Legend of the Feral 3: Passion's Roots (Siren Publishing LoveEdge)

by Jenny Penn

  “But aren’t they—”

  “We want the witch.” That statement echoed from the very fiber of his feral soul.

  “You can’t be serious.” Kahn gaped at him. “For what?”

  “For sons,” Jaxon breathed out, clearly savoring the very idea.

  Kahn was not so enamored. “Did she cast a spell on you?”

  “No.” Kragen’s grin dipped, not pleased at all to have his decision questioned by any other than his brother.

  “But⎯”

  “Do not question our authority,” Jaxon warned him. “Or that of the great God Malsumis, who has led us here for a reason.”

  “But…” Khan sputtered.

  “But what?” Kragen demanded to know, tired of having to justify his and Jaxon’s decision.

  “She’s homely.”

  Kragen blinked that in and frowned. “I thought she was kind of cute.”

  Kind of cute and so damn fuckable he ached to bury himself in her tight body. Knowing she was a virgin only made the fires burning in his balls boil all the hotter, but it wasn’t just lust riding him hard in that moment.

  Kragen had felt a strange possessiveness the moment he’d laid eyes on her bowed little head. Liquid chocolate. That was what her shiny tresses reminded him of. Already he could imagine how beautiful they would look fanned out over the crisp white of his pillow.

  It would feel even better, like soft silk against his skin, just like all those sweet curves would feel as he ground himself into her. She’d pant and beg, but Kragen would have no mercy. Once he unwrapped every pale inch of his treat, he intended to feast on her. First, though, he had to catch his skittish prey.

  “She’s just not at all your usual type,” Khan stated diplomatically, a skill that served him well as a leader of his own pack especially when getting along with the other packs.

  “This isn’t a matter of type,” Jaxon stated simply, leaving Kragen to nod.

  “This is a matter of a mate.”

  “We don’t have mates,” Khan reminded him. “We never did.”

  “Now we do,” Kragen retorted, feeling that certainty to the edge of his soul. It was the key to breaking the curse. He just knew it.

  “Besides, if we were satisfied by our usual type, then we wouldn’t be looking for something more, would we?” Jaxon reasoned.

  “And the best way to trap the little witch is to make sure she knows just how much danger her sisters are in,” Khan finished for him with another shake of his head. “You two are crazy.”

  That might be, but Kragen was also certain Jezie would do anything to protect her sisters, and anything was just what he planned to do to her. Soon enough, she would be pregnant if his prayers came true.

  Pregnant and mated. Those two words sounded good to him.

  Chapter 3

  Stiffening up her spine, Jezie followed the Matron back out of the great room and followed her across the hall to the library, where Mariam vented some of her anger and frustrations by slamming the door closed. It wasn’t enough, and she shook as if trying to throw off the ill will she felt, but it still quivered in her tone.

  “Those men…ugh, I swear I now understand more clearly why they were cursed in the first place. They have no respect and way too much arrogance. Why, we should turn them all into rabbits and keep them penned in cages.”

  “I can’t imagine that Malsumis would take kindly to that,” Jezie suggested softly, trying to help soothe her Matron to no avail.

  “Like I care what that God thinks,” Mariam huffed as she stalked around her desk.

  “Matron, please,” Jezie pleaded. “Don’t make this harder than it need be.”

  That had Mariam’s frown lightening as she glanced up at Jezie and sighed. “You really are the sweetest of all my girls…but there is something you must understand.”

  “Yes?” Jezie prompted when the Matron paused to stare down blankly at her desk. She glanced up, and Jezie could see the pain and guilt in the other woman’s gaze.

  “There are things you have not been told, things you don’t understand.”

  “Then tell me,” Jezie urged, not liking the doubt she could sense in Mariam. “Please, Matron, tell me.”

  Mariam nodded and began slowly. “As you know, we live longer than most. A couple hundred years is nothing to our kind and even less to the Jaris. For all that time, these men have suffered. The Shadars have grown up without any hope for the future, knowing that when they die, so does their line. They’ve sought revenge, and you are the one that they want. You are the great-grandchild of the woman who cursed them.”

