Blood Bound
B***d Bound Chapter 23

DAN GRABBED EVERETTE by her shoulder and lugged her with him through the mud and rain.

In only a handful of minutes, Everette found herself seated inside a cold, damp, and barely lit dungeon. She could smell old b***d, rotting organs, and other disturbing things she didn’t want to name.

Well, at least Maya’s not down here, she thought, flicking a piece of hay off her knee.

Everette curled into herself, sitting in a fetal position with her chin set on her knees. She remained in that position for almost five hours, solemnly waiting for someone to come for her. But as the minutes drifted by, she got antsy and paced from wall to wall.

The dove shifter would rather have her neck snapped in one go than to suffer for days on end, waiting for a death that had no date.

It was way too torturous, and she couldn’t take it any longer.

Everette smacked her head against the icy wall.

What made her think getting a little buzzed would help anything?

She g*****d.

As her thoughts became more and more derailed, the locked door at the top of the stairs clicked and squealed as it was pushed open.

Dan led the imposing Cardinal Alpha down the flight of stairs to the cell where Everette was kept captive.

“The dove shifter has been down here since last night,” Dan said.

Upon notice of the Alpha’s monstrous aura, Everette floundered in her spot and tried hard not to pee herself. Her face became paler, almost transparent like a ghost, and her whole body quivered uncontrollably.

The hairs on Everette’s neck stood on end and the urge to vomit rippled in her upset stomach.

“Open the door,” the lethal Alpha ordered.

Dan immediately unlocked the cell and stood behind his Alpha, waiting for the next commands.

“I-I’m looking for Maya,” Everette squeaked, trying very hard to keep her voice level.

At that moment, the flight or fight instinct became solely flight, except Everette knew she couldn’t escape no matter how hard she tried.

The Alpha’s golden eyes flickered over her face for a split second before darting away. “Dan will show you the way.”

Just that one glance was enough to make Everette realize she was still just a grain of dirt beneath his majestic feet. She was still unworthy and unimportant to him.

Everette swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, bringing her gaze down to her feet.

_______________________

Maya’s slim fingers danced on the crisp pieces of yellow paper stacked neatly one on top of the other.

She inspected the wet cryptic symbols scrawled in a foreign tongue on the papers, waiting for them to dry before folding them into little stars, triangles, and squares. This would help her differentiate the spells and make it easier to grab the correct one when necessary.

She’d been working on them for almost four hours, adding to the collection she’d been building over the years.

Although Maya had been prepared for a long while, there was no harm in going the extra mile. She didn’t want there to be any mishaps because that could cost her a lot more than she was willing to lose.

As her fingers picked up the dip pen on the table, Maya smelled the scent of creamy vanilla and marshmallows.

Everette.

The corner of her mouth quirked upward, and she continued to draw the symbols on the paper. ‘

Before long, the sound of wings fluttering dizzyingly in the chilly morning air became prominent in Maya’s ears. She stood up and moved to the window, unlocking the latch and pushing it open.

“Maya!” the dove exclaimed excitedly, poofing into her human form and attaching herself to the sorceress. “You don’t know how scared I’ve been for the last twenty hours just trying to come look for you! The stupid guards in this pack locked me down in their nasty dungeon! I swear, if I didn’t get out sooner, I was going to have a stroke or puke so much I would die.

And you know how much I hate the thought of dying…”

“I can imagine how bad it must have been,” Maya replied, waiting for Everette to breathe in between her words to speak.

Since Maya didn’t notice any wounds on the dove, she figured the dove shifter was ranting again.

“Wait. What’s going on with you and the Alpha? His scent is all over you, like you mate—oh my goodness!” Everette’s mouth clicked shut. Her red eyes were awfully wide as shock coursed through her entire body, filling her head with preposterous ideas.

“You mated with Xavier Thaeos!” she accused, pointing her index finger at Maya’s pretty face, as if it were blasphemy for such a thing to happen.

Maya didn’t deny or acknowledge it, choosing to keep her silence. But Everette already knew the answer.

“Is the Alpha keeping you captive here?” Everette breathed, “Did he force you?”

Maya sighed. “No. He didn’t.”

It got quiet after that.

“Well, this is awkward,” Everette muttered, clearing her throat. “Um, anyway, I have some news for you. The Coven has plans to relocate your mother from under the lake. It might be later next week when they start the move.”

Maya’s face darkened.

“Just keep a close eye on them. If you see anything, use this to notify me.” Maya handed Everette a yellow pentagon with red circular symbols drawn across the top.

The dove shifter tucked it into her pocket and nodded. “Alright, I’m going to go back and keep watch.”

Since she’d already confirmed Maya’s wellbeing, there was no point in sticking around on the predator-filled land.

“Wait a second, have you seen Druid lately?” Maya inquired before the dove could fly off. She had plans to involve Druid in her battle with the white witches, and hoped he would be willing to help.

“I forgot to tell you this, but he’s out of the country with his boyfriend on a cruise vacation to some island resort,” Everette said, crossing her arms over her body as her nose scrunched in disappointment. She hadn’t been invited to go with them.

Although she would have said “no” if they invited her, the thought would have counted. If they had even thought about her.

Everette huffed.

“Boyfriend?” Maya repeated, eyebrows knitting together in mild confusion, unsure if she’d heard right.

