Bloodline Alchemy: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 6), Lan Chan [free ebook reader for android TXT] 📗

the Reserve for longer than any other shifter alpha. Not just through sheer physical strength but because he knew how to play the game even if he mostly liked to bulldoze through his opponents.

Max bristled. “I know what she is.”

“Do you?” Blonde Shifter asked. “She’s weak. Without her sinister magic, she would crumble.”

The shifter minions beside her nodded their assent. “Anastasia’s right,” the honey-haired one said. “We shouldn’t have accepted her here in the first place. How do we know she won’t cast a spell on us? Her great-grandfather is in the Book of Beasts!”

Gwen scratched her cheek. “She’s been living here on and off for years and nobody grumbled then.”

“She was here off Durin’s good graces!” Ari reminded them. “He owed Alessia a favour. Now that she’s gone, surely that favour ends.”

The murmuring continued. “If she stays,” Harris said, “she can’t just be allowed to roam around free.” He scratched at the five-o’clock shadow on his chin.

“Noah and Charles have been assigned to guard her,” Max said. He pinned me with a flat stare. “She won’t be allowed to perform sinister magic in the Reserve.”

The vicious grin that appeared on Anastasia’s face made me want to throw something. Since all I had right now were words, they would have to do.

“What was the point in making me stay here then? This pack clearly doesn’t want me here, and I need to learn my magic. I’ll just be in the way.”

The dark-haired woman on Yolanda’s left bristled. She stood military straight. “You were already in the way,” she said. “Now you’ll be doing it under our watch.”

My jaw clamped. “So, you’re stretched enough as it is, but you’ll surrender resources to have me watched night and day?”

Her nose scrunched. “Anything that will occupy Charles Thompson so he doesn’t have time to terrorize people is worth it.”

It was a monumental effort not to allow my annoyance to turn my voice into a whine. “Your alpha and his inner circle are compromised. Aren’t you afraid I’ll put them in danger?”

It was something that I had contemplated myself. As hard as it was to accept, I couldn’t help thinking of the way the malachim had looked at me and hesitated like it was trying to communicate with me. It wasn’t the first time that had happened. Touching the blood barrier for a moment, I wondered if I was drawing the malachim to me with the signal inside my chest.

“We’re more afraid of you trying to kill them while they’re vulnerable,” Anastasia snapped.

Her presence made my words sharper than I meant them to be. “Maybe it’ll be easier if you just draw me a map and cross out the places I’m not allowed to go.”

“That’s easy enough,” Jeremiah said, taking my suggestion literally. A couple of the other shifters actually chuckled.

“I think I would prefer to be in the Dominion prison,” I said.

“That can still be arranged,” Military Woman said. Max let out a warning snarl. All eyes besides mine and Yolanda’s lowered to the ground.

“She stays here,” Max said.

After a few quiet beats, their heads began to lift, but there was no more talk of ejecting me from the Reserve. Instead, Anastasia dispensed with any cryptic messages. “She refused to mate with you.”

If I had blinked in that instant, I would have missed the millisecond when Max’s torso moved as though he was going to lunge at her. When the three minions around Anastasia gulped in unison, I knew I hadn’t imagined it. To her credit, she didn’t flinch. I could almost feel the hairs along her arms standing on end, but she wouldn’t back down.

Nobody else said a word. Even though I had expressly said I would not discuss mating, they wouldn’t be dissuaded.

One minute. Two. At the three-minute mark, I couldn’t take it anymore. Swallowing, I was about to open my mouth when a hand reached out and gripped my forearm. Turning, I saw Jeremiah blinking at me. If he were to exert even the slightest hint of pressure, my arm would snap right off. Even though they were weakened, they would always be overwhelmingly stronger than me. “Careful what you say,” Jeremiah warned me.

Prying his fingers off gently, I steeled my back. “I have no intention of mating with anyone.” In case he thought I was kidding, I held Max’s stare.

For a single beat, we just looked at each other while the world stood still.

When he came at me, I was fully prepared. The circle was complete, and I was about to inject it with blood. What I hadn’t counted on was Jeremiah stepping in front of me and taking the full brunt of Max’s rage. Military Woman yanked me out of the way as Max barrelled right into Jeremiah’s chest. The momentum pushed both of them to the edge of the clearing where they landed upright, having rolled to a stop with unnatural shifter grace.

They were stationary for a heartbeat before Jeremiah opened his mouth and gave an almighty bellow that rocked the foundations of the clearing. It rattled leaves and branches from the trees. The low vibration coursed through my limbs, making me curl against where Military Woman held me. The other shifters answered his primal call with their own, splitting the afternoon air into a cacophony of terrifying sound.

Jeremiah launched himself at Max. This time he wasn’t the only one. Ari and Harris entered the fray, blocking Max’s retreat. I was still certain it was just a typical release of pent-up aggression until Ari’s hands partially shifted. Claws sliced out of his fingers and he swiped out. If Max hadn’t ducked, they would have buried in his shoulder. He responded with a corresponding blow with human fists that slammed right into Ari’s temple. As he rolled, Ari’s wolf eyes were buttery yellow, his fangs drawing blood from his bottom lip.

“What’s happening?” I asked, wincing as the crack of Jeremiah’s kick hit Max on the side of his ribs.

“The circle disagrees with Max’s decision,” Military Woman assessed. Harris