  Jezie blinked that in. “I don’t understand.”

  “Your great-grandmother, bless her soul, fell in love with the Shardars that came before the two here now. Those Shardars betrayed her. They broke her heart, and that broke the land. Now, what these two want from you is to heal it, but you cannot do this.”

  “I can’t?” Jezie repeated, finding the notion somewhat odd. There had never been anything that she set out to do that she hadn’t succeeded at.

  “The love the land seeks must come from them…and the Jaris are not capable of love. What I want you to know, what I need you to know, is you can’t lose your heart to these two men.” Mariam came back around the desk to take Jezie’s hands in both of hers. “They will break it, and the curse will consume you.”

  “But⎯”

  “No buts. They use women and break them,” Mariam stressed again. “Don’t let them hurt you. Do you understand me?”

  She didn’t really, but Jezie nodded anyway. “Yes, Matron.”

  “Good.” Mariam breathed out a sigh of relief. “Good. Now I guess we better get back in there before those men lose what little patience they have.”

  Jezie followed the Matron back out the door and into the great room and the fate waiting her there. As they stepped into the room, she couldn’t stop her eyes from going to the Shardars and looking for the signs that had made Mariam so confident that Jezie could hold power over such large warriors. She didn’t see it.

  What Jezie saw was the emotion shining in the warriors’ stormy gazes. They glinted with a smug kind of satisfaction. For whatever reasons, the Shardars wanted control of her. Bowing her head to hide the fear that twisted through her gut, Jezie turned her attention to Mariam as she reassumed her position at the head of the room.

  “Jezie DeBoz.” The Matron’s voice sliced out cold and dethatched. “You are found in violation of the law. You have aided in wronging the Jaris and are hereby given to the Shardars Kragen and Jaxon Jaris to serve your punishment as they see fit.”

  * * * *

  Jaxon smiled over the Matron’s pronouncement, pleased that the elder woman had seen reason. Kragen and his plan had gone perfectly. Not that he’d have let Jezie escape even if the governess had granted her a reprieve, but this way worked better.

  This way he and Kragen didn’t have to bloody Jezie’s entire coven. Jaxon was certain that would have ended badly for them, because even if they won the battle the likelihood is they’d have pissed their mate off.

  Jaxon didn’t want to suffer her displeasure. He wanted, instead, to revel in the wonder of being blessed with a mate. Of course, he didn’t want to be too obvious with his reveling. Otherwise, Jezie might learn the truth. The truth that she was the one really in charge.

  Just the idea of a woman being in charge gave Jaxon the shivers, which was why he and Kragen had come up with their little plan. Taking Jezie as a prisoner would give them all control, whereas taking her as a mate would give her the control.

  Eventually, no doubt, she would learn the truth, but by then they would have trained her to be their perfect, personal attendant, and that sounded like the ideal mate to him. In fact, that idea had him fighting a laugh that hovered on the edge of his lips.

  Jaxon bit back his smile, in a vain attempt to hide his satisfaction at the sight of Jezie standing there with her head bowed in the perfect show of submission. She showed no emotion to he
r fate other than the faint trembling through her limbs. The small sign of panic only sharpened Jaxon’s anticipation. Their little mate might be scared enough to faint, but she managed to hold her composure. While her display of control pleased him, it also made Jaxon burn to see just how far he had to push her to make her lose all composure.

  They had a seven-hour ride ahead of them, though, before he’d have a chance to try. That sounded like an eternity right then, but Jaxon didn’t let a single hint of his impatience show as he directed Khan to escort Jezie out to his bike. Then he turned to request a private word with Mariam.

  At the sound of his request, his men immediately began to pile out, sensing that it was time to pack up and prepare for the trip home. The women were less eager to leave. Jaxon felt their glares on him as Mariam nodded toward the coven, signaling them to leave. He waited until every last one had disappeared out of the door before he turned on the governess.

