Page 14 of Brutal Alpha (Nightfire Islands Alphas #2)

“And she’s lucid? No memory loss or anything?”

Caleb’s voice was fuzzy through the radio, but I could still hear the worry in it.

After a lot of convincing, he’d agreed to stay put on Lapine until I could get Julia back to him.

Leo had extra patrols on all his bridges, and I doubted Arbor would have the resources for another full-scale island attack. We were safe for now.

“She doesn’t remember getting to Arbor after the fight, but she was barely conscious for that, so I don’t think it’s too worrying,” I assured him.

I should have been able to tell him more; I should have taken more time to ascertain how Julia was feeling before we got into another fight.

I supposed it was a good sign: if she hadn’t had the energy to fight me, I would have been worried.

“You’ll radio if anything changes?” he pressed.

“Of course.”

“Okay.”

“Okay,” I echoed. I was reaching for the switch on the radio, ready to cut communication, but then he spoke again.

“Ethan?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.” His voice was low and earnest, and I didn’t deserve it.

I had not, of course, told Caleb why Julia was on her own at the bridge between Ferris and Lapine.

I had not told him that rescuing Julia necessitated marrying her.

I had told him the bare minimum: that Julia had wandered off alone, that she’d been kidnapped, and that I’d rescued her, but we’d run into trouble at the Argent bridge.

If Caleb knew the whole truth, he wouldn’t be thanking me.

“You’d do the same for me,” I muttered.

The radio clicked off at Caleb’s end, and I let out a long, relieved breath. I didn’t like lying to him, even by omission, but it was for the best.

“You ever gonna tell him?” Leo’s voice made me jump. I hadn’t heard him approach, and his shit-eating grin told me that had been the intention.

“It wasn’t a real marriage,” I reminded him. “It doesn’t mean anything, and it’s not relevant.”

My wolf didn’t like that statement. He was still trying to drag me back to Julia’s sickbed, desperate to lick her wounds. I ignored him. He needed to get over it.

“Sure,” said Leo. Then, as if he was commenting on the weather: “If you hadn’t slept together at the Solstice, I might believe you.”

I could try to deny it, but the expression on Leo’s face told me that any attempt would be futile. He didn’t look like he was about to chew me out for it—quite the opposite.

“You’re not supposed to know that,” I sighed, resigned.

“Her scent was all over you when you came back from the fire, buddy,” he said, smug. “It wasn’t subtle. Guess that apology went well.”

“Until it didn’t.”

Leo frowned.

“What happened? We woke up in the morning and you guys were gone. We thought you’d just headed back to Lapine early.”

I hesitated. Julia would be mortified to know that I’d told someone about her theory, but it was only the truth.

“After we—after we slept together, she said we were mates. I told her that it was just—that we’d just been caught up in the moment. We fought about it,” I admitted. I’d expected him to be incredulous, but he only looked evenly back at me, curious and calm.

“You don’t think you’re mates?”

“We can’t be.” Why did no one understand this simple fact of biology? I was sick of explaining it. “The bond kicks in at first touch after you’re both of shifting age. It’s been five years—six, maybe—since Julia’s first shift. We’ve touched plenty since then.”

Leo only waggled his eyebrows at me, like a child.

“Oh really?”

“Shut up. Not like that.”

“I’m just messing with you. Did she say why she thinks you are mates?”

“It was—I mean, it was pretty intense.” That was putting it mildly, but Leo didn’t need to know that. He was a romantic. He’d get the wrong idea. “I did feel… drawn to her, I guess. But why wouldn’t I be? She might be a pain in my ass, but she’s still—”

“A knockout, sure,” Leo finished for me, and my wolf’s attention was suddenly all on him, his fur bristling, a low growl building in my chest. It was a stupid reaction. Julia was a beautiful woman, and people were going to notice that. Other males were going to notice that.

Unfortunately, Julia’s beauty wasn’t all that Leo had noticed. He’d also noticed the sudden tension in my jaw, the visible effort it took me to keep my wolf in check.

“Interesting,” he said. “Well, nice chatting with you. I’m gonna go check out how she’s doing, see if she needs anything. A drink, some painkillers, another one of my shirts.”

This time, the growl was in my throat and vibrating through my teeth before I could hold it back. Leo didn’t dignify it with a growl of his own; he only smiled.

