Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Kaeli had woken up in bed with Solan curled around her, the late morning sunlight streaming in the windows of the master bedroom.
She’d loved waking up with him, but the joy at being with her mate was quickly overshadowed by what he’d told her about the anti-shifter group—Humans Against Shifters.
She’d known there were humans who didn’t care for shifters, but she’d never heard of an entire group of people dedicated to driving shifters away from humans; often resorting to harming or even killing them in the name of keeping towns and cities purely human.
They’d apparently gone after the tiger pride in a nearby town and had now turned their attention to the wolf pack in Thorn Hollow.
Solan had reiterated his promise to keep her safe, and she believed him.
He might have gotten distracted in the woods with her, but he’d been all about her safety ever since.
They’d had breakfast together, and then he’d suggested they clean up and check in with the alphas.
Not only had she never been around many shifters in her mostly-witch former town, but she’d never met alphas. Solan promised they were good people, but she could imagine that alphas didn’t stay in power because they were friendly and passed out candy to everyone.
Maybe the alpha male’s mate was. But she suspected that Alpha Adam was a badass and powerful. Because she could tell that Solan was a powerful male, and that meant someone in authority over him would be even more powerful.
“They’ll like you,” Solan said, giving her hand a squeeze.
“Well, I hope so, because you said Adam is your friend, and I want your friends to like me. But I was just thinking how much of a badass he has to be to be alpha of a bunch of wolf shifters.”
“He was second in command under our old alpha, Lit. When Lit left the pack with his family, Adam stepped into the role. But our pack is ranked by fighting prowess, so the most powerful males are ranked highest, down to the least powerful ones or the ones who don’t want to fight.”
“Were you and Lit close?”
“Very much so. Actually, his mate Nila and her family took me in when I was brought here after my parents were killed. After she and Lit mated, he raised me as part of their family and taught me everything I needed to know about taking care of the pack—protecting and fighting.”
“That’s amazing. They both sound like wonderful people.”
“They are. I don’t get to see them much since they left the pack, but they’re great people.”
“Alpha Lit didn’t plan for you to take over the pack?”
“I wasn’t made to be alpha. It takes a certain kind of male, the right mindset. I’m content being high-ranked and working in security. Some males crave power; I just want the people I care about to be safe. And at the top of the list is you, Kaeli.”
She smiled. “How do you do that?”
He pulled his truck to a stop in front of a big house and turned off the engine. “Do what?”
“Make me feel so special?”
“Because you are, Nightling. You’re special, and you’re mine.”
She swore the marks on her neck tingled. She freaking loved it when he called her mine.
“You’re mine too.”
“And?” he asked, brows high.
“And you’re special,” she said with a chuckle. She leaned over and kissed him.
“I meant you should say I’m sexy, too.”
“You are,” she said with a chuckle. “Let’s get out of here before we adjective ourselves into having sex in the truck.”
“I’d totally be on board with that, just not in front of my alphas. Who are both standing on the porch and waving.”
She leaned over and saw them, and they were indeed waving. She climbed from the truck and met Solan, who took her hand, led her up the steps, and introduced her to Adam and Cinder: Thorn Hollow Pack Alphas.
Adam shook her hand and welcomed her to town, and Cinder gave her a hug. “I’m so happy to meet you. Congratulations on your mating. Come on in, I made snacks. My baby is always hungry for snacks.” She patted her extended belly and grinned.
They walked into the house with the alphas. Cinder hooked her arm through Kaeli’s and said, “The guys are meeting with some of the security people to talk about what happened and how they can make the town safer. You and I are hitting the snacks.”
“Send some our way, baby,” Adam said.
Solan waved at Kaeli.
“We’ll see if there’s anything left when I’m done feeding your offspring.”
Adam snorted as he and Solan walked away. “There ain’t never anything left.”
The spacious kitchen had a large island, set with the largest charcuterie board Kaeli had ever seen. It was several feet wide, with clear sections for savory and sweet items.
“Holy crap,” Kaeli said.
“Right? I know how to put on snacks, and that’s why there’s never anything left for Adam.
I made him one for later, though. So you and I can go to town.
