Page 47 of Brutally Mated
“Why? Does something out here hunt shifters?”
“A lot of things hunt us, girl. The world is much more dangerous than I can easily explain to you. Our kind is powerful, but that means we have enemies. So stay in your human form.”
“Where are Krall and Thorn?”
“I don’t know,” he says. “And honestly, darling, I don’t care. I want you. All of you. And I want you to myself.”
He says it bluntly and plainly. He’s not ashamed of it in the slightest. I like this side of Skor, even though it sends a bolt of fear through me as I realize he’s not really saving me in the typical sense of the world.
“Are you… am I… being kidnapped?”
“You’ve never had real freedom, Tabby,” he says. “You were born as a sacrifice, and you were given as one. All those battles you fought, all that magic you developed, it didn’t do anything for you in the end, did it? You were given to three older men to be used for your body.”
“So that’s a yes?”
“I’m going to free you,” he says.
We cross the plains for what feels like a long time, traveling up the side of a river to avoid detection until we reach a cabin that sits tucked away in the middle of nowhere.
Skor opens the door of this little one-room place as if he owns it. Does he? Has he somehow planned absolutely all of this? I feel as though there are invisible strings on my limbs connected to him.
It’s not an impressive spot, but it is shelter. There are a couple of chairs, and there’s a small rotten kitchenette with a few cracked plates and cups sitting in an old sink.
Skor goes to the kitchenette and gets a box of salt down from the shelves. He proceeds to pour a circle on the very middle of the floor, kicking old furniture out of the way to make a space big enough for the both of us. I watch him do this with a growing sense of trepidation.
“Step inside,” he says.
“No,” I refuse.
“I can tie you up and put you in there, or you can go in willingly,” he says. “Either way works for me.”
I feel my stomach clench. Something is up. He has a plan for me, and I am not going to like it. I am sure of it.
“What are you trying to do to me?”
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
He says that in a way that makes me think I definitely have to worry a lot. I stand back and I start to summon my power.
“I wouldn’t do that,” he says.
I do it anyway.
I expect a lightning bolt to crack down through the cabin, frightening him into submission. But nothing happens. The salt ring glows a little, but that’s it.
He smiles, broad and sexy, and fucking scary.
“What did you do?”
“That’s a conduit,” he says. “You can try to pull as much magic as you like; it won’t do anything other than be soaked up in the salt. I know you’re used to being the only witch in the pack, baby, but you aren’t anymore.”
He snaps his fingers, and I feel my entire body jerk forward toward him. I am moved like a puppet, my limbs being manipulated by unseen forces. I let out a cry of shock, but it is cut off as I collapse to my knees. He has no interest in letting me go.
“You’re sick.”
“I’m powerful,” he says. “And you’re one of the few people I can share it with. Isn’t that sweet? The next time you try to do any kind of magic without my permission, like unlocking doors, or exploding windows, or generally making a nuisance of yourself, remember this. You are not the only one who knows how to manipulate nature.”
“Let me up!”
