Adalyn pushed him away with all of her strength. “Since when do I answer to you? You keep bringing up this mate thing, yet I don’t even know what a mate is, let alone that we are actually mates, as you keep saying. What is it with you and everyone else in this pack? All I want to do is rest in my room. It’s not like I’m running off to meet someone or something.”
Wade recoiled as if he’d been slapped in the face and slowly backed away. Which was a good thing because her next step was to call upon her witch to zap his ass down the hallway.
Her wolf whined in her mind,“You hurt his feelings.”
“I know. I didn’t have a choice,” she said aloud as she turned the handle, opening her bedroom door.
Adalyn didn’t relish hurting the only man to ever make her feel alive, but she had no alternative. He wouldn’t back down and there was no way to explain anything.
As soon as she got the door closed, she twisted the bolt and locked it. Fearing the flimsy metal lock wouldn’t keep a light wind from blowing the door open, let alone keep a wolf or witch out, Adalyn waved her hand over the lock and whispered a quick chant, sealing the door from the inside. Only she would be able to break the spell, giving her plenty of time to do what needed to be done.
Fighting another bout of nausea, she quickly pulled the drapes closed and dimmed all the lights. Closing her eyes and leaning back on the recliner next to the bed, she inhaled a long deep breath, clearing her mind. Picturing her mother’s image in her head, Adalyn felt her consciousness drift away toward the one who summoned her.
“Finally!”
Adalyn found herself standing in her mother’s chambers. She looked around the room, trying to gather her bearings. Astral projection was one of her least favorite powers. It was something she’d discovered by accident when she was a child. She’d heard her mother and sister laughing and having fun after she’d been forced to her room to work on her studies. Young Adalyn knew if she would’ve snuck out, there’d be hell to pay, so she sat back and closed her eyes. She pictured her mother and her sister in her mind and wished herself to them. When she’d opened her eyes, she had found herself standing before them as a ghostly apparition. Her mother gasped, as did her sister.
Adalyn had been so scared she’d accidentally died trying to be nosey, she instantly flung herself back into her body. She pinched herself repeatedly to make sure she was alive. Her bedroom door flew open. Her mother stood there with her mouth agape, and young Adalyn, with her eyes as round as saucers, had started to sob uncontrollably. Her mother had banned her from ever using her power to spy on family ever again…unless it was someone her mother wanted her to spy on, of course.
Over the years, her mother had worked with her to perfect the skill. With time, Adalyn found she could appear as a ghostly apparition for others to see her or remain completely invisible. Though remaining invisible consumed every ounce of energy she possessed, she also found she was only able to remain invisible for just a few minutes at most.
“Adalyn.”
Her mother’s voice pulled her from her memories.
“Mother! What were you thinking? Are you trying to get me killed?”
“I’m thinking you were supposed to check in long before now and if you had done as planned, I wouldn’t have had to resort to extreme measures in the first place, daughter.”
Her mother didn’t understand. She couldn’t. Her precious plan was assumed to be foolproof. How would her mother react when Adalyn told her she’d changed her mind? That she wanted no part of her stupid plan?
“Well?” Her mother tapped her stiletto encased foot against the marble floor, awaiting her answer.
Both Adalyn’s wolf and witch sides were screaming inside her head. The warnings more ominous than anything she’d ever experienced.
“Lie to her,”her wolf said.
“As long as we are connected to her, she can and will destroy us if we disobey her.”
They were right. Both of them. Adalyn had no choice but to lie. As much as she’d like to believe otherwise, her mother wouldn’t hold back—even against her own daughter—if it meant getting what she wanted.
“They are slowly starting to accept me.”
Ugh. Even talking to her mother about this made her stomach churn. For the most part, everyone had been nice to her at Black Paw—much more accepting than she could have ever hoped for.
“But?” her mother asked.
“But there are problems with Rafe. He is the true Alpha of the pack. What you want me to do may not be as easy as you had thought.” It would be impossible, considering the fact her wolf had submitted to Rafe and accepted him as the pack leader. As far as Adalyn was concerned, there was nothing more to discuss, but she couldn’t tell her mother that. Not until she found a way to break the physical hold her mother had on her.
“You’re not thinking of betraying me, are you?”
“Of course not! I know what needs to be done. It’s just going to take longer than we’d both envisioned. The people back Rafe. They love him. Taking him out will not be easy.” Adalyn kept her voice steady. She had one shot to convince her mother she could be trusted. No matter how false her intentions were, her mother couldn’t know otherwise.
“Tell me, daughter. Why haven’t you gained their full trust yet?”
Really? That’s where her mother was going with this?
“They don’t trust me because I am your daughter.” Fire burned in her veins. “They don’t trust me because you killed their Alpha—my father, Bjorn.” Adalyn had to calm herself. If anyone knew how to get under her skin, it was her mother. The woman knew which buttons to push to set Adalyn off with fucking perfect precision.
