Chapter 6 #2
It must have been difficult for Torin to hear about another man marking me, especially since he didn’t want to do so himself for whatever unreasonable reasons Torin thought about.
His vampire was so protective of me, so I’d had enough of Torin’s nonsense about draining my blood if he bit me.
I knew he could stop himself and not kill me.
There was something else that he kept hidden from me, though.
Abruptly, Torin stood, chair screeching backward.
“Please excuse me for a moment,” he said, heading out of the boardroom.
Mark watched as Torin exited the room, and he turned to Alpha Leo.
“Was it just me, or was Torin moody and grumpy today? Maybe even angry,” Mark said in a voice loud enough that I could hear. “It wouldn’t be ideal if Torin snaps and goes all vampire on all of us, right?”
“Then just don’t trigger him anymore,” Alpha Leo said.
“But Torin should be able to control his vampire, especially around us. I wasn’t pleased to see his vampire form at Salem.”
“I agree. Torin seems out of it since he’s returned,” Alpha Henry said. “If he shifts, we’ll have to protect ourselves.”
Blood rushed to my head, making my ears ring. I couldn’t hear their nonsense anymore. How dare they badmouth one of their own? An Alpha who’d trained their warriors, who’d risked his life for them.
“How bad would it be if one of our she-wolves happened to be Torin’s mate?” Alpha Leo said, and my heart fell to my stomach, nausea climbing up my throat.
“That’s enough.” My words boomed in the room. “You should be ashamed of yourself badmouthing another Alpha who only has been loyal to you, the people, and the King.”
The room quieted down, and Dad gave me a curious glance. But Mark smirked as if he’d wanted me to do this, and I gladly fell for his trap. Let’s face it—I wasn’t earning any favorable acceptance by the high-ranked werewolves.
When I lifted my gaze, I saw Torin standing at the doorway, frozen, watching me with such intensity that it burned my soul. Whatever trance he’d fallen into wasn’t good, as I could sense his vampire surfacing.
The last thing I wanted was his sharp fangs protruding and chaos breaking free.
I cleared my throat and stood. I walked to the table, took another protein bar, and turned my back on Torin. When I returned to my seat, Torin was already seated.
At this moment, I realized that getting favorable votes from the other Alphas and the King to allow Torin to shift into his vampire within the kingdom would be more challenging than I thought.
Torin and I would have to fight for our acceptance in the kingdom.
“Moving on to the last thing for today is the magic book my daughter found in London,” Dad said and smiled at me.
Was this a good sign?
“Weren’t there two witch books?” Alpha Henry asked.
“The one I opened led me to the bracelet,” I said, touching the gold wrapped around my forearm. “The other book is here.”
I pulled The Book of Banished Souls from my leather bag on my chair.
“Can we see it?” Mark asked, and a sharp pain cut through my chest.
I didn’t want my book to circulate among the Alphas, but I had no choice. I sent the book around the table, and each Alpha scrutinized it, flipping it back and forth.
“How do you open this one?” Alpha Michael asked.
“There is a riddle. It says I could save or kill you, but if your enemy gets a hold of me, you are dead for sure,” I said, having memorized the words.
Although I knew my blood was the answer, I didn’t plan to tell them. Only Torin knew the truth. I glanced at my mate, and as if he felt it, he turned his head toward me but averted his gaze immediately.
Dad’s dark gaze darted between Torin and me. Dad frowned, and my body froze.
The book made its way around, and it was now in Dad’s hands. When he saw the daisy wheel symbol on the back cover, a shadow of dread and disapproval fell on his face. His eyes narrowed, but he continued staring at the symbol.
I wanted Dad to pass me the book, so I extended my arm to him, but he ignored me.
“Dad, the book,” I said in a low voice.
Mark was watching my exchange with the King with raised eyebrows.
“I propose a vote,” he said, and a gasp left my lips.
“No,” I said.
“This book will only attract Cordelia even more if she finds out about it. So you see, Princess Breanna, this is a matter for a vote since the issue of solving the riddle and opening the book affects the entire kingdom,” Mark said.
Before I could take a deep breath, everyone except Torin nodded.
“Agreed. We can vote on whether to open the book or not, and depending on the outcome of the vote, we’ll worry about the answer to the riddle,” Alpha Michael added.
Torin took deep breaths, not fully recovered from earlier, but he still spoke. “The book can be opened in a safe environment for the Princess, and we could be around to react if there is a threat.”
My insides melted, and I sent a thankful glance at Torin, but then I sensed Dad’s eyes on me, and I averted my gaze.
“Princess Breanna is royalty, which entails less privacy and more responsibility. Even if the book is meant for her, it’s still a matter for a vote,” Mark said.
Dad could stop the vote if he put his foot down, which he usually didn’t do. He treated his Alphas equally and didn’t impose his opinion on them.
Seeing that Dad didn’t pass the book back, I ground my teeth. He could stop the vote, but he didn’t.
“Commence the vote,” Dad said. “Raise your hand if you agree to figure out how to open the witch book.”
His intense gaze darted around the room.
Torin was the only one who raised his hand.
I swallowed hard.
Alphas Mark, Leo, Henry, Michael, and my dad had their hands down—five to one. No one wished to open the book except me and Torin. Even if I had been able to vote, it would still have been unfavorable.
Dad set the book on the table before him, ready to move on from the issue.
“Dad, you can give me the book back now,” I said in a rough, thick voice.
“The dark witch is after you since you opened the other witch book. We wouldn’t be under attack if it weren’t for the other book, Anna. We won’t bring more danger to the kingdom,” he said in his Alpha tone.
He was going to take away the book from me.
“Our meeting is dismissed,” the King said, narrowing his eyes at me. His gaze was as hard as the platinum of his crown kept safe in his security vault.
I wouldn’t let him destroy my book. I had to see what he would do with it.
The Alphas left first, and I waited behind Dad.
People had an infuriating tendency to steal my books. I couldn’t retrieve a book if I didn’t know what Dad would do with it.
“Dad, I have to talk to you,” I said, following him out of the boardroom.
If I lost sight of my magic book now, there was no guarantee I’d ever see it again.