A howl tore through his stupor enough to get him focused, and Giuliana crouched in front of him, teeth and claws bared.
Dominic stood at the forefront, pushing Zoey behind him as he faced off against the Trinity. “You would strike one of mine?”
Alpha power swelled into the room, pressing cement blocks down on Romano’s chest as he coughed to breathe.
“He claimed her! He had no right!” Amalia’s voice was like nails on a chalkboard. “He was only supposed to help her.”
Did she screech? The pounding in his head told him she did. Romano forced himself to sit up. This could turn deadly, and Kalinda wasn’t safe.
“I only did what I could to bring her back. She is tightly tied to certain emotions and sensations. If you dipshits saw, I tried to be nice and easy at first, but my girl likes it rough.” Romano coughed but managed a grin at the Three Douches.
Taking Giuliana’s outstretched hand, he got to his feet and brushed off the specks of destroyed wall. Yeah, he’d feel that in the morning.
A moan stopped them all from saying anything further. “Romano?”
Kalinda’s eyes opened, and she blinked a few times before frantically searching the room. When her gaze rested on him, every bone in her body went liquid and she relaxed. “You’re here.”
Damn, if that didn’t do things to him on a level he couldn’t describe. Clearing his throat before his voice cracked like a pubescent teen, he spoke. “Told you. Can’t get rid of me that easily.”
She looked up at him from the seat. Only at him. She sounded dazed and angry. “I want to go home.”
Romano looked to Dominic, who shook himself enough to speak normally. “We’re done here.” There was a bite to his tone as he addressed the Trinity. “You struck one of my wolves who offered you help. As of now, Kalinda is a member of the Lombardi Pack and needs her pack to survive her First Shift. Any further discussion of whether she chooses to join the Council will have to wait until then.”
“Out of the question. We have access to the best healers in the lands, and we will make sure she receives the no-shift potion as well. She will not be a wolf,” Lennox promised with a little too much disdain in his voice.
“She is my mate, and Magic Law states a mate bond is sacred. This isn’t a situation where she was forced to turn by a random bite.”
“It is a random bite by someone who wanted her power,” Lennox countered.
“I don’t want her for her power. I want her because she’s Kalinda.”
Romano said the words to the Trinity, but he was looking at her. Their gazes locked as he took a step forward. “She has a choice in joining the Council, and that will wait until you can explain to us exactly what that means, but first, she is my mate, and that takes precedence.” He put heavy emphasis on the word “us.” She wasn’t alone in this.
Dominic’s voice boomed through the air. “Denying a pack member’s claim to his mate means turning your back on all shifters who gave sovereignty to the Council to be part of the Enchanted Zones and live freely. Remember, our kind are not ruled by the same laws of magic.”
Romano had never head of that, but Dominic’s words rang true and loud.
Yon narrowed his eyes at Dominic. “She isn’t permitted to leave until she understands what turning down a Council position means, as that is our law. But in deference to your customs, her mate can remain with her until her First Shift and the choice she will have to make.” Yon grimaced as if the words were distasteful to him.
“Hello? Can everyone stop talking about me like I’m a piece of furniture and you’re trying to decide which room you’re going to put me in?” Kalinda snapped. “I don’t want to be on the Council. End of story.”
Lennox, the smug bastard, never looked at Kalinda but only at Romano as he spoke. “Turning down a Council appointment is not a viable option, as we’ve told you. But perhaps I should clarify. You may refuse the appointment and the controls therein, but to do so would mean your gifts are dangerous to us. We learned that with one who said no and caused irreparable damage. She is alive to atone for it, and for no other reason.”
“I don’t have time for games. Say what you are trying to say,” Dominic raged.
“He’s saying Zahara was the mage who said no, and the only reason she is still alive is because she is doing work to make up for what she did. And if Kalinda says no, she dies,” Zoey clarified.
“Ah, and they say an old dog can’t learn new tricks,” Lennox jeered.
Yeah, I’m killing you the minute I get Kalinda clear. And I’m going to enjoy it so much.
So. Fucking. Much.
Chapter Nine
Romano wasn’t going to sit there and let them pull the group apart. The Council knew just what they were doing. They wanted to keep him there with Kalinda— separated from his pack and Alpha—and beholden to their magic and spells he couldn’t hope to break. Staying here would only ensure they’d keep Kalinda right where they wanted her and under their control.
That didn’t change the fact the Council had the upper hand and they were trying to get her away from them. He never got the story from Zahara about how she’d escaped the Council, and from their hint, she was paying for it in some way. He was sort of really pissed his wolf tried to eat her and still got uncomfortable when she was around.