“Yeah. That’s what I thought.”

“You’re delusional,” I snapped. Leo knew as well as anyone that mine and Julia’s relationship had been strained for years. Why he thought we could ever be fated mates was beyond me.

“I’m just saying,” Leo continued, “that the last time one of my friends turned up on my island out of the blue, running from Arbor hunters with a woman in tow, he didn’t really like having me close to her either.

This expression right here?” He waved his finger in an irritating circle in front of my face.

“It’s the same expression that was on Cal’s face when Alyssa first smiled at me. ”

I slapped his hand away.

“That’s different. She’s my best friend’s little sister. I’m protective of her.”

“And you think she needs protecting from me?” He slapped a hand against his chest in mock offense, but his green eyes did not leave mine, demanding an answer.

“No,” I admitted through gritted teeth.

Leo, the bastard, said nothing. He left that response hanging in the air between us, as if he’d just presented the court with damning evidence of my guilt.

“Look—” I began, but I was allowed no more time for my defense because one of Leo’s Betas was bursting through the front door.

“Julia,” he panted, “Julia collapsed by the orchard.”

My heart dropped into my stomach. How could she be so reckless?

She had a concussion and three fractured ribs; she was supposed to be resting.

I was meant to be watching over her. I should have known she would be reckless enough to try something like this.

I should have been more vigilant and shouldn’t have let her drive me from her bedside.

“Where is she now?” I barked, but it was Leo, the Beta answered.

“Cody’s carrying her back.”

Leo nodded.

“Has someone gone for the witch?”

“Yeah. Yeah, she’s on her way.”

To my relief, Julia was conscious when she was carried over the threshold.

I was so relieved, in fact, that it took me a couple of moments to recognize the Beta carrying her as the same guy she’d flirted with at the Solstice.

Fortunately, even my wolf knew that now was not the moment, and I only held out my arms for her, giving him a gruff,

“Thanks.”

“What am I,” Julia grumbled, “a sack of groceries?”

The Beta huffed out a laugh, but I was already leaving him behind, whisking her up the stairs and back toward her room.

“You’re an idiot, that’s what you are,” I hissed as I placed her down on the bed.

“What the hell did you think you were doing?” Her body was scorching hot, and I couldn’t tell if that was simply from having been outside in the sunshine or if she was running a fever.

She slapped ineffectively at my hand as I placed it on her forehead to check.

“I was going for a walk,” she protested. “Is that a crime now?”

“You were nearly dead yesterday.”

“Thanks for the reminder,” she scowled. This woman had been put on earth by a capricious god who wanted nothing but to test my patience.

I would not rise to it. I would not let her make me angry.

I knew I’d been unfair to her that morning—she might be wrong about us being mates, but she deserved more of my respect.

She really had saved both of our asses on Arbor.

“Julia,” I said, low and controlled, “you need to take better care of yourself.”

For a moment, she only blinked up at me, momentarily disarmed. When she spoke, though, her words were sharp enough to cut.

“Don’t worry, Cal won’t blame you for my stupid decisions. You can stop pretending to care.”

“I’m not pretending—” I started, but then we were no longer alone in the room.

It was always easy to tell a witch simply by the way she dressed, and this one was no exception.

Shifters, by and large, favored economy and ease with our clothing: it needed to be easy to remove in a pinch, so things like scarves and jewelry weren’t popular among our people.

Witches, by contrast, seemed to dress with the intention of bucking that trend.

The woman who bustled into Julia’s room wore a long-sleeved blouse in some gauzy fabric, draped over a plain camisole, her long skirt brushing the ground with every step.

Her lightly greying hair was swept back beneath a patterned scarf, and she wore large earrings, several necklaces with different crystals hanging from them, and what seemed like a dozen bangles on each of her wrists.

She smiled, and the lines at her eyes creased.

“Someone told me this was an emergency, but you’re clearly not dying,” she said. I really should remember her name, but everything had been a blur since we arrived on Argent.

“She tried to go for a walk and nearly passed out,” I told… Sylvia? No, that was wrong.

She kissed her teeth.

“Not very sensible, young lady.”

“It’s kind of stifling in here,” Julia said, shooting me a poisonous look that the witch (Sandra?) gracefully ignored.

