Maven Warrior: Dark Warrior Alliance Book 20

by Brenda Trim

  And, her desire to be with him was more than some mystical Fated Mate concept. Yes, he was gorgeous, and their chemistry was off the charts, but he was also smart, funny, kind, and she genuinely enjoyed his company. She wanted to spend every moment with the sexy sorcerer.

  Teagan followed Killian and Suvi down the hall, pausing outside a large room. A glance inside, and she nearly burst into laughter. It had everything she expected witches to have. Cauldrons, candles, herbs, and tons of other items she couldn’t name. There was a twenty-foot ceiling that had a big circular skylight in the middle with an intricate Celtic design in the leaded glass of the dome. The inner-circle was designed with clear glass to allow maximum exposure while colorful vines and flowers weaved around the edges in blue, purple, and green glass.

  “I don’t want to interfere with the spell,” Killian told her. I will be right here waiting for you.”

  Teagan turned when he spoke then stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to Killian’s. A sigh left her lips when he bracketed his arms around her waist and pulled her close for a passionate kiss. His mouth was primal and dominant. It made her skin tingle, and her hormones go crazy. She was already addicted to him and couldn’t get enough.

  Several seconds later, he broke the kiss and cupped her cheek while his glowing jade green eyes captivated her. Chest heaving from her panting breaths, she smiled at him. Noise caught her attention, and her head swiveled into the room.

  Suvi was in the process of sweeping the room with a straw broom. There was a guy she hadn’t seen before that was carrying a wooden table to the center. Who the heck was that? And how did she miss him?

  “That’s Suvi’s mate, Caine,” Killian informed her as if he’d read her mind.

  “Can you read minds?”

  Chuckling, Killian shook his head and smiled at her. “No. I’m not a vampire, but you have an open expression.”

  “No one has ever told me that before. Growing up in foster care made me build walls around myself.”

  Killian rubbed a hand along her back, relaxing her fraying nerves. “Seems our mating bond is strengthening more than I expected.”

  A smile bloomed across her face as she watched Suvi and her mate grab white candles carved with odd characters then place them in precise positions on the altar close to a knife and bowl.

  “What do the crystals do?” Teagan asked as they watched Suvi place numerous colored crystals around the table.

  Suvi paused and glanced back at Teagan. “They harness the magic that helps fuel our spells.”

  “It’s like in the shows and movies about witches. I had no idea it was real,” she replied while she watched them finish their preparations.

  “Okay. I’m ready. Come stand in the center of the room, here,” Suvi said, pointing at an area below the table. Teagan nodded and entered the room, stopping where Suvi indicated.

  With a bowl of salt and dried flowers in her hand, Suvi walked around the circle, dropping the salt mixture. “I am casting the circle before I call the elements and perform the spell. It’s essential that you remain inside the circle until I safely open it.”

  “Stay put. Got it,” Teagan muttered as she watched white light emit from the circle.

  "I cast this circle to keep us free of all energies that are not of The Light,” Suvi chanted on her second circuit. “I allow within this circle only the energies that are of The Light. So Mote It Be.”

  Suvi picked up a white piece of chalk and scribed a pentacle on the wood floor, invoking the element in each direction as she went. “Hear me, Sentinels of the East, I summon the powers of Air! Hear me, Sentinels of the South, I summon the powers of Fire! Hear me, Sentinels of the West, I summon the powers of Water! Hear me, Sentinels of the North, I summon the powers of Earth! As above, so below. As within, so without. Four stars in this place be, combined to call the fifth to me! So mote it be.”

  Teagan would have felt silly and wondered what prank show she was on if light hadn’t flared, along with, a sudden influx of electricity. It made the hair on her neck and arms stand on end. There was no way she could deny magic was real, and Suvi was casting it at that very moment.

