Page 76 of Rejected By the Winter Wolf

I rise.

Kian is suddenly in my space, knocking me backward. Chilled wind whips around us, but he doesn’t seem to even notice. He digs his teeth into Cecelia’s shoulder, shaking her hard.

Her neck audibly snaps.

I open and close my mouth. The wind dies along with her, and shame fills me.

Kian swings back around, fixing me with his blue gaze. He nudges me, his head giant but insistent.

I don’t have it in me to argue, so I go back to the edge of the house. I force myself to turn back around, though, and watch him. I need to know the monster I’m bound to.

He kills them all quickly, with silent efficiency. With the address of a blood witch, there’s nothing else this coven can give him. And with their power returning, they’re more dangerous left alive and on our trail.

I did my role, and he’s playing his. But just because it’s what we do, doesn’t mean I have to enjoy it. I sink to my knees while he goes around the circle. He saves Maeve for last. The witch ignores him, her gaze burning into me. I feel the first pricks of her power just as he reaches her.

And with a vicious snap of bone, she dies.

It’s so unlike how I thought it would go.

When he’s done, he shifts and kneels in front of me. He reaches out and puts his fingers under my chin, lifting it.

“What now?” I ask, my voice wooden. I think about the blood witch. And the blood of witches spilling into the earth. The sacrifice they make unwillingly, that the earth will give to other witches in the future. A secret we hold close.

He smiles, because his plan is back on track. And he didn’t even have to use me to get what he wanted.

“Now we’re going to pay the blood witch a visit.”

Chapter 18

Astra

Isit on the front deck and wait for Kian to return.

He said he had something to take care of and shifted before I could ask any questions, leaving me alone in the coven house. I showered and found a shirt that fit relatively well. I contemplated hunting for jeans, too, since the waistband of mine is stained with blood. However, finding jeans to fit my curves is painful at best.

So I figure I can deal with a little blood if it means I don’t have to scour every single room to find pants that may not be comfortable in an hour.

Dawn was approaching by the time I finished. The sky lightened in shades of blue and orange. I stood at the window and watched four wolves arrive. They didn’t bother with the house, skirting around it. They dragged the bodies out beyond the yard, into the wild brush that these houses back up to. Over the rise came the unmistakable plume of smoke.

They were burning the bodies.

That was over an hour ago. Kian hadn’t joined them, so where he went is still a mystery. The sun inches higher, wicking away the chill of night.

I’m restless. There’s another shoe about to drop, I can feel it. But now I’m afraid to leave. If that was his goal, if he somehow orchestrated this entire thing to keep me from running away… he succeeded.

He and I have an undeniable connection. Who else might turn against me because of it?

The sun touches my face, and I close my eyes.

“What are you doing?”

My eyes fly open.

Jessamine stands in front of me, her hands on her hips. She seems pissed, and I haven’t said a word to her. Does she have any joy in her life? Or is she just miserable twenty-four seven?

My bet’s on the latter.

“What a pleasant surprise,” I lie. “Did you have fun?”