clairvoyant who is watching you,” I replied. “My amulet doesn’t allow anyone to view me, not even those closest to me.”

“My vehicles are only ever kept in one of our secure parking lots,” Salvator said. “I don’t believe that wolf is in our organisation. I have spent time with every single pack member, and know their scent. His was a unique fragrance from the rainforest that borders Peru and the Amazon.”

“Then they are working with clairvoyants and you need protection,” I replied. “You said you have witches in your pack, do they not create amulets?”

He wandered over and filled his mug again. “We do and they are supposed to. Your sister Aisha oversees that part of our organisation, personally writing spells and enchantments.”

“I don’t know who you’re working with, but I felt Aisha’s death about two hundred years ago,” I said, my mind travelling back in time to that day. “I have felt the pain of every one of the other priestesses’ deaths. Mother priestess died a few days after she sent us away. They tortured her, the pain ricocheting through our bond making me so ill that the people you left me with thought I was going to die. Most of them died within the first few years, and then every so often, I would sense the death of another, and I relive them all again.”

“What do you mean she died? She returned home about a hundred years after the empire fell, seeking protection from those who still chased her. She set up the magical arm of our group.” His brow was furrowed, and I desperately wanted to reach out and smooth that concern away.

“I can only tell you what I felt. Maybe I’m wrong, or something happened to make her experience immense physicalpain, but I believed Aisha to be dead.” I was being diplomatic, because in my heart I knew what I had felt.

“I’ll have to investigate this,” Salvator said, bracing his ass against the worksurface as he drank his coffee, watching out the window.

“Maybe I’m wrong,” I replied. “It’s been a long time and a lot of deaths.”

His gaze snapped to me. “You were never wrong, Luna,” he said in a soft voice that made goosebumps rise on my skin. “You never saw your true worth in that place, but you always possessed an inner power that others craved. Mother priestess tried to keep you hidden, even from Balor.”

“I need to find a way of making you into a mortal man, one that is invisible to a clairvoyant who is looking for an alpha dire wolf.”

His full lips tipped up into a half smile. “If only life were that easy. Mortals live such a short life, throwing precious time away and discarding love as they search for ideals which don’t exist.” His eyes met mine and I was frozen in their power. “Immortals know the significance of mates and the connection that spans a thousand lifetimes.”

I finally tore myself from his hypnotic stare and set my mug in the sink. “I’m going to grab a shower. Could you bring my big case in from the car? It should have a small kit in it that will allow me to make an amulet for you.”

He nodded once, and I went to walk past him. At the last moment, his fingertips touched mine and I felt pulses of energy radiating up my arm and into my chest.

“You can’t keep running,” he said, his voice low as he stepped behind me, his heat infusing into me.

“I’m not running,” I lied. “I spent nearly my entire life grieving you, Salvator. I need time to try and process everything that has happened.”

His fingers lightly touched my waist and I fought the urge to melt into him, to find the safety in his arms that I had always craved in the darkness of night.

“The more time we spend together, the harder it will be for me to resist marking you.” His lips touched that sensitive spot behind my ear, and I bit into my bottom lip to suppress a moan. “There is only so much I can take and your scent is driving me insane.”

The tips of Salvator’s claws dug into my waist and every instinct in me screamed to tilt my head and grant him permission to bite me. He could have done it a thousand times over while I slept beside him, forcing a mate bond. The fact that he hadn’t told me he still possessed the integrity and respect he had all those years ago.

“I need to make sure you’re hidden from prying eyes before they attack us again,” I whispered, desperately struggling to contain my emotions. Every moment he touched me lowered the defences I had placed around my heart.

He released me, and my legs wobbled as I stumbled toward the door.

I wrestled with my thoughts and feelings while the hot water pounded down on me. It wasn’t that I didn’t want Salvator, he was the only man I had ever wanted to be with from the moment I bumped into him in the darkness when I had to collect firewood to sustain the fires during the night.

Salvator had been left on guard duty outside our area to ensure no predators got into our temple. His eyes had glowed amber since it had been a new moon, but instead of feeling fear, all I had felt was safe. When he stepped forward and I saw the man who had once lived in my village, I had been relieved, and our relationship developed. That was the night he recognised me as his mate, and I felt that connection in the depth of my soul.The rest of our time together had been filled with passion and desire, both of us sneaking away to be with each other.

He was no longer the young wolf under the control of harsh masters, and I was no longer the young witch who had to obey the orders of a demon in the guise of a priest.

I pressed my head to the wall. Why were things more complicated when we had to follow no rules other than those put in place by us? The problem was that I had given my word to protect an entire network of witches and magical creatures who all relied on the wards and enchantments I had put in place to keep them safe. There were people in our organisation that no one knew about except me, and if anything happened to me, they would be left vulnerable.

Salvator sat in front of his computer, chewing the side of his mouth as he concentrated on what was on the screen. He glanced up for a moment.

“Your bag is in the bedroom,” he said, returning his attention to whatever he was studying.

“Problem?” I asked, sensing a change in his mood.

“No one has tried to reach me,” he replied. “I checked my SIM card. Not a call, text, or message. Nothing.”

He had spent his life protecting this place and the people who lived here.

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