  “Live and learn, learn and live. I endeavor to receive what life can give. Bring to me the lessons true. And knowledge of what to do. Amid the mess and chaos fierce. Shine a light to darkness pierce. Show the way to knowledge deep. Which to let go and which to keep. Clear the way so I might heed. The lessons that I truly need. Show me what I need to learn. As life’s pages I do turn. So mote it be,” Suvi called out. It was then that Teagan realized the witch had clasped hands with her mate, Caine.

  Suvi’s head fell back as white light pulsed inside the circle. Teagan looked around, wondering what was happening and why she didn’t feel more than static electricity. Was the spell not working?

  Her gaze landed on Killian, and she followed his gaze to the bowl of water. Mist formed above the liquid and silver light shone from within. Suvi said something in a foreign language then blew her breath across the basin. The mist cleared to reveal the clear water.

  Teagan cocked her head, wondering if that was good or bad. It seemed like there would be some change if she was indeed under a spell.

  Killian’s masculine voice intruded before she could formulate any questions. “She’s not under any spells.” The relief in his voice was tangible.

  The tension left Teagan’s shoulders only to return a heartbeat later. If she wasn’t under a spell, why was she acting like she was? Reality was a cold slap in the face.

  She really was losing her mind. Killian wasn’t going to want to be her mate when he realized she was bat shit crazy.

  Killian wanted to smash someone’s face in. After discovering his mate wasn’t under a spell, he should have been relieved, but he wasn’t. There was something wrong with Teagan. Every bone in his body screamed that his mate wasn’t acting entirely of her own volition. That was obvious when she insisted on seeing Anthru house and asked a million probing questions.

  Sure, humans were bound to be curious, but it was more than that. Through their bond, he felt the hint of a compulsion coming off her. He’d been convinced she was under a Dark magic spell of some kind.

  “Maybe she has a mental illness,” Jace suggested. Shaking his head to deny the warrior’s words and dispel his mood, Killian felt along the mating bond once again.

  The golden thread connecting him to Teagan was surprisingly weak, he thought. He meant to ask Zander if that was normal. It seemed as if a stiff breeze could snap the connection to her, and Killian didn’t like it one bit.

  “She’s not crazy, asshole,” he cursed at his colleague. “Something is going on, but I have no idea what it might be if she isn’t under any spells.”

  Zander ran his hand through his hair. The habit told Killian the king was under enormous stress. He tried to put perspective on his troubles with Teagan compared to what his friend had to deal with. Zander’s mate recently returned from the dragon realm of Khoth which, unlike the Tehrex Realm, was in another dimension entirely where his daughter was still living.

  Zander and Elsie had to leave Izzy on Khoth with Angus because she was in danger from every demon and their minions on Earth. Killian’s problems with Teagan seemed small in comparison, but his mind refused to listen.

  The fact that his Fated Mate was under threat made his protective instincts go haywire while his gut itched to smash any danger to Teagan. He could lose his mate before ever completing the ritual, and then he would really be lost. A male couldn’t survive without their Fated Mate.

  He recalled the hundreds of years Gerrick, one of the Seattle Dark Warriors, had lived after his Fated Mate was killed. They hadn’t completed the ritual before demons took her from him. The male survived to enact vengeance for her death and was an empty shell until he found Shae.

  The craziest part was Shae was the reincarnation of Gerrick’s first Fated Mate. No way would Killian take that risk. Sure, it worked out for Gerrick, but Killian would ne
ver be able to live if he lost Teagan. The mere thought made his blood turn to ice in his veins.

  “I doona know much aboot human insanity, but my Elsie said Teagan isna crazy. The question remains. If she isna under a spell, what else could be going on with her?” Zander asked.

  Hayden tapped his knuckles on the table before pausing to meet Killian’s gaze. “She doesn’t smell bad to my animals like the humans on the street. I don’t think her questions are all that odd. I’d be asking a mysterious group that and more if I just met them and there were all these laws about secrecy.”

  One side of Killian’s mouth lifted in a half-smile. He appreciated that Hayden didn’t insist they come out to humans. That old argument would derail the conversation, and Killian would never get answers, not that he was certain this group had any for him.

