Alpha Jackson’s eyelid twitched, the only movement he made as he stared at me so intensely that discomfort slithered through my veins. Leaving the hospital had been much easier this time, but I almost wished I had stayed rather than endure this scrutiny. Reaching slowly to rub his jaw, the large shifter male picked himself up from behind his desk to lean on the front edge.
“…Let me get this straight – you were banished here from another realm, you retained all of the magic you had there in your wings, and you single-handedly devastated a hundred shifters…and on top of all this you’re Derek’s mate…” Bopping my head in a nod, I wrung my fingers absently as Alpha Jackson grunted. He didn’t sound as confused as I was, but he clearly wasn’t sure what to make of the situation. “Well…that’s certainly not something I’ve ever dealt with before. Also – just so we’re clear – you want me to kill all of the wolves we had to scrape off the field, yes? You won’t just free them from…whatever you did to them?”
“Yes – no…I – ” Pursing my lips together, I tore my eyes off the Alpha male to stare at the ground. Which question was I supposed to answer first?
But one of them wasn’t even really a question.
But it sounded kind of like a question.
What are mates? Why did Alpha Jackson take all of the bodies? Where was he keeping them? Why does Derek’s touch take the pain away? How does he have such magic?
“She’s not going to free them, Alpha Jackson – it’s a mercy to kill them. It’ll take them days to die if we just leave them.” Lifting my head as Derek spat the word ‘mercy’ with pure, thick disgust, I sucked in a breath when he lifted his lip to reveal blunt, white human teeth. “Besides, they fucking deserve it – they used human children as bait to try to force us into a confrontation. They’re pitiful, disgusting pieces of shit that don’t deserve to live.”
“I knew you wouldn’t just advocate for a mercy killing, Derek. Trust me – it’s all I’ve thought about the last two days. It’s true that they did something unforgivable, but I can’t condone the killing of a hundred wolves without consulting their clan leaders. Jordan is alive – I’ll set up a meeting, and if he refuses, I’ll unplug them. If he shows up and doesn’t want them back, I’ll unplug them. We just don’t have the resources to deal with what’s going to happen in town…there’s a reason no one else wanted to be here – why the land was such a steal.”
“I did not know shifters require electricity?” Two, intense pairs of eyes settled on me, and fire licked my cheeks at the warmth that melted the ice of Derek’s eyes. In the silence, blood beat hard and fast in my ears, and he pressed his palm against the small of my back to rub it soothingly.
“It’s a phrase for when you power down the machines keeping someone alive, Linne.” Humor laced Alpha Jackson’s tone, drawing my gaze to find his lips curled in a slight smile. Ducking my head as I carefully stored that piece of information, I nibbled my bottom lip even as his parted. “Derek will take care of you for now while I sort out this mess. I’ll see you both tonight at the feast.”
Leaving Alpha Jackson’s office, I picked absently at the loose, white clothes that had been provided for me at the hospital. They were comfortable, if a little scratchy, and Derek had cut the backs open to make slits for my wings just as I did with my own clothes. Lifting my head to stare at him, I rolled my lips between my teeth before speaking up as we walked towards the entrance to the nice office building.
“Why are you taking care of me? I can take care of myself. I am not injured anymore.” The hand on my back flexed, and Derek glanced over at me with a frown dragging down the corner of his mouth.
“We need to talk about something.” His explanation really wasn’t an explanation, and I offered him a frown of my own. Exiting the building the same way we came, we started down the sidewalk until he spoke up again. “What do you know about shifters?”
“You shift…” Trailing off, I furrowed my brows deeply as my mind hit a wall. Everything I knew about shifters, I had learned from the human Chad, but he was less than reliable. “I do not know more than that…”
“Right…” Tension marred the thin lines around Derek’s mouth, and he reached with his free hand to swipe his chin. “What do you know about relationships, then?”
Quizzicality widened my pupils at the probe, and I paused my steps to purse my lips together. Crossing my arms over my breasts, I took a shallow breath even as Derek turned to face my fully. Darkness crept up on my mind like a shadow, and my chest tightened as memories assaulted my mind’s eye.
“I do not want a relationship.” Narrowed eyes met mine, and my wings twitched in agitation at the darkness that flashed across Derek’s face. “I am not allowed – slaves like me are not allowed.”
“Linne – ” Rough hands cupped my cheeks, and my breath caught in my throat as it tightened. His gaze swirled with grave sincerity, and my heart stuttered in my chest as an uncomfortable sensation fluttered in my abdomen. “You were banished. You’re not a slave anymore.”
“But – ” Cut off by a thumb against my lips, I couldn’t stifle the gasp that rolled my tongue.
“No. You’re not a slave anymore. No one can tell you what you can and can’t do.” My eyes widened even as I shook my head slightly, and Derek squeezed my face to draw me closer. Against my ribs, my lungs ached for air, but I couldn’t breathe past the lump in my throat. Gently, he pressed his forehead to mine, he inhaled deeply, suggestively – as if he could sense my struggling.
The sun beat down on the crown of my head, and the breeze was soft against my skin. No sounds tickled my ears; even natural noises were dampened as the lump that clogged my airways began to dissolve. Slowly taking a breath, I closed my eyes to Derek’s distorted face as my chest pressed against his.
“Who is he? Your brother?” Mumbling softly, I licked my lips heavily as uncertainty threaded through my veins. “What if I don’t like him? Are relationships in this realm required for social status?”
“Why would you ask about a brother?” Gruff, low, Derek’s response only pulled a sigh from me, and I shook my head to gyrate our foreheads together. Memories pounded against my mind’s eye – some good, some bad, but all useless in this realm. Even so, I opened my mouth after a second, and he stilled against me.
“That is why you are taking care of me. So, you can determine if I would be a good wife. I will not meet him until he accepts me… Is it not the same in this realm?” Fluttering open my eyes when Derek didn’t response, I blinked hard only to find him frowning with thin lips and pensive, swirling eyes the color of the ocean during a storm. “It is not the same?”
“No – it’s not… I am the one that wants you. I don’t have a brother or cousins – or even parents.” Speaking slowly, clearly, Derek’s declaration sent shocks to assault my spine, and I tried to wrench my head away. He still held my face, keeping me in place, and a whimper escaped from behind my pursed lips. “Stop – stop.”
“No – let me go!” Magic weaved into my blood, the familiar tingling just under my skin causing goosebumps to rise. My wings twitched and fluttered, but Derek didn’t so much as bat an eyelash.
It doesn’t work on him. The thought hit me hard, and Derek cupped the back of my head and my backside to plaster me to his front. His movement was so quick, I couldn’t break away, and I ground my teeth together and dug my fingernails into his sides. If he felt any pain, he didn’t show it; just like at the battle, he was able to ignore everything but subduing the target.
“I’m not going to hurt you or force you, Linne.” Murmuring huskily against the crest of my ear, Derek’s announcement froze my muscles, and he released a bare sigh that caressed my shoulder under my shirt. “Just…calm down. I’ll explain everything. Let’s go to your house, okay? You’ll be more comfortable there.”