Filed To Story: Claimed by the Alpha I Hate Book Read Free
“Stubborn? I’m sure you could’ve picked a better word than that.” I teased, but my voice failed to d***n out the way my heartrate skyrocketed. There was never a moment where I wasn’t thankful for Nolan, and the unwavering support he always showed. I relaxed in his arms and peered up at him through my lashes, “does that mean you’re on board with the witches training me?”
“You don’t like stubborn?” He cocked an eyebrow. I let out a surprised squeal when his arms wound around my waist, much too tight for me to break free. I fell against his chest, still giggling as he said,
“how about manipulative, or mischievous?”
I’m sure my laughter sounded delirious from how long we’d been up, but it was normal moments like these that I longed for. The tantalizing curve of his smirk was just a few inches from my own lips and even with my stressed, sleep clouded mind I longed to close the distance between us.
“I don’t want to make decisions for you, and I won’t walk away if you choose to do something I don’t agree with. If undoing this block and learning magic is what you need, then I’ll do everything I can to help. We’re in this together, which means I trust your judgement.” He said softly, stealing my breath and any future response when he placed a hand on the back of my head and guided my lips to his own.
I was wrapped in Nolan’s arms, drowning in his taste and scent. Even though I was exhausted in more ways than one and worried about what the upcoming weeks would bring, I savored the break in between the waves that crashed over our heads and took us further from dry land.
Even as the waters calmed and the skies cleared, a sense of foreboding lingered in the air. There was a storm headed our way, and we had no clue when it would be here…
Even though the sun was up and he’d surely be heading to sleep soon, we went to talk to Giovanni first. I was eager to get my hands on the magical text he managed to get, especially since Cordelia called and said she’d be back this afternoon to perform the séance.
I put all of my focus towards getting this binding removed so I could get ahead of these witches and hopefully stop this mess in its tracks. There was every chance the witches working against us would find out and try to stop us, so the faster we moved the better.
Since Nolan refused to let me out of his sight for the day, he tagged along. Even in broad daylight I couldn’t help but keep my eyes peeled on these twisting and turning roads, waiting for another pair of dark boots.
‘You alright?’ Nolan asked, his voice flowing through my head. He glanced over at me from the driver’s seat and took a hand off the wheel to place it on my t***h.
‘Yeah…’ I nodded and sank further into the seat. My pulse raced from the small touch, but it did nothing to steer my thoughts away from the stranger and how abrupt the c***h had been. My voice was strained when I asked, ‘would you believe I’m not in any hurry to get into another c***h?’
I hadn’t expected to find Rowena at the house so early. She was coming down the stairs as we walked inside and smiled once she noticed us. The sundress she wore reached her ankles and had little maroon flowers that matched the shade of her hair. The long layers were curled and framed her heart-
shaped face.
“You like it? I got it at a little shop in town.” Her smile widened when she noticed me take in her outfit.
“I’m wearing it to the bake sale today. Apparently a bake sale is much more exciting than what I was led to believe.”
“We’ll probably stop by sometime after the séance.” I replied, silently praying grandma would have leftover cookies in case we couldn’t make it.
Since this bake sale was in honor of Carson, I was positive there would be plenty of college kids ready to binge on a bunch of sweets. Grandma would be right in the line of fire and would love every chaotic second. She probably considered it a reward from all the stress baking she’d done last night.
“Cordelia called me this morning too! I’ll be there for the séance and from what I’ve heard your friend
Breyona is coming as well.” Rowena smiled warmly, “are you coming as well, Alpha Nolan?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it.”
A smile tugged at the corners of my lips, because there was no way my stubborn mate would let me call on the ghost of my d**d mother alone. We hadn’t at all discussed whether he’d come, but I knew he had made up his mind when I first told him Cordelia’s idea.
“Wonderful! I hope this afternoon gives you the answers you’ve been looking for.” The sincerity in her voice rang like a bell throughout the quiet house, along with the concern that slowly closed in. She paused by the front door, “actually, I wanted to speak with you about Holly…”
“Has everything been going alright with her training?” I asked, glancing upstairs to where her bedroom door was.
Rowena nodded and brushed back a thick curl of hair, “she’s starting out strong considering she’s never practiced magic a day in her life, but my concern for her isn’t of the magical variety.”
My eyebrows inched together, “then what kind is it?”