“Usually I’m all for the freedom to roam,” she said, “but you’re going to have to stay in and take it easy for a few days—Julia, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, Julia, can you follow my finger with this eye?” She tapped the cheekbone beneath Julia’s good eye before she brought her hand back, her pointer finger stretched toward the ceiling. Slowly, she moved her hand back and forth, watching Julia’s blue eye track its movement.

“Good,” she said after a few seconds. “Now, can you take a deep breath for me?”

Placing her hands gently on Julia’s ribcage, she watched Julia’s face as she took a deep inhale, wincing as her lungs pressed against her fractured ribs.

I held my own breath: if Julia had snapped one of her ribs entirely, she might have punctured a lung.

The witch seemed competent, but I doubted she could heal something like that.

“Good,” she said after a few breaths. Relief rushed through me. “I don’t think you’ve done yourself any lasting damage, but I’m going to leave you a couple more tonics for pain and for sleep, alright?”

Julia nodded. Oh, to be a person who could give Julia orders without argument.

“Thank you, um—I’m sorry, I never asked your name.”

“Sybil.” Sybil. That was it. “Pleasure to meet you, and I hope I don’t see you again.”

She turned to leave, but Julia shot out a hand, catching her by the wrist.

“Could I ask you one more thing before you go?” Julia sounded uncertain, almost shy.

“Ask away,” said Sybil, gently.

“Can you tell me about Shadow Magic?”

“Shadow Magic?” Sybil repeated, clearly surprised. “Young lady, I’m only a hedge witch. That’s a little above my pay grade.”

“What’s the difference?” Julia’s eyebrows crinkled in confusion, and Sybil gave a little hum of amusement.

“You’re not from around here, are you?”

“Lapine,” Julia admitted. Her home Pack might be far more accepting of witches now that they had one for their Alpha Female, but the nomadic witches were still understandably wary of the place. Abe Thorne had barely tolerated them, and his predecessors had barred them from the island entirely.

Sybil, to her credit, didn’t look shocked or put off, only nodded as if that was exactly the answer she expected, sitting gently on the edge of Julia’s bed.

“There are three—three categories of witch, if you like,” she explained.

“Hedge Witches, High Witches, and Shadow Witches. Hedge Witches like me are the most common. We deal in herb lore, healing, and a variety of other things, depending on personality. Almost anyone can become a hedge witch if they put their mind to it; we don’t possess any innate magic, you understand; we draw on the magic that exists in everything around us.

Now, High Witches do possess innate magic; they’re energy manipulators, able to conjure fire from the air or move an object with just a thought.

A truly powerful High Witch can stop your heart in an instant. ”

“And Shadow Witches?” Julia prompted. Her eyes were wide with interest, her voice moving from unsure to enraptured.

I was no less interested myself. Ferris welcomed witches, but most who passed through were Hedge Witches, like Sybil, and the others were High Witches, like Alyssa.

Shadow Witches were almost as foreign a concept to me as they were to Julia, something I’d only ever heard stories about.

“I must admit I’ve never met a Shadow Witch in the flesh,” said Sybil, and Julia’s face fell. “There hasn’t been one active on the Nightfire islands for—must be getting on a century now. My grandmother used to tell me they were all blind, but more than that, I can’t tell you.”

There was a pause, and my wolf whined as Julia’s heart seemed to break in real-time before Sybil continued,

“If you were willing to make the trip to Ensign—once you’re recovered, of course—there’s a High Witch there who might be able to help you. Ask for Eve.”

The change was immediate; Julia grinned, her blue eye sparkling, and she grasped Sybil’s hand.

“I will, thank you.”

Sybil squeezed her hand in return before she rose from the bed. Her hand was on the handle of the door when she turned one last time.

“Maybe don’t tell her you’re from Lapine,” she said. “Eve’s funny about that island.”

And on that cryptic note, she left. The door clicked shut behind her, and I held up a hand to stop Julia before she could speak.

We couldn’t stay on Argent forever, but I was still reluctant to return home: Ensign would be the perfect place to hide out for the time being. Not even the bravest Arbor hunters would be stupid enough to attempt an attack on the most vicious Pack in the archipelago. She didn’t need to convince me.

“I’ll call Xander.”