“Good grief, Charlie Brown,” she muttered.“My life has gotten weird.”The phone in her pocket vibrated, causing her to jump.“Dammit.”Katy huffed and pulled it out.
Gage: This is going to take longer than planned.Is she behaving?
That was the text from earlier that she’d forced herself to ignore.Butthead.
Gage: Otto, are you keeping your promise?Is she safe?
Katy sat up in the chair as her heart sped up.He made Otto promise to keephersafe.“Aww, that’s sweet.”
The phone vibrated as she stared at the screen, and another text came through.
Gage: If something has happened to my mate, Otto, I will burn Azure’s kingdom to the ground.I need you to respond.Now.
Mate?Who the hell was his mate, and why did Katy feel the need to claw the woman’s eyes out?And why was he texting in English?Was he really so sure that Otto would have control of the phone during the day?Katy thought for a minute, then tapped out a response.She stared at the words for a second, but before she could think about them too much and erase them, she hit send.
Otto’s phone: She not behave.She dance at Azure club.I bite her.
Immediately, little dots appeared.
Gage: DO NOT BITE HER.You can bite anyone who attempted to dance with her.Get her out of the club.Lock her in the room until I get back.I don’t care what reason you have to make up.I want the name of every Damarian who put their hands on my female so I can take their hands as payment for touching what doesn’t belong to them.
Katy read the words several times, her eyes growing wider and her breath quickening with each reread.“Son of a biscuit maker.”She breathed out.“I’m his mate.Iam his mate.”Then she sat up straighter.“That means he’smymate.Oh, snap.”She nearly dropped the phone when it vibrated again.
Gage: Otto.
How could one little text have dropped a mountain on her?
Otto’s phone: I gets her.She safe.
There was no reason to make him worry.Not until he was standing in front of her and she could give him the earful he deserved.He knew.He knew when he met her that she was his mate.That’s why he’d crushed the damn door.And then he’dlefther there.Slow your roll, Kat.There has to be a good reason.After all, he’d just threatened to de-hand every guy who’d touched her.Leaving couldn’t have been easy for him if that was the kind of thing he was contemplating.I can’t jump to conclusions and act all…“Act all what?”she asked the empty room.“We’re not anything.”Hell, they didn’t even know one another.Just because they had a supernatural bond didn’t mean he was responsible for her, or vice versa.“But it kind of feels like it,” she argued with herself.“Okay, just breathe.You’re the mate of a dire wolf.No biggie.You got this.Totally.”She looked back at the door.“Where the heck is my lizard spirit guide when I need him?”
* * *
Otto hurried down the corridors, his footsteps quiet.He slowed as he neared the corner leading to one of the smaller kitchens.He poked his head around to make sure that no one lurked, and when he saw the path was clear, he continued forward.Every door frame he passed felt like a possible trap, hiding someone waiting to jump out and yell, ”Boo!”at him.Or worse, to tell him they knew what he’d talked to Katy about.Otto pressed deeper into the shadows of the walls as he considered the consequences if Azure were to find out the things Otto had said about his king.He’d be killed.His life forfeit because Azure would consider him a traitor.
It didn’t matter that Otto spoke the truth.The truth didn’t matter.Whatwastruth if one person claimed to have their own kind of truth, and another claimed to havetheirown kind?He shook his head, his mind scrambled by the fear the thoughts evoked.Then he passed a dark doorway, and his feet froze as sure as if they’d been encased in concrete.He heard Azure’s voice filter through the door.
“Unfortunately, I think the she-wolf is of no use.”Azure’s voice was full of the annoyance Otto was all too familiar with.
“Are you positive?”It was a female voice Otto didn’t recognize.“How do you know she’s not powerful?”
“Our own Shaman didn’t even sense the magic in her.Why would Visata mate her with someone powerful if her magic is weak?”The word was said with so much disdain that Otto nearly felt it like a physical slap.
“You are not a god, King Azure,” the woman said boldly.“To claim to understand the ways of a god is quite careless.”
Azure laughed.“A voodoo priestess is going to advisemeon how to show respect to gods when you don’t even believe in them yourself?”
“I never claimed I did not believe.I very much believe.Because I’ve seen the devil himself.If he exists, logic dictates his opposite must exist as well.And I have to hope that God is a much more powerful being thanthatevil.But my beliefs are not at issue, snake.Get back to theanimiand the human females.”
Otto’s eyes widened, and he glanced around to see if there was anyone coming.It would not be unusual for him to be found simply standing in the hallway.He could claim to be waiting on the king, doing as he was told.But he was going to need to move a little.Otto couldn’t stand frozen in the middle of the doorway as if he was eavesdropping.He managed to unglue his feet from the floor and ease his way to the wall just beside the door, taking up a sort of sentry position.Surely, this looked more natural.Although, if he appeared as scared on the outside as he felt on the inside, then he wouldn’t fool anyone.
His heart pounded as he strained to listen to Azure and the mysterious woman.Hopefully, he would learn something and be able to give Gage the information he’d requested.
“The human females that are weak are disposable,” Azure said dismissively.“They are merely fodder to fuel the spells for those strong enough to take on the magic.Once their life force is drained, they will be of no more use.The magic will imbue with the survivors.Those we can use.But it’s theanimithat are even more important.Or so I’m beginning to believe.”
Otto gasped, quickly slapping a hand over his mouth.Fodder?Drained of life force?What were they talking about?
The woman hummed.“Do you mean to sayanimiaren’t all the same in power?”