  “I would not have you worry over the witch’s fate. She will be fine.”

  Far from appeased by that assurance, Mariam rejected it without hesitation. “I doubt that.”

  “And do you doubt my word when I tell you that Jezie is my mate?” Kragen asked, knowing he shocked the older woman when her eyes rounded. “You will have her stuff packed in two weeks’ time, and my men will come for her possessions. Understood?”

  “You know,” Mariam whispered, reeling from what his words revealed.

  “Yes, Matron. We know.” At least, Jaxon thought they did, and now was the time to see if they were right. “Jezie is a descendant of the Dead Tree and meant to be our hearts’ greatest desire.”

  He didn’t ask for confirmation. He didn’t need it. The truth was there in the older woman’s grim expression.

  “I don’t believe you. Your kind lacks heart.”

  “The curse will be broken, nonetheless,” Kragen decreed. “How do you think we came to find you, Matron? Or don’t you think we know that your coven took Jezie’s great-grandmother and kept her hidden from her fathers. From our Shardars?”

  “Your crime is immeasurable,” Jaxon stated softly. “By rights we should destroy all of you, but we haven’t. Why do you think that is?”

  Mariam narrowed her gaze on them. “What are you saying?”

  “The Great Owl led us here.” Jaxon couldn’t help but smile, certain of victory now. “We have the power of Malsumis on our side.”

  “And that won’t get you anywhere,” Mariam shot back. “The curse can’t be broken by your god. The only thing that will end up shattered is Jezie’s heart, and then may the goddess have mercy on your souls.”

  “You don’t know what you speak of, Matron,” Kragen assured her with more than a touch of indignation in his tone. “Now, good day.”

  With that, Jaxon’s brother turned and stormed off, leaving Jaxon there still smiling down at Mariam. A fact that she took both notice of and offense at.

  “Why are you grinning?” she snapped, but Jaxon just shrugged.

  “Because you are both right and wrong, Matron. Our kind might not be born with a heart that bleeds the tender emotion a woman’s might, but Jezie doesn’t know that. It is not a matter of whether we love her but a matter of how we care for her.”

  “You’re a fool if you think that love is so easily managed.” With that cutting blow, the Matron turned and stormed off.

  Jaxon watched her go, his smile never faltering because the Matron was wrong. He had a heart, and it beat for Jezie. His wasn’t the only one pounding right then.

  * * * *

  Kragen headed out into the bright light of an evening sky still brilliantly lit up with a sea of colors. It was still warm out but not hot, thanks to the mountain’s cool shelter. Kragen glanced up at the tall trees that clustered all about, his eyes drawn all way past their thick limbs to the sky as a shadow moved before his feet. There, in the great blue sea above, soared the Great Owl.

  He saluted the talisman and whistled his way over through the sea of motorcycles clogging the road outside Mariam’s house and toward the woman waiting between the two bikes that sat empty at the head of the line. She looked uncertain and almost too adorable for words. He couldn’t help but taunt her, enjoying the way she perked up.

  “You have every reason to worry.” Kragen didn’t offer her solace, nor did he pretend as if he didn’t know the thoughts running through her head as he came to a stop before the small witch. “The fate you have chosen will not be kind. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather tell me where your sisters went?”

  As he expected, that firmed up the little witch’s conviction, causing her to straighten and meet his gaze squarely. “I will not allow you to harm my sisters.”

  “Understand this right now, healer. You do not allow or disallow anything anymore.” Kragen leaned in a blatant show of power. “From this day forward, my word is your law. You will obey, or you will be punished.”

  “But it is by my decision you have that authority.” Jezie did not cower or back down, even as her voice faded to a breathless whisper. “Not all decisions are yours.”

  “Clever.” Kragen latched onto her arms and hoisted the dainty woman right off her feet. Holding her nose to nose with him, he smiled over the way her eyes widened in startled alarm. “But I don’t need to be clever. I need to be understood, understand?”

