Page 106 of A Trial By Blood

I couldn’t believe it, it actually worked. Opening the cover, I ran my finger down the list of contents.

Keeper succession.

I knew what happened when one family lost the last Keeper in their family line because that’s how we ended up in this situation, it shifted to another branch within a family. I also knew what happened if the Keeper died trying to complete their task or while they fought in their trial—they failed. Their coven lost the gifts the mother had given them.

But I didn’t know what happened to a coven when a witch died before they finished their task but not due to the actual task itself. Like Death blackmailing you into giving up your life to live in his realm. Surely the mother wouldn’t punish our coven for that? But then, the mother wasn’t always fair.

I flipped to the correct page and quickly scanned it.

There it was. My stomach flipped.

If I died of causes not related to my task, the task would end, and a new one would be given to the next in line. Magnolia. Mags would be given a new task to complete. Shit. She wasn’t ready for that. My baby sister was still working through her own trauma. She and Bram were shaky.

She was supposed to have another year to prepare. To mature. But if Zinnia couldn’t help me, in a matter of days, I’d be gone, and Mags would not only be grieving for her sister but thrown into a task to save her coven.

I’d buried my head in the sand. All too ready to dump this on Zinnia’s shoulders, to leave her to find the solution. I sat heavily and covered my face. I’d been a burden to the people I loved for my entire life, and not even my death would give them a reprieve.

Mags would suffer. They all would.

I cursed and squeezed my eyes closed.

A firm, warm hand squeezed my shoulder and I jumped, springing around. Ronan stood there, his hair rumpled and his eyes glittering in the darkness. His muscled chest was still bare, but he’d tugged on his trousers.

“I woke and you were gone,” he said. “I didn’t like it, petal.”

I stood and moved into his arms. He pulled me close immediately. “I’m sorry, it’s this task. I’m worried,” I said, omitting the rest of it.

“It’s going to be okay. Everything will work out.”

His voice was deep, soothing. I hoped he was right. I needed to tell him about my vision and what I’d learned, but I didn’t want to right then. Everything was so messed up. Nothing was as it seemed. I was confused and scared and the happiest I’d ever been all at once. Ronan was finally mine.

And right then, that’s all I wanted to think about. “Kiss me,” I whispered.

The violet of his eyes deepened, heat firing inside them instantly. He leaned in, pressing his lips to mine. The kiss was gentle and tender, but right then, I wanted something else from him. I wanted an escape from all the fear and the worry. The thought that I could lose him was more than I could stand. I clung to him tighter and licked at his perfectly sculpted lips, and when my fangs slid down, I let one graze my own.

I knew the instant he tasted my blood. A growl rumbled through him, and he sucked and licked it off. His arms banded around me tighter. “You bring out the predator in me, Rose.” His breathing was hard and fast. Something he hadn’t done, hadn’t needed to do before tonight. “I’m trying to be gentle, petal, but your kiss, one taste of your blood, and the monster in me comes out.”

I squeezed my thighs together. “I like the monster. And right now, I want to give him everything he craves.”

His chest heaved. “Rose…” His words trailed off when I undid the button of his trousers and slid down the zipper, then lowered myself to my knees. He looked down at me, his throat working on a swallow. “What are you…petal, what are you doing?”

I pushed his trousers lower and took his cock in my hands. He was hot and hard like steel, his skin like silk over the thick veins running its length. He was utterly magnificent. “You’re beautiful,” I said.

His Adam’s apple slid up and down. The look in his eyes grew hungry, needy. “Rose, why are you…”

I leaned forward and dragged my tongue across the fat head of his cock. The sound of his hand slapping against the top of the desk beside me echoed through the room.

“Petal,” he gasped out. “You don’t…I’ve never…”

I licked him again, and his groan was loud and low. “How does it feel?” I asked and did it again.

He shuddered and his chest and abs tightened. “You don’t have to do that, you don’t have to…”

I took the swollen head into my mouth and sucked. I’d never given a blow job before, but I wanted to make my mate feel good. I wanted him to know how desirable I thought he was. How much I wanted him. How much I cared about him. This wasn’t about taking. Ronan had experienced enough of that in his life. This was all about giving, giving my male pleasure. Making him feel good.

I tilted my head back and looked into his wild stare as I sucked all the way to the tip and released him. “I want to. I’ve thought about doing this with you many times. Of worshiping you like you deserve.”

His fangs punched down, long and sharp, and my core tightened, my own need shooting through the roof. “You humble me, my beautiful female,” he said and cupped the side of my face.