SeventeenNora Connolly She’d never been hit with that much force from anything before. It was like a gale force wind knocking her to the ground. She felt it when she hit the ground too, all through her body, so that when she picked herself up she ached a little. “Are you okay?” Roman asked, as he used his big, strong hands to help her stand. Nora was shaking. The wind had knocked her out, and Glinda stood looking at her like she was appraising her in a new light. Nora took a deep breath. “I’m bad, aren’t I?” Glinda made a face. “The building let you in.” “So?” said Roman, who was holding her close to his chest, she realized for the first time. “What does that mean?” “If you think just the loft is magical, The Emerald is made up of hundreds upon hundreds of rooms. All filled with witches and magical beings. The building knows when to protect itself so it’s strange that the building let you in, but the loft won’t.”
Eighteen Roman Eliot He didn’t tell Nora that he was worried. He didn’t want her to think that he was upset about her being a witch. And now that Glinda had confirmed that she wasn’t just a witch, she was something else, it made him worry. Worse, Glinda was the most powerful witch that he knew and she was sending him and his mate to a wizard. An off-brand warlock. Someone not born with magic, but who injected it into their blood. The magical equivalent of a drug dealer. But she had let him kiss her finally. And she was reading his thoughts. They were moving in the right direction. She trusted him, even though they barely knew each other. But everything inside of him was screaming that this was a bad idea. It had taken so long to get Nora and now there was someone trying to take her away from him again. “Are you okay?” Nora asked. He glanced over at her. “I’m fine. Why?” “Because,” said Nora, “we got to Mordred’s mansion ages ago, and it’s been almost ten minutes, and you
Nineteen Nora Connolly Stupid, was the first thought that rang through Nora’s mind. Roman had been right. She shouldn’t have gone into the evil wizard’s house. But she so desperately wanted to know what happened to her parents—and what happened to Winter---that she couldn’t not go inside. Her gut had told her that the answers were there. Of course, she’d been yanked inside by an invisible force, and the door was slammed shut. Nora started to pound against it. “Roman!” she called. “Roman!” “Don’t bother,” a cold voice said, “he won’t be able to hear you.” She turned slowly, and looked at the stranger that was speaking to her. He was a tall man, in his early fifties, with salt and pepper hair and a beard. “I wondered how long it would be before you found me, girl.” Nora stared at him. “I don’t know you.” “No,” the old man said, crossing his arms over his chest, “but you should. I’ve been trying to keep you away from that damn werewolf. I won’t have my granddaughter with a w
Twenty Roman Eliot Here is the thing about mates: half of it is magic, half of it is choice. The moon god wants something to happen and so it does. But sometimes, there are mates that even the gods themselves wouldn’t be stupid enough to interfere with. It’s as if the universe senses that if you came between them, they’d destroy the world for each other. So, you don’t mess with either one unless you want the world to end. That was Aion and his mate. When it had happened, it had caused such a stir that the pack had refused to let her in the building even. No matter what Roman’s father or Roman said. That’s because Aion’s mate wasn’t another werewolf, or even a witch. Aion’s mate was a vampire. Lucille West. She’d been around for a few centuries, and had a complicated relationship with monster hunters. That combined with the fact that she was a vampire made her an enemy in the world of Powerists. Lucille would sell you out and then save you in the same day. She was not to be
Twenty-oneNora Connolly Nora stared at Winters face, frozen in stone. “No,” Nora said firmly, with a shake of her head, “no. Why would you do this?” Mordred turned to look at her. “Because,” he replied, “she was trying to hurt you, Nora. She was never your friend. She was there to spy on you.” Nora’s face paled. “Do you know who her mate is?” Mordred raised an eyebrow. “I’ve been following you for quite some time. I wasn’t aware that the girl had a mate.” “Ares,” said Nora, “Ares, of pack Eliot is her mate. So whatever beef you have with werewolves having witches as mates it’s clearly not as uncommon as you think that it is.” Mordred shook his head. “The werewolves fear magic. They don’t like anything that might make them lose control. If they knew anything about witches, they’d know that magical law forbids using magic to take away someone’s will power.” “Magical law?” Nora asked. “When
Twenty-two:Roman Eliot “They should be back by now! It’s almost dawn,” Roman hissed. He was in the living room of his home, waiting with Aion and Ares. Aion sat by the window looking for Lucy and Nora. While Ares sat calmly in one of the chairs nearby, with a book in hand. “Will you relax?” Ares said. “It isn’t as if she’s some boring, human girl. She’s a witch. And she’s being rescued by a centuries old vampire who knows what she’s doing. She’ll be fine.” Roman glared at Ares. “I’m surprised you’re not more concerned. Your mate is missing too.” “I’m fairly certain my mate is a traitorous bitch, based on what Aion told me,” said Ares with a snarl, “she’s been spying on Nora from the sounds of it. I don’t appreciate liars.” “She’s made a mistake,” said Roman, “besides, “we don’t know that it was Winter who was responsible for that Scrying stone.” “We don’t not know that either. I’m not a trusting perso
Twenty-three: Nora Connolly She hadn’t been trapped for very long. But with all of Mordred’s talk about trying to marry her off, she didn’t like the idea of being left alone. She didn’t know who she could trust anymore. What she did know was that Roman was her mate. The future Alpha. And powerful enough to keep anyone at bay that might try and hurt her. That was what Nora needed. She had always run whenever she was in danger before. But for the first time in her life, there was someone to keep her safe. That was important. They managed to carry the statue of Winter into The Stellarum. When they finally got inside, to Roman’s room, the two stood there staring at each other. “Are you okay?” Roman asked. “I’m sorry. I never should have taken you there.” Nora sighed. “I’m fine. I just…you know for a second, when Mordred said that he was my grandfather, I thought maybe I could actually have a family again. But he showed his true colors quickly and I knew that there was no point
Twenty-fourRoman Eliot“What did you do to her?” Aion asked when Nora had left.Roman furrowed his brows together. “What are you talking about?”“I’m talking about Nora,” he said, “she looked very bothered about something. And by that, I mean hot and bothered.”Roman growled. “Never use the phrase ‘hot and bothered’ in reference to my Luna. Alright?”Aion chuckled. “Fine, only making an observation.”He smirked. “I didn’t do anything to her. Only, I let her make the choice about whether or not we were going to have sex. And then she got very flustered and left.”Aion smirked. “You’re evil.”He shrugged. “I’m only doing what a mature, responsible young man should do before having sexual relations. Asking for consent.”“You’re still evil,” Aion said.Roman then noticed bite marks on Aion’s neck. He raised an eyebrow. “Did Lucy stay? You know she’s always welcome here.”Aion rolled his eyes. “No, she’s not welcome here. The rest of the pack have made that very clear by the several times