Page 47

B efore we left the suite Yelena put a collar—thick black leather with a plush inside and her name inscribed in gold on the side—around my throat.

I was breathless as she did up the buckle, goosebumps rippling over my skin when her fingertips brushed my neck.

Caden watched closely, and, while he was obviously displeased, he didn’t try to stop Yelena or talk her out of it.

“The residents are less likely to bother you if they know you’re mine,” Yelena explained, turning me to face her and adjusting the collar. “And the Protectors will think twice since they’ll have no deniability as to your identity.”

I didn’t mind the weight of it—or the idea of being safer if everyone assumed I belonged to the woman in front of me. I should probably mind the concept of her owning me, but Haru seemed happy and we weren’t intending to stay long-term so maybe it wouldn’t be a bad experience.

“Haru doesn’t wear a collar?” I asked, glancing at him before she tugged me out of the suite.

“He did for a while,” she replied, punching the button for the elevator.

“In the early days it had the two-fold benefit of protecting him and preventing people from gawking at his scars when they were new. Now he doesn’t care as much about questions and all the permanent residents have gotten used to him.

It’s only worn for playtime in the suite as of late. ”

I toyed with the gold ring at the front.

Yelena’s eyes fell on my fingers. “Is it uncomfortable? Do you need me to loosen it?”

“It’s okay. I’ll get used to it.”

She nodded and the elevator doors opened with a ping. “Tell me about yourself, and your panthers.”

“What do you want to know?”

Yelena leaned against the mirrored walls and watched me. “What do you think is relevant to share?”

Heck if I knew. “Um, well, Caden and I have been together about five years now. I adopted him and Seth when I thought they were regular cats.”

“You’re with both of them, though?” Yelena asked.

“Things with Seth are new, but yeah, I think so.”

The elevator came to a stop and Yelena looked at me curiously. “You think so? Why on earth are you bonded to Seth but not Caden if you’ve been with him far longer and he’s your alpha?”

We stepped off together into a basement with smooth concrete floors and overhead lighting that hurt my eyes.

“It’s complicated. Before we found out I was an omega witch, Caden was afraid that a bonding bite might kill me, so he always held off, and he just kind of came around to the idea of Seth being involved in the last few days.

We haven’t had a lot of time to settle everything and talk about boundaries and whatnot.

Little more preoccupied with not dying.”

Yelena hummed as we walked into the bowels of the nest.

We were alone as far as I could tell and it was chilly down here.

She stopped us in front of a plain white door and punched a code into the panel next to it.

It opened into another room, dimly lit by selenite lamps around the space.

The floor was soil in here and the scent invaded my nose.

A labyrinth pattern of stones wove through the dirt and in the center sat five items. I couldn’t discern any rhyme or reason to them—an intricately carved wooden mandala, an abstract painting with hues that looked suspiciously like blood had been used, a twisted gold torque with stag heads at each end, a bronze dodecahedron, and what looked like a small curved dagger tucked into an ornate sheath of gold and bright blue stones.

“They’re beautiful. What are they?” I asked.

“Artifacts that each of the Protectors contributed. They power the wards and give us our status.”

I blinked, examining the items gathered. “How do they affect your status?”

“Items like these aren’t common,” said Yelena. “Without them our shifter populations are vulnerable and none of us are particularly interested in letting witches come in to provide for our needs in this regard. No offense to you, precious.”

“Oh, none taken. I get wanting to keep it a shifter matter.”

“If we weren’t under direct attack I wouldn’t ask, but…”

The idea that the safety of so many people was relying on me was humbling, and terrifying. “Which one of them is yours?”

“The dagger.”

Yelena took my hand and pulled me closer, reaching our joined hands toward the sheathed blade. The air rippled and a tingling warmth bathed my skin.

“The space around the artifacts is enchanted so only one of the Protectors can touch what’s inside, and each of us can only touch the one bound to us.

You’ll have to get acquainted with all of the others as well to make sure theirs have enough power, but we’ll start with mine and see what kind of toll it takes on you. ”

Nerves twisted in my belly. If I fucked up on this, would the wards fail entirely? If that creature got inside, so many people could die.

Yelena’s fingers gently squeezed mine. “I’m right here. You’re going to do just fine. I haven’t got a lot of witch blood in me, but I have enough to help you. Deep breath for me, precious.”

I obeyed the order and rolled my shoulders, trying to make myself relax. We put our joined fingertips to the dagger and it hummed under my touch. Towering mountains, wild steppes, and endless forests flickered in my mind’s eye and had goosebumps dancing over my skin.

“Holy shit, that feels old .”

Yelena smiled next to me and tucked herself closer. “Over a millennium. Visualize your power moving into it. It can likely hold much more than you can give, so be sure to pull back before you pass out, okay?”

