CALIFF
“We will continue this in the morning,” I said when Shadow started yawning.
“Oh, I’m fine. Ignore me, but they need to rest. They just had terrible days.”
“It’s two in the morning.” I checked my watch. “You both will go back to solitary under the provision. I’ll check out a place for both of you.”
“I understand, and we are grateful.”
“Marcus vouched you’re the good ones.”
“Wait. Marcus made it?” His eyes widened in surprise. “And his family?”
“Yeah. But you can’t see them.” Even if they were just a few doors away, that was soundproof.”
“Oh, thank Goddess. I’m happy to hear that. Thank you. Thank you.”
I folded the building plan after Zack and Lyon sent them to the confinement.
“You’re building a new house?” Shadow asked. Why did she sound surprised?
“For us, yes.”
“And what about this one?”
“This means a lot to me, but our future is here.”I pointed at the plan. “We’re going to have a family soon-”
“What made you think I want pups?” she asked without hesitation.
My mode instantly soured. My heart sank. “You don’t?”
When she smiled, I pulled her a little harder toward me. Her chest pressed against mine. I cupped her head and kissed her harder enough to draw blood, making her wince, parting her lips to me. I slipped my tongue into her mouth, swirling to have a taste of her. And then I cupped her ass, giving her a little squeeze.
I was hard again, and I wanted to rip off her clothes from her body, spread her on my desk, and feast on her until I made her come in my mouth and around my cock.
She kissed me back, letting go of a long, low moan, fueling my desire to take her and mark her. I slipped my hand and cupped her tit. The size was just perfect in my hand. Shadow was all soft on the outside but nothing so quiet on the inside when it came to her. She was the epitome of a leader with beauty and compassion, my true queen, my Luna.
She could disobey me, but the respect was still there. She could be complacent and demanding at the same time. She had the gift of the gab and effortlessly persuaded Marcus’ family to tell the truth without even trying. She was also charming, already winning the hearts of my Beta and Beta female and my enforcers. My mother liked her a lot.
She had the ability to control the situation and still be charming despite being disrespected by many. She could be a sigma and be cheerful around people she trusted.
“I want you,” she moaned into my mouth, breaking free, moving her lips towards my jaw, and running her tongue down my throat.
“Baby, is that you talking or your wolf?”
“Does it even matter?” She growled her words out as she slipped her hands down my abdomen, dragging her fingertips along my abs, and I felt she was not in control anymore. Her claws scraped my skin, and it stung, and a scent of blood immediately hit my nostrils while my wolf was gleeful within.
“Baby, we should stop.” I held her in both arms.
“What’s the matter? You don’t want me anymore?” She glared at me, snarling. The ring around her irises glowed frosty white.
“Shadow, calm down. You have to calm down, baby. I will give you what you want, but not like this. Listen to my voice.” I looked at her directly into those glowing eyes. She looked beautiful, like a moon goddess my mother used to tell me about, but she was also scaring me about her unfamiliar abilities.
“I said I want you.” She tried to reach out for my face, and I managed to lean back.
“I want you, too, but I need my Shadow, not your hybrid, wolf, or these glowing white eyes before me. Come back, baby.”
“Why are you resisting?” She just snarled at me. Her fangs and claws weren’t coming out yet, and I didn’t know what to do. Hitting her didn’t seem right.
Moon Goddess, a little help, please? I closed my eyes and opened my link towards her. Then I heard her laugh.
“That’s not funny. You scared me, Shadow. Come back to me now.”
She giggled. “Why didn’t you give me what I wanted?”
“I want my Shadow. I couldn’t kiss whatever she was. Please?”
I drew a deep breath before I opened my eyes to the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen. “What was that all about?”
“One of the things my mother taught me.” She held my hand as we got out of the office. She was confident everyone was already sleeping, and no one could see us holding hands.
“Can you tell me about your gifts? Your dream, I remember now. It wasn’t a dream. It was just about to happen in the future. Are you a seer, too?”
“No. I don’t think so.” She sighed at something too painful for her to remember.
I opened the door to my bedroom. “I suppose you still want to sleep in my bed.”
“There’s no place I’d rather be.” She threw herself in the bed, making her bounce.
I took her sneakers off her feet before I joined her in bed. “Tell me if it’s okay, baby.”
She lay on her back. “I was only eight and didn’t learn much. I mean, what an eight-year-old girl can do, and my mother couldn’t practice anymore since she chose my father.”
I want to prove my theory. “Is your mother a witch?”
She laughed. “When you say witch, it sounds like a wicked witch with a broom and a hat. But yes.”
