Chapter
One
KILLIAN
The moment the first figure steps through that portal, my wolf takes over.
Not all the way.
It’s not exactly the feral rage that takes over during a territorial dispute, but everything still sharpens around me. The caress of the grass blades against my paws, the way Regina’s woodsy scent tinges with fear and her fists tighten in my fur… all of it intensifies.
Twelve cloaked figures and the stink of portal magic make a low growl tear from my throat.
Regina is still on my back, and her heart’s going so hard I feel it even through my thick fur.
Off. Now.
I don’t know if she hears the gentle command through our new link or just feels my muscles bunch, but she slides from my back without argument. The second her feet hit the ground, I’m moving, putting my body between her and those shadow-cloaked assholes who think they’re extras in Eyes Wide Shut.
Sean and Micah flank her immediately. Rowan positions himself slightly ahead, his silver fur bristling as he snarls.
We form a wall of teeth and muscle between these sparkly dickwads and our mate, making it clear we’ll finish the job we started before Villeneuve so rudely interrupted.
And okay, so I owe him for stopping me before I could rip that Ken doll’s head off and hurt Regina in the process, but I’m still bitter about it.
One of the perks of being a wolf is that you don’t have to be logical.
The cloaked figures don’t move. They just stand there in their perfect line, like they rehearsed this. Judging by what I know about Kyle, the theatrical prick, they probably did.
The center figure raises one hand, and the dark energy cloaking them dissolves like smoke. Kyle’s face emerges first, and he looks way too smug for a guy whose arm just got popped off. The absence of it is hidden beneath that Temu robe, but I know it’s there—ornotthere—and that brings meendlesssatisfaction.
Hope it still hurts.
“Regina.” His voice carries across the meadow, smooth and practiced like he’s been rehearsing in the mirror. “Did you really think breaking the bond would be that easy?”
Behind me, I feel Regina go rigid. Through our bond, her fear spikes before she wrestles it down into something harder.
Anger.
That’s my girl.
“The bond is already broken, Kyle.” Her voice doesn’t waver. “I’m not part of your coven anymore. You have no claim over me.”
“No claim?” He laughs, and the other figures shift, their hoods falling back to reveal their faces. I recognize a few of them from the last time we kicked their asses and sent them packing, but apparently, they didn’t get the message.
Time to be real fucking clear.
“You were our Thirteenth,” he says through his teeth. “Youareour Thirteenth. One little ritual doesn’t change years of magical connection.”
“One little ritual that severed every thread you ever had in me,” Regina counters. “I felt it break. You felt it too, or you wouldn’t be desperate enough to trespass on University grounds.”
Kyle’s expression falters. Just for a second.
She’s right and we all know it. He’s not here because he has any legal claim, he’s here because he’s desperate now that he can’t use Regina as his magical battery.
Guess the big, bad witch isn’t quite as powerful on his own as he thinks.
Good. Desperate people make mistakes.
