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“That level of power makes sense now...” I muttered aloud, even though there was no one awake to hear. No wonder the witch who’d cursed us had managed to curse our whole pack, extending out to every member, even to those who married neighboring pack females.
Only a powerful being could manage such a thing, which begged the question—were all witches and warlocks this powerful, or was it something special about this coven?
And speaking of this coven... A groan rolled up from my throat before I managed to dampen the pained sound down. A glance at my Beta confirmed I hadn’t woken him. I had to be quiet. Kyle was right. We needed rest.
But my mind refused to settle.
What the fuck was going on? Was that witch, Monique, really our mate? MineandKyle’s? Because I sure as hell didn’t want to share a mate if that was true.
I’d never heard of a fated mate being split between two wolves, but I’d only just this morning discovered that a wolf shifter’s fated mate could be a witch, so what did I know?
When I’d seen the flame-haired beauty, it had been just as my dad had said it would be. My whole world zeroed in on her beautiful blue-violet eyes, and on her very essence. I finally felt solid and free, all at once. The power of the moment had driven me to my knees, and love had flowed through me, in search of its home.
She was tiny, especially in comparison to Kyle and me. And young, clearly. But with her pale skin and long red hair, and that purple magic sparking off her in all directions, I had been struck dumb. Literally. Monique was utter perfection.
Then my Beta fell to his knees, his eyes trained on the woman fated to be my mate... and I knew he must be experiencing the exact same thing as me. How was that possible?
I couldn’t share her with Kyle, no matter how much I loved him. That was just not happening.
If she wanted him instead of me... My wolf growled at the very thought, but I knew I’d have no choice but to step away. As an Alpha, I had to choose my pack’s happiness over my own, every time. And Kyle was a key member of my pack.
Was that why our Alpha had ended up mated to a woman who wasn’t his fated mate? Had he put his pack’s needs above his own? Because that hadn’t ended well. Not for the Alpha, and not for anyone in our extended pack.
I settled into my pillow and finally, sleep began to climb up out of the dark and wrap around my head.
The next thing I knew, I was blinking awake at the sound of someone walking down the staircase and into our genie-bottle room.
I sat up fast. Or at least, I tried to. The chains threw me right back down again.
I growled and turned my head to glare at the man who’d walked into our dungeon. The high warlock stared at us both with an expression that was studiously blank.
“Good morning, wolf men,” he said. There was something in his tone that raised my hackles. “Would you like some clothes, and perhaps, less chains?”
I couldn’t talk; my wolf had risen up and clamped down on my jaw.
“Yes. Please,” Kyle said, and I shot him a look.
Please? What was he doing, sucking up to our captor?
The warlock snapped his fingers and in that one move, the chains disappeared and I was dressed in soft black clothing.
I sat up and twisted around to face the warlock.
He lifted his hand. “Don’t stand up. We’re going to have a little chat.”
I noticed, not for the first time, that he didn’t ask questions. He just spoke like his word was law, which around here, it probably was.
I leaned back against the wall, studying the man before me. He looked to be about forty or so, though I couldn’t guess at his true age. For all I knew, he’d cast a spell to look younger and was actually a thousand years old. He had long dark hair that would likely fall below his shoulders but at present it was contained at his nape in a hair tie. His eyes were almost-black and held no warmth whatsoever.
He was slight in build, but that didn’t fool me. He had already shown us that his true strength lay far away from the power of his muscles.
I coughed to clear my throat and relaxed every one of my muscles. “What would you like to talk about?”
He conjured up a chair from nowhere and sat upon it. “Firstly, I’d like to introduce myself. I am Thomas, the high warlock in this realm.”
Realm? What’s a realm?
“And you are?” he asked, raising his eyebrows at me.
