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chapter Twenty-nine

Michaela

“ Mizani,” Markis roars out behind me. “Get back here.”

I continue my trek back to the room I share with my mate. Although lately, I’m not quite sure who this man is. It’s as if a stranger has snuck into my house and taken over Markis’ body.

I storm into the room.

“Have you lost your mind?” he shouts as he enters behind me, slamming the door.

“Have I lost my mind? Tis you that has surely gone mad. They were children, Markis.”

He scoffs, walking toward me. “Those wolves were preventing me from doing my job.”

Shaking my head, I don’t recognize the man standing in front of me. Years ago, when I was just a young vampire, I thought he was brilliant. He had drive and a fire in his gorgeous brown eyes. Now, all I see is madness. I’m starting to question if it was always madness. Was I just too na?ve and young to recognize before? Maybe Markis isn’t the one that changed. Maybe it’s me.

“They had no idea what you were looking for. You could’ve killed the Alpha and walked away. Those babies,” I shout the last words when I think about the small children crying out for help. “They didn’t deserve that.”

He looks back at me with cold eyes, his head tilting to the side. “Your weakness is showing, wife. Khalif was right. Your compassion is your downfall.”

“Do not mention my father to me.”

He knows this is a subject we do not speak about. His bringing it up so casually proves how far we’ve fallen from each other.

“I chose you to stand by my side as I take my rightful place as the ruler of this world. I chose you because I thought you had it in you to be my queen.”

“I’ve done everything you’ve asked,” I shout. “I have sat quietly by as you’ve slaughtered entire colonies of vampires, witches, werewolves, and humans. Anything you have asked of me I have done. But this… this ruthlessly killing of innocent children—”

“You have not done everything,” he snarls.

His anger caused me to step back. He tucks away his fury and replaces his pinched face with a calmer glare.

“I’ve asked you for one thing you cannot give me.”

The tightness in my chest has me looking away.

“I need a queen that will bear my heir, Mizani.”

“That’s not fair.”

“Isn’t it?” he asks. I turn back to him. “I’m doing all of this for us. The power of the key will bring us a child. Our very own child. And here you are crying over spawns that are not yours. Maybe it’s time I find another mate. One that is worthy of being my wife.”

“No,” I plead.

This is the moment I should have had the strength to walk away. This is when I should have seen him as the master manipulator that he was. But I was still too in love. Too blinded by my need to be loved.

He pulls at the snaps of his linen trousers. “Come prove to me you still deserve to be my wife.”

I ignore the wave of disgust that floats through me as I walk toward him. He pulls his heavy erection out. Placing a hand on my shoulder, he pushes me to my knees.

“Open for me,” he demands.

Like a fool, I do as he requests. He slides his dick into my mouth, hitting the back of my throat. I do as he taught me, sucking him off.

He tosses his head back. “Yes, wife. Prove you are worthy.”

I come awake with a start, my heart pounding in my chest. The memory of the taste of him is still in my mouth.

Placing my hand on my chest, I try to regulate my breathing.

“It was just a dream. Only a dream. You’re not there. Markis is not here,” I remind myself.

“Is Markis the ex?”

Enzo’s voice nearly scares the shit out of me. Looking down at the floor beside my bed, I find him lying on a pallet on the floor on his back, his arms under his head.

“What the hell are you doing in my room?”

He turns his head to the side, looking at me.

“You better be glad I didn’t climb into that bed with you. Now, answer my question. Is Markis the one after you?”

“Yes,” I say, throwing the covers off me.

I don’t know what came over me the other night. I should have never told the Beta about Markis. But I was too tired to argue, and my emotions were all over the place.

“Does he often haunt your dreams and take over your mind?”

I freeze when he mentions the mind thing. Does he know of Markis gift? Ugh, I hate this mating thing. Placing my feet on the floor, I stand. I notice for the first time that I’m wearing a t- shirt and panties. The last thing I remember putting on was my leggings and my black yoga zip up jacket.

