I kept a slow gait along the winding trail. My shoes were dirty at the edges and I frowned, wondering how much Justus had paid for them. A peculiar smell hovered in the breeze. Beyond the trees in a clearing, a young couple stood in the moonlight. They looked Finn’s age. Her wispy dress floated like a butterfly and she covered her arms with a white shawl. They were too far out of range for me to hear their conversation, but I knew he had marked her. I didn’t know the custom of the Gathering; the whole thing felt foreign as I watched how they interacted with one another. She twisted her hair back playfully and ran off. He paused for a moment before going after her at Chitah speed. Was that all there was to it?
I hoped that she gave him a good chase.
“Well, well, well,” a familiar voice said.
I sharpened my light, knowing exactly who was behind me.
“Lookie what we have here,” the black-haired Chitah said mockingly.
Not wanting a confrontation, I rushed forward when the Chitah grabbed my upper arm and twisted hard. “Not so fast. We have a box to discuss.”
“What’s in there, your IQ? Because you seem to have lost it.”
His fingers squeezed bruisingly and I gasped. “Your reluctance to give up the contents has only piqued his interest that something of value is inside. I’m warning you, Mage; think carefully about how you decide. You have your hand in the fire pit and don’t even know it. I could decimate you.”
“Shadow me all you want, but I’m not afraid of your threats. Tell Nero that he’s wasting his time. Now let go of me before I put three hundred volts into your sorry ass.”
“I wouldn’t suggest that in present company.” His fingers opened up like a spider stretching its long legs—setting me free. I apprehensively hurried past him with my eyes on the building.
“You’ve made your choice,” he said from behind me.
He yanked my shirt so hard that I swung around and slammed into the ground, scuffing my chin on the dirt. I felt my lip split when a sharp pain sliced through the bottom. He flattened me on my stomach and before I could increase my power, the Chitah crushed his heavy body on top of my back. My arms were pinned. I could barely breathe.
“Logan!” I wheezed. “Get off me!”
“He’ll tire of you eventually,” he said, shoving my face against the dirt. “I sure as hell would if my female couldn’t give me a blowjob without frying my junk.”
I became paralyzed with fear when his sharp teeth scraped against the back of my neck.
“By the way, my name is Tarek. It’s only right that we get the introductions out of the way since I’ll be claiming you.”
A bold, suffocating stench leapt on me like a black panther.
It was nothing like Logan’s, and I realized that each of them had their own unique imprint. Logan’s was heady, like freshly brewed spices, seducing me like nothing else—a siren’s call, soaking into my pores and intoxicating my senses.
Tarek’s was like poison and my nose burned from how heavy it was. I charged up, ready to strike—but he was gone.
Chapter 15
I spit out a pebble and rubbed my nose with the back of my arm
. One minute Logan was moving at an aristocrat’s pace across the grounds and the next, he was sprinting.
Tarek’s scent stopped Logan in his tracks and he covered his face with the crook of his elbow. His gaze lowered and locked on the blood trickling down my chin. A swirl of darkness swallowed up every bit of gold in his eyes and in less than a second, Logan flipped his switch.
His muscles went rigid, a vein protruded from his neck, and all sense of the man I knew evaporated—replaced by something primal and thirsty for bloodshed.
“Hey, Lo!” Levi yelled from behind. “Are you taking the car or is this a split?” He came up and slapped Logan on the back. His jaw slackened when he caught the scent in the air.
“Pull it back, brother. Don’t you dare flip out here! Look at me,” he demanded, grabbing Logan’s jaw. “Focus on my eyes. There are too many elders here and if you lose control then you’re going to end up regretting this for the rest of your short life. They’ll make sure of that. Hell,
I’ll
make sure of that.”
Levi turned to face me and spoke gravely. “He
can’t
ignore it. A male has officially marked you at the Gathering; I don’t think you realize what that means.”
By the lengthening of Logan’s fangs, I had an idea.
“What you two need to remember is that I’m not a Chitah and his cologne was not my type.”
“Only kindred spirits are marked at a Gathering.”
If I hadn’t been sitting, my knees would’ve buckled.
“Well, he’s not
the one
for me.” I stood up and brushed the dirt from the back of my pants.
Levi stepped forward and pointed a serious finger. “You weren’t just marked, honey—you were claimed. We’re a walking spice rack and there are messages that you can’t detect as a Mage. Maybe to you it’s all the same, but to us it’s a big damn deal.”
“I’m a person, Levi. Regardless of your customs, I have the right to reject him because of something called free will.”
My heart stammered when I noticed that Logan was gone. “Go find Simon and tell him I’m going home with Logan,” I said in a rushed voice.
Levi ran his hands down the length of his pants and bent over. “You can’t leave with Logan. You can only leave with the Chitah who marked you—it’s our custom. Logan is tracking his scent and we need to find him before this escalates from ugly to fucking catastrophic.” He cursed under his breath.
“I’m a Mage,” I said in a low voice. “I’m not going
anywhere
with Tarek.”
“Tarek?” He straightened his back and spoke through clenched teeth. “
Tarek
marked you?”
“Nero hired him. Don’t any of your leaders care about traitors?”
“We don’t get involved with Mage business unless it concerns us, but Leo will need to know,” he said as he scanned the crowd. “Tarek comes from a powerful family next to ours. There’s a history with him that goes way back. This is not good.” Levi turned around and took off in the direction of the clubhouse.
