CHAPTER 5
Rudgar
I watched my mate introduce herself to my clan, my heart brimming with satisfaction.
This is where she belongs. This is where she’s going to stay.
Every protective instinct inside of me—and I’d had an overabundance of them since I was a very young male—was telling me to keep her here with me, inside the clan. I wasn’t one to ignore my instincts. They had kept my brother and I safe over the years. It was why he trusted me with the security and safety of our businesses and clan.
When my mate was finished speaking, I used the moment to steer the topic into something safe. I didn’t want her bringing up anything about leaving to go find her mother’s house again.
“I almost forgot,” I called, dipping my hand into my pockets and pulling out stoppered bottles. My best friend Darak had sourced them from the witches for me. I’d used this language potion in the past and found one for Rok when he hadn’t been able to understand his mate.
Pen narrowed her eyes, her arms crossed against her chest, a scowl on her pretty face. “There better be one for me there,” she announced with a sniff.
My grin was mischievous. “I don’t know, Pen, do you need one?” I asked, shaking a bottle in her direction.
“I will kill you,” she said, baring her little teeth at me, and I didn’t doubt that she would do some bodily harm if I kept teasing her. Pregnancy hormones were making her crankier than usual—-while my grumpy brother Dristan was leaning in the other direction, mellowing as the pregnancy progressed. He hugged her around her waist, running a gentle palm against her lower stomach while Pen made the I’m watching you gesture with her fingers.
I huffed out a laugh, passing bottles over to Krusk, Savla, and Enka before telling them in Orcish, “This will help you understand Common.”
I watched Dristan lead Pen out of the room, knowing it would be wise if her stomach was still sensitive. The potion did not smell good. With a nod, they bravely tossed the reeking potion back—and I had to admire the fact that these males, who were battle-hardened and relied only on each other and Rok, trusted me enough that they didn’t question the potion that I’d given them, only crinkling their noses and making faces after they swallowed. Humbled, I waited until they were all looking at me again before I said in Common,
“Can you understand me?”
Their eyes widened and they nodded.
“Yes,” Krusk said in perfect Common and he froze before a little laugh escaped him. “It’s that easy?” he asked.
“It can’t be,” Enka said in Common as well, before slapping his brother across his back. “It is!”
Savla nodded in my direction. “Thank you, brother.”
Krusk and Enka said their own thanks. Zara clapped her hands behind me, hurrying forward to pluck the vial from Savla’s hand, staring down at it. “It’s a language potion,” she gasped, before turning and holding it up to me with excitement. “Where did you get it?”
Frowning, I shrugged. “Why?” I asked, suspicion filling my mind. “Do you need one?”
She shook her head, her small hand circling my wrist. Electricity arced through my arm, and I glanced down at where her perfect little fingers were touching me.
“No, this is my mom’s coven! This is her recipe,” she gasped, holding it up to me again. “Look! Here,” she tapped against the side of the glass to where there was a tiny label on the bottom.
The Sisters of the Sage was written there in small lettering. Frowning, I took it back from her, looking from the label to her.
“Your mom’s coven?” I asked, and she nodded, all but vibrating. I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face at the amount of enthusiasm, but at the same time, I heard a swiftly drawn breath from behind me.
“The Sisters of the Sage? Isn’t that Tasia’s coven?” Becca asked, turning to look at me.
We both knew the name of that coven, but unlike the exuberant joy that Zara was experiencing, dread filled my chest.
“Yes,” I said to Becca, not sure what else to say.
“They’re bad news, Zara,” Pen gasped, her hand going to her chest before she shook her head. “They were the ones who sent Rok back to his home in the first place.”
Zara’s eyes went wide and she shook her head, looking over at Rok where his brow was furrowed. “T-that can’t be right,” she said, frowning. “Is that true, Rok?”
“I didn’t know that was what they were called until I returned,” he explained, scrubbing his palm across the back of his neck. “And I’m sorry if that’s your amu’s coven, Zara. Maybe they were different when she was in charge, but now…” he trailed off with a shrug, pursing his lips.
Zara’s hand went to her chest and she shook her head. “There’s no way. My mom came to this plane, pregnant with me, knowing she needed to escape and found them—” she cut herself off, swallowing hard. “There’s just no way.”