“Marley dressed you.” Enzo yawns, sitting up from his pallet.

“Stay out of my head, wolf,” I warn.

He looks at me, cutting off his stretching. “I’m not in your head, mate. Not that I could find anything. You have that shit locked down tighter than Area 51.”

That’s actually a very accurate description.

“Then how do you know what I was thinking?”

He smirks before climbing to his feet. “I read it on your face.”

He walks into the bathroom. Seconds later, I can hear the sound of him pissing. Rolling my eyes, I go over to my closet and grab my robe off the back of the door and put it on.

“You still didn’t answer my question,” he says as the toilet flushes and the sink comes on.

“, yes. My mind, rarely. But now that I’m no longer mated to him, it should all stop.”

Part of me knew there was no way I could completely keep Markis out of my dreams. His sifting ability alone allows him access to me while I sleep. But he should not be able to pull me into his mind or freely slip into mine. I walk into the bathroom to start my morning routine.

Enzo dries his hands on the towel on his side of the sink. Although, I do not recall designating him a side of the sink.

“So, you were mated to the vampire when you hooked up with me that night?”

I glance at his reflection in the mirror. “Don’t make it sound like I’m some cheater, okay? He and I had been separated a very long time before that night. Even before he was tried and sentenced, I asked for a divorce.” I say, placing toothpaste on my toothbrush.

“And he wouldn’t give you one, I’m assuming?”

He actually said he’d kill me before he let me go, but that doesn’t need to be repeated.

“No.”

“So why wait 300 years to have sex with anyone?”

I nearly choke on my toothpaste. I cough before rinsing out my mouth. Replacing my toothbrush in its holder, I turn my body to face him.

“The mate bond we had prevented me from being able to…. get aroused. So, no matter how bad I wanted to, I couldn’t.”

“Until you met me?” The wide cocky grin on his face has me rolling my eyes.

“Don’t think too highly of yourself, wolf. We were under a spell that night.”

Enzo watches me closely, that grin still on his face.

“Except that night wasn’t the first night you got turned on by me?”

He’s right, but how the hell does he know that? He winks at me before turning to take care of his hygiene.

After a quick shower and getting dressed for the day, I walk into the kitchen. The memory of that dream still playing in my head. That was the start of the fall of Markis and I. I wish it would’ve come sooner.

Enzo is in the kitchen when I walk in. He’s standing at the stove cooking. From the smell of it, he’s frying bacon. His back is to me. I take the time to explore the ridges and muscles over his taut, tan skin. His shoulders are so wide and sturdy you never have to wonder if he can pick you up and carry you. The way his waist narrows into the band of his jogging pants. He's built like a got damn gladiator.

“Look at you checking out your mate,” Marley whispers in my ear. However, no matter how low she says it, I know he can hear her.

I turn to her and place a finger to my lips. She chuckles and walks over to the kitchen bar.

“Don’t get mad at her,” Enzo says without turning around. “I knew you were checking me out.” He turns and grins. “A gladiator. Really?”

He laughs at my horrified face. Now, I know he was in my head with that one. He might have guessed what I was thinking this morning, but this was too specific.

He removes the pan from the stove, bringing it over to the bar. “If you’re thinking something too strongly or have a strong enough emotion, you can push it to me through our link.” He winks as he places strips of perfectly fried bacon onto the three plates laid out.

“Sit and eat,” he says, taking the pan back to the stove.

Marley takes the bowl of freshly sliced fruit off the counter and loads some onto her plate.

“Tonight,” I say to Marley, placing a piece of bacon into my mouth. “We need to feed. The rest I got yesterday helped restore my energy, but I need blood.”

Something drops on the counter in front of me. When I turn to look at it, I’m in shock. Looking away from the bag of blood into the face of the smiling wolf in front of me.

“It’s O positive this time.”

I can’t help but smile. Not only did he go get me blood, but he remembered me telling him my favorite.

“Thank you,” I say, grabbing the bag. I sink my fangs into the side. I wait for him to turn away or grimace like he always does. However, this time he watches me closely.

