Filed To Story: Claimed by the Alpha I Hate Book Read Free
“Is something funny, Rowena?” I cocked an eyebrow, towering over her. “Do you know why Zeke’s suddenly able to be in two places at once?”
“Should I, Daisy?” She purred, staring up at me through her lashes.
A single thought was all it took to coax the shadows holding her in place to tighten, digging further into her skin. They lapped up the blood that wept from her wrists and neck with long tongues the color of an oil slick. She winced, and I watched with disgust as the decaying skin on her face began to peel away.
The flesh beneath was black, like her meat had rotted.
“I’m going to bleed every secret from your body, Rowena.” I promised, my voice dropping an octave.
“Every. Last. One.”
“I’m not afraid of death, darling.” She sneered, her full lips peeling back to expose her teeth. “Do your worst, it won’t change your fate.”
‘Breyona, you still with me?’ I called out to my best-friend, holding tightly to the mind-link between us.
She panted, ‘Yep, still here. Don’t know what’s wrong with Zeke #2, but he’s a fucking asshole.
Stabbed me with a silver blade and everything. It’s weird, once Nolan started fighting back, he was quick to take off.’
‘He got away?’ I asked, cursing silently. ‘I don’t think that was Zeke, Breyona. You said that Zeke claimed he needed to go back and check on Tessa. Well, this Zeke is telling me he never left the prison to begin with. He didn’t even know Sean was dead or that Nolan killed him.’
‘What? How’s that possible? He literally met me at your place, Daisy. That’s where I told him what happened. We went looking for Nolan together.’ Breyona said, just as confused as I.
The longer I stared at the sharp corners of Rowena’s smug grin, the more my stomach twisted itself into knots.
“We still don’t know who the second witch is…” I trailed off. “She could be anywhere.”
“Or anyone.” Rowena hummed, a wicked glint in her eyes.
Breyona’s voice unfurled in my head. ” Daisy? Hello? You can’t just bail after saying that. We need to figure this out. Where are you guys? Nolan and I are on our way.’
“The Zeke you were with was the second witch, I’m sure of it.’ I informed her, tasting her shock as it vibrated down the mind-link. ‘We’re in the forest, not far from the prison, actually.’
The mere mention of Nolan had my heart hammering, but I couldn’t bare to linger on the thought of my mate. Nolan filled me with a strength I never knew, but he also knew how to calm my inner storm, and that was the last thing I needed. Rage and pain would get me answers, not bravery and mercy.
‘It definitely fits, but how can you be sure? Shapeshifting doesn’t exactly seem like a common type of magic, you know? Wait, you said the second witch…which implies you know who the first one is.’
Breyona trailed off, her words tight with worry. ‘Daisy, are you with one of the witches now?’
I lowered my eyes to Rowena, my expression blank while her’s was positively gleeful.
‘Yes.’ I said simply.
‘Who is it?’ She asked with palpable reluctance.
‘Rowena.’
A blistering snarl cracked through the mind-link, so loud that I swore the entirety of the pack heard it in their heads. The hairs that lifted along my arms and the back of my neck told me who the snarl had come from.
‘Shit. Nolan’s pissed.’ Breyona cursed. ‘ We’re on our way, Daisy. We’ll be there soon.’
‘Alright, but in the meantime I’m going to wring her for answers. Lucky for me, I know just where to start.’
‘Daisy, you’re freaking me out. I’ve never heard you like this before.’ Breyona said cautiously, lowering her voice. Her wolf’s whine rippled through my head. ‘We can get answers together, okay? Just wait for us.’
‘I can’t do that. There’s too much I need to know, starting with how she made Nolan kill my brother.’ I whispered, a tremor wracking my body as my magic flared to life, crackling beneath my skin in an attempt to get free. It thrashed against the bars of its prison, lashing out as the grin on Rowena’s face grew. I couldn’t hold it back even if I wanted to, and I didn’t. ‘…hurry, Breyona.’
I sliced through the mind-link, cleaving it in two and watching as it fluttered and frayed like the torn pieces of a ribbon.
“Now, where were we?” I exhaled, rolling my shoulders back as I weakened my hold over my magic.
It swarmed at the first hint of freedom, filling my cells until they swelled with power. As hard as it was, I had to control each and every thought that passed through my head, taking care not to feed any energy into them. Like stones floating down a stream, I’d pluck one out of the water to inspect it, only to toss it back in, releasing it altogether.
Rowena snickered, much too confident and cocky given her current position. ” You were threatening me with death should I not reveal all my little secrets.”
“Ah, right. I’d like to change my earlier threat if you don’t mind.” I smirked, tilting my head the way a predator would as it sized up its prey. Right now, that’s exactly what Rowena was. She didn’t even have the honor of being called fresh meat, not with that patch of decayed flesh growing out of her face.
She schooled her expression into one of mock-seriousness and nodded all too understandingly.
“Of course, darling. Go right on ahead. Give it your best shot and I promise I’ll try to be properly spooked this time around.”
“I appreciate the consideration. I’m fairly new to this whole torture thing, but with my magic, I think you’ll find my ideas… creative. To say the least.” I hummed, grazing the tendril of shadow wrapped around her left wrist. It writhed, preening under my touch almost lovingly. I continued by dragging my finger up
Rowena’s arm, circling her until I stood at her back. She stiffened, craning her head to the side when she could no longer see me.
I lowered my lips to her ear and smiled. coldly. “We both know there are things far worse than death,
Rowena. Let’s discover them together, shall we?”
When I circled back around to the front of her, a warm pulsating wave of satisfaction washed over me, as dark and alluring as the magic that throbbed in my veins. There was fear in her eyes, brighter than the emerald treetops and the moss that covered their roots.
“You have no clue what kind of magic’s you dabble in, Daisy.” She hissed; eyes narrowed as if that alone would blot out the ripe scent of her fear.
I lifted my hand, inspecting it for any trace of dark veins. There was none, not that it mattered in the slightest. I brought the witches down on this pack and I’d do anything-anything to make it right again.
Letting my magic fly free, chasing after my thoughts to turn them into reality, I grinned.
“I don’t care, Rowena.”
The shadows wrapped around her wrists shot up from the ground, dragging her arms upwards until she stumbled to her feet. Higher they climbed, until she hovered a solid foot off the earth. Her head whipped around, eyes darting between the three of us, lingering on Zeke and Tessa as if they’d come to her rescue.
Despite the fact that I didn’t trust Tessa, she didn’t seem the least bit enticed to aid Rowena.
With the flick of my hand, two more shot out from the blackened forest line, snaring her ankles, and anchoring her to the ground.
There weren’t words that could encompass the beautiful, terrible things I wanted to do to her, but as it turns out, my magic didn’t need words to know what to do, and neither did the shadows.
They came from all around us, slithering from every little crevice the forest had to offer. Tessa’s gasp told me that she and Zeke could see the tendrils creeping towards Rowena with obvious excitement.
Faster they crawled, one after another, until there were dozens pooling around her feet.
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?