Page 16 of The Bookseller and the Alpha (Witch Twins #1)

Luc

My fingers hovered over the screen on my phone.

I had almost called Caly a number of times during the afternoon.

But if I called her she’d expect an update on her case, and the truth was that I had no new information.

I just wanted to hear her voice. Sam had called earlier, telling me about a call Caly had received in the morning.

And then a threatening text. Beast had risen up under my skin at that.

Wanting to hunt and kill. But the number had been a dead end.

A burner phone bought with fake ID. It had to be connected somehow.

Now it was late, already well past midnight and I was still at the Palace. With the Summit coming up, my team had already been overloaded before Bas had called me this morning. I didn’t regret it, but I resented that I couldn’t go to her now. That I wasn’t the one looking after her.

My thoughts had returned to her time and time again during the evening.

I wanted to hear her voice; to feel the thrill in my blood that only she caused.

My thoughts kept circling around the same questions.

What were Calypso and Sam doing? Laughing over dinner?

Sharing a couch in her loungeroom? I imagined Calypso lying on her bed, wearing only the lacy bra I’d seen hints of this morning and a pair of matching panties, and my cock jumped to attention.

Mine. Not Sam’s. The voice in my mind snarled. Our woman. Kill Sam .

We will not kill Sam . I pushed back against my inner monster. He is our friend and our employee. He is doing what we told him to do.

Ours!

The simple word rocked me. Calypso was ours. Both halves of my soul had found my mate. And while I couldn’t let my Beast out, it would do neither of us any good to deny the truth.

But I had to wait until I had Beast more under control.

I hadn’t been able to get my shields back in place since I’d first seen Caly.

Something about the presence of our mate had given him power I didn’t know he had.

I was going to have to proceed slowly, staying in control.

I couldn’t risk him gaining the upper hand.

But Beast was right about one thing. She was my mate and it was my right to protect her.

Yes , said Beast. Be close to her. Listen to her breathe in the deep of night. Kill anyone who comes for her.

I could do that. Fuck it. I’d give this another thirty minutes, then I’d go to my mate. I texted Sam, letting him know that I would take over.