I drink the entire bag, licking my lips when I’m done. Immediately, I feel ten times better.

“If you need more,” Enzo says, piling his plate up with bacon. “I have a couple more bags in the cooler. Alarick says it’s enough to last you about two weeks if you and Marley space them out.”

“What did you do, rob a blood bank?” I chuckle.

He shrugs. “Actually, yeah.”

“Wow, I’ve never had anyone do that for me. Thank you.” I wasn’t lying. Since I was old enough to walk, I’ve been supplying my blood. First from the blood maids my parents hired, and when I turned six, I started going out hunting. I’ve always fed myself.

“I’m your mate,” he says, dropping onto the barstool beside me. “My job is to take care of you.” He places about three pieces of bacon in his mouth at once.

I smile, even though I know he’s lying. Love doesn’t work like that. You don’t go from hating me to wanting to protect me. This marriage won’t be much different from my first, I see. The wolf wants something. I could call him out on his bullshit and let him know I’m not an idiot. Or I can play along and figure out what he’s after. I like the idea of playing along.

“Then what’s my job?” I tease.

He cuts his eyes over to me before turning back to his plate. “You might want to send Marley out before I tell you about your role.”

Marley groans beside me. “We’re going to need soundproof rooms if you two are going to be doing that.”

Enzo tosses his head back and laughs. “I’ll see what I can do, kid.”

Hold on, he didn’t actually think there would be a repeat of that night, right?

“Hopefully she will drug me again, so I won’t know what’s happening.”

His words that day made it very clear he was not interested in sex. Now I know he’s playing a game. This is not the start of an active sexual relationship. I’ll have to explain that to him.

“When you finish eating,” he says. “We need to head to Chayton’s office. He wants to talk to us.”

The rest of breakfast was uneventful. Marley talked the most. Asking if Enzo could ask some wolves to come back and paint her room for her. He seemed surprised that she asked. However, he told her he’d see what he could do.

Now, he and I walked side by side, silently toward Chayton’s office.

“I would ask if I had something growing out of my face, but by the way they keep staring at us, I’m guessing the looks have nothing to do with how I look and more of who I’m with.”

He looks down at me, his brows furrowed. He then looks around us, glancing at all the disappointed and disgusted female wolves' faces and the curious and disgusted male’s faces.

He turns back to me. “They know that this union was blessed. You don’t have to worry about them not accepting us.”

I shrug. “I didn’t really care if they did or didn’t. You and I both know this will not last.”

He stops walking and turns to face me. I stop and turn to him.

“Why do you keep doing that?”

“Doing what?”

“Talking about breaking the bond. I told you this is forever.”

I scoff. “Beta—”

“Enzo.”

I roll my eyes. I don’t see why this is important to him, but I didn’t have the desire to argue.

Crossing my arms under my breasts, I cock my head to the side. “Okay, Enzo. You and I both know this will not last. Look around you, they’re barely accepting this. Eventually, your loyalty will be brought into question, and you will either be forced out as his Beta or made to leave me. And just so there is no misconception in that scenario you should definitely not choose me. You need to—”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why should I not choose you?”

I stand there looking back at him, dumbfounded.

“First, because you don’t know me.”

“I can get to know you.”

I ignore that comment. “Second, there is no happy future for us. You want kids and I can’t give you any. This isn’t something that will miraculously change.”

“You’re right, I want kids. When the time comes, we will figure something out. Until then we have Marley. We can raise her.”

Now I’m a hundred percent sure he’s playing in my face. I burst out laughing. I ignore his comment about figuring something out because there is nothing to figure out. However, the raising Marley thing is hilarious. When Enzo doesn’t join in with my laughter, I stop.

“You’re kidding right?”

He shakes his head. “She needs a father figure in her life. She still has a lot of maturing to do.”

I look around for the hidden cameras I’m assuming are in the bushes.

“She’s seventeen. In another year or two, she will more than likely move out.”

