Chapter 15

CLEMENTINE

“Where were you?” Ivan calmly but dangerously asks.

I swallow hard, afraid that he might already know. I so badly want to tell him, but I can’t. I don’t want to lie to him, but I have to.

Suddenly, courage passes through me like lightning, and the power makes me stand up straighter. “And who are you to question me?”

Ivan freezes, and I put my hand over my mouth, as if I can erase what I just said. My heart starts to beat too fast, and I feel like I am about to faint. Not only am I scared of what he’s going to do next, but also I’m scared of what I will do if he does something to me.

~“He won’t do anything to us, Clem,” ~Helia assures me.

~How can you know that?~

~“I just feel it.”~

I am about to reply when all of the sudden, I hear bones cracking. I look down with wide eyes to see Ivan shifting in front of me, in my room. The scene would shock anyone. It’s so scary that I automatically start to recite the spell Kalisto taught me to send someone miles away.

I don’t know why, but part of me knows that I will not do anything to him, even if he does something to me. The other part, however, is ready to shred him to pieces…even though I don’t know how.

In a moment, a big, familiar black wolf stands before me with sparkling yellow eyes that send me into a haze. As I try to focus on anything else, Leonid growls, and my heart flips. I slowly walk backward, afraid that he might pounce on me.

~“He won’t attack you!” ~Helia yells, annoyed. She keeps telling me that Ivan is not going to hurt me, but I don’t understand why she’s so convinced.

My back hits my bedroom door, but Leonid doesn’t seem like he’s going to stop. He keeps coming my way until he is so close that a piece of hair would find it hard to pass between us.

“Don’t hurt me,” I whisper, closing my eyes.

He growls again, making me yelp, but then is silent. When I open my eyes, he’s sitting and looking at me with a tilted head.

Sitting, Leonid is just my height. Certain he’s the biggest wolf I’ve ever seen, I slowly raise my hand to touch his head. He’s so soft, like silk, and I wish I could touch him every second of my life.

Why am I touching him? I don’t know. Part of me told me to, so I did.

Leonid groans and closes his pretty eyes.

“Hello, Leo,” I say, and he keeps groaning. ~He is so beautiful.~

The wolf starts licking my hand, and the feeling I get from just that touch makes my face red. ~How is that even possible?~

I try to get rid of the thoughts swirling through my brain because, weirdly, I can feel him smirking. ~Can he read my mind?~

~Of course not.~

I remove my hand quickly, like I just touched a fire, and Leonid growls. He comes even closer and starts licking my neck, and I involuntarily give him more access.

Helia is a moaning mess.

I have so many questions I want to ask, but only one is important right now: Why is he licking my neck? From what I know, wolves only lick their mate’s neck, and that mostly marks them. I can’t be Ivan’s mate because if I was, he surely wouldn’t hide it.

~Unless he’s ashamed.~

~“Don’t say that!”~ Helia scolds, making me roll my eyes.

After a few seconds, Leo stops licking and looks directly into my eyes. He doesn’t say anything. Then he walks further into the room, and I hear bones cracking.

He’s turning back.

A moment later, a naked man appears in front of me, and I scream and cover my eyes. I forgot that Ivan turned into his wolf suddenly, ripping his clothes off.

“Look at me,” his authoritative voice says. He sounds serious, like he isn’t playing at all.

I remove my hands and slowly look up, afraid that he’ll turn back into a wolf if I don’t do what he wants. I focus on his face, not daring to look at the rest of his body.

Ivan kneels in front of me and whispers, “Don’t you dare talk back at me again. Am I understood?”

I hate that he is so controlling, but I nod submissively because I don’t want further drama. I so badly want to cast a spell and let him know who the really boss is, but I refrain—not because I don’t want to, but because I still don’t know that many spells.

Besides…he looks so sexy right now that I don’t want to do anything to him.

“Words.”

“Yes, Alpha,” I say, earning a frown.

~Two can play this game. If he wants to treat me like any member in the pack, then I will treat him like any member treats their alpha.~

I know alphas don’t go around licking random members, but the way he treated me after says a lot about him.

