Theo’s eyes widened, and he let out a stiff breath. “They won’t let her go, you know that?”
“They’ll have no choice!” Caspian declared sternly.
“You have to end this,” Theo urged. “For her sake. They will kill her, Caspian. You know that.”
Caspian looked despondently at his hands. Yes, he knew. He’d been aware of all the risks, of all the reasons why he should turn his back on Allegra and never think of her again. But he couldn’t do that. His heart yearned for her. At night when he slept, she was all he saw. In wolf form, he caught her scent on the wind whichever way he ran. She had planted a seed in his heart that grew and blossomed daily. To end his connection with her would be to end himself.
“I cannot protect you from the witches,” Theo warned. “They have grown strong as they hide within their coven and commit spells against nature.”
It was no secret that the witches had begun to act against the nature they were supposed to protect. Anyone who opposed them within their coven was cast out and labeled as practicing dark magic when the reality was that it was the elders of the coven whose hearts and magic had darkened. Caspian and his pack had harbored many witches living alone in the woods, frightened and in danger without the protection of their coven. The witches had become cruel, and Caspian was desperate to free Allegra from their tyranny.
“I can’t tell you what to do,” Theo admitted sadly. “Whatever you decide, the pack are here for you.”
“Thank you, Uncle.”
The older man placed a kind hand upon his young nephew’s shoulder. He just hoped that Caspian hadn’t resigned himself to a life spent alone, forever nursing a broken heart for a woman he could never be with.
***
Allegra nervously waited in the place within the forest where she usually met with Caspian. She felt full of tense energy and so she paced relentlessly. The choosing was upon her. She hadn’t thought the elders could exert such control to bring the ritual forward, but they had. If Allegra was going to run away with Caspian, she had to do it that night. She couldn’t risk waiting and being chosen to someone else.
The late afternoon air was cool around her. Leaves rustled, hiding the whispers carried on the wind of ghosts and forgotten spirits. Sometimes Allegra tried to decipher what they said within those hushed whispers. She enjoyed spending hours hearing their fevered chants, but she didn’t have time to dwell on them today. She needed to act fast to avoid the choosing.
Within the coven, preparations were already in place for the grand ceremony. A wooden stage had been erected upon which sat an archway adorned with numerous flowers of every color of the rainbow. Despite Allegra’s protests about the ceremony, she had to admit that the stage did appear beautiful. Other young witches lingered around it and gushed about their excitement.
They’d spend the day preparing for the big event, putting on their finest dresses and having their hair woven into long plaits decorated with flowers. The men hid their excitement as they dug out old suits to wear. Suits their fathers and grandfathers wore at their own choosing ceremony. So much of the event was steeped in ritual and history.
Allegra’s own mother was beside herself when her daughter insisted on going to the woods to take some air and clear her head.
“But you need to get ready!” she’d declared, hands on her hips. “You need to bathe, dress and your hair is a frightful mess!”
“I’ll be back in good time!” Allegra had reassured her, having no intention of ever returning. She wanted to run away with Caspian, to exist with other exiled witches.
“You’d better be!” her mother had warned. “Don’t make me use a location spell to find you and bring you back!”
Allegra didn’t mention that she’d already cast a protection spell upon herself that would disable any attempt to locate her. Protection spells were only supposed to be cast by the elders, but Allegra knew it was a measure she had to take. She loathed how so much of her magic was supposedly for the exclusive use of the elders. In her opinion, they should all be able to practice all the magic they wanted, so long as their intention was pure and not wicked.
A twig cracked close by, and Allegra pivoted around to see Caspian. She immediately smiled and ran to him. He looked even more handsome as his dark eyes sparkled with joy upon seeing her.
As Allegra reached him, Caspian took her in his arms and pulled her close for a deep, intense kiss. As they became entwined, Allegra felt her body grow light as though she were dancing on air. It was an intoxicating feeling, one she never wanted to end.
“I missed you,” Caspian told her.
“I missed you, too.” Allegra batted her eyelashes at him. He made her feel all coy and girlish, a feat no man had ever accomplished before.
Caspian took in her beauty and felt his heart swell. She was his destiny; he knew it with every fiber of his being. His uncle was wrong to be skeptical. Allegra would run away with him, and they’d live together in his village. But she thought he was just a man. How would she feel if she knew the beastly truth of his origins?
They kissed again, a hot intensity building up between them. Hungrily, Caspian lifted up her long skirt and began to explore her with his fingers. Allegra gasped, the sensation feeling wondrous. She was lost to the moment when she spotted a petal blowing in the breeze and remembering with a sinking feeling the imminent choosing ceremony. She pulled away from Caspian, breathing hard.
“Were you serious about us running away together?” she asked him gravely.
“Of course,” Caspian replied without hesitation.
“Then we need to go tonight.”
“Tonight?”
“Yes.” Allegra nodded, holding his hands tightly. “Tonight my coven is holding the choosing ceremony, and I cannot be a part of it.”
“What’s a choosing ceremony?”
Allegra sighed. The choosing ceremony was such an old-fashioned, archaic ritual that she felt ashamed to admit that her coven still partook in it.
