Chapter Fifteen
807 Words
Cole’s POV:
Those f*****g idiots.
A growl tears from my throat as I pace back and forth across Madam Sherry’s office.
They were only supposed to scout the area. Watch and report. Nothing more. Instead, those uneducated decided it idiots would be a good idea to attack the Alpha of the very territory they were infiltrating.
I should have gone myself.
I wouldn’t have been caught.
The door creaks open behind me followed by the clicking of heavy heels against tile.
Madam Sherry.
I’m in serious trouble.
She moves past me without a word and slides gracefully into her leather chair. I position myself in front of her desk, already running through possible explanations, possible solutions, anything that might salvage the situation. I open my mouth to speak.
She raises one finger.
Silence.
“I don’t want to hear it, Cole,” she says coldly.
“They didn’t follow orders, Sherry. This isn’t on me,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady.
“It doesn’t matter now, you i***t!” she snaps, slamming both hands onto the desk.
I clamp my mouth shut.
Arguing now would be suicide.
Her eyes burn into me while I calculate my next move. One wrong word and she could pull the entire operation. I need her invested. I need her to still want this.
A few seconds go by. Her breathing slows. She rubs her temples and exhales.
She speaks again, her voice now controlled.
“Cole… Ulric has Dale in his dungeons. It is only a matter of time before he breaks him. And when he does, if he finds out we sent them…” She pauses.
“We are screwed beyond comprehension.”
A cold realization settles in my stomach.
“Well, then we just take the girl before he finds out,” I say, a little too quickly.
I force myself to calm down.
“She is my mate, Sherry.” My voice hardens. “She belongs to me.”
“Cole, do not forget your place.”
She slowly rises from her chair and walks around the desk.
She hops up onto the edge of the desk, sitting casually while looking down at me.
A queen addressing a subordinate.
“I am your Luna,” she says quietly. “You know what happens to those who put me second.”
A small smirk curls on her lips.
I know exactly what she means.
Her husband. Our Alpha.
He wanted peace.
She wanted control.
I sigh slowly.
“I didn’t decide this,” I say flatly. “The Moon Goddess already has. Maya is mine.”
“There is only one problem, Cole,” she replies.
Something in her tone makes my stomach tighten.
“Ulric claims she is his fated mate too.”
Rage explodes through me.
I slam the chair in front of me. It skids violently across the room, crashing into a cabinet and sending objects tumbling to the floor.
“That bastard is lying!” I roar. “That’s impossible!”
My voice echoes off the walls. My throat burns.
“I checked,” Sherry says calmly.
“I spoke to a witch in Salem. She says it is rare… but possible.”
She steps closer and grips my shoulders firmly, her voice lowering like she’s soothing a dangerous animal.
“So what do I do?” I ask, the words leaving me before I can stop them.
For a moment, I hate how desperate I sound.
“You mark her, Cole,” she says, locking eyes with me. “That is the only way to break whatever bond she is forming with Ulric.”
There it is.
An order disguised as a suggestion.
I can feel the authority in her voice. She wants this done. She just wants me to believe it was my decision.
I don’t know why she wants Maya.
I stand here thinking for a long moment.
Then I decide.
“I’ll mark her before he does.”
Her smile returns.
Satisfied.
“Well, do it quickly,” she says as she walks toward the door. “They’re getting married in three weeks.”
Three weeks
The door opens.
“Cole,” she says without turning around, “don’t f**k this up. I am trusting you with this.”
She pauses.
“Bring that girl home.”
The door closes behind her. Her heels fade down the hallway.
Silence fills the room.
I don’t know what her real intentions are.
And I don’t trust them.
But that doesn’t matter.
I want her.
I want Maya Reynolds.
She is mine.
I want to hear her beg.
I want to hear her scream my name.
And I will not let Ulric take what belongs to me.
Not even if I have to burn his entire territory to the ground.
- Writer