It’s a full minute before Ivan says, annoyed, “Alpha? I thought I told you to call me by my first name.”

“I prefer alpha, Alpha,” I say, earning a growl.

This time, the alpha king doesn’t say anything. He just leaves the room, slamming the door behind him.

I lie down on my bed and begin to cry. First, there’s the weight of being a hybrid, which I can’t tell anyone about. Second, there’s Ivan; I don’t know what’s happening between us, but it’s just too complicated. Third, there’s the death of my sister, which my family blames me for.

~I just want to live in peace,~ I think as I close my eyes and welcome darkness.

***

~“Clementine, wake up,”~ Helia sings.

“What?” I snap out loud. I just want to sleep.

~“I am happy today, so you should wake up and enjoy the day with me.”~

“Why are you happy, Helia?”

She gasps dramatically. ~“Don’t you want me to be happy?”~

“Of course, but why are you?”

~“I don’t know.”~

I huff and open my eyes, then get out of bed and make my way to the bathroom. As I wash my face, brush my teeth, and take a quick shower, I decide that if Helia is happy today, I should be too.

Today, the pack is going to hunt rogues, so I need to go to the infirmary first thing. There might be casualties. Also, I miss Erika so much. Ever since she found her mate, she’s been distant—not because she wants to, just because that always happens when people find their mate.

On my way, I pass by the alpha’s office and hear Luna Helen and Alpha Jake arguing again.

“If they stop you next time, kill them!” the alpha yells.

~What are they talking about?~

“You know I can’t! We have to make peace, Jake! Please, just think about it!”

“Keep your voice down! Do you know what will happen if Alpha Ivan hears you? He will fucking kill all of us!”

“Why?”

“He hates witches,” he says simply. “This topic is closed, so stop talking about it. We will never befriend witches.”

Unable to listen to any more of that nonsense, I swallow the lump in my throat and quickly sprint to the infirmary.

~This is so unfair. Some good witches want to make amends with the werewolves, and they won’t even consider it? Why don’t they want peace?~

I also wonder why Ivan hates witches so much. ~What happened?~

As I enter the infirmary, I greet Erika, who is bandaging someone’s leg. It’s early, but the alpha already sent some of the pack warriors, including my brother, after the rogues.

“Hey!” she says. “Where have you been?”

I chuckle. “Here and there.” I put on my coat and sit at my desk, waiting for someone who needs medical support.

I don’t understand Alpha Jake. Why does he insist on hunting rogues when they aren’t even doing anything to us? They aren’t even trespassing. It’s like he’s rogue cleansing, and it’s disgusting.

“How have you been?” Erika asks after she finishes with her patient.

“Not bad. You?”

“Very good. Andrei is just…so nice to me.”

I smile and get up to hug her. “I’m glad, Erika. I am so happy for you.”

She returns the hug and says, “I’m sure one day you will feel what I am feeling.”

I just smile and nod, hoping what she said is true. I want to feel loved—I want to feel like a normal being—but I wonder what will happen if I ever find my mate. Will they hate witches or phoenixes?

I start to relax, remembering that Helia said my kind can only be mated to others of my kind, which means my mate wouldn’t hate me for what I am. But then I’m confused because Malcolm said phoenixes are only born every fifty to a hundred years, so how could another phoenix possibly be my mate? I’m also annoyed because if it is true, that means Ivan can’t be my mate.

~Why do I even care about him so much?~

~“Because he makes us feel so good, Clem.”~

I agree.

***

The day passes slowly, with very few pack warriors coming into the infirmary. At the end of the day, they all return empty-handed, thank God. I believe that the rogues have stopped wandering near the Black Pearl pack because of our reputation for slaughtering them.

I’m about to leave the infirmary when suddenly, my “mother,” Sofia, shows up. I’m surprised but relaxed. I’m not scared of her like I used to be.

“We need to talk,” she starts.

“About what?”

“About us.”

“Um…okay. Tomorrow?”

“No. Now,” she says with no emotion and leaves.

Conflicted, I follow her.

~Here we go.~