“Maybe you can also fly if you try.” This new fact was mind-boggling that my mate was a werewolf-hybrid witch. “Or maybe one of our kids will inherit your mother’s abilities. Who knows?”
“Mix mating or mixed marriage of different kinds was forbidden. I’m sure you know that.”
“Yeah, during ancient times or those still practicing that old law.”
“The Coven stripped off her powers and rank. She left her coven without her abilities. Once they completed the mating process, the coven forbade her to use any magic, or her husband and her family would pay the price.”
“Of course. Some werewolves forbid marrying humans, but the Moon goddess likes to test the theory if werewolves and humans work.” I chuckled. If Shadow were human, I would be the first to break those rules. I would rather be powerless than not be with my mate.
“Sure, I can learn to cast a spell, incantation, or rituals, but I need someone to guide me. And I also feel my mother’s blood inside me, dormant. I can feel I inherited something, but I’m afraid to try because the coven will find out if a non-coven member uses magic. I don’t know how to say it, but the witch’s energy, the force of nature, can be traced around us. And I don’t wanna risk them finding me.”
“Maybe I can find a witch for you if you wanna learn the extent of your abilities.”
“Are you even listening? You will pay the price. Your pack will fight against witches. You may be powerful, but they can control elements. And even if someone agrees, don’t expect it’s for free. She won’t accept money as payment, Califf. This is dangerous, uncharted territory even for you. Even if you want, I won’t agree to this. I’m happy with what I have right now.” She paused as if she had something in her mind.
“What is it?”
“Maybe they can be allies too.” She pursed her lips as if it was a bad idea. “But they will expect something in return.”
“Sure they will. So that hybrid form, you got it from your mother?” I asked in hesitation because I had a feeling there was another shocking revelation coming my way.
When she shook her head, I felt goosebumps erupt all over my skin, and she saw it.
“You’re-” I gulped down.
“A part Lycan, a part witch? Yes.”
My eyes widened. I opened my mouth and shut it close because I was beyond speechless. All I could do was stare at my mate in awe.
“What? I’m nothing special.” She just shrugged it off. My mate was a half-Lycan and a half-witch, and she thought she was nothing special.
Unfuckingbelievable.
“Nothing special?” I barked out, laughing. If this room wasn’t soundproof, everyone from miles away probably heard my voice. I wiped the tears from my eyes but couldn’t stop laughing.
“You have a great laugh, Alpha. And you actually look younger but still domineering. I guess it’s in your blood. The Alpha blood that makes you scary and respectable.”
“Let’s not talk about me, baby. This night is getting better and better.”
“I thought we were gonna sleep?”
“If you don’t want me to make you feel good, I suggest we talk.”
“You’re such a lewd Alpha.”
“But you like it.”
“It’s a mate thing, Alphasshole.”
I laughed again as I cupped her face and looked her in the eye. “I can’t believe my mate is a half Wicked Witch of the West and a descendant of Lycoan. Well, damned.” I pressed my lips against her.
“And you promise to keep this a secret.”
“Promise. And that’s why you like to disobey, huh?” I planted kisses on her face, eyes, nose, chin, cheeks, and back to her lips again. “I wanna lick your wolf.”
“Is that you?”
“Yeah, and my wolf is proud of you. Do you know any of your kind?”
“We’re of the same kind, Califf.”
“You know for a fact we’re different if you learned your lesson about our history.”
“It doesn’t matter. We both have dogs inside us. And no, I don’t. Maybe there are a few Lycans out there. Oh?” Her eyes grew big. “Maybe I have relatives.”
“You never met your family from father’s side?”
“No.”
“I’ll set a meeting with the elders this week.”
“No. Don’t.” She swallowed hard.
“Why?”
“You know Lycans are. They’re dangerous and strong. If they know I exist, there’s a chance they will take me by force or challenge you. I don’t want blood in my hands, Califf.”
“Maybe you wanna meet your kind or your relatives.”
“They have already found me if they wanted me.”
“Okay, baby.” I raised my hands because I never expected to learn about her kind from a woman before me. I saw her wolf was almost my wolf’s size, but I still denied that truth until she confirmed it.
It was terrifying and amazing at the same time.
She sensed something in my head. “But?”
“With the threats out there, we still need allies and support.”
“That bastard is busy collecting dogs while we do nothing but cuddles.”
“We are planning something, baby. It may take time, but we’ll get there.”
“And maybe we can use Marcus’ expertise in IEDs and Santi’s computer wiz.”
“Exactly my thought. I was thinking of using silver nitrate, but also lethal to us.”