I was lying. If I know Marley, I’m stuck with her for another seven to eight years. Most royal vamps mature a lot slower than most others.

He shrugs. “Then we better make those two years count.”

I stare back at him, trying to read the deception on his face. I know he’s running a game; he has to be. But it’s annoying to me I can’t immediately see it.

Growling under my breath. I turn from him and storm away.

“Why are you mad at me?” he asks, following behind me.

Stopping to spin around and face him, I glare. “Stop it.”

He cocks a brow at my outburst. “What am I doing?”

“Telling me what you think I want to hear. I’m not some desperate teenage girl. You don’t have to fill me up with your bullshit.”

“I’m not filling you up with anything. Everything I’m saying to you is true. You’re right, I didn’t initially want this bond. But now I do and I’m taking it seriously. As your mate, it is my job to make sure that you are fed, safe, and taken care of. That is who I am. It’s in my nature as a wolf.”

I cut my eyes away, not wanting to hear his lies. A finger under my chin has me turning back to face him.

“I’m not your ex. So stop measuring me against him.”

There are many things I could say in response to that. For instance, I could tell him he didn’t know shit about my ex and didn’t have the right to mention him to me. I can remind him I know he’s plotting, and this is all a game to him. I could even remind him he, in fact, wanted to break the bond originally, too. However, I don’t say any of this because I forgot where we were. When I look around, wolf eyes are all on us. They just got a first-row seat to our bullshit. And the thought of having them in my business is stronger than my need to make a point to the wolf.

So, after lifting my head to stare back into his eyes, I simply say, “Okay.”

We continue to head toward Chayton’s office.

When we make it to the small building he uses as his office, we find we were not the only ones summoned. White wolf and Zyion are here too.

I step into the small space and take a seat on the chair across from everyone else.

“How’re you feeling, Michaela?”

Chayton’s concern catches me off guard.

“Ummm, much better, thanks.”

Zyion grimaces. I’m guessing he is thinking over why I suddenly feel better.

“I called you all here to discuss what we know about that house and those vampires. We need to get ahead of whoever is attacking the townspeople.”

As the wolves discuss the whys and the hows, I think about all that I’ve noticed. The vampires behind this are attacking randomly. Their attacks are vicious. Most of the time, even if you are the one that feeds until completion, you are much more careful. If I were killing and feeding in a small town, I’d try to make as little of a wave as I can. Maybe come in for two to three days. Do a little scouting first, see who is least likely to be missed. That gives me a better chance to get out of town before they find the bodies. But I wouldn’t leave bodies. Even if I was just there to kill, I’d still hide the bodies. Because eventually, it would draw attention to the council or worse, the union.

A light bulb goes off in my head.

“They’re setting you up?” All the guys go quiet as they turn to me.

“What do you mean?” Chayton asks.

“They’re trying to draw attention to your pack. Even the blood thirstiest of vampires would clean up after themselves. No one wants to be on the union’s radar. Having these bodies show up like this in your territory will definitely get them looking in your direction. You have an enemy out there that wants your seat.”

All the men turn to look at each other.

“Could it be Vilkas finally crawling out of the shadows after months of silence?” White Wolf asks.

Chayton shakes his head. “Vilkas doesn’t have the balls or the power to convince vampires to work with him. This has to be someone else.”

“But who?” Enzo asks. “Who the hell have we angered enough to warrant this?”

Chayton runs a hand through his dark brown hair. “We’ve gained a lot of new members. Maybe one of their alphas isn’t happy about it.”

“Could be,” Enzo says. He turns to Zyion. “I want a record of every member that has joined this pack in the last few months. I need to know who their former alphas are.”

Zyion looks at me, his lips turning down. “Are we sure it’s one of our enemies?”

I expected this from this wolf. If no one else doubts my role here, Zyion does. He’s going to question me at every turn.

“Trust me, if it were an enemy of mine, they wouldn’t use these types of games. They’d come to your front door.” I wasn’t being a bitch when I told him that. Any enemy that I may have would know, this isn’t how you get my attention. Plus, with Markis being on the loose, no one is coming after me. They’d be too afraid Markis and I were in cahoots again.

