Page 11 of Rituals & Runes

CHAPTER5

I stared at the wooden grain of the door that had just swung shut after Kaden had left me once again in the lounge room. Still, alone. Still, in captivity.

No wonder he didn’t want to answer my questions. He’d brought me to his compound to die. And then he took off to go to do his alpha duties, leaving me to stew.

One thing I knew for sure, it didn’t matter that my wolf imagined she needed Kaden, I had to high tail it out of here, even if I never found out why my wolf had gone bat-shit crazy for this wolf.

I hadn’t survived this long for someone to steal my life from me.

Having been in a male-filled room, my heat had ramped up and not died down again. Which meant things had gotten worse. The warmth from my core pulsed through my body making me feverish and with the need to squirm.

Squirm because my body sent fresh waves of arousal coursing through my veins. I turned and lay down on the couch, facing the back cushions with my hands tucked between my bent legs. My hands twitched to slip into my pants to take the edge off the primal need. I took in a deep breath trying to beat back the ache forming in my center. The urge to mate grew exponentially as I neared the full moon. It had to be only days away and seemed to be on a fast track since encountering Kaden.

Oh, my dear. Kaden acted so...possessive and protective. He acted so oddly toward me. In ways he shouldn’t. To him, I was a total stranger, yet he acted…like a male who’d found his true mate. But that couldn’t be. I had too many strikes against me.

Half-human. Outcast reject from another mate who Kaden didn’t know about, but once he knew, he wouldn’t appreciate me having been promised to someone else. That never sat well with alpha males. And Kaden and his pack had dark plans for me.

Namely, death in some ritual.

Still, his rugged, masculine face, his protection of me, and those sculpted muscles under his shirt had me developing a foreign fondness for Kaden. Warm tingling spread in my chest. After being tossed out to die by my dad and pack, I’d never expected anyone to watch out for me or to fight for me. I shouldn’t be thinking this after Kaden knocked me out and kidnapped me to be a sacrificial pup for his pack. In truth, if I had survived on my own for years, I didn’t need Kaden, I didn’t need anyone.

But his defending me...felt so...wonderful. It made my head dizzy and my heart flutter.

And the way my body reacted to him, my wolf prancing around, insisting I get closer to him, rub against him, and entice him to mount me, I knew if he asked me to stay, I might.

But not if he meant to kill me.

I needed to ask him more questions but he’d slipped through my fingers.

Behind me, the door opened and someone entered. It couldn’t be Kaden. My human eyes didn't work well but my sniffer was on point. The person had to be a female but I didn’t recognize her scent.

I sat up and cocked my head. “Can I help you?”

A husky trotted toward me, sniffing my hand. He perked up his ears and licked my hands. I lifted my eyebrows yet scratched his forehead and petted his back.

Another stood before the door, dressed in form-fitting jeans and a cowl neck sweater. Soft, loose blonde curls fell around her shoulders. “Bently, come back. Come sit by me.”

Bently ignored her and settled by my feet, resting his snout on his paws. I continued petting him while watching her.

The woman glowered at me and crossed her arms. “I’m Caitlin, Beta Ethan’s sister. I’m here to keep you company and make sure to get you anything if you need it.”

“Thanks for coming to see me. I remember you from the crowd.” I signaled for her to sit across from me in a leather armchair. I leaned against the back of the couch and crossed my legs. “Is it true I’m to be put to death as a sacrifice next week?”

Caitlin strode across the room, her boots clicking on the hardwood floor, her movements more graceful than mine. I could smell it on her. She had to be a purebred blood. One hundred percent wolf. It gave my heart a pang. Doubt swelled in my heart that I would ever gain complete acceptance from anyone.

She sat on the seat and crossed her legs at the ankle. Her eyes rolled over me as if she analyzed my figure in disdain. For several seconds, she paused around my eyes as if she particularly didn’t like my glasses. When she spoke, her voice came out impossibly smooth.

“I don’t know the details. You are from the pack that cursed our shifters to die a slow, agonizing death. Once they get the disease, they can never shift back to being a wolf to heal. It’s gruesome. And it is true that our pack Seer once announced that a woman from Firebrand Pack would break the curse. I can only assume Alpha Kaden and Dan know what they’re talking about. If the Council and Alpha Kaden order your death, then yes, it will be set.”

My body tensed and I squeezed my temples. Nothing about this could be right. Of course, I knew that my people had cursed his, but it had been after I left. Besides, I had no power over anything the Alpha or his subordinates did. And I didn’t know about me possibly being some sort of cure for their tragedy. Caitlin would be of no help to answer any questions I had.

And in truth, I didn’t want to stick around long enough to find out.

Not wanting to talk about the curse anymore, something I had zero power over, and sensing tension from her, I wanted to ask a question to clear the air. I rubbed the seat next to me drawing circles with my palm. “Does it bother you I’m half-human?”

She cleared her throat. “It bothers everyone. We aren’t used to having any kind of human with us. And of course, anything partially human could never truly compare to the strength, power, and capability of a true shifter. For reasons I don’t understand, Alpha Kaden wants you to be as comfortable as possible so I’ll follow orders and help you as you need.”

My dear. Indeed, she despised me. I would never understand how others would abhor something I had no control over. No one asked me if I wanted to be born half-human.

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