Page 56 of Witchblood

I thought about my years sequestered inApa’s pack. Lots of tricks and ill-fated events had befallen me there as well. Even leaving home once had brought Robin into my life. Was I doomed to this chaos forever? Would Liam aid that curse just as he eased my panic? What the hell was a kitsune anyway?

There was so much spiraling already, I couldn’t fathom another puzzle. I needed to find Dylan. And Nicky. AndApawas going to be so mad, but all I could think to say is, “What is a kitsune?” I copied his pronunciation.Kit-soon-eh.

“Fox spirit,” Liam told me, lifting me into his arms to carry me in the bridal style again. “I have a couple books I’ve found on the mythology. When things quiet down a bit I’ll lend them to you.”

“Don’t kill Sean,” I told Liam, like I could make him listen to me.

“Yeah, don’t kill Sean,” Sean echoed.

“I need to find Dylan,” I grumbled, suddenly too tired to think straight. He could talk sense into Liam.

“No one is killing anyone tonight,” Liam told me. He glanced at Sean.

“No protesting here.”

Chapter 25

The door to the room opened and Oberon filled the doorway. Maybe Liam was wrong and we were all dying tonight. But Liam met his gaze steadily. While Oberon loomed large as always, he looked tired.

“I sensed Seb,” Oberon said. He looked at me like he was searching for the answers to all the universe’s questions. “He smells like you.”

“He’s mine,” Liam affirmed. “How is the Volkov? If you sensed that Sebastian was back, he must have as well.”

“I’m glad to see you’ve finally bonded. You sound more rational than you did the last time I saw you.Apais…struggling. When I felt Seb’s presence there was a flicker of humanity. I called out to him, but he just growled at me.”

The idea thatApawas lost permanently to his beast made my heart hurt. Yes, he scared me, and I wasn’t sure he always made the best choices, but he was the only man I’d ever known as a father. He’d also been the one to hug me without hesitation, smile and encourage my interests, and let me run free enough to make my own mistakes.

“We can go see him,” I whispered, almost too afraid to actually do it.

“Are you sure?” Liam asked.

“You said I was safe from him,” I said. Would Liam be safe from him? “Now that we are bonded…”

“You smell like me. Like pack,” Liam agreed.

“I’m not sure if that will make him angry, or pleased that Seb finally has a home to take care of him,” Oberon interrupted. “Mated omegas have a different feel than unmated ones. Seb has always been a bit of a loose cannon with his pheromones though. So maybe we should wait a few days. See if the return of Seb’s presence can help at a distance?”

“What pheromones? You want me to sit around while Liam’s whole pack suffers?” I sighed. It would sort of be better to pull the Band-Aid off, right?Apahad hosted some sort of trial to find me a mate, and here we were, bonded. If he didn’t approve of Liam, why would he have given Liam this territory? Why set up the land for my arrival with a giant garden?

“It’s your pack too,” Liam reminded me.

“Not yet,” I told him. But they would be soon. It would take rebuilding the den and linking myself into Liam’s pack bond, if that was even possible. I had heard of some human women managing it. Most mates weren’t true mates, even with a pack’s support. Maybe ours would be different. “Let’s go say hello,” I said. My stomach growled loudly. Liam chuckled and grabbed a sandwich off the plate, handing it to me.

“Eat,” he ordered me, like his command would work. I ate because I was hungry. “The human is under my protection,” Liam told Oberon.

“He knows about us,” Oberon stated.

“I told him, Liam didn’t. Blame me. Sean won’t tell anyone. He loves Dylan. Wants Dylan back.”

Sean sighed again, “Yes, please.” He grabbed a sandwich off the plate and crawled into bed. “I’ll stay locked up here forever if you just bring Dylan back to me. I can work on pack cars or something.”

“Tomorrow, after I’ve had rest and my head is clear, I’ll try to use the pack bond to find him,” Liam said, both to Sean and Oberon.

“Carl tried that,” Oberon pointed out.

“Carl doesn’t like anyone,” I said, remembering what Liam had told me. Only the alpha could access the whole pack unless they’d all truly bonded. It didn’t sound like Carl cared enough for anyone to feel that sort of link.

Liam pushed past Oberon. “Tomorrow is soon enough to start putting out fires. Will the Volkov’s sanity last that long?”