Bewitching the Werewolf by Caroline Hanson Page B

talking,” Lucas said. Power laced his words and her ears rang from the vibration. The Irish man’s eyes widened but he didn’t speak, body tense with rage.
     
    “ Come to me, Valerie. Come and kill your attacker.” His voice was deep and caressing, rubbing over her skin like velvet, burrowing inside of her, the feeling intimate and alien at the same time.
     
    She stopped herself from looking up, not wanting to meet his eyes again. She felt the need to go towards Lucas and do what he bid, but her heart thundered in protest. He’s dangerous. A killer. Going to him is stupid.
     
    She walked forward.
     
    Wait.
     
    Valerie stopped and imagined her feet rooted into the ground like a tree trunk, refusing to move.
     
    “ Look to me,” Lucas commanded her gently.
     
    Val made a frustrated sound of betrayal as her body acted without her consent, meeting his flat stare. His blue eyes were pale, shining brightly, almost oddly in the dark. She knew it when their eyes locked, felt it in a real and visceral way. One that was too intimate and personal.
     
    “ I release you to yourself.”
     
    Valerie's whole body trembled and she felt fear spreading through her, all traces of calmness and restraint gone, like heavy wet clothing removed from her body.
     
    “ Kill him, Valerie. He attacked you.”
     
    Huh. That’s a twist. She shook her head and dropped the stake, hands nerveless in fear. “No. I don't want to.”
     
    “ Worse will come for you. You must learn to protect yourself. I cannot be here at all times. Do it now and with my protection. No harm shall come to you by my hand.”
     
    Her heart leaped. “Why?”
     
    “ Your fear is crippling.”
     
    No shit.
     
    “ Do you want me to compel you? Take your fear from you?” The words were gentle, without judgment for her cowardice but her eyes welled with tears.
     
    “ There is no shame in not wanting to be as strong as others expect you to be.” His tone matched the dark night around them.
     
    She couldn't speak, panic overwhelming her again. Val took a step backwards and heard Jack's voice calling for her in the distance.
     
    “ Valerie, look to me,” he said quietly, urging her to trust him. The words were stilted and she realized he had an accent. Nothing easily identifiable, more like he'd spoken dozens of languages over the centuries, acquiring a small accent from each of them. It was lyrical, beautiful even.
     
    And totally irrelevant.
     
    “ Why?” The question was insufficient for what she wanted to know. Why would he protect her? Why choose her over a vampire he knew? Why did he care whether she killed a vampire or not? Why did he care whether she lived or died?
     
    “ Violence has touched you. Taken from you and you need to know your own strength in return.”
     
    She felt a lump in her throat and it made it hard to talk. “What's it to you?” Val dreaded the answer, had no idea what it might be, but was afraid nonetheless.
     
    Lucas ignored her, the quiet of the night registering during the pause.
     
    “ Shall I help you?” he said like she was a spooked horse.
     
    She stared hard at the ground. “Compel me, you mean?”
     
    “ Yes.”
     
    “ Will you...release me again?” Why was she even thinking of trusting him? Because he hasn’t killed me yet. She wanted to freeze time so she could think it through, but she only had this moment, and if she didn't keep up, he'd make her fate for her.
     
    The vampire was still struggling, but it was as futile as a moth struggling when a child has it by the wings.
     
    Decide. Run or stay. Her heart pounded ten times louder than the words. But he was a vampire, he'd hear it anyway. “Make me then.”
     
    Val looked back to him almost aggressively, deciding to own her decision. She threw herself into his eyes like jumping off a cliff. His will surrounded her until she was floating in the warm sea of his blue eyes, watching actions that belonged to someone else.
     
    It was someone