“Basically, the choosing is when the elders of the coven pair up the young witches and warlocks.”
“I see.”
“And I can’t be a part of it, because I’ve already chosen my other half. I’ve chosen you.”
This made Caspian smile with pride. He pulled Allegra back toward him and planted a kiss upon her soft lips. She also smiled, and despite her anxiety about the ceremony she felt herself become lost in his kiss, letting his tongue delve into her mouth and press up against her own.
Time lost all meaning when they kissed. It was as if the entire world fell away and nothing mattered but their lips hungrily colliding together. The woods grew silent, the whispers on the wood disappeared and all Allegra could hear was the frantic beating of her own heart, swept away by this man who had already stolen it.
Again, the kiss intensified, and Allegra became aware of Caspian’s hard, throbbing penis pressed against her leg, just beneath his trousers. It was so tantalizingly close. She wanted him inside her again, to feel that closeness, that union. But the choosing refused to linger too far from her thoughts, and it pervaded her mind, reminding her that she had to flee.
“So can we run away? Right now, can we leave?”
“Yes,” Caspian told her, holding her against his chest. “We can leave right now. I’ll take you to my village, and you can meet my family.”
He’d feel so proud to walk into his village with Allegra on his home. She was such a stunning beauty; he knew he would be the envy of all the other alphas. And his Uncle Theo would approve. Once he’d met Allegra, how could he not? To know her was to love her.
“I can’t wait,” Allegra enthused. She felt a slight pang of guilt when she thought of Iris, her best friend since childhood. But after tonight, Iris would have her chosen mate, and she wouldn’t be alone. She’d be consumed with thoughts of adulthood and settling down. She didn’t need Allegra anymore.
Caspian kissed the top of Allegra’s head and rubbed a hand down her back.
&n
bsp; “Are you sure you’re ready to leave?” he asked her, slightly concerned. He knew that if she left her coven, there would be no turning back.
“I have to,” Allegra replied with certainty. “I cannot go through the choosing ceremony.”
“Okay.” Caspian turned her around and stroked her cheek. She looked so beautiful with her fire red hair and sparkling eyes. She was everything he’d ever dreamed of. But was he such a dream come true? His wolf alias prowled at the back of his mind, desperate to come forward and shatter the happiness between them. Allegra had been so forthcoming about her identity as a witch, would she wonder why Caspian kept his werewolf self a secret from her?
He hadn’t knowingly done it. It just hadn’t come up. Besides, people feared werewolves, even witches. And Allegra’s particular coven was known amongst his kind as being cruel and vindictive. They loathed the wolves, but did Allegra share such a grudge? He was scared to find out. Witches didn’t mate for life. She could free herself from him and find another suitor, attend the choosing she was so against if she wanted to. She owed him nothing, when she’d taken from him everything. She had his soul. But she thought she was in love with a man. Would her feelings change once the truth was revealed?
“What’s wrong?” Allegra noticed the distant look in Caspian’s eyes as he stared off in the distance, clearly troubled.
“Nothing.” He shook his head and settled his gaze upon her, smiling as he did so.
“You seem troubled.”
“I’m not.”
“You want me to come with you to your village, don’t you?” Allegra took a step back from him, doubt suddenly casting a shadow over their moment together.
“Of course.” Caspian took her hands and gently guided her back to him. “It’s just…” His voice trailed off as the distant look returned to his eyes.
“Just what?” Allegra demanded. She was about to press Caspian for further details when a sharp stabbing pain pierced her behind her eyes. Pressing a hand to her forehead, she dropped to her knees and winced in pain.
“Allegra, what’s wrong?” Caspian joined her, his face concerned.
“Argh, the elders must be doing a location spell on me.” She rubbed at her eyes, wishing the pain would subside. “It makes no sense!” she cried. “I cast a protection spell on myself this morning!”
Allegra groaned and pulled herself up into ball. The pain was intensifying, making her vision blur. The elders were looking for her. She’d clearly underestimated the strength of their magic. Soon they would find her and drag her back to the village, where she’d be forced to partake in the choosing ceremony. Time was running out.
“We have to leave!” Allegra cried. “I’m too close to the coven! They can find me here!”
Caspian looked around the woods, expecting a dozen witches to suddenly descend upon them and steal Allegra away from him. Anger made his extremities twinge. He had to control the feeling, as often when he was angry he turned into his wolf form involuntary. It was something all young male werewolves had to learn to control.
“Caspian, please, take me to your village!” Allegra held her arms up to him and he helped her to feet. Once she was standing, he let her lean against him as the pain continued to blind her. He set off toward his village, away from the powerful reach of the coven.
After twenty minutes, the tension in Allegra’s body eased, and she moved away from him, still rubbing her eyes.
“That’s better,” she sighed, feeling drained. “They can’t reach me here.”
“Should you go back if they’re looking for you?” Caspian asked, looking over his shoulder in case they were being followed.
“No, I’ve made my mind up,” Allegra told him, locking his hand with hers. “I refuse to go through the choosing, as I’ve already chosen.”
