Bitten By Magic (22 page)

“Keeper, I wish to apologize to you. We saw the High... We saw O’Mallery attack Mistress Verity. She didn’t provoke him, yet he struck her down. There was an evil about the smile on his face...” Vance shook his blond head, unable to finish his observation.

“Vance, you acted out of loyalty and the desire to protect Astoria. I might have done the same. I need you and Brynna to gather every last soul into the meeting chambers. A new leader must be put in place immediately. Everyone needs to know of O’Mallery’s crimes.”

“Right away, Keeper Carv— Sorry, Keeper Chambers.” He nodded to her as he moved everyone toward the castle doors.

“That leaves me.” Wilhelm spoke from behind the dark hood.

“You?” she asked with a frown.

“You’ve handled and dispatched everyone but me, Keeper,” he pointed out with a calm tone.

“You should have been taken care of first. You’re standing in direct sunshine, you dolt!” She grabbed his gloved hand to pull him toward the castle, but he didn’t budge. “Wilhelm? Do you want to burn to a crisp? Because I have to tell you, I don’t like anything burnt.”

“Relax, Keeper.” He pulled her into his arms to hold her firmly as he lifted his covered face to the sky. “Do you realize this is the first time I’ve seen the sky and clouds in over three millennia?”

“I’m only worried it will be the last time. Wilhelm, we need to get you inside, though the castle tends to be light and airy as well.” She bit her lip, worried about his safety.

“I’m not burning,
felesage
.” His laugh was light and happy. It sent a warm sensation straight through her to nestle in her core. She gasped as her body reacted to it, to him, so strongly. She wanted to see him laugh for the first time. She really wanted to kiss him, but the hood prevented any such contact.

“This may be a little stupid...” She reached out to stop him as he yanked off the black glove.

***

Through the heavy mesh of his hood, Wilhelm Chambers stared in morbid fascination as his hand flexed in the bright sunshine. It hurt; he couldn’t deny there was a sting as his flesh slowly turned pink beneath the light, but he didn’t give a damn about the sting. He wasn’t charring like a hotdog left too long on an open flame. This was truly remarkable, unprecedented, and the biggest gift he’d ever been granted.

“Will...” He looked down at his wife to see her huge green eyes watering for the second time in less than an hour. His Ice Keeper was getting emotional. Goddess, how he loved her! He grabbed her waist, picked her up off her cute little bare feet and spun her around with a whoop of laughter.

They were both breathless when he set her down. He couldn’t resist, would take the stinging burn, take a stake to the chest at this moment, he didn’t care. He needed to do it. His hand reached up and whipped the hood off in one quick motion. Then he was kissing her soft, raspberry mouth with a hunger that wouldn’t be denied. The stinging heat to the back of his neck and face eased a bit as she kissed him back, their tongues dancing with their hunger and happiness.

“Oh, Will...” She sighed when he finally found the strength to pull back and smile at her. “You are gorgeous!” Her hand gently reached up to cup his pink cheek. “How?” Alexa asked him in wonder.

“You, my sweet Witch wife.” He turned his head to kiss the palm of her hand. “Your blood has given me a gift so profound that I...” His throat clogged with heavy emotion that he had to swallow back before he could continue. “I love you, Alexa.”

“I love you, too.” She stood on tiptoe to kiss him hard, trying to convey every drop of her love for him. He got the message loud and clear. Wilhelm thought he couldn’t love her any more, but at every turn, she was proving him wrong. “Now, put that hood back on before that sunburn gets worse,” she commanded as she took the hood from him and pulled it over his beloved face. “We’ll need to get you some sunblock, Elder. Then you can play in the sun.”

“Then we can play in the sun.” His teasing hands dropped to her hips beneath her green dress.

“Absolutely!” Her wicked grin stole his breath and sorely tempted him to drag her off into the trees to taste her.

“Excuse me, Keeper...Elder Chambers.” They both turned at Tray’s interruption. Wilhelm released her, but kept one arm around her small waist to keep contact with her.

“I’m sorry to bother you both, but I think you might want this in your keeping. At least until the Holder is well.” He held out the Book of Treaty.

“Open it, Tray.” Wilhelm glanced at his wife, confused by her request. This was the sacred book containing the Treaty. No one but the Holder was to look upon it.

