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All eyes swing to me because I’m sure they’re curious about why I’m here when my unclaimed mate’s vehicle is parked across the street.
I’m further discombobulated because I smell her here, too. Graydon caught my nostrils flaring when I walked in and muttered to me that my witch was here with Bailey earlier, that Bailey has been in mother-hen mode, which Bailey is known for.
“Could it be she found a way to fake the connection to get close?” Someone asks.
I don’t even clock who, which isn’t like me.
“Doubtful,” Ty puts in. “Though you never know with witchcraft. These masking potions usually come from working with witches.”
“Agree,” Graydon speaks up.
“Maybe we should ask Riley’s mate some questions,” Mase says, looking to me.
Everyone else’s eyes are on me, still, and my lip is curling in response to Mase’s phrasing.
My mate.
“Or you’d ask her, I mean,” Mase amends.
There’s a long silence.
“Speaking of witchcraft… run that down for us?” Lorenzo requests.
I huff out a breath, dozens of sets of eyes on me making me feel unsettled. And I don’t like the warring emotions in me. My pack should come first; I should’ve been the one to call this meeting and I should’ve done it earlier.
That two alphas had to request it for an update shows just how disjointed things are right now. Tyson is new. Mason just got news of his mate’s pregnancy and he’s still early on in his marriage, so he’s preoccupied. Grey’s not here. The rest of the council is capable, but I’ve always taken lead on pack-facing shit. My head’s not in the game, so things are slipping around here.
They all wait for me to answer, so I manage to pull myself together enough to speak.
“I met her about seven years ago. Saw her the next day, felt she was mine and when I was about to claim her, she got scared and ran. Of course, I chased. She fell off a cliff and disappeared into the river. You all know I went off alone for a few months after that, to process, and came back when we took over the council. Threw myself into the council and thought she was dead until I smelled her in the Young’s covenstead. Looked for her for answers but she stayed hidden until last night.”
“And she’s your fated mate? She didn’t fake it?” Lorenzo asks.
“So I’m told,” I say.
“But you haven’t mated yet,” Robert Creed, Jase’s father and another retired council alpha asks.
“No.”
“Because?” he pushes.
“He’s conflicted,” Tyson answers after I don’t. “Infuriated. As he should be. He’s probably protecting her from his anger by keeping his distance.”
“He’s right here,” I mumble.
“But you should go to her. Deal with it and hash it all out,” Robert offers.
I bare my teeth at him and say nothing.
Grey’s father Graydon mutters, “Poor fucker.”
The room goes wired. My eyes meet his and I bare my teeth.
It doesn't faze him. “Finding yourself mated to a witch is a disaster.”
No fuckin’ kidding.
“Why is that?” Linc asks.
“A complete disaster,” Graydon mutters dolefully.
My posture relaxes, realizing it wasn’t a jab at me. “You would know.”
He nods, looking wrecked for a minute, even though it's been over thirty-two years since his bond to Greyson's mother was severed. I still don't know what happened with them. Neither does Greyson.
“Why do you say that, Graydon?” Tyson asks.
“They’re dangerous,” Graydon mutters.
“No shit,” I fire back.
Graydon's expression tells me I have no idea. “For more reasons than you’d think. Though your mate was at my house this morning with my daughter, stating she can’t use her magic in the village.”
“If that’s the truth,” Linc mumbles. “Is she choosing not to or is it disabled?”
“She was vague,” Graydon states. “But I’m not talking about witchcraft being dangerous, though it is. Very. I know that from personal experience. I’m talking about how they get. Addicted to your knot. My witch ex-mate got high on her own juices; she was wild with it. Couldn’t get enough of me. You’ll find yourself with a vixen doing her best to get your cock as many times a day as she can. An alpha I know in Alaska has the same problem with his witch mate.”
“Sounds terrible,” Cade stage-whispers, grinning wide.
“Awful,” Gus chimes in.
"I'm sure not all witches are evil," Mase says.
“Maybe, maybe not. But…” Graydon throws me a dark look, “be cautious you don't get so caught up enjoying her you miss signs she's doing evil shit behind your back.”
I don’t need this shit and I know my body language illustrates this, but I’m in a room full of alpha males, many of them unmated.
“What’s your plan, Riley?” Andy Quinn, Mase’s father asks.
“Don’t know yet,” I state, honestly. Because I haven’t a fuckin’ clue.
Everything inside me wars with itself. I’ve been in a state of torment since I caught her scent. I was desperate to hunt her down, nothing in my head but a predatory instinct. Now that she’s here, every time I get close, I malfunction.