  Jezie licked her lips in a nervous gesture that threatened to make Kragen’s cock explode out of his jeans. The soft, husky whisper that fell from those very fuckable lips was like a stroke to his dick.

  “Yes.”

  “Yes, Shardar,” Kragen corrected her and was more than pleased when she repeated the words back to him.

  “Yes, Shardar.”

  “And you are still wrong, wench.” Lowering her down until the soft strands of her hair tickled his nose, Kragen whispered his confession for her ears and her ears only. “You never could have escaped me.”

  Jezie blinked up at him with those clear brown eyes of hers and proved that she had the makings to breed strong and proud sons as she stood up for herself. “Well then, if I can’t escape, can I at least pack a bag?”

  “A bag?” the Kragen repeated, keeping his smile contained. “We don’t have room or the weight to spare—”

  “It would just be some clothes.”

  “Clothes?” Kragen arched a brow at that.

  “And a few herbs so that I can offer prayers…and some books.” Jezie smiled hopefully up at him. “I know my prayers well, but it always helps to have some reference materials.”

  “Only if one is planning on using them, but trust me, there is only one ailment you will be attending to in the coming days, and I do not believe you own any books on that subject,” Kragen informed her, leaving Jezie looking a little confused. That didn’t last long as he continued on. “And as for clothes, you won’t be needing any. From this day forward, you won’t have anything I don’t give you.”

  “But…” Jezie sputtered, looking truly dismayed. “Can I, at least, ask the Matron to assure my books are kept for my return?”

  “No.” Kragen clipped out the answer, causing Jezie to frown, and he knew she was annoyed with him. That was fine. Her talking back wasn’t.

  “But⎯”

  “You are not to question my orders!” Kragen snapped, ever aware of appearances. No woman could be allowed to disrespect him before his men. Not even his mate. “Now get onto the bike, wench.”

  She didn’t like being called wench. That became clear as the air around her began to crackle with an energy as the sky darkened above their heads. A crack of thunder had everybody glancing up in shock. Everybody that was but Kragen. He simply smiled, more than pleased by the power she was displaying. That didn’t mean he was going to let her use it against him.

  “We’re riding whether it rains or not, wench.” Kragen put extra emphasis on the last word as he kept his tone hard and cutting. “So ask yourself if you really feel like being wet.”

  No. She did not. Jezie didn’t answer, bu
t the settling of the skies above spoke clearly enough.

  “Very good. Now get on the bike.”

  * * * *

  Left with little choice but to obey, Jezie tucked her skirt tight around her legs and mounted the mean-looking machine the Shardar gestured toward. It was all black with just a few highlights of chrome and was like the Shardar himself, lean, mean, and owning a devastating growl. Jezie’s breath caught as the Shardar mounted the bike in front of her and revved the engine to life. The seat vibrated strangely beneath her before the whole bike jerked forward with such speed Jezie almost fell off the back.

  Instantly, her arms went around the Shardar as she clung to him in fear for her life. She kind of suspected that was what he wanted. After all, beneath the roar of the engine accelerating between their legs, she heard the husky rumble of laughter and knew that the man was amused.

  Jezie wasn’t laughing, but she couldn’t hold on to her mad for long. She had never been good at holding grudges, but it was even hard for her to cling on to her worries as the Shardar’s heady scent filled her head. He smelled like leather and an earthy musk that lured her into snuggling into his back. The man was hard and big and so warm that Jezie found herself lulled toward sleep by the steady rock of his body against hers.

  It seemed as if time faded away along with the light until they were winding through the darkness on a journey that felt never ending, and yet it seemed as if they’d only just begun when finally they were pulling to a stop. Jezie blinked away the sleep from her eyes as she took in the massive house they’d roared up in front of.

  It was impressive in a dreary sort of way. Made of stone and logs, it sat over a barren patch of land that left the large structure looking forbidding and bleak. Jezie didn’t figure it mattered much, though, if she cared for her new home or not. She was still stuck there. She also seemed stuck on the bike.