  “I would ask them, as well,” Killian admitted. “But the sense that came through our bond was that she couldn’t stop herself from asking them.”

  “Compulsion,” Evzen interjected as he sat forward in his chair. “Sounds like she’s under an archdemon’s compulsion.”

  Killian’s head snapped in the Guild Master’s direction. “Why the fuck didn’t I think of that sooner? And, how the hell do I protect her if that’s the case?” The idea that a powerful demon was controlling Teagan’s mind made his vision turn red, and his hands clench into fists.

  “Och, that makes sense. Doona forget Crocell knows how to identify our mates. There’s no better way to get us to talk than to threaten our females,” Zander voiced as he got up and crossed to the bar in the corner.

  “How can we determine if that’s what’s happening for sure?” Killian asked as ideas raced through his mind.

  “What information was she asking about, again?” Evzen added. “We could always plant false information and use it to trap Crocell or whoever is behind this.”

  Zander tossed back his scotch and poured another. “Turn the tables, so it bites that fucking bitch in the arse.”

  Killian sat forward. “Yes. She was asking about Anthru house and Izzy and the other kids. We need a plan of what we tell her and how we can lay a trap. I want my mate out of fucking danger.”

  As the council agreed and began to plot and plan, Killian tried to still his racing heart. This was a dangerous idea. One wrong move and Teagan could die. If there were a way around the idea of using his mate as bait, he’d take it in a heartbeat.

  His future was balanced on a knife’s edge, and one slip and the blade would slice it wide open, leaving him to bleed out.

  Chapter Twelve

  Sitting awkwardly in the media room waiting for the others to come in, Teagan shifted her feet for the hundredth time since entering Zeum that night. Killian called her out of the blue and invited her to a dinner party with his friends. Her heart raced as she considered the invitation with the diverse group of women.

  They were all beautiful, smart, talented, and very different from one another. They also grew up in ordinary homes with families. Well, most of them anyway. Not one was raised in foster homes where she was shuffled from place to place, never finding where she belonged.

  It was a long shot to be accepted so openly, and Teagan cautioned herself against getting her hopes up that this evening meant anything. She would never forget the night she arrived at Mrs. Wheeler’s home.

  Tina was her roommate and excitedly showed her the entire house, ending with their room. For the first time in years, Teagan didn’t dread moving into a new home. She hoped that there wasn’t going to be spankings with a belt for breaking a glass or unexpected visits in the middle of the night by her foster father.

  That illusion lasted about three hours. It was the first time since being taken from her mother she ate a meal and was laughing. And, the last. As soon as they went to bed, Tina jumped on her chest and pinned her arms by her head. She then proceeded to inform Teagan that she was not welcomed and that she better not try sucking up to the foster parents.

  Teagan was frightened and understood the girl’s fear but didn’t take her seriously until after Teagan helped their foster mom clean the fridge. Tina was pissed and cornered her in the bathroom then proceeded to take their foster father’s beard clipper to her head.

  The final straw was when Tina accused her of making sock puppets out of their foster dad’s socks and ruining their foster mom’s make-up. They didn’t believe Teagan when she denied the accusations. In the end, it was unanimous. She lasted a total of three weeks in the home.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Killian promised her.

  She’d been inside her head and hadn’t realized it was so obvious she was nervous. “It’s impossible for me to believe that. I hear that shaved heads on women is back in so maybe it won’t be too bad.”

  Killian wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. It was an odd sensation for her. His affection for her was a blanket wrapped around her body. There was no denying how much he cared for her and was concerned about her welfare. No one had ever made her feel as if what she was thinking and feeling truly mattered.

  Not that previous boyfriends were total asshats, but none of them actually saw her. It was always about someone to hang out with and have sex with that they thought was hot. Also, she hadn’t dated anyone long enough for a deep relationship to develop.

  “Shaved head?”

  Forcing a chuckle out, Teagan hoped she could lighten the mood. “Long story. I had a foster sister once that shaved my head when I moved into her foster home.”