“I think this is about us,” Chayton says, drawing Zyion’s attention back to him.

“While you guys are tracking down who might’ve done this, you also need to be trying to find these vampires. Having that many in one place is not good. And maybe, if we can find one, we can figure out who they’re working for.”

“She has a point,” Enzo says. I roll my eyes at him. “I’ll set up a scout team. We need to actively search for this hive of vampires. Alarick and I can rotate teams. One team out looking and one team patrolling pack lands.”

“Absolutely,” the White Wolf says. “Keep all grounds covered.”

I wait for my invitation to help, but it never comes.

Standing to my feet, I say. “Well, since I wasn’t asked, I’ll volunteer my services.”

“That would be great,” Chayton adds.

“Absolutely not,” Enzo states.

Chayton looks at his Beta, and I know there is a conversation going on in their heads.

I slip into the link I have with Enzo; it’s a lot easier than the way I used to do it. I once again use the back door entrance, so he won’t know I’m there.

“She is a highly qualified fighter. And is better trained for this than any of us. She worked for the legion for fuck’s sake.”

So Enzo told him about that.

“She is my mate, and I don’t want her out there.”

I roll my eyes internally. He was really taking this farce too far.

“What are you doing here, mate?” at first, I thought the gravelly voice was Enzo’s in my head, but I quickly realized it’s his wolf.

“Spying. How did you find me?”

“You are mine; I can always find you.”

So wolf and human are both crazy. That’s good to know.

“If you do not want me in your head, don’t sneak in mine,” Enzo says out loud toward me.

“Did you rat me out, wolf?” I ask his wolf.

“Never,” he harrumphs in reply.

“My apologies,” I say, holding my hands up. “But I agree with Chayton. I can take care of myself. Plus, it would be smart to have at least three teams. That way, one group can rest while two are out patrolling. If any of the scouts don’t mind, I can lead the third group.”

“She’s right,” Alarick comes to my defense. “Having three groups would be smart. And the new recruits already know Michaela, so they’d have no problem working with her.”

“Would either of you want your mates doing this?”

Chayton and Alarick look away guiltily.

“There is a difference between me and their mates,” I say gently. Apparently, Enzo was on one today, so I was going to be gentle with him. “I’m a highly trained soldier. Have been for nearly four hundred years. And I can take care of myself.”

I can tell by the way his shoulders expand he didn’t like this idea.

Sighing, I try to clean up that last part. “I’m not saying you can’t, Zo. I’m just saying I’m qualified to do so myself.”

I wait for him to say anything, but he doesn’t. Something has him as ridged as a sheet of glass. He blinks twice before storming out of the office. Everyone watches him leave without saying a word.

“Did I say something wrong?” I ask Chayton.

He looks just as confused as me. “I don’t know.”

“I’ll go check on him,” Zyion says, walking out of the building.

I felt bad. Which is rare for me. His reaction was odd, leaving me to think there was something else going on.

“We really would appreciate if you helped with this search,” Chayton says, getting my attention.

“I’d love to help.”

Before he could reply, my phone went off in my pocket. I immediately knew who it was.

“I need to take this,” I explain to the two still inside the building with me. Pulling my phone out, I make my way outside.

“What is it, Tech?” I ask as soon as I answer.

“What the hell did you do?” he says. “Markis is on a rampage. Not only did he kill Colin and Denisa, but ten royals and a member of the council have all been killed in the last few days. Now he’s asking around about your whereabouts.”

Running my hand down my face, I groan. I knew this would be the outcome of breaking the bond.

“I broke the soul tie.”

Silence greets me on the other end. It would seem as if he’d hung up, but I know Tech wouldn’t.

“How?”

“I finally caved and went to see the enchantress.”

He gasps. “She broke the bond?”

“Yes, by bonding me to a werewolf.”