“Has Holly ever spoken to a therapist? You’ve briefly mentioned her life with your father, so I can’t presume to know everything, but enduring a situation like that is traumatizing. Trauma can stunt a witches progress and affect their magic.”
If I hadn’t already known about Rowena’s background as a preschool teacher, I would’ve thought she sounded like a concerned mother. I wasn’t nearly as suspicious as Nolan. From bone structure to even the smallest of details, she and Holly looked nothing alike.
“She did for a little while before we came to town, but it didn’t seem to be helping. I’ll have Tristan see if she’ll agree to it, and if she says yes I’ll find one that’s a good fit.” I added it to my mental to-do list.
It was my turn to stop her before she left. I planned to ask Cordelia about the tracking spell when we met for our training session, but I didn’t see why I couldn’t ask Rowena as well.
“Do you know anything about tracking spells?” I asked.
If she thought my question was odd, she gave nothing away. Instead, Rowena’s eyes lit up curiously and she answered in the clear soprano of a preschool teacher.
“I know a little on the subject. Were there any specific questions you had?” She asked.
“How are they created, and is there any way to destroy one?”
“With most tracking spells you need something personal from the target, or some of their DNA. Also, they can only be tracked for so long. It all depends on the strength of the witch and how well she can concentrate. The only other kind of tracking spell would involve sigils, which we would’ve discovered the same time we revealed your binding mark.” Rowena replied, a self-satisfied smile on her face. “I’m a bit proud I remembered that. I would play hide and seek with the witch I grew up with using a tracking spell. I was horrible at it, but that never stopped me from trying.”
Rowena lingered a few minutes longer, but eagerly left to venture through the city market twenty minutes away. We had passed the cluster of small boutiques and restaurants on our way to the house.
From the main road you could see some of the outdoor seating areas and the small courtyard where live music sometimes played.
‘You know how easy it would’ve been for her to grab some of your hair when she was first in our house?’ Nolan’s voice flooded my head, along with a heavy dose of wariness. ‘She was following that feeling of hers when it led her there.’
I was happy to see Rowena and Cordelia adjusting, but Nolan still wasn’t convinced.
‘You’re right, it could’ve been her. She was in our house…’ I nodded, because other than the lack of alarm bells going off in my head, I had nothing to prove her innocence. I continued before Nolan had the chance to respond, ‘…but so was Cordelia and Cassidy-oh Breyona stopped by a couple days ago too, and there was that pizza man…’
‘Are you teasing me, Daisy?’ He lifted one of his dark eyebrows and pinned me in place with his stare.
I was mesmerized by the golden flakes in his eyes when his arm snapped out lightning fast. The last thing I felt before being pulled into his chest was a hand wrap around my wrist. Some of the playfulness faded from his eyes, turning the vibrant gold into a gentle caramel. ‘You think I’m being paranoid, don’t you?’
Nolan was only doing what he thought was right, what had worked to protect the pack in the past.
Everything had changed in such a short amount of time, and it was far from over. With vampires joining our side and witches slipping past the boundaries, werewolves are facing our biggest threat to date.
We’re all trying to navigate this new world as best we can, so I didn’t blame Nolan for becoming a little overprotective.
Still, I couldn’t help but tease the man. I nibbled on my lower lip, pretending to think my answer through. The short strands of his hair tickled my hands as I wound my arms around his neck.
“Mm, I think that…I love you.” I grinned innocently, fully aware that I had won this battle. His arms snaked around my waist and pinned me flush against him. I knew he wasn’t letting go anytime soon when he captured my lips and claimed my last breath for himself.
“Since Breyona clearly has come voyeuristic tendencies she needs to work through and won’t speak up, I will.” Tristan’s voice split the air like a whip. I knew both from his words and from the severity in his voice that he was in a s****y mood. “If you make this house smell like s*x, I’ll b**n it down.”
Nolan’s hold around my waist didn’t budge, but I also hadn’t tried to pull away. I took a few long seconds to enjoy his embrace, knowing it would p**s the cranky vampire off even more. Sure enough, he cleared his throat. Nolan smirked as I rolled my eyes.
“Are you acting like an a*****e because it’s past your bedtime?” I asked, meeting little resistance when I stepped out of Nolan’s arms.
Breyona yawned and trudged down the stairs, paying no mind to Tristan who lingered close behind, waiting for her to speed up.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?