Page 128 of Rescued By the Beast
I sigh when he pulls away, my face flushed.
He, all protective and macho like that, is so sexy...
Someone clears their throat, bursting my bubble of happiness and pulling me back to reality.
"Can we split into two groups?" Jack suggests, looking between Ted and Mark. "Since we're at this impasse..."
"It's not a good idea to split up," Ted shakes his head, his expression grim. "Not when Mark is vulnerable and Viklaus has barely recovered. The person we're looking for is more dangerous than we imagined."
"I hate to admit that I'm weak, Mark, but Ted is right," Viklaus says, crossing his arms with a serious expression. "It makes no sense for us to se . We need a strategy, and we can't repeat the mistake we made in that house where the power exploded."
Mark lets out a heavy sigh before nodding.
"All right. But whoever it is, they will die by my hand."
"Okay, boss," Jack agrees, saluting with a half-smile.
Silence falls for a moment until Balthazar, who has been quiet until now, settles into his chair and finally speaks:
"If our first stop is the witch's house, I'll need a few minutes to prepare a few things before we leave," Balthazar tells Mark.
"Do whatever it takes."
"And if we find out she has nothing to do with the attacks, we'll go after the wolves next," Ted announces, his voice firm, his eyes fixed on Mark. "Viklaus can get the truth out of them once and for all."
"But not before we break Kittens curse," Mark replies, his authority filling the air, making it clear that there is no other option.
Silence falls, heavy and charged, so dense that I can almost hear the beating of each heart in the room. Glances are exchanged, quick and silent, and then everyone nods in tacit agreement.
Ted, satisfied, finally speaks.
"The strategy is as follows..."
Chapter 36
Sandra
Balthazar holds my wrist more gently than he did with the others, stretching the tip of the raven's feather and dipping it into the mixture he has prepared.
The dark liquid exudes a scent of ancient herbs and something metallic, with a tinge of magic that almost makes me sneeze.
He then draws a symbol on my arm. It seems simple at first, but soon twists and snakes, sliding under my skin. When the line is complete, a golden light begins to shine, hot and almost painful. The seal seems to burn, the heat penetrating deeply, until the design disappears.
But I still feel it there, under my skin, as if it were buried inside me.
"Normally, a seal of protection against magic lasts twenty-four hours," Balthazar says, finishing his work. "But the ritual demands a lot of my essence, and because I had to create five symbols at once, I had to reduce the time. It will last about five hours at most."
Mark growls, his attention never straying from me.
"I'll wipe her out before that." The ferocity in his voice is a promise, cold and relentless. "Whether it's a man or a woman, I don't care, anyone who dares to hurt my partner will pay with their life."
Is it wrong for me to be turned on by his words?
The fierce protection, the devotion that overflows in the intense, raw anger that emanates from him... defies all logic, baffles me, sets something inside me on fire.
I know this is not the time to give in to this primitive attraction, but my body does not understand reason. Heat wells up in my belly, spreading in waves through the rest of me.
I can't contain myself, I subtly brush against his body, instinctively seeking contact. I rest my head on his shoulder, my cheek sliding against his arm in an almost feline gesture. Mark seems to understand my need, because he buries his face in my hair, breathing in deeply as if trying to calm me — or calm himself. His arms tighten around me, possessively, before he speaks again:
