Chapter 22 #2
Ian laughed. "No, that would be a very advanced spell that took deliberate preparation and planning. He just set a few things on fire at parties, flooded some basements, that sort of thing." He clapped Blake on the shoulder affectionately, and Blake just rolled his eyes.
"I’ve learned to limit my booze intake these days," he huffed.
"So...." I looked between the two of them. "You guys are mages. I'm an Alpha wolf. I have a very rotten mate bond attached to my wolf, which is basically my soul. You said you were actually looking for ways to help me?" I looked at Blake. "Is that what you were doing in the secret shifter library?"
"Yep," he replied. "Ian's got some wolf colleagues at the college, and they think he's a human with a wolf in the family, so they’ll answer his questions about wolf stuff on occasion. He got the details on how to get into the library at Blackstone from them."
"Right," Ian said. "Since I'm a professor of medieval history, I'm always expressing my interest in the history of the supernatural as well, shifters included, so they didn't find it odd that I wanted to scour the Academy's secret library."
"Did you find anything useful?" I asked hopefully.
"Well, the book you probably saw me escaping with was an old history and analysis of fated mate bonds among wolf shifters. Ian and I wanted to get some background research on the type of magic and how it really works before we started theorizing on how to break the bond, if there's a way."
I nodded, and sat there for a minute deep in thought, one hand gripping my empty coffee mug and the other squeezing Blake's hand tight.
I couldn't believe that Blake and his uncle had taken it upon themselves to try to find me a way out of the shackles of this bond which could affect me for my entire life.
Blake and I were only sort of flirty friends, and barely even that, for the majority of the three weeks I'd known him, yet he'd set out to solve this magical puzzle and broken a thousand years of mage secrecy just for me.
I mean yeah, now we were together, and it would certainly benefit him to free me from Knox completely, but we'd only been together for about forty-eight hours.
This was so kind and generous, and it was making me a little bit emotional.
"So, uh," I said, sniffing back the tears that I could feel lurking behind my eyes. "Any luck so far?"
Blake sighed and gave me a sympathetic look.
"Not yet, Wolf Girl. We've been focused on just learning about the bond itself.
Your magic is derived from the moon, whereas mine is more elemental, if that makes sense, so we have to figure out how to mesh the two to potentially break the bond. It's complex stuff."
"We learned quite a bit more about the moon’s magic and how it creates and influences fated mate bonds," Ian added. "Shifter magic is, as Blake mentioned, different from how mages wield magic. From what we could glean from the books we’ve reviewed, the fated mate bond is sort of akin to what we’d categorize as a binding spell.
Mages today have little use for a binding spell, and we don’t have fated mates, so there’s not much to go on in our spell books and literature on how to potentially reverse that kind of thing.
But, essentially, we are trying to figure out the right spell, which is sort of a recipe for piecing together our various magical elements into something more complex, that could somehow unbind a moon-magic-based bond. "
"Since I can wield all four elements, we are at least confident that if we can find the right recipe, then between Ian and me, we’ll have all the ingredients we need to attempt to break the bond," Blake said, squeezing my hand affectionately.
"We're going to need to take a trip to the family archives in New Orleans," Ian said.
"I'm thinking we may need to dig back through some of the old books the family has collected over the years and start researching more ancient magic.
Maybe something will pop out at us that makes sense in this situation. "
"Thank you, Ian," I replied, feeling lighter than I had since the rejection. Just hearing it all spelled out like that gave me at least a little hope that it could be possible.
I looked at Blake again, who looked at me with a face full of confidence and determination, and suddenly I felt this overwhelming sensation of warmth, affection and... love?
Jesus, get it together, Mave. You can't be in love with him after dating for two days.
But it hadn't really been two days. I had felt a connection with him the moment I met him, and he'd been there for me for three weeks at school.
Plus, he was determined to undertake this thing that could give me my life back, both from Knox and his piece-of-shit dad.
I couldn't help but fall for him just a little, right here at Ian's table.
"And thank you, Blake," I said to him, trying to convey everything I was feeling with the look on my face. "I just... I can't believe there's even a chance I might be able to rid myself of this thing forever. It means the world to me, baby."
"I'd do anything to make you happy, Wolf Girl," he replied, leaning into me until our noses touched.
Ian cleared his throat, standing. "Okay, lovebirds; I am off to the YMCA to get a swim in. Condoms are under the sink in the bathroom."