“I’m sorry,” I told her in a low voice, reaching out to touch her hand, but she pulled away from me, her brow furrowed, her eyes unfocused—lost in thought. “But we looked into them after Rok was taken. I know all about them and if I’d known that that was where I would be getting this potion from, I would have found another coven.” I said the words in a placating voice, but I needed her to know the truth.
While her mom might have trusted these witches with her life, there was no way I was letting her get anywhere near them. They were bad news. They’d stolen Rok right out from under our noses and while they’d tried to help get him back, in the end, they hadn’t been able to do anything about it.
It was unforgivable. Zara had been the one to bring him back. If not for her, he would still be lost to us—to Becca. While on a certain level, I felt gratitude that Rok had brought my mate with him, there was no way I would be able to trust The Sisters of the Sage with my mate.
Especially not when she was hiding from a warlock. These witches were too transactional for my liking. I’d offered to pay any amount to return Rok, but they hadn’t been powerful enough to do anything but return him into the enchanted tome he’d come from.
“But they—” she gasped, her hand going to her throat as she narrowed her gaze. “I need to meet them.”
“Are you okay?” I asked, reaching out to her, but she waved me away, slapping at my hand with her tiny one. “You won’t be meeting them,” I told her in what I hoped was a soothing voice. If just the thought of them was making her this upset, then I couldn’t be expected to allow my mate to run amok with them.
“You can’t tell me what to do,” she huffed, holding her chin high, and I quirked an eyebrow at her.
“Well, actually—” I started, but Becca ran up to my side, grabbing my forearm and shaking her head with urgency.
“No, no. We’re going to stop right there,” she said to the both of us, holding out a placating hand between us. “We’re not going to fight. We’re here to have a nice dinner. And we just wanted to let you know that while you might remember them as something a little different, Zara, we think your coven might have changed. That’s all,” she said with a kind smile in my mate’s direction.
“And she’s not allowed to see them,” I added with a firm nod.
Becca slapped her hand across her face and turned to walk back toward her mate. “I tried,” she said to Pen while my mate turned to glare at me.
“I’m allowed to see whoever I want to see,” she argued.
Krusk, Savla, and Enka were watching us as if we were the most interesting thing in the world, their heads going back and forth between us like a tennis match.
“You know, Zara,” Krusk said, tilting his head to the side as he lifted the bottle he was still holding up for her to see. “If they’re selling these things instead of giving them the way you said your mother did, then maybe they have changed. It’s been a while since your mother was here. Maybe they lost their way.”
I watched with fascination as my spitting mad mate pondered this new bit of information. Her fury fizzled away until it was almost as if it had never happened.
“That’s true,” she said with a curious tilt of her head. “What if they’re under new management now? That would explain why they’re different,” she agreed.
I glared at Krusk for being able to make her see exactly what I’d been trying to explain, but he just shrugged at me.
“Then you should look into them some more before you approach them,” Enka said, turning to sniff in the direction of the kitchen.
Zara nodded, deep in thought. “Yeah. Maybe. That way I can get an idea of who’s in charge. And maybe I’ll be able to talk to them and see why they’d agree to send Rok back. Because it doesn’t make sense.” She murmured the last sentence, nibbling on her lower lip until it was raw and moist.
I licked my own lips, trying to ignore the pull of attraction between us—but it was impossible.
“I’ll go tomorrow,” she announced to the room and my thoughts were dragged to a halt.
Wait, what?
“Didn’t we just say that going to meet them was a bad idea?” I asked the room at large, wondering if I was losing my mind.
Most of them nodded, but the females just shrugged at me, as if it was out of my hands anyway.
It most definitely was not.
“I’m in charge of the security of this clan,” I announced to everyone, and I watched as a smug smile crossed my brother’s face.
Of course that fucker is enjoying this. This is revenge from when he couldn’t control his own female. Now he’s taking it out on me.
“I decide when we take on any risks and how,” I continued, ignoring him and looking at Pen and Becca, whose eyebrows were almost to their hairlines. “And I’ve decided that this is a no .”
I looked at Rok, Krusk, Savla, and Enka and they shrugged.