“I don’t think—”

“I asked you to open the book.” Her voice deepened with the command. Her eyes darkened as she stared at the confused Wolven. Wilhelm watched as the man’s big hands opened the thick book. The burned hole went straight through the book and pages caught together as he turned them. Alarm and disbelief warred with each other as he saw the pages were blank. What the hell?

“Every pen stroke of every word, every phrase and point of the Treaty of the Tri-species Council is imprinted on the Holder’s mind. Verity
is
the Book of the Treaty.” Alexa’s voice changed to gentle, soothing tones meant to calm and placate. He assumed she did it to comfort both him and Tray. It didn’t work for the Wolven as his reddish brows quickly drew together.

“I don’t understand. She clutched it to her. She wouldn’t let him take it. It is obviously important to her. He almost killed her for it.” His anger and frustration ended in a growl. Wilhelm’s body tensed, readying himself to defend his wife.

“Verity knew how important it was for the rest of our Coven to see him for the monster he is. She is a brave soul. And you are right. That book is important to her. It lets everyone assume the power lies with it, not her. There’s protection in that subterfuge. You should give it back to her when she wakes. She will want it in her hands.”

“You should give it to her. I have details to see to here.” He held the book out once more. Alexa shook her head at him, a small smile holding secrets on her delicate mouth.

“No. Verity will want to see and thank the man who saved her.”

“I didn’t save her.”

“Didn’t you?” She tilted her head, as if she were speaking to a small child who was telling a lie. Tray let out a deep growl and stepped back to shake his shaggy red head.

“I’d prefer it if you gave it to her.” Alexa’s expression hardened as her stubborn chin rose. He knew that look. His lovely wife was about to get her way. His fingers squeezed her waist in possessive need.

“I insist. It is vital that others think the book is important, more important than Verity. Tray Nibet, as part of Reginald’s team, his Beta, and a trusted friend of mine, you will guard the book until it is in the Holder’s hands, then your duty will be to guard her until she’s able to do so herself.”

“Ah... With all due respect, Keeper. You are not my boss.”

“No, I’m not, but I’m sure your Alpha and Alphina will agree with me. O’Mallery would love to get his hands on that book. Once he finds the power he seeks is in his daughter’s mind...” She left the rest unsaid, but even the Wolven understood the meaning. His eyes narrowed dangerously, perhaps realizing he had been outmaneuvered by the Keeper.

“I see. I shall guard her with my life...at least until we return to the Den.”

“I know you will, Tray.” She turned, winding her arm through his as they walked away, leaving Tray holding the book to his strong chest as Verity had.

“I’m married to a matchmaking genius, or an evil chess player.” Wilhelm wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into him as the doors shut behind them. If he had looked around the immense entryway he would have wondered at the fine black and white marble floors, the intricately carved paneling made of gold, and the mural-designed ceilings. The sheer artistry and beauty of the castle’s inner chamber could keep one spellbound for days, yet his eyes were captured by his wife’s moss green gaze and raspberry smile.

“Did you see the way he held her? There is strong magic between them.”

“I’d say it was more than magic.”

“Chemistry, then,” she offered with charm.

“Love, Keeper. That poor wolf is in love with your Holder and you know it.” He bent to touch his nose to hers.

“My big, stoic Elder speaking of love so easily? What has gotten into you, Wilhelm?” She laughed as he picked her up to spin her around once. Her breath caught in her chest as he held her against him at eye level. There was an intensity and deep emotion in his sparkling brown gaze.

“You, Keeper. I’ve found love with you. Don’t ever leave me like that again.”

“Don’t treat me like a child who can’t take care of herself, then. Oh, Will. It hurt me to leave you like that. Hurt me more knowing you didn’t trust me to be safe on my own.” She sank her hands in his hair and leaned her forehead against his.

“I wouldn’t survive losing you.”

“I reversed the spell. You can bite anyone, now.”

“No, I can’t. You are the only one I’ll share blood with. Touching another woman makes me ill. You’ve ruined me,
felesage
.” He sighed, but his lips drew back in a smile that curled her toes.

“Poor little Elder. Let me set Astoria to rights and I promise to kiss and make it better.”