“Yes. He’s dating that guy Marion set him up with.”

An incredulous look plastered itself on Maya’s face. “Still? Even after everything?”

Everette nodded, breaking into uncontrollable giggles because of the face Maya made.

“Who would have known? Marion’s a matchmaker now,” Maya chuckled, “I guess I’ll have to congratulate Druid when I see him.”

_______________________

When Maya awoke this morning and found Xavier gone from their bed, she’d eaten the breakfast he’d left on the table and ventured out of the villa, counting the steps she could walk away from him. Today, she was able to walk a little more than four hundred steps.

Once she came close to five hundred steps, the uncomfortable burn in her chest came back. It was just a slight sting not worthy of mentioning. But she could tell it was trying to warn her of her upcoming humiliation if she were to walk any further. Maya turned around and went back to the Alpha’s home after that.

Perhaps, another day.

Maya sat in front of the dining table filled with yellow stacks of paper, red inkwells, and a small pile of differently shaped origami. She had a dip pen in her hand and was jotting down a spell on the yellow paper.

Too immersed in her writing, she completely overlooked the towering Alpha several steps behind her.

“What are you doing?” he asked, glancing over her bare shoulder to read the strange symbols scrawled on a rectangular piece of yellow paper. From her memory, he was able to read and understand the dark necromancy spell she had written.

Without looking back at him, she answered, “Preparing for battle.”

“I can easily obliterate the Coven for you,” he suggested, taking a step closer to his little sorceress.

“I fight my own battles, Alpha,” she sniffed, calmly dismissing the strange flutter of her heart. “And just so you know, you werewolves won’t stand a chance against their magic. I’ve seen what happens to a wolf pack chased off their own land by the Coven. Most of them run with their burnt tails between their shaking legs.”

“My warriors are not regular werewolves,” he chuckled, amused by her words. “They would rather die than run from a fight.”

Maya skeptically raised a defined brow. “Either way, I don’t like the smell of burnt fur or roasted dog.”

“Alright, but if you need the help, don’t hesitate to ask me.”

After a prolonged pause—long enough the Alpha didn’t think she would reply—the dark sorceress said, “I will.”

Her response earned a wide grin from the Alpha.

He leaned down closer to her, nose skimming the surface of her cheek, and planted a light k**s on the corner of her mouth. Before she could respond, he quickly straightened back up and appreciated the view of her heaving bosoms from where he stood. “You’re welcome to do this in my study. There’s a big library there I think will benefit you.”

Maya jolted, the pen falling from her fingers because of his unsuspected assault.

“Don’t think you can start being so affectionate with me just because we slept together last night,” she exclaimed, a hot flush traveling the expanse of her neck and ears.

Xavier couldn’t tell if the blush was because of anger or embarrassment, but Maya looked beyond delectable. “We slept together the night before that, too. And probably tonight, tomorrow night—actually, all the nights after this.”

Maya turned her body to him. Her emerald-colored eyes were narrowed into an angry glare as she tried to dismiss the initial feelings of embarrassment. “You—”

“You don’t like it when I k**s you?” he inquired. His lustrous golden eyes stared right back at her, smoldering with unbearable heat.

Maya slowly averted her gaze, unable to stop the hot flush from overtaking the majority of her face. “I…”

She would be lying if she said she hated it. In fact, she liked it just a little, itty, bitty, teeny, tiny, minuscule bit. But she wasn’t about to tell him that.

The Alpha’s exceedingly sexy smirk widened. By the way her eyes fluttered back and forth, he could tell she was trying to replace excuses to brush him off.

Xavier leaned down to her level again. His long fingers gripped her chin and tipped her head up until she was unable to avoid his adamant gaze.

His heated eyes bore into hers.

“If you didn’t like it, you wouldn’t have kissed me back, wouldn’t have gotten so wet even before I entered your tight little body, wouldn’t have arched your back into me as I f****d you long and hard. Don’t lie to yourself, little sorceress,” he murmured in an agonizingly slow fashion, voice deep and velvety.

With a downward dip, his lips softly, tentatively brushed against the bow of her lips, and when she didn’t protest, he deepened the k**s and sealed their mouths together. His slick

tongue lazily lapped at the seam of her sweet lips.

Maya sat frozen in her spot, letting the onslaught of pleasurable sparks caress her skin the same way his lips did. Her cheeks blushed red as she became embarrassed by the truth in his words.

But before she could drown in his passionate k**s, Maya jerked back and tried to gather her previous thoughts.

“That doesn’t mean anything, though. For all you know, I might just hate your guts,” she bit out, thinking she could deceive him and herself.

“You’re wrong, Maya. You tolerate my behavior. You indulge it. If I were any other man, I doubt you would let me take you, dominate you the way I had. It’s not love yet, but it sure as hell isn’t hate.”

Maya scowled. Her vermillion-red lips pursed to cover her true feelings.

“I won’t push you, but I want you to be honest with me and yourself,” he said, leaning forward. ‘

When his lips brushed hers again, her heartbeats skyrocketed.

Xavier smiled, licking his lips in an extremely sensual manner. “I can hear your heart racing.”

Maya’s fingers tightly squeezed the pen.

“I can hear yours, too,” she replied, stubbornly tilting her chin.

The Cardinal Alpha chuckled.