Page 45 of The Bookseller and the Alpha
Caly looked at me, a question in her eyes. I shrugged. As much as it frustrated me to admit it, I had no leads. “We don’t know,” she said. “Mine came in a mixed bundle from an auction house. I bought a whole crate for a few bucks. Typically, they don’t keep records of individual sales. You know what it’s like. The auction company comes along and cleans out a whole deceased estate. Then they break it up into parcels. It could have come from anywhere.”
“The important thing is to stop them getting the piece you have,” said Elie. “And they are going to try again. I can feel it.”
“Understood,” I said. “We’ll be ready for them.” Which was really all we could do. But my skin prickled at the thought of a threat to my mate. I wouldn’t compromise when it came to her safety. “We’ll come to the Palace tonight.”
Caly squeaked in surprise. “El, I’ll call you back later, okay.” She hung up the call.
I could hear the rapid beat of her heart. “It’s not your call,” I said. “This is non-negotiable.” Mouth open, she gaped at me in surprise, but after a few moments, she gave a nod of acceptance.
“All right,” she said. “That’s fair.”
I pressed the controls to call Billy on speaker. “Lockdown protocol,” I said. “Starting now.”
The rest of the trip was quiet as my mate slipped into sleep, still tired from having her magic drained in the ritual. The afternoon had turned chilly by the time we left my parents’ cottage. Asleep in the passenger seat, she was snuggled down into the new coat I’d given her. Beast purred, seeing her covered in our gift. The sight soothed both the Beast and the man.
Caly was still mostly asleep when I pulled into the public underground garage next to her apartment block. Parking was the one thing I hadn’t been able to improve with my securitymeasures. I wanted to get her to the safety of the Palace, but I knew she would want Pompy to come with us. We’d grab the dog, and some clothes for Caly. I’d be happy to buy her a whole new wardrobe of clothes, but I knew she wasn’t ready for that. She grumbled, half waking when I switched off the engine. “Wait there,” I said opening my door. “I’m coming round to get you.”
‘‘’Kay,” she mumbled. I would carry her. The touch would be good for all of us. I got out of the car, shutting the door behind me.
Then several things happened at once. From somewhere in her bag, Caly’s phone began to ring. Louder was the sound of a car coming down the entry ramp. It was travelling at speed. Too fast.
I turned towards the threat. Headlights were coming directly towards us. I began my jump across the hood, to get to Caly’s door. Time seemed to slow.GET HER OUT OF THERE.
There was a deep boom and then noise and heat and the squeal of brakes. An explosion. Then the force of the blast knocked me off the hood as the car rocked. Tilted. Tipped onto its side. Pain lanced into me as a tonne of metal landed on top of me.
Thank fuck Caly still had her seatbelt on. I heard her cry out in shock. “Luc? What’s going on?”
I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t move. I was pinned by the weight of the vehicle. In my human form I was strong, but not strong enough for this. And there was something wrong with my left leg. And my abdomen. Pain worse than anything I’d ever experienced. I gritted my teeth. My mate was in danger.
LET ME HELP.Beast pushed power at me. It wasn’t enough.
“Ohmygods Luc.” I couldn’t move, but I still had better than human hearing. I heard the click as Caly released herseatbelt and her heavy breaths. “I’m going to get out my door and come around to get you out.”
It was too dangerous. No. But she couldn’t hear me. My voice was a whisper. The pain was a vise in my chest. On my legs. I could hear more footsteps now. And I could scent a male.
I strained against the weight of the car.
LET ME OUT. Beast was battering down my final shields. Pain in my fingertips heralded my claws erupting and in my mouth my fangs descended from my gums. Caly screamed. Whoever had been in that vehicle was coming to get her. I was losing the fight. I wasn’t enough.SHIFT!Beast roared.
Caly had the journal and she was their target. I would not let my mate be hurt. Even if it meant that she refused us once she knew the creature that lived inside me.
I dropped my shields and released the Beast.
Chapter 51
Calypso
Luc was hurt. I didn’t know how badly. My hands shook. With clumsy fingers it took me several tries to undo my seat belt. Hurry, hurry, hurry. The car had tipped on its side and the belt was digging into my chest. Just in time I realised that the belt was the only thing holding me up, and I made a frantic grab for the handle above the door. My legs flailed, kicking the centre console, then steadying.
“I’m going to get out my door and come around to help you.” Brave words. What if he was trapped underneath? He’d been right next to the car when it rolled.
I knew he’d be able to hear me. But he didn’t reply. I swallowed bile and my heart lurched. Did that mean Luc was unconscious? Shifters were fast healers. Right? How bad an injury could they recover from? Another thing my study of Shifters hadn’t taught me. Sam had recovered from a broken arm, but it had taken time. I forced the worry back. I had to get out of the car and get him out. Wait. My bag. The spell book. I couldn’t leave it behind. Luckily, the bag had been on my lap and it had landed between my feet when the car tipped. I grabbed the straps, shoving them onto my shoulder. Pushing the door open I half fell, half scrambled out of the vehicle, landing hard on theconcrete, my ankle twisting awkwardly. It barely registered on my radar.
Leaning on the side of the car, I hobbled towards the front, heading for the driver’s door. If Luc was trapped under the car, I didn’t know what I’d do. I had magic now, that much I had accepted, but I had no idea how to control it. And even if I could, the ritual with Simon had tapped me out. There had been some serious magic wrapped into the spell on that journal and fatigue gnawed at my bones despite the nap I’d had in the car.
Still, I needed to do something. They say that in an emergency, adrenaline can make you do things you would otherwise not be able to do. Things like move a car. I didn’t have access to my magic, but adrenaline was pumping through my body so hard that I was shaking.
Use the force. Right?
