“Yeah, what if the other wolves eat you?”
“Shit.” He goes still, eyes huge, the horror on his face priceless. “Help me, Josh. Fix this. Please.”
He’s not making demands this time. Bane isbegging.
Revenge is sweet.
Even if he kills me when he finds out I’m messing with him, it’s totally worth it. I’m dreaming up something dreadful to make him do in order to reverse the effects, when the potion—whatever it really does—takes effect.
Whoa. The moonlight hitting Bane suddenly seems to shimmer against his skin. The cocky, arrogant wolf looks… ethereal and mesmerizing. He’s the same beautiful, sexy jerk I’ve seen from a distance. Except this time, he’s incredibly tempting.
“Are you seeing this?”
The alpha blinks at me. “Seeing you act like you just saw a ghost? Yeah. Am I going to die?”
My gaze stays fixed on him. All the unpleasant details melt away, leaving only his winning smile, the ridiculously built body, and those stupidly golden eyes.
“No, uh, it’s not lethal. The thing is… I, I don’t know.”
“Oh god, that sounds bad.” He seems alarmed by my tone, bouncing on his feet and turning his hands over and over rapidly, like he’s expecting feathers or scales to erupt at any moment. “Is it bad?”
“No, I think there must have been a mix up,” I stammer, unable to keep teasing him. “You’re going to be fine.”
“Oh, thank God. Thank you, Josh.”
Just for a second, he pats me on the back, leaning close enough that his breath gusts against my cheek. I gasp, struck by his scent, my heart speeding up. He’s too busy getting over his imagined near-death experience to notice it or to see that now I’m the one freaking out.
But not only his body affects me. I see him clearly, maybe see his aura, even though I’m no witch. Is that what the potion does?
A regal violet color coats his outside. His pride, the egotistical demeanor that gets under my skin. I thought it went down to his very core. The purple pretension only forms a thin layer on the surface.
Underneath, he’s warm, warm andso bright.
“Uh, what are you doing, man?” he coughs, and oops, I’ve stepped right into his space, so close that our noses are almost touching.
“Sorry, just checking.”
It’s a bad excuse, yet he only nods and backs up. “I’m all good, right?”
“Mmhmm.All good,” I echo faintly.
Yeah, everything looks good. Amazing. This can’t be just his aura. That wouldn’t cause this overwhelming attraction. What in the world?
My mom said she experienced something similar with my stepfather when she... when she Recognized him.
No, it can’t be. This must be some kind of lust potion.
Why the hell would Alpha Elias need a lust potion? No idea. But it’s the only answer that makes sense. Because Bane and I being mates, me being connected to the cocky Alpha’s son? That makes no sense at all.
4.Teaming Up with an Enemy
Josh
I stare at the spot where the potion shattered. Glass shards and dark liquid stain the asphalt, barely visible in the moonlight.
Most of the concoction itself landed on Bane. And what it showed me, it’s just not possible. Magic and my eyes are playing tricks on me. Or the stress of the situation has caused temporary insanity. Maybe it was a stupidity potion?
“Josh?” Bane’s voice pulls me from my thoughts.