“Well I’ll have you know,” Zara said with a sniff, poking her tiny finger into my chest. “That I’m not part of this clan. That’s my mother’s coven , and I can do whatever the hell I want to do. You’re not the boss of me.”
I was just about to toss her over my shoulder when Pen stepped between us with an uncomfortable laugh. “While I just love to have people argue when I invite them over, why don’t we eat first? We all think better with full stomachs.”
I was almost certain that my mate was plotting a way to leave. I could see it in the way that she was interacting on the edge of our group. She’d settled onto the sofa and observed as we all gathered around Becca and Rok’s dining table.
Pen had made enough food to feed an army—and we were slowly becoming one, if our numbers kept growing.
“Aren’t you hungry?” Pen asked Zara, and she shook her head, but the loud rumble from her stomach belied her words.
“Uhh… It does that sometimes,” she said with a vigorous nod and wave of her hand. “Because of the magick. It stays in the stomach, you know—” she started babbling, and I rolled my eyes, filling two plates with pasta and salad, adding garlic bread to the side and then walking across to her.
She looked at me with suspicion as I settled on the sofa next to her. I sank into the softness, and she squeaked, landing against my side, shoving at me with her elbow, but I didn’t feel a thing.
I beamed at where Pen was wiggling her eyes at me and watched while everyone else moved to sit on the sofas as well.
Enka settled with crossed legs on the floor, three plates laid out in front of him, glee on his face while Savla smacked Krusk’s hand from where he was trying to steal bread from his plate.
“This is nice,” Becca said with a happy sigh, feeding Rok a bite from her fork. The male nodded, stars in his eyes when he looked at his mate.
“My mate’s the best cook,” Dristan said, pressing a kiss to Pen’s head.
She grinned at him before turning to Zara. “Tell us about yourself, Zara,” she said, and I felt my mate go still next to me, her mouth filled with pasta.
“Me?” she asked, before almost choking on her food. I ran my palm in a circle on her back, savoring the feel of her softness under my hand. She smacked at me until I stopped, but I grinned at her, unrepentant. Every excuse to touch her was one I was going to use.
“I think you know pretty much everything about me,” she said, clearing her throat and wiping her mouth with a napkin. “I grew up near here and then I was taken to their plane, which I call Hellplane, by the way, in case anyone wants to make it popular.” She grinned, taking a sip of wine as she talked. “After that, I was rescued by my friends and Rok, and here I am.” She held her hand up next to her, palm facing the ceiling as if she was posing, and I smothered a laugh.
And there she goes, glossing over the important information.
I knew I was going to interrogate her more when we were alone. Especially about how she’d been taken. Or why .
“Hellplane sounds like a good name for that place,” Enka laughed, taking a huge bite of pasta from his second plate. “It was the worst .”
Krusk and Savla nodded their agreement.
“There were barely any hunting grounds and other than Rok, no one granted us permission to hunt on their lands,” Krusk said, shaking his head. “If he didn’t show us how to hunt, we’d have been dead years ago,” he added with a shrug.
My brow furrowed and I glanced at Dristan, whose eyes were troubled as he listened to the three of them speak.
“You don’t have to worry about that here,” he said in a gruff voice, taking a bite with gusto. “You’re a part of this clan now and you never have to worry about that ever again.”
The three males widened their eyes around the table before Krusk shook his head. “We don’t want to be burdens—” he started, but I cleared my throat after Dristan quirked an eyebrow in my direction.
Ah. Assigned clan PR duties again.
“I can use three strong males like yourselves in my team. I have a security firm, so if you’re looking for work that can help the clan, you can start there,” I told them, keeping my tone casual. “Rok’s also working with me, so he can show you the ropes.”
“The evil box can’t be trusted,” Rok said without hesitation, leaning forward and shaking his head. “But the rodent hasn’t bitten me yet.”
I rolled my eyes, holding back the urge to drop my face into my hands in frustration. The evil box was the computer and the rodent was the mouse. Introducing Rok to technology was like trying to meld oil and water. So far I’d been unsuccessful. But I wasn’t giving up.
Hopefully these males were easier to teach. But when Savla perked up, leaning forward and asking, “There’s rodents?” I figured I could give up on that hope.