AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Someone sniffed, but he couldn’t tell who it was as the stubborn witch refused to move an inch. Again, she gave him a dirty look, as if he had anything to do with the burning.
“What are you?” he asked.
“I would rather not say.”
Which meant they were either shifters in those secretive clans or something less powerful.
“Humans?” he guessed.
Two of the figures turned to him, bowing their heads in fear that he had figured it out.
“Please don’t eat us. We’re thin and not that tasty.”
Did they even know what he was and what island they had stumbled into?
“Stand up. Don’t move,” Sapphire commanded, then began to pick them up by their shoulders. They were so startled that they obeyed easily, then crowded around each other while she held up her hand. She spun toward him. “They need a home.”
“That, I didn’t hear.”
“They look ready to drop dead and need tending,” she continued. “They are not here to harm or invade your space. Let me handle this—”
“That, I won’t allow.” When she opened her mouth again, he stepped in until they were in each other’s confrontational space. “Last I checked, this is still my territory and you’re just a guest. That means I shall handle them.”
Her energy sparked, then disappeared. Blue eyes darkened. “Last I checked, you brutally destroyed Rosa’s home and murdered her clan.”
“I didn’t kill a single one of them. And my first point still stands. Move…Sapphire.”
She didn’t move. But that speculative gleam came again.
“Promise me you will let them leave safely, at least, if you don’t mean to help them.”
“Or what?”
“I will put myself in between you, where accidents can happen. A single claw through my belly will ensure your breakage of the pact…and you know what happens next.”
Fury awakened. It was the slow-building, thickening kind, spreading all over his body until he was numb from it. Her body language told him she would do it, too, either just to spite him or because she truly cared about the well-being of strangers. Goddamnstrangers.It was insanity at its finest, but he was beginning to realize that this woman had a hero complex that wouldn’t go away anytime soon.
Strangers, for crying out loud. He sneered, even while his answer was definite.
“I promise no torture and no death.”
Surprise flitted in her features, caught off guard at his ready agreement. She frowned. Then she dipped her hands in her pockets and tucked a vial in each of the figure’s hands.
“Here. If he attempts any harm, aim that at him.”
Of all the—
“I’m sure they got that. You can take your leave.”
“But—”
“I said leave,” he roared. The sound echoed through the forest, scaring the birds into flying away. The four huddled together but didn’t run. Sapphire still looked ready to argue, so he spoke first. “And Sapphire?”
“What?”
“Don’t openly defy me again, especially not in front of strangers. There will be consequences next time.”
She looked him in the eyes once more, a bold move that no one would have dared after that warning. Again, he was beginning to realize that this woman was just built differently.
