“I’d be more worried about your witch than my wolf.”
Thorn flinches but doesn’t respond.
Fae are always bad news. To have caught one’s interest...
I glance back at Gemma to find her shouting against an invisible barrier, the grass at her feet writhing to assist, but to no avail. “That is cruel, even for you.”
“She doesn’t need more points. She needs to stay alive.” His expression flattens. “I’ll make sure she does.”
“By jeopardizing her education?” I click my tongue in mock criticism. I don’t give a fuck what Thorn does with his chosen, but the academy will. She’ll get dinged for a poor performance in tonight’s Games if she doesn’t show ample use of her power.
“Whatever it takes,” he glowers, turning on his heel to return to her side. “You remember that when it comes time to claim your mate.”
His words echo a truth that vampires like myself go to great lengths to ignore.
The vampiric council doesn’t care how you claim a mate so long as you claim one. As one of the oldest unmated vampires, I’m under scrutiny to strengthen my bloodline. If things with Sienna progress more slowly than desired, or if her bonds with the other two grow stronger...
I may have to cross a line that no mate would ever let me come back from.
Chapter 21
Alistair
Ba-dum.
My eyes widen as a familiar warmth fills my chest, an unmistakable magnetism that can only mean one thing...My mate has arrived.
Of-fucking-course.
“Dammit!” I shout, unable to believe what I’m feeling—that I’m even feeling Sienna’s presence at all! I turn my glare to the moon and curse its power, knowing that whatever gods claim my blood as theirs are responsible for the sudden increase in my power, including the ability to sense my unbonded mate so strongly.
Fucking full moons.
“Cool off, Dire,” Cornelius warns as the only level-headed being in our vicinity. As soon as the Games commenced and the wards surrounding the arena went up, everyone began attacking indiscriminately. Titles like friend or foe no longer mattered once someone began using mind-melding magic to turn even lovers against each other. A fae, most likely, or a high-powered witch testing their limits.
Most of the first-years have been knocked out at least once, with a few of the more resilient ones reawakening only to fallagain. Were it not for the academy’s shields, there would be dozens more dead, bleeding onto the ice and a few more sinking beneath it.
My bond with Sienna pulls, the threads tightening until I turn my head in her direction. I can’t see her from this distance, but I know she’s out there, and I know she isn’t alone, the wild wolf undoubtedly responsible for her sudden appearance. Annoyance prickles behind my eyes, and I shut them to keep from screaming.
The pair of them are going to be the death of me.
I take a step in Sienna’s direction only for our connection to be violently severed, the sudden break leaving me gasping for air. I blink, reeling from the whiplash, and stumble too far to the right...directly into a shallow pool of icy water.Fuck.
That single moment of distraction is all it takes for a mer-bitch to strike from underwater, her claws sinking into my thigh andtearing, dragging through the muscle deep enough that she hits bone. My pulse throbs in the wounded flesh as it attempts to mend, but her damned talons?—
Snarling, I jab my hand into the water, grab her wrist, andsnap, enjoying her wailing shriek of pain as she recoils. Thank the gods for rapid healing, but that doesn’t take away the pain. It lingers like fire licking the wound, growing hotter with each passing second.
Poison.
“Fucking bitch,” I hiss, slogging through the frigid waters after her. But she has the advantage and slips out of reach, hiding beneath the thick sheet of ice where I can’t follow without drowning. She’ll claim another unsuspecting victim within minutes, I’m sure, but at least it won’t be me.
I call out to my best friend as I move in the opposite direction, away from the epicenter of combat and toward my mate. “Neel!” He’s at my side in seconds, slogging through thesame icy slush as we reach the shore. “She’s here.” My body overheats as rage pumps through my veins. Steam rises from my skin the longer I’m on dry land, and I stomp through the snow with Cornelius hot on my trail. “She shouldn’t fucking be here.”
“Those guards will pay,” Neel growls, his eyes flashing violet as his power surges.
“It wasn’t the guards.” A bitter laugh catches in my throat. “It was her fuckingbaggage.Dragging her to her death. Goddamnit!” I grab a low-hanging branch off the nearest tree and rip it from its trunk, then throw it across the field into a fleeing number four. It slams against his back and he faceplants, immediately falling unconscious as his head hits the ground. My point tally climbs, but it’s not satisfying anymore.
She’s fuckinghere.
