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He didn’t see her, but he heard Priscilla Winter’s notably clear laugh, then her girlish coo,“Miss me, my love?”
My love. Maddox shivered at how easily she called him that. He thought back to the countless amount of times both Colt and Dodge teased him, pointing out
But Cilla knew she wasn’t his mate. She had given up on her stupid, unrequited crush when they were kids—
Hadn’t she?
“Priscilla,” he growled, “what the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“Something I should’ve done years ago,” she retorted. “Now, listen to me, Maddox. You’ve had your fun and I’ve been patient enough… but, tsk, tsk, you never should’ve filled out the bonding license. Not when we both know you’re mine.”
“Bullshit.”
“Maddox,” cried Evangeline. She sounded shaky and scared and, while he could sense her nearby, he couldn’t see her. “Where are you?”
She obviously couldn’t see him, either.
“I’m right here, sweetheart,” he called out.
“I wouldn’t call her sweetheart, my mate. You know how jealous I can be.”
“Cilla, you—”
The witch snapped her fingers. He heard the crack, then felt the rush of power that came with it.
The smoke was suffocating; he couldn’t break out of it, fight through it, or find Cilla hiding inside of her magical shield. A flash of light danced across the dense covering, blinding him for an instant, the only sign that Cilla wasn’t as cheery as her voice would have let either of them believe.
“Don’t think that piece of paper will stop me, either. The bonding license means nothing to me, not when my name will be on it before long. You’ve forced my hand, Maddox, but you’ll have forever to make it up to me. I just wish I didn’t have to take care of your pesky human sooner than I wanted to. Pity. I was having so much fun with her.”
Cilla’s cheery fun was punctuated by another scream from Evangeline.
Maddox growled. “If you lay one finger on my mate—”
He’d kill her. Childhood friend or no, he’d strike Cilla down in a heartbeat if she continued to threaten Evangeline.
Another flash, like lightning across a midnight sky. “She is not your mate,” retorted Cilla. “I am.”
Maddox had known Cilla for years, since he was a p
up and she was a witchling. She could be recklessly stubborn, the type of woman who refused to take no for an answer without a good reason behind it.
He stepped closer, leaving about a foot of space between him and Evangeline. Threatening Cilla never worked, but sometimes—when he was desperate—he could reason with her. “You’re not my mate.”
She was obstinate.“I will be.”
“You know that’s not true. I only get one mate, and she’s right here with me.”
“She was.”
Maddox went still, his angry wolf suddenly on alert. He could sense Evangeline trapped in the magic smoke right next to him but, keeping his eye on the threat he could perceive in front of him, he didn’t dare turn away from where he thought Cilla was. “What?”
“You want her?” Another laugh from the witch. He didn’t know what it was about it, but it sent shivers coursing down his spine. “Come and get her.”
A clap of thunder rolled overhead. A wave of almost unbearable pressure slammed down on Maddox, nearly sending him to his knees. He forced himself back up, searching through the smoke, instinct warring with panic as he realized that he couldn’t sense his mate at his side any longer.
His hand closed on air. Cilla laughed once more, her high-pitched chuckle closer to a cackle by the time the wind carried it away.
The smoke disappeared next, as if it had never been.