I nodded absently and closed my eyes, leaning into her as I imagined my power like a river. It flowed, hot and potent, from my chest and down into my arm.

Yelena let out a whispered oh, fuck when it brushed against her skin. “Your power packs a bit of spice, precious.”

She didn’t pull away as I let it swell and bathe the dagger. It sank into the stone and metal, the artifact drinking it up greedily as if it were pulling it out of me instead of me surrendering the energy to it.

My body swayed and Yelena held me tighter, pressing her forehead to my temple. “Ease up, precious.”

I struggled to dampen the flow and Yelena must have been able to tell because she detached my fingertips one by one from the dagger, despite the pained hisses she made as my magic sizzled. I sagged against her as she finally took hold of my hand and tucked it against my chest.

“There’s a good girl. You’ve done so well.” Her arms cradled me, supporting the majority of my weight. It was a good thing we were almost on the floor because her easy praise would’ve taken my knees right out from under me. “Let’s rest a moment.”

She pulled me close, tucking my head beneath her chin, one arm wrapped around my shoulders while the other continued to hold my hand.

My vision was blurry and my head felt like it was stuffed with cotton.

I leaned heavily into Yelena. Sitting this close to her with nothing to distract me, I noticed the faint scent of spices clinging to her—cinnamon, clove, cardamom, and nutmeg. I inhaled deeply and savored it.

“Do you want me to call your panther to help you recharge?” Yelena asked after a while.

I shook my head. “Just need a minute.”

Her thumb moved in soft circles on my shoulder and I closed my eyes. Yelena didn’t seem so scary now. It was hard to be as on guard with her as I should when I could fall asleep with the next breath and she was patiently cradling me.

I had no idea how long we sat there. I drifted in and out of sleep in her arms and finally woke to the sound of her purr and heartbeat steady in my ear.

My neck was stiff and my legs prickled with pins and needles when I sat up and shifted.

Yelena was just as close as before, sweet, spicy scent filling each breath.

Her fingers cupped my cheeks, her gaze flickering over mine.

My heart kicked into gear. Were all shifters this unfairly attractive?

Surely they couldn’t all be this beautiful, but all the ones I’d seen so far were definitely on the top of the pretty pyramid.

“Feeling better, precious?”

“Mhmm.” Her thumb brushed over my cheek and warmth rushed under her touch. “Why do you call me that?”

Her head quirked. “Precious? That’s what you are—brought to me by the gods, foretold in Haru’s dreams, and meant to be mine. Precious is exactly the title you should have.”

“Oh.” My stomach fizzed with butterflies and molten heat, and my heart buzzed frantically. Yelena’s golden gaze pierced right through me. Her hand slid under my jaw, thumb and forefinger holding my chin so I couldn’t look anywhere else.

I leaned in, almost magnetized toward her, and before I even felt like I’d moved she was right there, soft, full lips brushing against mine.

Heat rocketed down to my toes. I pulled back a second later, though she didn’t let me get very far.

Struggling to get my breathing under control, I pressed my hands to my thighs and dug in my nails for an anchor.

Yelena brushed her thumb over my bottom lip and let me sit back a bit more. “Do you want to tell me what’s going through your head right now?”

“I dunno that I could verbalize it.”

Yelena smoothed her other hand over my hair and cupped my neck, lightly pinning me in place as surely as if she’d leashed my collar to the wall. “Try.”

I swallowed hard. “I want to feel safe and comfortable and I…I know you’re probably used to getting anything you want. I don’t know what you want from me. From any of us. I don’t think that this would be a good idea.”

She nodded and sat back.

“You’re very pretty,” I continued. “Like, so pretty, but I want to know that we’re going to be okay and have some space with Caden and Seth to just breathe for a moment.”

“Understood.” Yelena helped me stand and I followed her to the elevator on wobbly legs, my stomach churning nervously. “Haru and I will let you have the suite until tonight.”

I perked up. “Really? You don’t mind?”

“I’ll have to confer more with the other Protectors anyway, and it’s been a while since we’ve eaten in the dining hall.

” She took my hand and pulled me through the open elevator doors.

My stomach flipped at the contact. I leaned against the mirrored walls since I was still unbalanced, and she punched in the code that let us access the suite floor before it rose up.

“Thank you.” I squeezed her hand. “I don’t want you to feel like you need to leave, but the downtime is appreciated.”

The elevator doors opened at her suite and we stepped out. She put in the code to let us inside and all three of the occupants turned toward us. Caden was by my side instantly, tugging me into his arms.

Yelena looked around us. “Come, Haru. We’ll eat in the dining hall tonight.”

He nodded and slipped past us, the two of them stepping onto the elevator together.

“Stay in the suite,” Yelena ordered. “I’ll have something sent up.”

Yelena and Haru left us, a heaviness dropped out of the air as the doors closed.