Chapter 7 #2
Astra’s expression shifts from anger to concentration, her mind clearly working through the mystery. “And last night?”
“Last night, I found her sleepwalking toward the lake.” My throat tightens at the memory.
“She was in some kind of trance, completely unaware. I stopped her, tried to wake her up, and when nothing else worked, I kissed her. The moment our lips touched, everything changed. The bond came roaring back, stronger than ever. She could feel it again, feel me again.”
“And then?” Astra’s voice is quiet now, knowing.
Heat floods my face. “And then we drank that wine. Both of us. Things got…out of control.”
There’s a look of understanding in her eyes, followed immediately by concern. “How out of control?”
I touch the mark on my shoulder, the one Selene’s teeth left. “Completely. We mated. Marked each other. The whole thing.”
Astra’s hand flies to her mouth. “Oh, god.”
“Yeah.” I gesture toward the bottle. “That’s why I need you to check this out.
It was a gift from Zane, and Selene said the two of them were going to share it.
” I shake my head. “Something about last night felt wrong. The intensity, the way neither of us could think straight. My body was on fire from the moment I tasted that wine, and I could smell her arousal before I even touched her. It wasn’t natural. ”
Astra picks up the bottle again, her expression grave. “From what you’re describing, it could have been laced with an aphrodisiac.”
“But why?” The question bursts out of me, frustration and confusion warring in my chest. “If Zane had Selene convinced they were fated mates, she would have accepted his mark. Why drug her?”
Astra moves to her workbench, pulling out various tools and vials. “If the fated mate bond between you and Selene had been manipulated somehow, her wolf might have figured it out when she and Zane got intimate. Which is why Zane needed the wine and the aphrodisiac.”
The words send ice through my veins. “You think he was planning to drug her and mark her before her wolf could resist?”
“It’s likely.” Astra’s hands move with practiced efficiency, drawing a small sample of the wine into a glass vial. She adds various reagents and watches as the liquid changes colors, her brow furrowed in concentration.
Minutes pass in tense silence. I pace the length of the lab, my wolf agitated and snarling. The thought of Zane drugging Selene and manipulating her into accepting his mark makes me want to tear something apart.
“I can’t find anything,” Astra mutters finally, frustration clear in her voice. After a moment, she leans closer to the vial and adds another reagent. The liquid shimmers, then turns a faint purple.
Her breath catches.
“What?” I’m at her side in an instant. “What is it?”
“It is an aphrodisiac,” she says slowly, her voice tight with growing alarm. “But not the kind I thought. This is made from a very rare herb—one that doesn’t only increase desire. It also lowers inhibitions and suppresses the wolf.”
Suddenly, I feel dizzy. “Suppresses the wolf?”
Astra looks up at me, her gaze serious and frightened.
“I was right. Selene’s human side would have let Zane give her the mark; she was convinced he was her fated mate, after all.
But Zane probably believed her wolf wouldn’t let him.
Her animal would have known the truth, would have fought him.
” She sets down the vial with trembling hands.
“So, he needed something that would silence her wolf completely. Something that would let him mark her before the animal inside her could stop him.”
Rage explodes through me, hot and vicious. My wolf howls with fury, demanding blood, demanding justice for what was almost done to our mate.
“That bastard.” The words come out as a growl. “He was going to force a bond on her. Make her believe she wanted it while drugging away the part of her that would have known better.”
Astra nods, her face pale. “If you hadn’t gotten in the way, if you hadn’t drunk that wine yourself…” She trails off, but we both know how that sentence ends.
Selene would be marked by Zane right now. Bound to him through deception and drugs, her wolf silenced, her true mate forgotten.
The thought makes me see red.
“Seth.” Astra’s hand on my arm pulls me back from the edge of violence. “We need to tell Lucian. And we need to figure out how Zane manipulated Selene’s perception of the mate bond in the first place. Because that shouldn’t be possible, either.”
She’s right. None of this should be possible. But somehow Zane found a way—and now I need to figure out what he’s really after. I need to figure out how to keep Selene safe from whatever twisted game he’s playing.
Because she’s mine now. My mate. Bound to me, whether she likes it or not.
And I’ll destroy anyone who tries to take what belongs to me.
The sun hangs directly overhead, casting short shadows in the training grounds. Sweat drips down my spine as I watch my soldiers run through their drills, their movements sharp and precise despite the midday heat.
