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"If I were you, I would reh I would like to do this ritual this full ht not be so lucky I’ll be insupplies for the wards"

His footsteps receded down the hallway, and Greta s

She’d expected a eon, or some austere er than the average cottage The fireplace crackled with dying e in a small iron cauldron

The main room was lined with dark oak bookshelves and rows upon rows of books The walls were stone but emitted a sense of warmth, the direct opposite of Dayne

Maybe it was a tiine Dayne Wickham, the hapless victim of a timeshare scheme It would explain his sour demeanor

Ts on either side of the fireplace were open with long lightweight cri As the wind howled outside, the curtains were sucked into the screen, then puffed back out as if the wall itself were breathing Greta was still staring at the s, , when Dayne returned

"Come with me I’ll need so mood"

Her eyes drifted back to the knife on the table

"If I were going to harrow very quickly bored with the practice of building trust in others only to crush it at the last possible moave her But when he turned, she followed The dwelling went deeper than it appeared from the outside, and it occurred to her that the floor was sloping doard as they worked their way to an underground part of the house

The hairs on the back of her areway narrowed until it was only big enough for two people

Then it began to spiral more steeply down, and the sradual transition, she wasn’t sure if it was the architecture itself, or e stone roo the walls, as well as potions, pots, wands, and grisly iterown over much of the area

There were a couple of unlit torches on the wall, though the roo A steel cage stood in the back, its purpose most likely not on the up-and-up

Greta shivered So eon

Chapter Three

E had to adood as Jaden had been The werecat stood at the bottom of the stairs barely inside the cavernous room where he perforhtly around her, a protective barrier against him, no doubt

He didn’t want to be paranoid, but he wondered if the tribe had been responsible for his were-blood supply being cut off The ti There had been ru more powerful these days Could Siainst him on the next full moon?

It had been thirty years since Dayne’s last encounter with Cary Toerecat tribe He’d nearly died thinking he was saving Jaden’s life, only to be led into a trap If he hadn’t fortified hiotten lucky Shapeshifters, though ic, didn’t knoield it He’d taken outseveral injuries, including a few to his pride

Now they were sending this little number to lure him away

Didn’t they have any new e in the back corner One never knehen one ht need such a contraption He ran his hand idly over the bit of stubble growing on his chin as he contee He should lock her up until the ritual, use her blood, then throw her out

If anything, such an act would send a e to the tribe that Dayne Wickhalad he was acting against Si For whatever inane reason, Jaden loved Simon It had taken years for Dayne’s love for her to diuilt

He considered taking the Were’s blood now and getting rid of her Except, even he wouldn’t stoop to that level of dishonor It had nothing to do with anything the tribe irl

"Are you cold?" he asked Dammit

She shook her head

Eventually, a pouty-lipped woet him killed Prudence would dictate he wait for another full moon, but the effects of the spell wouldn’t be nearly so strong at any other tiet another chance