Page 129 of Bruised MC Bear

“Has this happened before?”

“Uh...not that I have ever noticed.”

“Everything else okay?”

“I am not sure…”

“I hope I didn’t hurt you.”

She relaxed in his arms again. “No. You were amazing.”

He smiled to himself, staring contentedly at the ceiling as he stroked her long tresses. Here breathing changed and when he was sure she was asleep, he closed his eyes to get himself some rest.

* * *

In the morning, Xander was still sleeping lightly when the bed shook. He opened his eyes to find Kiera sitting upright. In a split second, she sprang out of the bed, shaking like a leaf.

“Kiera. What’s wrong?”

“He knows,” she squeaked in a high-pitched voice.

“What? Who?”

“The Regent. He must know. I just sensed his thoughts.”

“What? That is not possible here.”

She scrambled around for her clothes, getting dressed quickly. “Um, I believe it is now.”

“Can he read yours?”

“I’m not sure.” She stopped dressing for a moment. “No! Oh my God. I can also tell Coco’s exact location in the Sector, but she is not reading my thoughts. Something is different. The enchantment around your camp walls…it has changed…or maybe I have. Goodness, no. That can’t be right.”

He got out of bed and gathered his clothes, putting on a piece at a time as he picked them up off the floor. “But how? Did Minassus do this?”

“I don’t…no, he did not. It may have been my magic. I am sorry. I do not know how it happened.” Eyes wide with terror, she sat at the kitchen table to put her shoes on. “Look, I need to get back to the fortress… right now.”

* * *

After returningKiera to the Great Hall, Xander hurried back to camp. Alarm bells rang in his head. What the hell had happened last night and this morning? What did it mean? It was bad enough that he was conflicted, but on top of that, her abilities seemed to be changing. On the one hand, he wanted to continue getting to know her. The challenge was the fact that he was still responsible for a camp full of shifters, and over a hundred more men would be turned if he did not stick to his plan and focus. If she was responsible for changing the spell around the camp, could he even trust her?

He got back to his cabin, and Liam came running over.

“So?” his friend asked.

“You tell me.”

“What? The part about plans being on track, or about hearing her scream so loud from outside your cabin that I almost broke your door down to save her from you oversized dick?”

“Fuck off,” Xander told him, a tight smile on his face. “All should be well with our plans.”

“Should? That does not sound convincing.”

“Relax. I’m doing this for all of us.”

“Such a tedious sacrifice.” Liam placed a firm hand on his alpha’s shoulder. “Just don’t get too attached to the witch.”

Xander shook off Liam’s hand. “I know what I’m doing.”

“Says the dreamy-eyed man who looks like he’s fixing to claim a sorceress as his mate.”

“Did I ask for your opinion?”

“Not yet, but don’t come crying to me when the shit hits the fan. I’ll send you to the corner ofshut the fuck upandI told you so.”

Xander laughed. “Get your ass to your station, you obnoxious, meddling bastard,” he told his friend, and headed off to get a message to his contact in the Nauru coven.

It was time to get answers about Kiera.