Melynda did what she did to help. Savannah did it to hurt.
It...it's not even about me. It's about you, and your...mate! You hate me because of what she did to you! Well, this might come as a surprise to you, but—I am not her!
Dax could hear the pain and rage in her voice. He raked his hand furiously through his hair as he stepped into the lift. Melynda was right. Melynda might be an Emotional witch, but she wasn't her. Melynda had done nothing wrong. She hadn't hurt anyone, hadn't used anyone. She was sweet, kind and strong. Even after what he'd said to her, tearing her to shreds, she had put Rebecca and Levi's interests first, and worked her spell successfully.
There was no doubt that she was a powerful Emotional witch, but she had been suppressing and hiding her abilities, from her coven, even from herself.
If she honed her skills and magick as an Emotional witch, Dax had no doubt that she would be able to accomplish so much more.
She shouldn't be just your secretary. She is so much more.
She is a good witch, a great witch. And she is your mate!
Dax shook his head with a growl. No, never again. He was damaged, and he couldn't be repaired, couldn't be rescued. There was no mate for him. It was just an illusion, a dream.
It would be better to let her go before he ruined her. She was young and innocent. She deserved better. She didn't deserve a dark, damaged Silver Wolf for a mate.
Dax walked out of the lift and pushed into the brightly lit office. A few lawyers were working late, and he heard them talking on the phone or typing furiously on their computers in their offices. Matthew Wells was standing behind his secretary, dictating a letter while she typed. Matthew nodded and arched an eyebrow at Dax as he walked past. Where's Melynda?
Dax nodded back but didn't stop to talk.
He was busy, and so was Matthew. Matthew didn't stop a beat in his dictation, even though Dax could feel Matthew's eyes boring into his back. The firm was advising a multinational group in its acquisition of a rival company, and Matthew was making damn sure the terms of the acquisition were watertight.
Dax strode into his office and grabbed the phone. Jett answered on the first ring.
“Dax! At last. I have been sitting by the phone the whole night, just waiting for your good news,” Jett said with forced cheerfulness.
“Jett, can you send some of your Enforcers down to the city hospital?” Dax cut straight to the point.
“You want us to protect Rebecca Rose? I thought the human police have that covered.”
“There is one police officer stationed outside her ward.”
“Okaaaaay. But first, tell me the good news. Has Rebecca Rose woken up? Did she say anything? Did she tell you that Levi...”
“No, she's still in a coma. She can't talk, she can't scream for help.”
Jett swore and answered tersely, “I'll send Scott and Bryn to watch over her. And Dax?”
“Yes.”
“You get Levi out. Levi is not a killer!”
A pause. “I know.”
Jett grunted his thanks and hung up.
Dax glanced out the window and saw the first glimmer of the rising moon through the clouds. He started, cursing loudly.
He had forgotten it was the full moon tonight.
He would shift into a wolf, whether he liked it or not. He was a Silver Wolf. He would become fully wolf tonight.
Bolting out of his office, Dax took the lift down and hurtled out of the building. There was no time to get his car. He would have to run, fast enough and far enough. He had always made sure he was far out of the city when he shifted.
That way, no one would get hurt.
No one but himself.
Dax started to run.
The moon slid out slowly, becoming larger and rounder as it rose higher and higher into the night sky.
But there was something else pulling him. And it wasn't the moon. It was something much, much stronger. Dax ran swiftly through the streets. He was a powerful runner, lean, silent, graceful. He could feel his wolf close to the surface, running with him, in him, its animal powers coursing through his body.
He turned the corner and kept running. The sense of danger and urgency pounded through his muscles, and he knew where he had to go. He knew the place, but he didn't know the reason. Why he had to be at her house was a mystery, for now.
Dax leaped over the fence, almost trampling over a blooming golden rose bush, and charged up the front steps of the two-story house.
Before he could knock, the door flew open and a little old lady stood beaming in the doorway, in the buff.