Caspian smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. The anger he’d felt flash through him reminded him of how easily he could turn, and of how he was keeping a huge part of himself secret from Allegra. She was owed the truth, especially when she was making a life-changing decision to come and join him in his village. It would be unfair of him to let her proceed under false pretenses.
“Before we go any further,” he began, his voice grave. “There is something you need to know.”
Allegra looked at him with wide, startled eyes. She settled herself down on to a nearby tree trunk and apprehensively waited for what he was about to say.
“I want you to run away with me,” Caspian reassured her. “But before you do, you need to know the full picture. You need to know the truth about me.”
“What truth?” Allegra asked, becoming scared. Iris’ ominous warning bounced around her mind. What if Caspian wasn’t a man at all? What if Allegra had placed herself in danger? And now she was beyond the reach and protection of her coven. What had she done?
“Please, don’t be scared,” Caspian beseeched her, kneeling down before her.
“What truth?” Allegra demanded. “Caspian, what aren’t you telling me?” She looked at the man she loved, hoping and praying that the instincts that had led her to him hadn’t been wrong.
Caspian wavered briefly on his decision to reveal all. He saw the glint of fear flash in Allegra’s eyes and it stung him. He didn’t want her to fear him. Not now, not ever.
“Just tell me!” Allegra insisted, her bottom lip starting to shake.
“What do you think I am?”
“What?” The bizarre nature of the question caught Allegra off guard. The fear momentarily left her and was replaced by confusion.
“What do you think I am?” Caspian repeated, his voice clear and level.
“What sort of a question is that?” Allegra cried in exasperation. “This isn’t a time for riddles!”
“Just answer me,” Caspian said coolly.
“A man.” Allegra shrugged. “I think that you’re a man.”
“Well…” Carefully, Caspian stood up, dusting leaves off his knees as he did so. Then he lowered his gaze to meet Allegra’s. “You’re wrong.”
Allegra felt ice lock around her heart as she stood before him. He wasn’t a man. Then what was he? Iris’ warnings danced madly around her mind. Why hadn’t she listened? Why had she let her feelings guide her and blind her to danger?
“Then…what are you?” Allegra tried to conceal the fact that she was trembling but Caspian noticed.
As a witch, she had no need to fear men. She could control men, bend them to her will if she had to. Of course, such magic was considered dark but that didn’t mean that some within her coven didn’t secretly practice and manipulate its benefits.
But another mystical creature was a different situation entirely. Witches were level against other mysticals, their powers rendered almost useless. It was nature’s way of balancing out the magic in the vale.
“I’m part man,” Caspian explained. “But also part something else. There is a part of me that is controlled by the light of the moon.”
“Lycan,” Allegra breathed, the seldom used term for werewolves, scared to utter the more commonly used label. She took a step back from Caspian.
From what she had heard, werewolves were dangerous, volatile creatures and were best avoided at all costs. But it was Caspian. How could something so dangerous exist within someone so loving?
Feeling torn, Allegra raised a hand to her temple and closed her eyes in frustration.
“I had to tell you.” Caspian dared to reach out and touch her, but she pulled herself beyond his reach just as his fingertips were poised to graze her arm.
“You tell me now!” Allegra roared at him. She knew she should fear him, but when she looked in his eyes all she saw was pain. “You should have told me…before.”
Caspian kicked absently at some leaves, unable to look at Allegra. The comment made him feel as though he had misled her in some way, ultimately cheapening their union. That wasn’t what he wanted.
“I wanted to tell you,” he sighed. “But how could I? You’re a witch.”
“Then why didn’t you stop?” Allegra challenged. “You knew I was a witch, you know what you are, why didn’t you just stop?”
“Because I couldn’t!” Caspian replied heatedly, locking on to her gaze once more. Allegra felt a surge of electricity dance up her spine. Caspian looked angry yet fueled by deep, passionate emotion. It was incredibly sexy.
But she had to remember herself. It was her impetuous feelings that had led her out in the woods in the company of a werewolf. She needed to think about bigger things, about the coven and what this union would do to them if they were to ever find out. The choosing was due to commence that very night. If Allegra’s reason for abstaining was due to being committed to a werewolf, she wasn’t sure what they’d do to her. The usual punishment of banishment would seem lenient in the face of such betrayal to the coven.
“I felt something for you,” Caspian continued to explain. “Something I couldn’t ignore, something I couldn’t turn my back on.”
“Our kinds are sworn enemies,” Allegra told him, wrapping her arms protectively around herself. She thought of Uma. If she were there, she’d know what to do. Her sister was incredibly adept at dealing with difficult situations so long as they weren’t her own. Uma’s inability to manage herself had led to her banishment from the coven.
“That doesn’t mean we have to be.” Caspian ventured to touch her once more and this time his arm connected with Allegra’s and they both felt the intense sparks begin to ignite between them once more.
Allegra wanted to run away with Caspian. She wanted to turn her back on who she was and just run off into the forest with him. If Uma could leave, why couldn’t she?
Wolf Tainted Union: The Complete Collection - 6-Book Bundle (Books 1-6) - A Paranormal Werewolf Shifter Romance Page 4