  “Is that some kind of initiation I’m not aware of? I admit I’m not very familiar with human customs. Out of the entire council, I’m probably most familiar with humans because of my computer expertise, but I’ve never heard of that.”

  “It’s not an initiation or welcome. More like a hazing, Maven.”

  Killian cocked his head to the side. “Maven?”

  “My nickname for you. You said it yourself. You’re an expert in computers.”

  “I like it,” Killian said with his lips hovering an inch above hers.

  “Mmmm,” she murmured when his lips crashed down over hers. Turning, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and responded to his passion.

  “Take some clothes off.” Teagan jumped when she heard the male voice.

  Killian stood up and lunged for the guy with gorgeous multi-colored hair. His eyes were kaleidoscopic and stunning. She couldn’t recall his name though she was sure she met him. As she got to her feet, she thought his mate was an angel. “Fucking Rhys.”

  “Shite. What did he do this time?” Zander asked as he entered the room, followed by others.

  “Running his mouth, as usual,” Killian replied.

  The big warrior, Bhric, held up his hands, shaking his head. “There isna any snogging allowed in here. We already enter the kitchen with caution. We doona want to add the media room to the list.”

  Teagan laughed with the rest of the group even though she had no idea what was so funny. She made a note to ask Killian later. She didn’t want all eyes focused on her.

  “Alright. Let’s head out to the patio for dinner,” Elsie called out then led the way out of the room.

  There was a long table beside the house that was covered with more food than was found at most buffets. Killian grabbed a glass and approached a frozen drink machine. “Is that a margarita maker?”

  Elsie turned, and Teagan noticed for the first time that she was very noticeably pregnant. From the front, it wasn’t as obvious. She must be late stages given how fast she was growing. “Yes. It’s probably my favorite gift. We use it at every event we have.”

  “If you haven’t tried my hey juice,” Rhys interjected, “then save room. It’s a must-have.”

  “What in the world is hey juice?” Teagan asked.

  “Yo, Rhys. The eighties are calling, and they want their drink back,” Mack heckled as she grabbed a cup. “I don’t know how you love him, Illianna. That drink is what Rhys used to pick up females.”

>   Teagan’s eye went wide. He was mated and hitting on her? Killian told her that wasn’t possible. Was he lying?

  Illianna laughed and kissed her mate’s cheek. Joy was pouring from the couple in intense waves that nearly made Teagan dizzy. “My mate is magnanimous. Helping Killian out with his mate.”

  Killian chuckled and filled her glass with the frozen concoction. “I don’t need help. Do I, Dimples?”

  Only Mack, Rhys and Illianna were listening, but she was still nervous. “No. Killian doesn’t need any help. If he had anymore, I might never walk again.”

  Rhys clapped Kill on the back and whooped loudly. “Yeah, brother. That’s what I’m talking about. Of course, if anyone knows his way around a female, it’s you.”

  Teagan took her drink from Killian and headed to the food. If she listened to anymore, then she was going to start wondering, and nothing good would come of that. She never considered herself a jealous person. She should’ve known that she would become insane with it if she developed feelings for anyone.

  “How many more are coming?” she asked Kill as she looked over the food choices.

  Killian lifted his head and scanned the area. It was a clear, chilly night in Seattle, but the breeze felt wonderful against her overheated skin. Being near Killian had her libido going wild. “We’re all here. It’s just the council and the Dark Warriors.”

  “This is a lot of food for so few people.”

  “We eat a lot,” Killian replied as he waved at a couple that walked through the door. The guy had white-blond hair, and the woman was carrying a young toddler in her arms.

  “There are a lot of babies here,” she observed.

  Killian followed her gaze from the new couple to another with an infant. The male had a massive scar running down his cheek that made him terrifying. “We have a few. We went for centuries with so few births that our existence was threatened.”

  “Why do you ask aboot our stripling and staff?”

  Teagan flinched at Zander’s harsh tone and dropped her plate. Thankfully it was plastic, and empty. “Umm. No reason. Just curious. There’s so much to learn.”