Dax stammered and staggered back, but a hand shot out and grabbed him.
“Come in, come in, we've been waiting for you,” the old lady cackled. She dragged him in and before he could twist away, the door banged shut behind him and the lock slid into place with a resounding click.
“Mam, I think you've made a...”
“Nonsense! There's no mistake,” she insisted, maintaining an iron grip on his arm.
She pulled him all the way into the living room where he was greeted by a dozen elderly witches. All complete naked.
Dax gulped and blinked.
There was nothing wrong with his vision. Those old ladies were all butt naked. Not a shred of clothing on them. They were completely undressed and unadorned. No clothes, no accessories, no jewelery. They were all naked as the day they were born—except that their skin was a lot more wrinkled and saggier than the day they were born.
For the first time, Dax was at a complete loss. He didn't know what to do, where to look. If he averted his eyes, it might seem rude. But it might be even ruder to stare. What should he do? Try to make a run for it? What did these thirteen elderly witches want with him?
“Mam, I really think that...”
“You ran here, didn't you?” The old lady peered at him, her eyes sharp and intelligent.
“I...” Dax frowned. “Yes, I did.” But I don't know why I did.
“You ran up the front steps, right to our door. This is no mistake.” She smiled, but she did not loosen her hold on him.
“Mam...”
“I'm no Mam,” she chuckled. “I'm Lucinda Morgan. This is my daughter, Anita Morgan, Melynda's mom.” She pointed to a plump, middle-aged brunette in the corner, who waved shyly at him.
Dax raised his hand stiffly, and kept his eyes strictly on her face. He would not allow himself to see Melynda's mom's naked body. Melynda's grandmother though...
Lucinda chortled mischievously, nudging him with her bare bottom. “What a modest young man you are! Have you ever seen one like him, girls?” she cooed to the circle of giggling witches.
“He's a fine one, to be sure.”
“Handsome wolf...aroooooooo!”
“There's no denying it, he belongs to her!”
“Lucky Melynda.”
“Not so lucky, considering the pickle she's in...”
The witches began to speak all at once, their interest in him waning as they started gossiping about every other thing under the moon. These little old ladies were a very distracted, and distracting, bunch. Why wouldn't they put some clothes on...
Dax cleared his throat. “Um, ladies, do you think...”
“Shhh!” Lucinda shushed him. “Don't interrupt when Elders are talking.”
Duly chastised, he muttered immediately, “I'm sorry, Mam.”
“Not Mam. Gran,” Lucinda corrected him sharply.
“Gran?”
“You are Melynda's mate, are you not?” she said breezily.
Dax gaped at her.
“Well, you're here, aren't you?” she snapped, as if that explained everything.
“Y-yes. B-but...”
“Speak up, young man! Don't hum and haw. It's either yes or no. No buts.”
“But...”
“Tsk, tsk! There you go again!” Lucinda slapped him resoundingly on the butt. “Ooh, very firm and hard,” she grinned with approval.
“Mam! I mean,
Gran, could you please tell me what's going on? Why am I in your house?” Dax asked, speaking clearly and slowly.
Lucinda cocked her head at him. “You tell me.”
“I...I just ran here.” He frowned at the circle of naked witches. “Wait, are you working some sort of moon magick here? Did you cast a spell or something to make me run all the way to your house?”
“No. We did cast a spell, but it wasn't for you. It was for Melynda.” Lucinda's tone and expression became grave.
“Melynda?” Dax swallowed and stared around. “Where is she? She should be home by now, shouldn't she?”
“Yes. But she's not.”
“Where is she?” Dax felt an uncharacteristic jolt of fear. “Why are you casting a spell for Melynda? What did you want her to do?” he demanded.
“We wanted her to come home,” Lucinda replied simply.
“And we wanted her to come clean,” one of the witches interjected. “She's an Emotional witch, and she shouldn't be hiding her powers or experimenting by herself behind closed doors. Emotional magick can be dangerous. She needs guidance, and support. So we came.”
