Page 14 of Wolf's Redemption

“I’d been drinking.” Her hand slipped to her pocket and fingered the little gold disc. “I…ah…”

No way was she admitting she’d basically stolen it and had planned to hock it. The last thing she needed was some sort of bond with this guy based on a morally questionable decision she’d made.

“I found this.” She pulled the disc from her pocket and held it out in her palm, its tarnished gold stark against the silver coins. “I translated the strange writing on it. It’s some sort of rhyme or verse. Totally weird. Then everything went black. I fell. Next thing I knew, I was here. Well… in that basement…cellar…room…with you.”

“Were you bleeding?”

“No… Wait. Yes. What’s that got to do with anyth— Oh, comeon. Blood magic? Really?”What is this? An episode ofSupernatural?Although… She cast her gaze over his bare torso again. Nah, Dean didn’t hold a candle tothisguy.

“Yes. Truly.” The man was deadly serious. He pointed to his chest. “See this amulet?”

Her gaze followed his finger. There, hanging from a chain around his neck between the shreds of his shirt, was a gold disc. It looked just like the one she had in her hand. No, wait, not the same. His had a red stone in it. How had she missed it before? Her gaze flicked over his exposed chest, tinged red by the moon. She rolled her eyes.Yeah, that was how.

He picked up the amulet, showing her the stone. “This is a binding amulet.”

She screwed up her nose.Bindingamulet? Binding what?

“Before my time, someone, most likely a powerful witch, created a lot of amulets and bound them to this one with magic.” He pointed to the one in her hand. “That is one of those amulets. With blood and the words spoken, you activated the spell and the binding amulet drew you to it. Call it blood magic, call it sorcery, call it whatever you will, but that is how it works. That is how you came to be here.”

She snorted. “Sure.”

“You do not believe me? Very well. Then explain how you came to be in that underground chamber with me. A room with one entry point—a locked grate—that you never opened. To a place far from your home soil where everyone speaks a language you do not speak. To a year, I would wager, that is long in your past, centuries even.”

He held her gaze, the challenge in his eyes unmistakable. Her stomach did a little flip-flop. She ignored her body’s call to action. “I don’t know how to explain it, but…”

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “The guards, did they behave like theseemergency services, theseboys in blueyou were expecting?”

Bek remained silent, his logic irrefutable.

“Is seeing a man bound in silver shackles and chained to a wall, something you have encountered before? Is itnormalin your world?”

‘Well…no, but… I wouldn’t put it past Mrs. Wu.’

“Merde, woman. Open your eyes.”

The rasp of his voice, the lilt of French and his accent…God Almighty.Even when he swore at her, it sounded sexy. It spoke to her of smoky, dimly lit bars, of black leather stretched across broad shoulders. Of the burn of whiskey shots down the back of the throat, and God help her, it spoke of sex. Down and dirty sex. Just the way she liked it.

For fuck’s sake, Bek. Get a grip.“Okay, let’s for a moment assume you’re right—”

“I am right.”

“Let’sassumeyou’re right. Why should I go withyou? Why should I trustyou? They chained you to awall!What awful thing did you do to end up down there?”

Geez, that was rich coming from her.

She brushed aside the twinge of guilt. “Maybe I would be better off with… Who did you say owned this castle? A count? Maybe I should take my chances with him. Tell him you… I don’t know…witchcrafted me here.”

“Oh, trust me, sweetheart, that is the last thing you would want to do. You are not safe with the count.Nobodyis safe with Lothair de Anjou.”

She flicked her gaze to the castle. “I still only have your word on that.”

“Enough.” He sliced his hand through the air. “You are coming with me. For your own good. You can walk on your own or you can go over my shoulder again. Make your choice.”

Bek glanced back at the keep and shivered. Yeah, she’d only been bluffing about returning there. She wasn’t stupid enough to head back to the scene of the crime. Her swollen knuckles were enough evidence she had somehow been involved in that guard’s demise. Testimony from the kid when he regained consciousness would only corroborate that.

She regarded the man standing before her. She knew little of history, even less about French history, but what she did know wasn’t comforting. As a woman, dressed as she was, and with her poor grasp of the French language, she didn’t much like her chances on her own. That left going with him. For now.

He raised an eyebrow. She took an involuntary step backward. He moved toward her, ducking his shoulder.

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