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Because regardless of what Kari said or didn"t say, she was his mate.
New fallen snow blew in as the door opened. Ronan cursed when Shock Denzell walked in, his gaze hidden behind dark sunglasses as he canvassed the room. Damn, Ronan had really hoped the prick would stay away. Since Shock hadn"t, he rose to his feet, refusing to risk anyone attacking Kari again.
Before the other wizard took more than three steps inside the pub, Ronan stepped in front of him and growled, “Get out. ”
Shock scowled at him as if he was a gnat. “Who the fuck are you? Not the pub"s owner. ”
“Her mate. I don"t need you bringing more trouble here. ”
Shock eyed Ronan"s magical signature with disdain. “Not her mate. ”
That truth rankled, but he pushed on. Kari would not be in danger.
Ronan glared. “I"m not arguing semantics. Moments after you last left here, the pub was attacked and Kari nearly killed. That won"t happen again. ”
“Attacked by whom?”
“This isn"t an interrogation. ”
“If you want to save her life, start talking. ” Shock crossed his arms over his massive chest.
“How do I know you won"t simply end her life?”
Shock shrugged. “You don"t. But how can you protect her when you don"t understand the threat?”
Ronan wondered how Shock would take the news, then shrugged. Not his problem…
“Apparently, the witch who attacked her is called Rhea. She was quite interested in knowing if you"d been conversing with Tynan O"Shea and what was said. ”
The expression Shock hid behind those sunglasses was flat and nearly impossible to decipher. Something about the way his body froze, however, told Ronan that Shock was furious.
“Rhea is my issue. ”
Though the other wizard was a bit taller and possessed of the mystique of all that leather, Ronan suspected that in any magical battle he"d quickly thrash Shock. He had anger on his side.
At the moment, Raiden would be beyond angry, and Ronan could channel his twin"s energy when necessary. The secondary energy had saved him more than once.
“Mine as well if she comes back to kill my mate. ”
But whose fault is it truly? I brought the curse to Kari, and it nearly killed her.
“What bloody curse?” Shock"s pried into his thoughts with all the subtlety of a crowbar.
“What are you on about?”
He can read my thoughts?
“Bingo, Einstein. Take you this long to figure it out?” Shock scowled. “What curse?”
None of your fucking business. “That compute for you?”
“Many curses are crap, but…” Shock shrugged. “Your hairshirt to wear. I figured that since I know a thing or two about dark magic that you don"t, I could help, but if you"d rather handle it yourself… Fuck off and let me past. ”
Ronan hesitated. Many curses are crap?
Sighing, Shock glared at him. “If you"re going to mentally repeat everything I say, this will be a bloody long conversation. Yes, utter crap. ”
“How so?”
“Most of magickind doesn"t have the faintest clue how to create a strong curse, much less a lasting one. There are other factors, as well. Were you the one cursed?”
“No, an ancestor,” Ronan supplied. He didn"t trust Shock, but didn"t see how sharing this information could hurt him.
Shock rolled his eyes. “Unless the thing was done properly, the curse"s effectiveness to extended family is weakened. Was the curse placed recently?”
Ronan shook his head. “It"s been nearly a thousand years. ”
“Unless this was some extraordinary wizard—”
“Witch,” Ronan corrected.
“Whatever. An old curse placed on a whole family by some witch who was likely both incensed and inept…it can"t last. ”
“Dark curses fade?” he asked suspiciously.
“Most, yes. ”
He shot a skeptical scowl at Shock. “Why have I never heard this?”
“How much do you know about dark magic?”
“Very little. ”
Shock sent him a trite smile. “Exactly. Only those engaged in the dark know how to wield it. ”
“So old curses don"t have to be countered or solved? They can simply…fade away. ”
“Often, yes,” Shock confessed. “After a time, the only power they possess comes from those who still believe. If you do, the curse works against you. ”
Amazing. If the leather-clad wizard wasn"t lying, then Ronan might be free. But Shock"s explanation sounded…fishy. Then again, what reason could the other wizard have to put Kari in danger? Did she pose some unseen threat to the Anarki?
“A human barmaid?” Shock sighed. “Seriously?”
Ronan scrubbed a hand across his face. Honestly, he wasn"t certain what to think.
Except…one way or the other, he had to tell Kari why he hadn"t allowed her to Bind to him. He owed her that. It was possible she"d still think he was lying or mad. But the truth would be out.
Then, he could either continue to avoid Kari and be utterly miserable for the next nine hundred years or—
“Oh, spare me the theatrics of the young and indecisive. Get. Over. It. ”
Ronan considered Shock. “Why would you explain curses? Why help me?”
A smile tugged a Shock"s rugged face. “Tynan says Kari serves some of the coldest ale around. Who am I to resist?”
As Kari prepared to close up for the night, she searched out Ronan in the mirror above the bar. He still sat in the same spot, nursing a scotch the waiter had served him earlier, his gaze never wavering from her. She flushed, wondering if maybe Ronan did care for her, at least more than she"d believed. He had Called to her. According to Tynan, once a wizard did that, he never wanted another woman. Never loved another. Maybe she"d been harsh, overreacted because of Edward"s infidelities. Was it possible Ronan hadn"t been lying when he said nothing had happened with the other woman? It was equally possible she was rationalizing because she wanted so badly to believe him.
She"d been contorting herself through these mental gyrations for nearly two weeks and she still had no conclusion.
Again, she glanced at Ronan in the mirror as she pretended to clean a glass. Another woman approached him, and Kari tensed. The stranger was gorgeous. Fair hair and complexion, pouty mouth, generous cleavage—all the items on Ronan"s must-have list.
Kari wanted to turn away, but forced herself to watch, breath held. As with every other woman that night, as well as nearly the past fortnight, Ronan smiled politely and declined. The woman quickly left. Kari exhaled.
Was it possible Ronan actually…loved her? Was it possible that he had instinctively identified her as his mate? If so, why wouldn"t he want her to speak the Binding words?
Honestly… Why couldn"t she fixate on another man, a normal one? Human. An accountant, maybe.
Because she would find him utterly dull.
