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She isn’t being overly dramatic. Wolves are the apex predators of the mammal world, and the succubus is their paranormal parallel.
“What’s a succubus doing up here?”
Good question. And I fear the answer.Me.An alpha wolf shifter.
A succubus draws her power from other beings. Up here, the population is almost nonexistent compared to practically everywhere else. A succubus is up here for one reason only.
“She’s nesting.”
“That is a real thing? I thought it was just a myth.” Riyah pulls away from me enough to let cooler air rush in between us.
Even in my overheated state, my body shivers. Hating the distance between us, I pull her back into my arms. “They have a fifteen-year gestation cycle. Reproduction is difficult when they have to suck all their energy from other beings. A nesting succubus will do anything to reduce threats to her new hatches.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because the last time a succubus produced offspring, it was fifteen years ago. And she burned Sleepy Briar to the ground long before the Silver Circle had their turn.”
Chapter6
JAX
In the morning, I take Riyah back to check on Maddy. The storm is still blowing hard. Thankfully, Maddy is improving quickly. Her leg will heal with a nasty scar but with no loss of function.
When we return to our cabin, Brody is waiting. Riyah fills him in on Maddy's progress, then hurries inside. The heated glance she gives me encourages me not to dawdle outside on the front porch with my cousin.
“What the fuck have you done?” Brody says before the door even closes behind Riyah.
“What are you talking about?”
“You made her your mate. A vampire! Have you lost your fucking mind, cuz?”
“How do you know?”
“Please! You’re grinning at each other like fools. Not to mention that I can smell you all over her a mile away.”
“She risked her life saving Maddy. If it’d been up to me, she wouldn’t have left the cabin last night. She was so close to death from the cold I almost lost her. So what the fuck is your problem, cousin?”
“What if she’s the one responsible for the traps?”
“Have you been drinking with the trolls again? You know humans use their home brew as embalming fluid.”
“Jax, the traps started showing up after Riyah arrived.”
“So what? She also treated all those injured. Why would she set the traps? That makes no sense. It goes against everything in her training. She could get staked for that. “
“She could get staked for fucking you yet she still did it.”
I cross my arms over my chest and plant my feet wide. “That’s none of your business. Go cool off, cousin, before I forget my manners. She has no motive.”
My cousin is deranged. There’s no way his theory makes any sense. Sure, Riyah has her secrets, but so does everyone else in Sleepy Briar.
“Perhaps she works for the succubus. She did just appear up here out of nowhere.”
Anger shoots through me. “That’s insane. She saved Maddy’s leg. What? You feeling guilty that you didn’t find the trap first? This isn’t like what happened when we were kids. And it wasn’t your fault.”
My cousin walks off before storming back in my direction, stopping a few feet from me with anger gripping his insides. “Bullshit, man. This isn’t about me. You fucked her, and now you can’t see it. She’s controlling you.”
“I saved her. She’s my mate,” I counter, biting out my words.
