Page 19 of His Sold Fated Mate

We headed up some stairs and into a room. There was a large table and a door directly behind it. I tilted my head at the layout. “That’s an odd spot for a door.”

He nodded. “Apparently, the council tried to keep it hidden for a while.”

“Why?”

Klaus shrugged as he opened the door. “Not my problem to know. Let’s go.” We went down a spiral staircase, and I watched Klaus scrunch up his nose.

“Are you good?”

He nodded. “It just smells down here.”

I sniffed the air, not smelling whatever he could, but I had read they had a heightened scent ability. It smelled earthy to me, like a cellar, but nothing that would make me scrunch my nose in disgust.

We paused at a large door that he opened. Inside was a large black cauldron that was chained to the ground. I raised an eyebrow at it. I don’t know why I thought it was going to be something different. The room was small with no windows. You could hear the cauldron bubbling as if water were inside, but there was no fire lit. There seemed to be nothing special about it, and yet it was apparently holding all the answers we needed.

I stepped into the room and frowned. I was disappointed.

“So, do you feel it?”

I turned to him. He stood in the doorway, refusing to step into the room. I could see how tense he was and the hope in his eyes. “Feel what?” I asked, suddenly wondering if I’d missed something.

“The energy. They said you would feel it. So, do you feel it?”

I frowned. I felt like I was staring at a cauldron. Like I was in the middle of a Halloween store and waiting for a witch to pop out to scare me.

I shook my head. “No, I don’t. I don’t feel anything.”

I could see the disappointment cross his face. He sighed. “Well, that’s just great.” He raked a hand over his face and sighed. “We drove all this way for nothing.”

I couldn’t help but feel insulted. It wasn’t like I asked for any of this. “Are you sure that I’m the right person?”

His eyes narrowed on me, and his lips formed a tight line. “What?”

I shrugged. “I’m just saying. If I were, wouldn’t I be feeling whatever it is you think I’m feeling? Maybe you’re wrong about this. Maybe I’m not the woman for you.”

“You’re my mate,” he snapped.

“Or you could be wrong. Maybe it was another girl at the auction that you were feeling things for.”

“Knock it off,” he growled, “I’m not an idiot, and you’re the one. I wouldn’t have done what I did if I weren’t a hundred percent sure.”

I moved closer to him. “If you’re so sure, explain to me how it is you know? What is it about me that made you a hundred percent sure that I was the one?”

I needed to know so I wouldn’t just be wasting my time. I couldn’t stomach being trapped here because he’d been wrong from the start.

But some footsteps were coming down the stairs, and Klaus yanked me toward him. I slammed against his body and placed my hands on his chest to shove him away.

“Act like we are getting along,” he whispered, his voice softening.

“What?” I pulled my head up, and I could see his jaw tensing together and his nostrils flaring. He looked almost… concerned.

“Well, if it isn’t the new couple.” I turned my head just as I noticed the members from before. The council. I felt the hair on my skin rise, and I stopped resisting. My body pressed against his as they moved closer.

“What brings you guys here?” one of them asked.

“We were visiting the cauldron.” Klaus tightened his arm around me, and I inhaled his scent.

One of them raised an eyebrow at us. “We don’t just allow anyone to come down here, Klaus. You know that.”