me violently. His own wolf showing his presence. Any other time I would have bowed my head immediately and showed that I wasn’t defying him.
Instead I did no such thing. I kept eye contact with Vance.
“You are so clueless. Soon you will understand, and you will know who you really belong to. You will remember to respect me,” Vance growled never taking his eyes off mine. We held eye contact, nothing in his gaze making me feel like I had to turn away. Even at a glance, I could tell he wasn’t more powerful than me.
“I will do no such thing,” I answered, not even lowering my eyes.
Vance snapped his teeth at me and followed it with a growl in an attempt to make me submit. Only it didn’t. My wolf snapped her own teeth. She kept eye-contact. She wasn’t submitting, she was getting ready to go for the kill. I ripped my arm away before I physically attacked Vance, which was becoming a real possibility.
After yanking my arm out of his grip I headed towards the house. He didn’t follow right away but I could sense his movements. I was on high alert and I listened as carefully as I could to his movements.
I made it into the house without being attacked. Attempting to escape while he was outside would have been stupid. But there was more at stake now. According to what he and my mother said, I finally had proof there was more going on here than met the eye. I had to find out what she was planning.
“Colette,” Aradia appeared from the living room area. I guessed she was coming straight from a door to hell.
“Where is Vance?”
He hadn’t come inside yet and I wasn’t sure where he went. I didn’t really care, so I shrugged my shoulders and started to head upstairs.
“And what did you think of him, dear?” She asked peeking around me as if he would suddenly appear. Or maybe she wanted me to think he was standing there.
“I don’t think anything of him,” I answered drily as I tried to move around her. She was standing between me and my escape. I felt suddenly very exhausted. My wolf had pulled all the way back in my mind, and my magic left with her. It was strange but it was almost like they had become friends, my inner wolf and witch, and I was left on my own. Aradia let out a hearty chuckle.
“Oh my dear, did you not think him handsome?” She asked watching me with her calculated look.
“Not really my type,” I stated after I stopped trying to get around her. Apparently she wanted to gab like we were friends or something.
“Colette, it is not about type anymore. You have been promised to Vance, you need a strong mate that can protect you. He fought and won you. Proved himself good enough for you. It is expected.”
She watched me as she said this, with hard, cold eyes. A laugh caught in my throat sounding more like a snort.
“You can’t be serious.”
It was stupid thing to say on my part, but I could hold it in.
“This isn’t a joke. What we are trying to do is change our world, Colette. You will be seen as a threat by many,” she started to talk like this was going to be a political change. I wasn’t sure what she was expecting was going to happen. “You need a mate there to protect you. You will be mated to Vance by the next full moon. You will do what is right for our world.”
She waited but I didn’t answer. Instead I dropped my head and remained silent. She nodded once. Aradia walked away with her normal swagger. Hips popping femininely, but her stride was powerful. I watched after her wondering what had just happened. My heart was breaking in my chest.
I had less than two weeks to get the hell out of here. Otherwise I was certain that I would be forced into a mating I didn’t want. To a wolf that would never be who I wanted. It was obvious I needed more information and fast.
I looked at the stairs then looked back to where Aradia had disappeared. She left me out of my room unattended. I felt a smile cross my face even though I knew it shouldn’t have. Not with the news that Aradia just dropped on me. But she was either getting careless or she was starting to believe that I