Dax blinked round at the circle of solemn faces. “Are you all...Emotional witches?”
He was greeted with nods and smiles.
“I asked them to come,” Lucinda explained. “These are my friends, and they're all coven Elders of Emotional witches. I thought they'd be able to help Melynda, since...we can't.” She glanced sadly at Anita. “Melynda is the only Emotional witch in our coven. The rest of us are Elemental witches. We can't give her the guidance and support she needs. And she refuses to just come out and talk to us. She wouldn't even admit that she's an Emotional witch! She just pretends to work at her Elemental magick. Inevitably, her magick fails, her spells go awry. She even set fire to her own hair once. All this just makes her more discouraged and frustrated. I think she's ashamed of what she is. We didn't want to confront her...yet. We were hoping she would just come out and admit it to us, to herself.”
Anita sat down heavily on the sofa. “We really didn't know what she was going through. We just didn't want to make her feel worse. Ah, we were wrong to leave her alone for so long...” Her voice shook and two gray-haired witches hobbled over to her to hold her hands.
“So I called my friends. These are all good Emotional witches. I wanted Melynda to meet them, and talk to them, since...she can't talk to us.” Dax heard the note of pain in her voice. “We were working a spell to guide her home. And—you came.” Lucinda gazed up at him in awe.
“Me?” Dax shook his head. “Why me?”
The witches were all staring at him in silence. A few smiled knowingly, where others gawked at him in wonderment.
“What? What is it?” Dax searched all their faces for the answer. “What is it about me and Melynda?”
Lucinda patted his arm. “When a witch can't respond to a Homing spell by her coven, the one most closely tied to her will respond in her stead. Usually, that would be her familiar, or her mate.”
Dax staggered back. “Are you saying that I am Melynda's familiar? That my wolf is...”
Lucinda shrugged. “Her familiar, or her mate,” she repeated. “Are you her mate?” She whirled round and squinted at him. “Are you? Have you gotten naked with her? Tell me the truth now.” She wagged a finger and tut-tutted at him.
“Mom!” Anita looked mortified.
“What? Don't you want to know?” Lucinda challenged her daughter.
“Well...”
“You know you do!” Lucinda sang, before turning to stare at Dax. “Go on. Tell us. Have you gotten naked with our Melynda?”
Dax looked her in the eye. “No. I haven't.” It was the truth.
“Hmmm.” Lucinda sniffed at him. “Why? She's not good enough for you?” she mumbled over her shoulder, out of earshot of the other witches.
“No. She is...too good for me,” he said softly.
At that, Lucinda raised her eyes to him. Her gaze was appraising, thoughtful, troubled.
At last, she asked, “What kind of wolf are you?”
“I'm a Silver Wolf.”
The other witches started murmuring at once. There were gasps and one or two hysterical shrieks.
Lucinda turned to yell at her friends, “Hey! Pipe down! All of you. Control your Emotions, or you'll set fire to my living room carpet. I got that from Persia, mind you. If my carpet never flies again, I'll unfriend the lot of you!” she warned.
There was a collective gasp.
“You wouldn't!”
“She didn't just say that!”
“You wouldn't really unfriend us, would you, Lucie?”
Lucinda planted a hand on her hip. “Oh yes, I would. All it takes is one click.”
She turned away from the huffing, grumbling witches and steered Dax towards the front door.
With a snap of her fingers, the door flew open. “Go, quickly. You will change soon, and you need to find Melynda. My friends sensed that Melynda's in trouble, but they can't see anything. Only you can find her. The full moon will give you power, and Melynda will give you strength. Find her, and bring her home.” Lucinda took a deep breath and whispered, “Please.”
“I will,” he promised.
At the door, he turned suddenly and asked, “Just one question. Did you all have to get naked for the spell or something?”
“Have to?” Lucinda looked surprised. “No. We didn't have to.”
“Huh? Then why...?”
“Because we want to! Getting naked is so much fun! You—should try it!”
