Page 11

The anger I felt when I saw that filthy mark on her neck made me lose control.

I snapped at her and felt fucking guilty for it.

So then I tried to cover my anger with a pathetic excuse about her mate tracking her through the mark and I saw the guilt cross her face, showing me that I only made it worse.

Fuck, I'm not trying to show her how jealous am but I'm clearly making her think I don't give a fuck. Which is quickly proving to be not true. I don't know what it is about her but when she's near, I just want to follow.

I've had two conversations with her, and here I am worrying about her and being jealous.

Fuck I must need to get laid.

She's hot, yeah, but there's no reason for me to be jealous.

'You like her, fuckwad. That's why' Adonis remarks in my head but I block him out, not wanting to deal with his shit.

I pick up a phone to make a call to Blair, one of the spirit witches who resides in my territory. Thankfully, her afternoon is free and she'll see Amara.

She's a powerful witch, so I have no doubts she'll remove that ugly thing from her neck.

I keep walking but her purposefully walking behind me annoys me.

So I stop, suppressing a growl and let her come to my side.

When she's walking in sync with me again, she still doesn't talk.

I take a breath to calm the red hot jealousy coursing through my veins and speak up

"Sorry to scare you, I take my pack member's safety very seriously. You're a pack member now and under my care so that includes you." I say, breaking the silence

"No need to apologize, Alpha. I understand and agree with your concerns"

"Roman." I say coldly, not making the situation any better.

She smiles back at me politely, but its not her real smile.

I saw her real smile when we were lost in conversation, it brightened her eyes and illuminated her face, this fake smile didn't even reach her eyes. I don't know what came over me, but the urge to comfort her was strong.

So I grabbed her hand, intertwined it with mine and smiled at her

"Call me Roman, not Alpha. We're going to get that off your neck and free you from that boy for good" I say, trying to swallow the growl that wants to rise at the thought of her mark. I see her shoulders relax, and I hear the relief in her voice as she speaks.

"Thank you, Roman. I wasn't even sure how to get in contact with a spirit witch to remove this from my neck. Back in the Red Moon pack, no spirit witches were documented on the land, so there was no way for me to contact one before my departure..." she trails off, I assume she's lost in her thoughts. I realize I only know she was sucked into a fake fated mate bond. She must be heartbroken over this guy. I don't even know how long they were together.

I suppress the anger and jealousy that continues to run through my veins.

"How are you doing? I mean, mentally. Seriously." I say, stumbling over my words.

Adonis laughs in my head.

'When the hell did I let you out?' I growl at him and he just continues to laugh at me.

I don't shove him back, hoping he can help me not look like a fool. I hear her suck in a breath

"Honestly, I never loved the guy. I was trying to force myself for the entire two and a half years we were mated. If I'm being honest, me and my wolf were both disappointed when she identified him as my mate. He never treated me poorly, but I couldn't force myself to love him, no matter how in denial I was, no matter how hard I tried. Honestly, I feel like an idiot for not noticing earlier." she says, not even trying to hide her shame. I can't help myself.

I take my hand out of hers and put it around her shoulders.

"You had no experience to go off of, spirit witches are powerful, it's no wonder they rarely seek asylum in packs. They're able to survive on their own, not protected by any packs or any of their covens. The spell that she had over you was probably fool proof."

She's about to respond but we reach the witch's cottage.

I pull her up the stairs with me and knock on the door.

Blair answers immediately.

"Alpha! Come in, please." she says while stepping aside.

I enter her house, I've been here plenty of times, so I'm expecting the overwhelming scent of all her herbs that are drying on the counter.

She leads us past the kitchen and to her office.

"Let's get right to business. The Alpha didn't give me any specifics so what makes you require my services?" she says, looking directly at Amara.

I watch her study Amara curiously.

She furrows her brows ever so slightly, and glances at me.

It's a quick movement, but enough for me to wonder what she sees.