Page 23 of Plus-Size Sold Mate
I could see how something like this might be a beautiful, sacred thing, but I don’t want it. I never asked for it, and that’s what makes me furious.
I’m not only angry at Luke, but at my own body for even accepting this. No matter how much I rage or how badly I want to escape him, the bond responds to him anyway. It warms when he’s near, like a traitor, as if it belongs to him, just as it expects me to.
For a long while, I just sit and watch the open landscape ahead of me, wishing I could somehow break away from all of this without causing more problems for myself, but now that I’m mated to Luke, I don’t think I’ll ever get to truly escape him.
Some time goes by without me realizing it, lost in my thoughts and reading from the old book. It’s nice for a while, getting to pretend even for a moment that none of this is happening to me.
I found the book a month or two ago in Wraith Peak. It was tucked away in a run-down library, clearly meant to be kept out of plain sight, but not to such a severe degree like what might happen in other pack territories.
Magic is banned everywhere else, but in Wraith Peak, the lenience there allowed me to keep it on me without repercussion. Of course, I kept it hidden away regardless, should anyone sniff it out. Fortunately, the cover is worn and doesn’t have a title embossed on the front. It’s intentionally plain and innocent, so I’ve managed to keep it in my possession for this long.
Really, it feels like the one thing that’s mine, and the only connection I have to magic outside of what exists in me.
From what I can tell, the writing belonged to a witch from some time ago, making it feel more personal and honest thananything that could be published on a bigger scale. That’s how I know it’s genuine.
I read through a section detailing containment spells, featuring a few diagrams and explanations about intention and balance. It isn’t offensive or destructive; instead, it’s meant to be protective. Though if anyone else were to read it, they’d likely see something they don’t understand. Worse, they might dismiss it as something unnatural and demonic. If only they knew it was so much deeper than that.
So absorbed in the words, I don’t sense Luke immediately this time. The bond registers him first, flaring as if in warning.
He’s already behind me when I find him standing there, stopping in place. His eyes drift down to the book, and his expression shifts instantly as his brows furrow. One look at the diagrams and his face hardens fractionally.
“What are you reading?”
The edge to his words is something new, almost like he’s catching me in the act.
I consider lying, but I already know there’s no point.
“A book on magic.”
His jaw clenches, allowing the words to sink in before he murmurs, “Where did you get that?”
“Wraith Peak.”
“And you brought it here?” he asks, voice tightening with more tension now.
“I did.”
Several thoughts pass through his eyes at once, as if he can’t settle on which one to address first. He runs a hand through his hair, clearly caught by this. “That’s dangerous.”
My eyes narrow slightly in return. “Dangerous for who?”
“For you, and anyone else who might see it.”
“I’ve managed so far,” I tell him flatly, unwilling to dim myself and my abilities to keep him comfortable.
Luke looks at me, then the book, then back to me again, like it’s something venomous just waiting to attack. “Magic is banned for a reason.”
And there it is…the usual statement. The shield that’s supposed to block anyone from asking questions or thinking twice.
Closing the book in my lap, I turn to face him a bit more. “And what reason is that?”
“It destabilizes packs and gives too much power to individuals who can’t be controlled,” he says without hesitation, sounding more like a script than a true, personal belief. “It’s unpredictable.”
“You’re unpredictable,” I counter. “So is every Alpha who thinks he knows what’s best for everyone else.”
He blinks back at me, not expecting it, as more tension pulls in him. “You’re being reckless.”
“And you’re being hypocritical.”