With that, Lucinda winked and gave Dax a shove down the front steps. He could still hear her cackling as the door slammed shut in his face.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Only you can find her. The full moon will give you power, and Melynda will give you strength.
Dax replayed Lucinda's words in his mind. Melynda did give him strength. Every day.
Her presence in the office cheered him and comforted him. She did her work efficiently, cheerfully even though he often scowled and snapped at her. Sometimes, in fact oftentimes, she would come back with a sharp retort when he gave her a hard time.
Dax swore under his breath as he ran, trying to put as much distance between the city and himself.
Melynda was having a hard time herself, struggling to become a proficient Elemental witch. She was fighting against her own Emotional prowess, against her very nature. She had been afraid, ashamed and alone.
Are you her mate?
Are you?
Dax winced at the sudden stab of pain through his heart. He knew the answer. He had always known but was too much of a coward to acknowledge it. He had let his past get in the way of his present, and let a lie mar a truth.
He raised his face to the full moon. “I am her mate. And she is mine. Mine!”
His howl shattered the silence as he shifted fully into wolf.
A magnificent, silver wolf streaked to the edge of the city in a blur, heading straight towards an old, highrise building marked for demolition. The cranes and bulldozers were already in place. The site had been fenced off, and in the next week or so, a wrecking ball would put the bare, gray building out of its misery. From the rubble, blocks of swanky residential apartments would rise. The city was constantly renewing itself, moving forward.
And yet he had been unable to move forward.
Sure he had made great strides in his career. He was now rich and successful, highly regarded and respected. But emotionally, psychologically, he was stuck.
Savannah was long gone, but he was still hanging on. Not to her, to his own pain. He continued torturing himself, reminding himself of his pain and suffering at the hands of a cold-hearted Emotional witch.
Even when another sweet, young witch entered his life, he had tried to shut her out, using his coldness and aloofness as a shield.
Melynda had been struggling and suffering too. She was his mate, but had he ever cared for her or supported her? Had he been there for her w
hen she needed him?
I know I don't deserve it, Melynda, but please give me another chance.
I can't lose you.
His wolf chuffed and huffed at him. He could feel his beast rolling its silver eyes at him. His wolf had been right. Just one whiff, and the beast had come fully awake, wanting to pounce on its mate.
He should have trusted his wolf.
Well, he might be an old dog but it was never too late to teach him a new trick. He would trust his wolf to find her.
The wolf bounded over the makeshift fence and loped soundlessly towards the empty building.
He could sense her. She was at the top of the building, and there was someone else with her.
He could scent the sharp smell of her fear and fight. She was scared, but she wasn't giving up. She was determined to fight her way out of this. But he could feel her power weakening. His heartbeat sped up, thundering in his chest in time to hers, as he slipped into the dark stairwell and raced up countless flights of steps. As he neared the top of the building, he began to feel her presence and her emotions more strongly.
He could feel her strength, her resolve, her terror, as their hearts began to beat in tandem. They were feeling, thinking, breathing as one. Witch and wolf, woman and man.
He was her familiar.
She was his mate.
Their connection was undeniable and unbreakable.
Taking quick, rapid breaths, the wolf padded silently up to the open rooftop.
He could see her now.
She was kneeling on the ground, blindfolded with her hands tied behind her back. Her auburn hair was tangled and wet, and he smelled the scent of fresh blood. Melynda coughed and more blood spewed from her mouth.
Dax saw a heavily built man walk behind her and pull her head up by her hair. Snarling a threat in her ear, he kicked her in her belly and raised a hand to strike her across the face.
Phin Lester. That lowlife got a high out of hitting women.
Dax roared and smashed into Phin in a flash of silver. But his rage blinded him to the weapon in Phin's hand. Dax felt a paralyzing, piercing pain in his back. He collapsed on his side and struggled to open his eyes. The pain was excruciating. It felt as though his blood was boiling in his veins and setting his whole body on fire.
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