We pushed through the door and saw a crowd of people in the center of the room. There were shouts as we shouldered our way through. Some didn’t seem to care for my new perfume as they caught a whiff and arrowed their judgment at me. No, I wasn’t a Chitah, and that made it all the more controversial. I paused with trepidation when I reached the center. Three men held Logan while Tarek faced him with his thick arms crossed.
“Sweetie,” Tarek greeted in mock adoration with an outstretched arm. “I think it’s time we get going.”
Logan lunged, straining every muscle as the men struggled to contain him.
“You know the rules,” a voice out of sight warned. “No violence at the Gathering.”
There were disapproving grumbles in the crowd.
I gasped, and my heart fluttered like a hummingbird.
“They’ll detain Logan so he won’t follow after you. Tarek will drive you home because he’s supposed to announce his intent to the father, or in your case, Justus.”
The lack of help was infuriating.
My sharp voice cut through the room. “I am a Mage. I don’t know what bearing that holds here, but no Chitah can claim me. These are not my customs and I forbid it.”
An older man with a long face emerged from the crowd. I stepped forward and stood beside Logan.
“We are not asking you to consummate your relationship, Mage. If you are under
our
roof then you abide by
our
rules. The tradition of the Gathering is longstanding, and if Tarek has claimed you as his life mate, then he has full rights until we investigate further.”
“My answer is no.”
“Courtship hasn’t begun,” the older Chitah pointed out. “Therefore, he must be given one year to court you.”
My knees almost buckled. “Bullshit!”
His eyes narrowed dangerously and he spoke in an authoritative voice. Meanwhile, Tarek held his position with a smug grin on his unshaven face. “This is a respectful act, one in which you will be given the choice to accept or deny him. It is not an arranged marriage, nor would we legally recognize the coupling as you are not a Chitah—that’s irrelevant at this point. There are rules within our kind that are honored, so allow me to quell this little outburst by suggesting that you speak with your Council. You’ll find there is little they can do in this regard. I am ordering that the three of you leave the premises; this outburst is an insult to all present.”
The crowd murmured and it suddenly dawned on me why Logan hadn’t spoken.
His switch was flipped
. The only thing carrying him from one breath to the next was pure instinct. Yet the voice of the elder kept him contained.
“If Logan Cross is willing to sacrifice his life for you, then he will place a challenge,” the elder said. “But this is a night of peace and if you are not able to adhere to those rules, then there will be consequences. Tarek will escort you home.”
“Sacrifice his
life
?” I involuntarily grabbed Logan’s hand. I couldn’t breathe.
It wasn’t the elder who answered, but Tarek. “I’ve claimed you as my kindred, so courtship rules no longer apply. If Cross wants you bad enough, then he’ll have to challenge me to the death. That is not custom—that is law.”
His grin was poisonous—a silent explanation that if I had just given him what he wanted, then he would have never escalated it this far.
“Enough of this,” the elder Chitah growled. “This is not the place to instigate a challenge. Should you choose to disobey—”
A few unsettled murmurs silenced when the elder spoke again. He was more concerned about defusing the situation than resolving it.
“So be it. Tarek, let the dark-haired female go on her own. Young Mage, remember that you have tread into Chitah territory. You cannot avoid what is his right. I will ask that all of you leave the premises so that we may continue with our ceremonies.” He waved a hand and the crowd dispersed.
Logan’s grip became iron. I tucked my hand inside of his shirt and his skin was hot. “Logan? Come back.”
A thin ring of gold appeared in the center of his eyes and Logan fought against his primal nature until he won.
As we moved out the door, Tarek rubbed his chin and looked me over. “Sweetie, I’m going to treat you
so
right. You’ll find in time that I’m the better man and have much more to offer you than Cross does.”
Logan corralled me out of Tarek’s reach with his left arm. The frightening thing was how
calm
Logan’s demeanor was. Fierce eyes locked onto the dark-haired Chitah and they fell into a staring match. The men who escorted us stood aside as if this were an ordinary occurrence. Tarek finally blinked.
Logan drew in a hard breath of air and held it, as if it might transform into flames and incinerate his enemy. When he spoke, his voice was as sharp as a guillotine.
“Listen to me, Tarek, and listen well. If you
ever
lay an unwanted hand on Silver, I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth and watch your blood run cold.”
Chapter 16
“God, I love the smell of home.”
I unzipped my hoodie and tossed it in the chair near the door
.
“Justus is out with your brother for a while, so we have the place to ourselves. Do you want something to eat or—”
Logan came to a hard stop and maneuvered in front of me like a shield.
“Don’t move,” he said in a deep voice.
It took me a minute to comprehend why. The sofa cushions were askew; books were pulled from the shelves and littered the floor. Someone had ransacked the place. Justus always kept an immaculate house with the exception of sweeping. The floor was made of stone, so I guessed he thought that dirt just belonged there.
“Are they still in the house?” I whispered.
He spoke over his shoulder. “I didn’t pick up a scent in the hall so it’s hard to tell. If they are, they’ve been here awhile.” He tensed and took a few shallow breaths. “Do as I say. There are at least two of them; the scent in the house is strong. They could be—”
Our attention snapped to the kitchen when someone cursed.
“Goddammit! Are you sure you checked the bedrooms?” a voice barked.