Again, silence meets me, but is quickly replaced with roaring laughter.

“Wait. Wait,” Tech says in between his laughter. “You mean to tell me; you, the Huntress, is mated to a wolf?” he cackles again.

“I’m glad this is funny to you.”

“It is,” he says, sobering. “But this is going to be a problem. Markis is triggered, and he’s acting erratically. But I guess the good news is you can keep your secret safe.”

“For now, anyway,” I say as reality hits.

Breaking the bond was only half the problem. A slight delay. I still had to figure out how to solve the big issue.

“Look, I want you out of the city. Even though he has no idea of our connection, I want you safe. Stop tracking him.”

“If I stop tracking him, we won’t know when he’s coming for you. That will leave you blind.”

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I reply, “I know. But that is a risk I’ll have to take. I want you out of harm’s way. I mean it, Tech.”

He sighs. “I have two more months before classes end. I can’t just leave.”

I didn’t like this. My gut was telling me he needed to get out of the city immediately. However, I never wanted to disturb his world. He had the chance of living a normal life. And school was a big thing for him. So, I go against that feeling in my stomach.

“Alright, but stop tracking him. I promise, as good as you are, he will always out think you. It’s what he’s good at. When school is out, take the passport I got you and go to my home in Milazzo. Stay there until I send for you.”

“Okay mom,” he says jokingly.

“Hey,” I call out before he hangs up. “Be safe.”

He pauses. “Love you too, Zani and I will. Now stop stressing.”

Disconnecting the call, I shove my phone back in my pocket. After turning to go back inside the building, I come face to chest with Enzo. I step back, looking up at him.

“Who were you talking to?”

“A friend,” I reply, stepping around him toward the office. He steps in my path; heat radiates from his body. It’s so hot, I take another step back. His golden eyes are shining, causing me to think his wolf is here and not the Beta.

“I heard a man’s voice, Michaela.”

“Whoa,” I say, holding up my hands. “That man’s voice you heard is an eighteen-year-old kid. He’s a friend. Nothing more.”

The glow of his eyes fades and the Beta reappears.

Placing my hand on my hips, I glare up at him.

“Hold on, didn’t I tell you the night of our ceremony that you were free to stick your little dick in whatever wolf you wanted? Why are you questioning me about a man’s voice?”

He cocks his head to the side, his face void of any emotion. “First off, you and I both know my cock is far from little. Second, I told you I was taking his mating seriously, which means there will be no other females.” He takes a step toward me, taking away the little space I’d placed between us. “I don’t know how vampire marriages work, but I will warn you only once. You are mine, Michaela. I will gladly stand before the union for the crimes I’d commit to your lover. Don’t ever test me that way.”

Whew! I just went from irritated to absolutely horny in a split second. I’ve never been a fan of the possessive alpha talk, but having this towering wolf claim that he would kill any man that touched me has a way of making a girl blush. What stands out more, the way he speaks is so different from the way Markis was. Markis was obsessed, not possessive. He feared losing his weapon, not his woman. When Enzo says it, it sounds as if he doesn’t want to share me .

I shake those thoughts away. “Don’t fool yourself, girl. You know all men are the same. This wolf is using you, too.”

Putting my emotions away and tucking that desire behind my wall, I cock a brow at the wolf. “You okay?” I ask.

He folds his arms over his chest. “I’m good. Just a reminder, rather you want to be in this or not, there will be no other man but me. Do you understand?”

I laugh. “Look around you, Beta. I’m not exactly of high value here. You can relax, okay? No one is trying to steal me away.”

I go to walk past him, but he grabs my arm, halting my escape. His glowing golden wolf's eyes reappear.

“Do. You. Understand?”

Staring up into his face, I see he’s serious. This is bothering him. For a second, I believe that he’s actually serious about this relationship. But then I remind myself that he’s a wolf, and it’s probably just the side effects of the bond. I shouldn’t take it for more than it is.

“Yeah,” I finally say. “I understand.”

He lets me go and we head back into Chayton’s office.