Page 13 of Blood Magic

Chapter Five

I told him about my meeting with the county master as he drove, and I could tell by the way he squeezed the steering wheel and clenched his jaw that he was not a happy man. “Stay away from him, Kait.”

“One of his children came to me for help. She says Axton is doing some kind of experiments, and that he’s learning to control humans beyond just shading them to feed.”

“No,” he said flatly. “None of his people would ever betray him that way. You misunderstood, or she’s attempting to pull you into a trap.”

I shook my head. “You weren’t there. Trust me, Alpha. There’s some shady shit going on there. No pun intended. And I’m sure my client’s wife is somehow mixed up in the whole mess.”

“Stay out of it.”

I stared at him, angry. “You may be alpha, but you don’t have to be an asshole. I’m not a child, and I’m for damn sure not your child. So fuck off with your orders, Jared.”

“I’m not ‘an alpha,’ Kait. I’m your alpha.”

I shivered at his low, growly voice, angry at myself for being so attracted to him. “Maybe,” I agreed, finally, calmly, “but I’m not looking for a man to dominate me.”

He looked at me, his eyes glittering and mysterious and just a little dangerous in the shadowy closeness of the car. And maybe a little amused. “Okay.”

I stared out my window and didn’t say another word until we reached the woods of Shadowfield, the little town of wolves. Jared’s town.

My pack’s town.

“We miss your mother,” Jared told me, as we left the car and walked toward the woods.

“I wish she hadn’t left just yet,” I said. “I worry Adam Thorne will make another attempt on her just to get to me.”

“Why does he want you now, Kait? He cast you out, but now he’s trying to get you back. Why?”

“I don’t know. I honestly don’t know. But I think it’s because he found out you were going to free my wolf. He doesn’t want me shifting. I…” I shook my head. “I don’t know.”

“I warned him that you and Susan belong to me now. If he bothers you again, I will make him regret it.”

I pressed my hand to my chest. “Jared. Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” he said, his voice soft but full of a very dark threat. “I take care of my pack. Adam Thorne doesn’t want a war. He’ll leave you alone.”

I wasn’t so sure, but I did believe that the next time Thorne tried something, he’d come directly for me and leave my mother alone. “I wish she would have stayed here,” I said.

“I told her that when she grows tired of living without her pack, she’s welcome to return to Shadowfield. As are you.”

“I appreciate knowing I have a place to come to should I need one.”

“But…”

“But my home is the city.”

He didn’t argue. The pack still wasn’t ready to accept me. Most of them believed I was a demon. And I wasn’t ready to forgive them for the mistreatment I’d received at their hands. If I moved into Shadowfield, there would be constant conflict.

The second I entered the deep, dark woods, everything else melted away. I was no longer thinking about buried vampires, angry masters, or even missing humans. My wolf woke up and pulsed eagerly inside me, ready to come out and play.

My alpha was there, and it was safe.

I could shift, run, eat, whatever I wanted. I could be a wolf.

Undressing in front of him would have been even more awkward now because of my not-so-subtle physical attraction to him, but like a gentleman, he turned his back when I began to remove my clothing.

He discarded his own clothes, quickly and casually, not caring at all that I watched. When we were both naked, he turned slightly toward me. “Do you need help, Kait?”