Page 23 of Rituals & Runes

CHAPTER7

I stared at the man I hated most. The person I thought I would never see again. His smug grin on his face disgusted me as if my fate had been set by his appearance at Kaden’s compound.

Once again, I had to appear before Stone Mountain's council. But this time Kaden stood between me and that man—my father, Bane Bancroft.

His alpha power extended beyond him but Kaden’s tripled, his stance wide and his expression fierce like a predator. He forced Bane to call his back in. Behind Bane stood a small group of people, including a blonde woman who kept flicking her gaze toward Ethan. And Ethan seemed to check her out as well.

It irritated me that my heat still bore down on me in this public place. Male shifters kept stealing glances at me. My cheeks burned. I despised that my needs were being put on display. Iwished I could escape.

Bane’s voice called my attention back to the argument. A frown remained on his face as he turned toward the council. “Aila Bancroft abandoned her pack and is a traitor for doing so. I demand you turn her over to me.”

My jaw dropped and my eyebrows slammed up. A squeak jerked from my throat but I fell silent. Kaden’s hand waved behind him along with his alpha energy that pushed against me.

“Didn’t you kick her out for being half-human?” Kaden spoke in a low, controlled tone. “She’s been living on her own for years. Why come for her now?”

Bane’s finger stabbed into the air towards Kaden. “She’s an abomination. She needs to be taken home to be executed. This is an inside problem and none of your business.”

Kaden didn’t move but his alpha field remained strong. The air hummed with his force. “Don’t fucking insult her. And none of my business? Try again. It became my business the night I found her. She’s my fated mate.”

Bane crossed his thick arms. “Is that so? Why would you want that defective shifter as a mate?”

Heat drove up my cheeks. My pulse ticked up in my throat. My wolf, as submissive as she was, growled but I didn’t let it pass through my lips. Instead, I blurted out, “You didn’t think my mom was defective when you had sex with her.”

Kaden snarled and stepped forward. “Watch your damn mouth. I told you not to insult my mate.”

My father laughed but he took a step back. “I’ll insult who I like. If you don’t hand her over, I’ll fight you to the death.”

My stomach curdled and a tight knot gathered in my throat. The things my father did to my mother, I had never spoken them out loud. I couldn’t share that with anyone. It stung to have those memories pass through my mind, but it didn’t hurt to want Kaden to shred my father into tiny pieces.

Yet my arousal warred against the tension, reminding me of my aching frustration that needed Kaden’s sweet relief. His making me come only served to inflame my desire. I wanted to focus only on the fight but I couldn’t help my body’s reaction.

Kaden’s jaw tensed and his hands curled into fists. He nudged me to stay behind him and through our growing mate link. I sensed his fury surging through him toward my so-called father. “You challenging me? Good. Fight me. I can’t wait to kick the man’s ass who threw his daughter out on the streets alone at such a young age. Dan, enforcers, protect Aila.”

A group of enforcers circled me and brought me to the edge of the room. My pounding heart slammed against my sternum. Kaden would have the upper hand but I hoped some freak accident wouldn’t happen with my father somehow winning. Ethan and the enforcers stood near Kaden. That blonde woman still tracked Ethan’s movements.

My throat thickened and I moved my hand around in circles on my thigh. Anguish gripped me. It hit me how much Kaden meant to me. My entire being needed him to win. My wolf and I couldn’t lose our mate. The connection between Kaden and I had already deepened enough for me to know—my heart would be shattered if he died.

And the sexual tension between my thighs still pressed on me, scratching at my insides. Maybe the fact that my mate was in danger ramped up my hunger for him. I didn’t know. I only knew how badly I longed to be tangled in sheets, screaming Kaden’s name as he brought me to peak after peak.

Bane spun around and in mid-air, shifted into his wolf. A snarl tore from his throat as he lunged for Kaden’s throat.

---