9. Brinley
Chapter 9
Brinley
N othing about this place made sense.
The sun hovered high in the sky as Brinley watched the village sprawled out below her. From the cobblestone streets to the bright green trees scattered here and there, it looked like a quaint place. If she didn’t know better, she wouldn’t have any clue that this was the home of one of the largest DeLoup packs in the queendom. It seemed so… ordinary.
She wondered if any were human. It was impossible to tell the difference from up here, and that was what confused her the most.
Many humans had chosen to align themselves with the sorcières during the war, but she wasn’t na?ve enough to think all of them had. The witches offered protection in return for their loyalty and oftentimes servitude. But the DeLoup had their own means of protection. Even though, right now, there weren’t any signs of the sharp claws and teeth that had killed so many of her people—her parents, that poor village, possibly her grandmother and best friend. The wolves were supposed to be the cruelest, most vicious beings throughout the lands. The ones to fear.
Yet, Brinley saw nothing of the sort from this window.
“You know this door isn’t locked, right?”
She clenched her jaw and turned to glare at Paxton. The beta had apparently been put on witch duty, as he’d made daily appearances. He said it was to check on her and make sure she was healing all right, but Brinley saw the lie for what it was. None of them trusted her.
The feeling was mutual.
He had brought her more essence of willow—though, she no longer needed it—as well as food and water. She hadn’t wanted to eat or drink anything they gave her, but after a couple days without food, she realized she would have to. Until that point, she’d been drinking water straight from the sink. Now, she gratefully took the mug of tea he held out.
Paxton also carried a few books under his other arm, which he set on the desk near her. She’d taken to sitting in the cushioned window seat behind it. It was warm and had a beautiful view, not that she would admit that out loud. If this study were anywhere else, she knew she would actually love it. With its cozy furniture and dark wood accents, it reminded her of something from a dream.
Sipping the tea, she rested her head back against the wall. “What are those?”
“These are some books about magic and witches that we’ve collected over the years.” He tapped the one on top with a finger. “I thought it would be a good place to start searching for answers.”
He’d also taken it upon himself to try to help her reach her magic.
Again, this place didn’t make sense. They still hadn’t told her why they wanted her to access her power, but it was clearly important to them. It was safe to assume they needed her to do something for them that required magic, of course. She just didn’t know what that was, and she was glad for once that her grandmother had insisted she wait.
Brinley leaned over to set her mug on the corner of the desk. “And what answers are we searching for, exactly?”
“How to use your magic,” he said, as if it were that simple.
“And are you finally going to tell me why you want me to know that?”
When he glanced back at the door, she shook her head.
Swinging her legs around to face him, she said in a mocking tone, “What? Are you afraid of getting in trouble with the big, scary alpha for telling me?”
His gaze fell on her once more, and to her surprise, he rolled his eyes. “No. There are just some things best left unsaid for now.”
“Well, then, for now , you can leave me alone.”
“Why are you being so difficult?” He wasn’t quite as large and intimidating as Gabriel, but as he stepped closer, she flinched out of instinct. He might have seemed calmer, gentler, but he was still a wolf. “We’ve taken you in, helped you heal?—”
“After destroying my people and torturing me in a cell,” she cut in, but he kept going.
“We’ve given you food, clothing, and medicine. Now, we’re trying to help you?—”
She stood, getting in his face. “No, you’re trying to help you .”
He bared his teeth, but she didn’t back down.
“I don’t know why you need my magic so badly, but I sure as shit am not helping you with anything,” she said. “So, you should just stop trying.”
“I can’t,” he all but growled.
She opened her mouth to ask why, but another deep voice cut in.
“Enough.” Gabriel appeared, angling his body between them. He grabbed Brinley by the arm, as if to stop her from attacking the other man. The idea almost made her laugh. Gabriel looked at his beta. “That’s enough, Pax. Go cool off. Switch shifts with Joel if you need to.”
Paxton huffed out a breath but nodded. He turned on his heel, stomping out of the room and slamming the door behind him.
Brinley tugged her arm from Gabriel’s grasp, but he quickly reached to grip her wrist instead. He fully faced her, making her tilt her head back to meet his fury-filled gaze. “Get in my face all you want, but do not go after him. You hear me?”
She rolled her eyes and tried to turn away, but his free hand went to her chin.
“He doesn’t deserve it.” Gabriel squeezed just enough to keep her in place. “Do not provoke him or any of the others.”
“Just you?”
He leaned down. “I can take your particular brand of wrath. You’re nothing but a spoiled witchling brat.”
They stood so close she could feel his breath tickle her lips. The sunlight brightened his blue gaze that now bore into her. Her traitorous body tried to lean in. His eyes flickered down to her mouth, and she knew he’d felt the small shift in her stance.
Clenching her hands into fists, she said, “Tell me why you need my magic.”
“No.” He released her and grabbed one of the books without even looking at its title. Pushing it against her chest, he said, “Just read the fucking books.”
She lifted her hands to catch it before it fell. Two could play that game. “No.”
Besides, watching his jaw tick was so satisfying. His chest heaved with breath, like it was taking a great amount of effort not to attack her right now. She knew she was provoking him, but she didn’t have much to lose at this point, and they seemed desperate for her help.
She licked her lips, and his gaze lowered again, tracking the movement.
All right, perhaps he wasn’t only fighting the urge to kill her. She was all too familiar with that inner battle. The DeLoup were monsters. She knew this alpha had kidnapped her, despite what he said about saving her. She didn’t believe him for a second. And yet, she fought to deny, even to herself, that she was drawn to him. With a piece of his dark hair falling into his mesmerizing eyes, his powerful build, and his sleeves rolled up, revealing tattoos twining up his forearms… he truly was a masterpiece. It was frustrating. And distracting.
He took one hesitant step forward, and she sucked in a breath, wondering if he would act on whatever was pulling them toward one another. She’d read in books about passion stemming from hate, but she hadn’t thought it real. Was that what this was? They hated each other so much that the line was getting blurred?
As if coming to his senses, Gabriel stopped. “Then, do it for yourself,” he said, glancing at the book she held. “If you’re going to just sit up here, then you might as well make use of the free time. Who knows, maybe it will help you get the revenge you seek and claim your throne.”
Before she could even consider a response, he was leaving.
She absolutely hated that he was right. They clearly wanted her to learn for a reason, but she didn’t have to do it for them. She could do it for herself.
The problem was, she had read countless books already. She knew the concepts, had studied them for years with André. Understanding how it worked was different than actually being able to do it. She knew what it took, but she didn’t know how to access it. Every book and lesson had said that she should be able to feel the magic within.
But she didn’t feel anything.
Returning to her seat in the window, Brinley sighed and opened the book in her lap. Perhaps one of these would explain that . How to find her magic when she was starting to doubt it was even there to begin with. The thought nearly stole her breath.
If she didn’t have magic, then what?
How could she ever become the queen and High Sorceress if she didn’t have the same power as her grandmother?
She looked out the paned glass to the town again, her eyes burning. For nearly two weeks, she’d sat in these rooms trying to accept the fact that her family was all gone now.
Gabriel claimed her father was DeLoup. And not just any DeLoup. He was supposedly from here, was this pack’s beta. Theoretically, that meant these were her people too.
But deep in her heart, she knew that wasn’t true.
It couldn’t be. She was alone in the world.
No matter what that infuriating alpha said.