” She sat on a stool and pointed to the other side of the island.
“Tell me every little thing, and then we can talk about you being a dual-natured witch, which is super cool.”
Kaeli felt something relax inside her. She hadn’t realized how worried she’d been that Solan’s alphas wouldn’t like her. He was right—they were nice people.
“So I guess my story kind of starts when my mom ran away with a Corners’ husband and left me behind…”
After they’d eaten their fill and left hardly anything behind on the big board, Cinder took her to the library in the house. She scanned the shelves and pulled a thick book from the second row.
“This one helped me when my lygisa powers first came to be. It’s kind of like a dual nature. People call me a wolf-witch, but I was a witch first. The lygisa power took over my witch and gave me a different kind of magic and also the ability to shift.”
“That must have been crazy.”
“And painful. But I get to be alpha female of a wonderful pack, and I’ve got a sexy fella as my mate.”
Kaeli smiled as she took the book. “I think Solan marking me has brought my magics under control. It doesn’t feel so much like I have two different magics, but one that’s doubly strong. They seem woven together, but it’s all so new to me.”
“Take a read through the book. It’s all about finding balance. I’d love to help you, if you’d like. I don’t want to overstep if you were planning to work with the Cleveland coven witches.”
“I haven’t made any plans with them. But I’d love your help. Lorene had said I’d need to start from the beginning and learn how to use magic all over again, because it’s different now.”
“That’s what it was like for me. I could still cast spells, but the way I went about it was different. We’ll start at the beginning, all the basic stuff. I can’t cast spells right now because of the baby, but I can coach you and be a cheerleader. Oh, do you have a blank spell book?”
“No, just my regular one.”
“Well, I think that it’s a good idea to start over with a fresh spellbook and add spells as you go. Writing them down again will help cement them in your mind, and you won’t have any bad feelings toward your old coven clouding your abilities, and you can begin again.”
“That makes sense,” Kaeli said.
Cinder smiled, moved over a few shelves, and pulled out a dark green leather journal that was embossed with leaves. “From me to you.”
“Thank you so much, Cinder.”
“We can get started tomorrow. I heard that Solan will be going to work tomorrow, guarding Leo and his mate Mira at the dealership.”
“Perfect,” Kaeli said. She hugged both books to her chest.
“What’s perfect?” Solan asked as he and Adam walked into the library.
“Cinder’s going to help me start my magic training all over again. Any spells I should work on first?”
“How about protection spells?” Solan suggested.
“Those are kind of advanced,” Cinder said. “Think more like lighting a candle.”
“Oh, okay. Well, we can always use lit candles.”
Kaeli shook her head with a chuckle. “You’re adorable.”
Adam snorted so hard he coughed.
Solan narrowed his eyes. “Wolves aren’t adorable, they’re fierce and rugged.”
“I think Adam’s pretty adorable,” Cinder quipped.
“Any-way,” Adam said, extending the word into hard syllables. “You two have a good night; I’m going to see if my mate left me any snacks.”
“See you tomorrow,” Cinder said.
“Bye, thanks again.”
They left the alphas’ house, and Kaeli noticed a box in the back seat. “What’s that?”
“I was hoping you were free tonight?”
“I was going to read the book Cinder gave me and maybe see about sexing up my mate once or twice.”
He hummed. “Okay, well, I definitely like part of that, but Adam loaned me his screen and projector, and his mom offered to make dinner for us. I can’t take us out of town for a date, but I can make a date happen at the house. And then definitely that sexing-up thing.”
“That sounds amazing,” she said.
“When it’s safe, I’ll take you somewhere amazing for a real first date,” he promised.
“Sounds good to me. What’s on the menu?”
“I left it up to her. She’ll bring it over around six. So you have time to study your book.”
The short drive to their house ended as he pulled into the driveway.
She unbuckled her seatbelt and picked up the books. “How about we hit the sheets before I hit the books?” She grinned at him, then hauled ass out of the truck, heading right for the front door.
Solan growled and chased after her, all the way through the house to the master bedroom, where he caught her and drew her close, his wolf rumbling in his chest.
“Mine,” he said.
“One hundred percent.”