orders.”
His eyes twinkled, which didn’t stop my eyebrows from lowering dangerously.
A strange flash of guilt covered his face before the wisps of a smile died. He sighed. “Look, let me be honest with you. You have an extremely rare type of magic, a powerful magic, which makes you extremely valuable. Both to my clan, and to our larger organization as a whole. You come at exactly the right time, because we badly need someone to take on Trek, the Eastern Territory’s mage. We both need you trained—you and me—because without it, you run the risk of doing too much and killing yourself. You’ve been in that situation twice.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. He didn’t need to remind me.
“There’s nothing I can do about others calling you a pet,” he went on. “It’s a stigma with humans. We see so few of them, and those can always be so easily manipulated, they do become a pet, of sorts. They usually have low ranking power. As such, they are sniffed at. Being labeled as my pet, you have some clout. Now, with the type of magic you possess, and your value, you will have even more. But that stigma will be a slow thing to erode. I cannot counter that. Anything I do or say will be passed off as my affection for you. We all have a hard road. You are no different.”
“I’m homeless. Charles burnt all my possessions. I’m hated. I now sound like a whining jackass—a little compassion might be nice.”
The wisps of a smile were back. He apparently found my black moods humorous. “An account has been opened for you. Funds have been deposited for your employment within this clan, as a mage in training, and as recompense for Charles’ accidental…sabotage. Buy new possessions.”
“I can’t buy new memories.”
“No, but with a computer, you can re-download your photos. Or did you not back up to the cloud?”
Oh yeah. I had. I had signed up with my new computer before I even knew what I was signing up for. Then it just kept backing up there because I didn’t know how to stop it.
Fate was getting awfully nosy.
Sensing a losing battle, my eyebrows lowered again. “Okay, why are you hiding me away in a secret residence?”
“We have a leak somewhere in my clan. The enemy seems to know important information they shouldn’t. I don’t want you accessible. They know I protect you, which means they know you have value. Now that you’ve demonstrated your kind of power, they’ll pull the walls down to get you. You, me, and Charles know where you stay. For your own safety, that needs to remain between us, alone.”
“Why are you always such a dick to me in front of others?” I fired next, trying to unsettle his perfectly calm demeanor.
A large breath escaped his mouth in a whoosh. He shook his head, the first sign that he didn’t sit on top of the world like he pretended. Guilt flashed again, my curiosity starting to get out of control as to why. “I suddenly regret this honest discussion.”
He put his hands on his hips and leaned against a tree, looking out at the falling night. “You’re…different. You affect me differently than others. As I affect you…”
His eyes swung toward me, the question in that statement ringing through the night. I stepped closer before I could help myself.
Eyes on my face, he continued, “But I’m the leader of his clan; all decisions go through me. I’m responsible for every single member’s life, wellbeing, and prosperity. At first, you were nothing more than an intriguing nuisance with strange and puzzling human traits. You’ve come up against our human stigma first hand. I admit, it darkened my thoughts.”
I scrubbed my palm against my jeans . “And now?”
His eyes bore into mine. A decision rumbled around in his head. The pause lengthened, the approaching night muffling the sounds of day, muting the light.
“I…” Something clicked into place. His face hardened. “I’m still a leader, and I have obligations. I need to take on a mate. To
His eyes twinkled, which didn’t stop my eyebrows from lowering dangerously.
A strange flash of guilt covered his face before the wisps of a smile died. He sighed. “Look, let me be honest with you. You have an extremely rare type of magic, a powerful magic, which makes you extremely valuable. Both to my clan, and to our larger organization as a whole. You come at exactly the right time, because we badly need someone to take on Trek, the Eastern Territory’s mage. We both need you trained—you and me—because without it, you run the risk of doing too much and killing yourself. You’ve been in that situation twice.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. He didn’t need to remind me.
“There’s nothing I can do about others calling you a pet,” he went on. “It’s a stigma with humans. We see so few of them, and those can always be so easily manipulated, they do become a pet, of sorts. They usually have low ranking power. As such, they are sniffed at. Being labeled as my pet, you have some clout. Now, with the type of magic you possess, and your value, you will have even more. But that stigma will be a slow thing to erode. I cannot counter that. Anything I do or say will be passed off as my affection for you. We all have a hard road. You are no different.”
“I’m homeless. Charles burnt all my possessions. I’m hated. I now sound like a whining jackass—a little compassion might be nice.”
The wisps of a smile were back. He apparently found my black moods humorous. “An account has been opened for you. Funds have been deposited for your employment within this clan, as a mage in training, and as recompense for Charles’ accidental…sabotage. Buy new possessions.”
“I can’t buy new memories.”
“No, but with a computer, you can re-download your photos. Or did you not back up to the cloud?”
Oh yeah. I had. I had signed up with my new computer before I even knew what I was signing up for. Then it just kept backing up there because I didn’t know how to stop it.
Fate was getting awfully nosy.
Sensing a losing battle, my eyebrows lowered again. “Okay, why are you hiding me away in a secret residence?”
“We have a leak somewhere in my clan. The enemy seems to know important information they shouldn’t. I don’t want you accessible. They know I protect you, which means they know you have value. Now that you’ve demonstrated your kind of power, they’ll pull the walls down to get you. You, me, and Charles know where you stay. For your own safety, that needs to remain between us, alone.”
“Why are you always such a dick to me in front of others?” I fired next, trying to unsettle his perfectly calm demeanor.
A large breath escaped his mouth in a whoosh. He shook his head, the first sign that he didn’t sit on top of the world like he pretended. Guilt flashed again, my curiosity starting to get out of control as to why. “I suddenly regret this honest discussion.”
He put his hands on his hips and leaned against a tree, looking out at the falling night. “You’re…different. You affect me differently than others. As I affect you…”
His eyes swung toward me, the question in that statement ringing through the night. I stepped closer before I could help myself.
Eyes on my face, he continued, “But I’m the leader of his clan; all decisions go through me. I’m responsible for every single member’s life, wellbeing, and prosperity. At first, you were nothing more than an intriguing nuisance with strange and puzzling human traits. You’ve come up against our human stigma first hand. I admit, it darkened my thoughts.”
I scrubbed my palm against my jeans . “And now?”
His eyes bore into mine. A decision rumbled around in his head. The pause lengthened, the approaching night muffling the sounds of day, muting the light.
“I…” Something clicked into place. His face hardened. “I’m still a leader, and I have obligations. I need to take on a mate. To
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