Page 138 of A Broody Mate for the Human

Liam glances at the sheet of paper in his hand. “And Portia… Lawless,” he pauses. “Really?”

“From my mother’s side, she was the witch,” Portia explains.

I’m more shocked that Portia is her first name. But yeah, in case of marriage, they should probably take Stella’s surname. Some others seem to think the same because I can see grins plastered on a lot of faces.

The pledge of loyalty these two make to Liam and Annie is a bit different. Both of them promise to use their witchcraft for good and never to delve into dark magic. They don’t cut each other’s palms either; instead, Jazz and an older witch step forward and wrap a long fabric around their hands until Portia and Stella’s hands are bound to Annie’s and Liam’s.

As if he sensed my curiosity, Raffy links me.It’s a magic oath,he explains.The older witch is a coven leader and acts as a witness to it.

“Thank you, Desmona,” Annie tells the old witch.

I realize that Stella’s fears were probably completely unfounded, as Jazz is a witch too. We just forgot about it. It means the pack is open to witches and hybrids like Portia.

The last pair to step forward is Raffy and I. My fears were unfounded as Annie takes my hand and leads me to the stage, making it obvious to everyone that I’m under her protection.

“Raphael Hayes and David Ford,” Liam starts before he repeats the whole procedure with Raphael, who repeats everything diligently and eagerly pledges his loyalty. I can feel his heartbeat picking up again at the realization of being accepted into a pack.

Being branded as a traitor, he probably thought he’d never be allowed back into a pack again. But karma proved to be working for him. He deserved this second chance so much.

As Annie promised, I don’t need to say or do much. Liam just asks me if I join the pack by my own will and if I’m ready to become part of the supernatural world and keep all its secrets.

I just need to answer with a simple yes.

Liam cuts Raffy’s palm first before cutting mine. He shortly exchanges a gaze with Raffy, who gently pulls my palm straight so that Liam can make a clean and pretty superficial cut. Being up close, I notice why he goes for Annie last. When he cuts her, her wound almost instantly heals.

“My alpha is too gentle with his luna,” she says with a smile before driving the knife into her own skin with a bit more force.

Raffy’s eyes widen.Silver doesn’t work on her,he tells me.So, the rumors are true. Normally, a wound inflicted by a silver knife should bleed a lot more.

Once we drank the super-fancy blood cocktail, which indeed has another liquid in it too—fortunately—I can feel a weird feeling wash over me. It’s like pieces are suddenly added to me like I’m just a single piece in a huge puzzle. My head starts hurting instantly, as I start hearing several voices swirling around in my mind like a whirlwind.

Somewhere, as if in the far distance, I can hear Annie telling the pack members that the gathering is diffused, and they should go and celebrate, possibly with their new pack members.

The voices make me feel nauseous and dizzy until one voice makes it through it and dominates the rest.

David, can you hear me?

Liam,I mutter.I mean, Alpha Liam. My head… it feels like it’s going to explode.

That’s the pack link,he explains.Focus on my voice for now and try to blend the others out. Raphael said you know how to meditate. It’s the same as when you learned to mind link with him… just a collective mind link.Liam has a calm and deep voice, and when I try to focus on it, I swear I can see a regal black beast in front of my inner eyes, its eyes ice-blue like Liam’s. I’ve never seen anything like that.

It has to be his lycan.

Try to imagine the person you want to link to. It can be a group, it can be a person. Block out everyone else by ignoring their presence.

I try to do as he told me, focusing on his voice first, as it’s the most distinctive, and then carefully branch out towards Annie’s too.

You found the link to your luna.Her soft voice welcomes me.

There are still other voices swirling around me, but they are more like background noise now, slowly getting more and more quiet until they disappear completely.

I take a shaky breath. “I think… I passed the worst,” I mutter, blinking my eyes open.

To my surprise, I notice I’m sitting on a chair, and Raffy is kneeling next to me, holding my hand. Liam and Annie are there, and Ella. Everyone else has left us alone. The curtain gets pulled to the side a bit, and Jazz approaches us, a cup in her hands.

“Drink this,” Annie tells me. “Jazz had prepared it in advance. It helps with the nausea.”

I nod, thankfully accepting the cup and taking a careful sip of it. I sigh as my stomach slowly settles down, and my mind calms down further.