“Kiss me first.”

Epilogue and Prelude to Holding the Beta, Book Three of the Sisters of Fate

The small cubicle, where the Holder lay unconscious, was not the ideal place for a man to sleep, but for a shifter of his size it was worse. His kind liked spacious rooms, deep within the earth where they were safe from other predators. The Den, a maze of tunnels and elegantly decorated chambers situated well below the ground, was his home. Tray Nibet, the Wolven Beta and second in command to the Alpha, was more than just restless, he was downright uncomfortable in the tiny room.

He shifted his big frame in the metal chair, once more trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. Something hard poked his hipbone as he moved. Holding back a vicious curse, he plunged his hand into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a pair of red glasses. The frame was slightly bent, one bow nearly doubled in two. A shiver ran down his spine as he studied the tiny glasses in his hand. They were so delicate-looking, yet the glass hadn’t broken when they hit the ground.

His gaze flew to the unmoving form lying on the bed a couple inches from his chair. These glasses were a lot like the dainty woman he’d kept from breaking. His fingers clutched the glasses as he thought of how close he’d come to not being able to catch her. If he’d missed, or been one second too late...

“Stop it.” He shoved his other hand through his dark red hair in irritation. Every time he thought about it, his wolf would surge forward in an attempt to break free. He wanted to tear into something, preferably the bastard who had sent the little woman hurling off the castle’s turret.

Remembering the events leading up to his forced position as nursemaid made his Wolf bristle with rage. He’d been in a fight with one of the Witches, one who knew how to shift into a huge bear. The bear was big and slow, but equipped with razor-sharp claws and paws strong enough to break his neck with one hit. Tray was a Wolven who fought with an icy concentration. What made him an excellent Beta was his ability to keep firm control of his animal while in any given situation. It made him deadly in a battle. Yet he’d lost all control when his wolf sensed she was in danger. Why he’d looked up at that precise moment, he’d never know. He had and what he saw chilled both him and his Wolf to the bone.

The Holder was clutching the Book of Treaties to her chest, a tiny form holding her own against the High Priest. He couldn’t see her face, but he knew exactly who she was by the wet blonde ponytail hanging down over her back. The High Priest’s face was clearly visible to him and he didn’t like what he saw. O’Mallery was enraged by her defiance in the face of his aggression. His cruel mouth opened in a growl of frustration as his hand whipped out at her. Fire flew from his fingers and struck the Holder with a harsh force that sent her falling over the edge of the turret.

Pain lashed in his shoulder as the damn bear took advantage of his lapse in attention. Tray ignored it, letting his instincts move him as he ran full speed in order to stop her body from hitting the ground. Turning into his human form at the last minute, he took the brunt of the impact as he caught her against his chest. Air whooshed out of him as they hit the ground in a roll that left him on top of her small body.

He immediately rolled away to keep from crushing her. She was so tiny compared to him. It was her delicate hands, nails tipped in a shiny pink polish, that first caught his attention years ago as she gripped the quill pen and wrote down every minute detail of the council’s yearly meetings in the Tri-Species’ crowded meeting hall. He couldn’t stop himself from watching her every time they were forced to be in the same room. She was always quiet and calm, but the stillness of her body and the acrid scent of her burned flesh alarmed both him and his Wolf. His hand shook as he checked her neck for a pulse. It was there, but far too weak. A deep growl of warning rumbled in his chest as he felt and heard others moving toward them. Taking her head in his lap, he quickly took a protective stance over her. He’d have attacked anyone who touched her, if his Alpha, Reginald Leclair, hadn’t touched his shoulder and bent to reassure him. Reginald was his leader—his wolf would have jumped off a cliff if his Alpha ordered it to—yet the beast had fought to disobey the order to stand down and allow others to help her. By a slim margin, Tray had wrestled the animal’s protective instincts aside enough to allow his Alphina to heal her.

***

Tray’s hand shook as he placed the bent glasses on the stand beside him. A plastic cup with ice water sat beside a heavy book bound in black leather. His animal glared at the burnt hole in the center of the book. She could have defended herself had she not been so intent on keeping that damn book. It wasn’t even that important. What was important was the small woman fighting for her life in the bed before him.