Page 110 of Tethered Souls

“Just talking, Kali,” I say, using the nickname he hates. It is a low blow, but I’m feeling irritable, and besides, it is still vastly better than the one Maddox gave me. Which is Vay Vay. The fucker calls me a vagina.

He settles into the chair beside me. “It just felt right.”

“Instant?”

He nods.

I sigh. It wasn’t instant with Micha. So maybe I’m not in love with her. Maybe she isn’t a weakness.

“Though it took me longer to realize that than it should have.”

I glance at him. “What changed?”

He shrugs. “Couldn’t fucking resist her.”

Couldn’t fucking resist her…

Damn, that fucking fits.This last week and a half has been hel to my control. Micha’s making me insane. I have never had an issue ignoring any carnal urges before – made it thirty-odd years no problem. But with her…

I’m sleeping in my fucking office just so she can’t come to me at night.

And at the same time, I want to burn the entire fucking world down just so no one gets to enjoy her but me.

I fucked her in Maddox’s room for gods’ sake. Because she felt comfortable enough to prank him. That was it. That was all the fucking trigger I needed.

She’s driving me insane.

This can’t be right.

“How do you know it isn’t a spell?” I ask.

He glances at me like I’m an idiot, but he’s the dumb one if he hasn’t even at least considered –

“You know it’s not,” he says.

I glance away, not quite ready to let that hypothesis die. Itcouldbe true. It would explain so much. She wouldn’t be the first woman who tried to seduce me and kill me. She’d just be the first one to succeed.

I frown, not liking the heaviness in my chest. But fuck, my little monster actually could succeed. I would run into a dark alley in the middle of Death Hunt territory if I thought she needed me. Impale myself right onto her fucking knife.

I shift uncomfortably, but I haven’t survived this long by ignoring my paranoia.

Then there’s the thing I discovered today – the reason I haven’t been able to sleep.

“There’s a bulletin out on the ledger,” I say. “Someone has accepted it.” Meaning someone thinks they can actually pull it off. Someone like Micha perhaps… She’s the only one who can other than a brother, but if any brother gives it up, they will be damning themselves to a life behind bars given all their sins are listed too.

Khalid glances at me. “The ward’s solid.” His eyes track across the flowers. “Our second defense is strong, and that’s assuming none of us are home, which is rare.”

“Wards fail all the time. Aleric broke one just like this a few decades ago.” He attacked at dinner with his entire nest. If Mother hadn’t realized she could pull monsters out of her shadows, he would have ended our bloodline that night. As it was, many witches died.

“Our magic has come a long way since then.”

I incline my head, but I don’t verbalize my agreement.

“You should be more worried about Maddox. He killed a WALL member tonight.”

“They’re nothing but gnats.”

The Warriors Against Lycans and Lessers consists only of humans. They might kill a few of us every so often, but they don’t have the firepower or the manpower to take us down.