Changed by Fire (Phoenix Rising #6) - Harper Wylde Page 0,3

of whom had defected with me, were the only ones who stood apart from the group, and while the time I’d spent with them hadn’t been bad, I highly doubted they were my true mates. Then I had come across Cedric and something inside of me had lit up. I’d wanted to shriek my fury at Nix when they had gone on their dates together. Even though I logically knew nothing was going on between them and it was all for show, my Kraken still hadn’t liked it. When he began to spend time with me, I was even more sure he was meant to be mine.

Luckily, everything was different now. I hadn’t been looking forward to begging the Council to allow him to be my mate—if he agreed to take me as one, that was. Away from the Council, the dating and mating rules were different. No longer did I need to seek permission for whom I took as a mate. If both parties agreed to make the commitment to each other, we were free to love and bond as we saw fit. It was liberating, if not a little nerve-racking, that the choice was completely in my hands.

There was no need for bids or sanctioned dates or chaperones—much to Theo’s chagrin. I had made the mistake of mentioning the possibility of Cedric being my mate to Theo in a huff when he’d chased Cedric away from a heated make out session. It was odd to see my tan brother turn a sickly shade of green—though that might also have had something to do with the fact that he’d seen Cedric’s hand up my shirt. Since then, Theo had been doing everything in his power to keep Cedric busy and away from me. If he didn’t stop soon, I was going to go directly to Nix, knowing she’d take him in hand—and it’d cause less drama than me kicking him in the balls or attempting to drown him.

Besides, it wasn’t like Cedric was chomping at the bit to tie me down in a mating. So far, regardless of my hints and a few heated moments between us, he’d yet to speak of a lifetime commitment despite the way his eyes would heat and soften when he’d stroke a hand down my cheek. I knew it was selfish, but I couldn’t help wanting time with just him—someplace we couldn’t be interrupted. I needed to know what he felt about me before I figured out if he was a true mate or not. The last thing I wanted was for a man to feel tied to me out of obligation rather than feelings, and Cedric’s hesitation had been hard to read. Was he turned off because of my age? Seventeen was old enough to mate in the shifter world, so I doubted that was it. My looks? From the way he’d responded during our kisses, I kind of doubted that was it. All I could assume, then, was that it was due to my Kraken.

She shrieked in my head, hating that idea as much as I did. I brushed the tears away, breathing deeply and evenly as I firmed my jaw. Well, I was not going to wait forever. If he wasn’t sure about mating with me, then I’d just have to find a way to prove myself. I’d show him exactly what a Kraken was capable of.

That werewolf better watch out, this Kraken was officially unleashed.

One

Joshua

If I had to watch one more disgusting display of the Council lording their power over lower mythologicals and animal shifters, I was going to be fucking sick. My stomach churned as I observed Councilmen Stepanov and Maldonado paw at the women they’d called to entertain them after dinner, cowing them into compliance as they pulled them into their laps and teased them with dry, morbid humor that served to terrify rather than seduce.

I swirled the amber whiskey in my crystal glass, not fond of the taste but not stupid enough to turn it down. Even the smallest movement was noticed and analyzed, and as the newest member of the Council, everything I did was under scrutiny, especially given my connection to Nix and the guys.

Claiming to renounce my mate had been the hardest decision I’d ever made, and yet it had also been the easiest. Hard because Nix owned my heart and soul, and I missed her with a longing I couldn’t describe. Easy because keeping her safe was the most important thing I’d