Filed To Story: A Claim of Fortune Book PDF Free by Jaymin Eve
Was it possible that there’d been magic in the bunker I’d unintentionally tapped into?
“You have the floor, Jewels,” Hunter said as he dropped Sissily roughly into her chair.
He flattened a hand down his impeccable suit and returned to his own seat.
The other witches stood beside Jewels, each very different from the next. The first was a tiny redhead, with curves for days, wearing jeans and white shirt. Beside her stood a statuesque Black woman in a thousand-dollar power suit. Next an Asian female wore a loosely fitted, white linen pants suit. The final brunette had on a simple shift dress, though she bore a scowl that indicated she’d rather be anywhere but here.
Despite their differing appearances, they all had one thing in common: the power oozing off them.
“We’re here today,” Jewels started, “representing five of the ten most powerful covens in America.”
“And the other five?” a councilmember asked from the middle of the table.
Jewels exchanged a brief glance with the Asian witch. “It appears they have aligned themselves with Fletcher. They want a change in shifter hierarchy. One where witches have more control over shifters as well, and can tap into your money and resources. They want to work side by side with one supreme alpha.”
That set off chaos once more as the entitled alphas were forced to accept the truth of what Hunter had been telling them all along.
“Silence,” Warrick shouted, on his feet, his handsome face creased in frustration. It took a few minutes, but eventually the room fell silent. “This information needs to go out to more than just our council. This is a serious matter for all shifters in our country.”
“We’re open to meeting whatever alpha councils you can bring to your side,” Jewels added. “As you’ll all need our help. Fletcher Davenport has powerful witches working beside him, as you already know, and they’ve clearly been planning this for years. Since the last war.”
“Do you know where they are yet?” Hunter asked impatiently.
Jewels shook her head. “So far nothing we’ve done has been able to track them. They would have known this was coming and planned accordingly. Until they surface or use their magic again, they’re all but undetectable.”
Half the council spun in their chair and directed their gaze to Slade. “Also untraceable online,” he confirmed. “Though I am narrowing the search grid.”
“Bet the traitor dragon knows,” Kellan murmured to me. “Be a lot easier if he talked.”
Talon had already said he wouldn’t share this information, but maybe we’d eventually wear him down.
“This will take a combined effort,” Jewels warned everyone. “We can’t participate without a binding magical agreement, which will require blood from all entitled alphas to ensure no one betrays the other party.”
A few of the alphas jumped to their feet, the scent of their beasts wafting through the sulfur in the air. Slade edged himself closer to me, angling his body in front of mine. Kellan did the same on my other side, as Finley got to his feet to move behind us. Protecting our backs.
My pack surrounded me on the chance this chaos spilled our way, but I wasn’t worried.
Until the redheaded witch looked right at Jewels, and when their eyes met she laughed and nodded. “You’ll never win,” she cried, turning back to the room. “Fletcher and our covens will rule you all.”
Her hands plunged into her pockets to pull out two vials, and she launched them into the air so quickly that there was no chance for anyone to stop her. Jewels dove away from her, throwing up a field of energy, but it was too late.
The vials crashed into the ceiling and an explosion rocked the building. Bright lights blinded us as screams rang out when the foundation cracked. Before I could suck in a breath, the council chambers fractured completely and the ceiling came tumbling down on top of our heads.
KELLAN
Slade moved a split second before the rest of us and covered Emme. I added my body as a shield over her other side, and Finley was quick enough to burst into his bear form.
His bellow rang out as he used his bulk and strength to keep the worst of the debris from hitting us.
The witch hadn’t brought down the whole room, but she’d weakened the structure enough that if we didn’t get out of here soon, we might not be so lucky. “I need to shift,” Slade rumbled, surging to his feet, bits of drywall, tile, and wood flying off him.
“It’s too unstable,” I yelled, worried that his huge beast would bring the rest of the building down.
As I scanned the council, Emme started frantically shoving against my chest. “Where’s Hunter?” she cried, trying to crawl out from under our alpha pile.
Jerking my shoulders, which ached from scattered rubble hitting me, I sent up a plume of dust. It was impossible to see more than a few feet in front of us, as chaos reigned through the room. Finley roared again, and I twisted to see his bear paws clutching Emme as he plucked her up from the chair. The blue of her wide eyes were stark against the white dust powdering her skin and hair.
“We’ve done this recently,” she choked out to Finley, coughing through her words. “You can’t just ferret me out of here while our pack is in danger.”
The bear scoffed. Actually scoffed.
If we weren’t in a semi-dire situation, I’d have been fucking thrilled to see my brother’s snark and fire return. He was trying to change, and most of that was for the better, but it was a hard journey through the darkness and into the light.
“Shortcake, you’re our number one priority,” I reminded her, scanning the ceiling as another crack rang out. “Hunter will fucking murder us if we don’t get you to safety first.”
We all ducked at another fracturing crack, and this time a huge beam crashed against the table, setting off more growls and shouts. Which was around the time Slade lost his cool. “I will fucking murder you both if you don’t get her out of here. Leave Hunter to me.”
Finley started to leave, and it was only Emme’s cry that stopped him in his tracks. Slade and I were there in the next heartbeat, examining her for injury, but except for tear tracks through the dust on her cheeks, she appeared to be fine.
“I can’t lose either of you,” she rasped, her voice filled with her wolf. “Find Hunter but stay safe while doing it, Slade. You’re my mates. I need you.”
My soul temporarily left my body when Slade leaned in and pressed his lips to her cheek, tasting one of her tears. His nostrils flared as he breathed her in, dust and all. “A fucking building won’t steal us from you,” he assured her, and then he disappeared into the madness.