"Ian, goddammit," Blake groaned, a slight flush spreading over his cheeks.
I just grinned at Ian, who was looking both amused and pleased with himself for embarrassing his nephew.
"Don't worry, Ian, I have an IUD. No baby wolf-mage nieces or nephews for you."
He laughed, then a contemplative look took over his face.
"Holy shit, I'd need to research what types of powers your kids would have.
One or the other? Some combination of both?
Wow, that is super interesting...." He was walking toward the door, muttering to himself.
He grabbed his keys off of the hook by the door and his gym bag off of the floor, then he was out the door with a quick wave goodbye to us both.
Blake shook his head, then he stood up and gathered our empty dishes from the table and carted them off to the kitchen. I stood next to him at the sink while he washed and I dried, both of us quietly contemplating our lunchtime conversation.
Once we'd finished up, Blake pulled me into his body and leaned down to kiss my neck. "So," he said, as he buried his hands under my shirt and started stroking the smooth skin of my back. "How much longer do I have you for?"
"I have a shift at Marilynn's at four," I replied as I too was moving my hands up under his shirt to caress his toned abs. "So, a few more hours."
"Hmmm," he said, nuzzling into my neck again. "Good." Then he looked at me with those bright green eyes. "Are you okay with everything we told you? I know it's probably a little overwhelming, but maybe not so much for you since you’re a powerful supernatural being yourself."
"Honestly, I've had a few days to come to terms with the fact that you had some kind of unheard-of magical power," I replied.
"It was seeing you in the library that made me give up the resistance I'd been having to getting closer to you.
I realized that you were probably powerful in your own right, so me trying to protect you from Knox or the Alpha by keeping you at a distance maybe wasn't necessary after all.
Or...," I sighed, "maybe I was just being selfish and wanted to have you anyway, and I used your fireballs as an excuse. "
"You were right the first time, Wolf Girl," he said, nodding; then he kissed me hard on the lips.
"I can hold my own, and you and I are stronger together.
" Then his face turned hard. "I heard what you told Monroe about what the Alpha said to you.
Fuck that conniving asshole, Mave. I won't let him hurt you.
But I know you won't let him get away with that shit, either. "
I nodded, then I squeezed him tighter.
We moved to his room. Like the rest of the condo, it was very masculine-looking, with dark wood furniture, a desk that looked like it was probably Ian's, and a plush queen-size bed with navy blue bedding.
We sprawled out on his bed, snuggling while he lightly traced patterns into my palm with his middle finger.
I could feel a slight tickle from the tiny stream of air coming from his fingertip.
"So, if it wasn't clear yet," he said as he traced, "I'm all in, Wolf Girl.
I'm all in as your boyfriend, your partner in crime, and on doing the work we need to do to free you from this garbage mate bond.
And I'd want to do that anyway, even if we weren't together, because no one should have to be stuck for life to a mate who doesn’t appreciate them. I hope you believe me."
"I believe you," I confirmed. I snuggled closer, laying my head on his shoulder and staring up at the soft white ceiling of his bedroom.
"And I'm all in too, Blake. I've felt a pull toward you since I saw you.
My wolf was interested in you, which has never happened.
Then shit got blown up with the bond, which made my feelings confusing to both me and my wolf.
But it's been pretty clear to me that even in spite of that, I've developed serious feelings for you.
It's a different feel than the pull of the mate bond, but it's no less present. I wonder if your power calls to mine?"
"Maybe. I felt you push your power once and it felt... really good."
"Seriously? Like how?"
"Like a caress. I almost got hard, if I'm being honest."
I smacked his chest playfully. "Well, a wolf would feel uncomfortable if I pushed power at them—battling the urge to submit to me and all of that.
Ben or my parents aren't affected by it; with them it's more that it just kind of communes with their wolves in a pleasant way.
I did not know it could turn someone on. "
"See? You were made for me, baby."
He rolled over on top of me then and pressed his lips to mine.
I felt his tongue caress the seam of my lips, so I opened to him, our tongues dancing together in slow, languid movements.
We kissed, lazy and unhurried, finally alone in a bed where we could take the time to explore and relish one another.
Eventually, Blake stripped me of my clothes and kissed every inch of my body.
Then he made sweet, passionate love to me, whispering naughty things in my ear, but also staring down at me like I was the most precious treasure.
We came together in a slow crescendo that felt a little like our own bond snapping into place.
I didn't even feel my rotten mate bond once. It was a perfect afternoon.