“Faster!” I bark at the squadron running formations. “You think the enemy will wait for you to catch your breath?”
One of the younger soldiers—Torrin, I think—stumbles and nearly crashes into the man ahead of him. The formation breaks apart like water hitting rocks.
“Again!” I stride toward them, ignoring their groans. “From the top. And Torrin, if you trip over your own feet one more time, you’ll be running laps until sunset.”
“Commander,” one of the veterans mutters, just loud enough for me to hear, “we’ve been at this for three hours.”
I turn my glare on him. “And you’ll be at it for three more if I don’t see improvement. Now move!”
They scramble back into position, and I’m about to launch into another critique when my wolf suddenly sits up, alert.
The shift is so abrupt, it takes me aback. One moment I’m focused on the drills, and the next, every instinct is telling me to pay attention to something else entirely.
One second later, a woman’s voice cuts across the grounds like a blade.
“SETH ROWAN!”
My lips curve into a grin before I can stop them.
“You bastard! Get over here!”
The soldiers falter in their formations, heads swiveling to locate the source of the shouting. I can see the confusion on their faces—who would dare speak to their commander like that?
I turn slowly, and the sight that greets me sends satisfaction surging through my veins.
Selene is storming toward me like an avenging angel, her auburn hair whipping behind her, her face flushed with fury.
Despite the afternoon heat, she’s wearing a high-necked blouse—one that covers her throat completely—paired with jeans that hug every curve of her body.
My grin widens as I take in the deliberate choice of clothing.
The high neck. She’s covering the marks I left on her skin, the hickeys I sucked into her throat, the evidence of everything we did last night.
She’s hiding me.
But damn, she looks good. The anger in her eyes, the way she moves with purpose, the curves that blouse and those jeans outline perfectly…My mate is beautiful when she’s furious. This isn’t the meek, trembling woman I thought I knew. This is someone else entirely.
And I can’t look away.
“Dismissed,” I call to my soldiers without taking my eyes off her.
They hesitate, still staring at the small woman marching toward their commander like she’s ready for war.
“I said, dismissed!” The command cracks through the air, and they scatter.
Selene closes the distance between us, and I watch with growing fascination as her hands partially shift, claws extending from her fingertips. My wolf perks up with interest, almost pleased by the display of aggression.
“You conniving jerk!” she snarls, lunging at me with those extended claws. “I’m going to kill you!”
I duck under her swipe, stifling a laugh. “We should probably discuss this.”
“Once you’re dead,” she hisses, spinning for another attack, “I’ll discuss it with your tombstone!”
A few lingering soldiers watch from a distance, and I jerk my head toward the barracks. “Disperse. Now.”
They scramble to obey as Selene comes at me again. I dodge, then sidestep another strike, my body moving instinctually. She’s faster than I expected, more coordinated. Where’s the weakness that I thought defined her? Where’s the trembling uncertainty?
This woman is trying to take my head off, and I’m enjoying every second of it.
She lunges once more, and this time I catch her wrists, whirl her around in a full circle, and pin her against the stone wall of the training hall. Her hands are trapped above her head, my body pressed against hers, our eyes locked on each other’s.
I’m breathless. And more than a little turned on.
“Let me go,” she demands, struggling against my grip.
“So you can beat me up?” I lean in, close enough to smell the rage and something sweeter underneath it. “I don’t think so.”
Her eyes flash with fury. “You’re a horrible person. The mating mark? You gave me your mating mark?” Her voice rises with each word, shaking with barely contained rage. “I’m going to rip your head off!”
The words should alarm me, but instead, I find myself pulling down the collar of my training tunic with my free hand, exposing the mark on my shoulder—the one her own teeth left last night. The bite is deep, possessive, unmistakably claiming.
“You marked me first,” I point out, my voice rough. “I just returned the favor. If anything, this is your fault.”
Her eyes widen as they fix on the mark, and I watch all the color drain from her face. The fury bleeds away into something else entirely—horror, disbelief, shock. Her lips part, but no sound comes out at first.
“You’re lying.” Her voice is weak now, barely above a whisper, trembling with each syllable. “I didn’t—I wouldn’t—”
“You did.” I keep my tone even, factual. “Your wolf marked me. Right here.” I gesture to the bite on my shoulder. “And then, mine marked you back.”