Page 78 of His Bullied Fated Mate

She looked at me. “Riley, you have to at least let me try. If anything happens, we have witches at the infirmary. It's literally chained to the ground. It's a cauldron. How much harm can it do to me?”

I didn’t like the idea of her going near the cauldron. But I knew I couldn't hold her back. We didn't know what kind of magic she fully possessed.

Laura shook her head. “We already told you that no one goes into the room.”

“But I could maybe do something. We won't know until I try. You have to let me try.”

“We don't need more problems than we already have. If a more powerful witch was unable to do anything to it, you won't be able to. We only brought you down here so you knew that we had it and you would stop looking.”

“How am I going to make it worse? And how do we know I won't be able to do anything if I don't try?” Janella asked, looking at them a little irritated. “We can't just sit and wait.”

“We don't know, and that is what makes it dangerous. We don't know anything about the cauldron, and we don't need people poking at it. It's locked up and kept away from people, and we are keeping it that way.”

She crossed her arms. “You brought me here because you wanted me to get bonded to Riley. I happen to be a witch. Maybe instead of trying to push this problem aside, you could give me a chance to see if I can do something about it? Maybe I'm bonded to Riley because I can do something about it.”

I could tell the Council wasn't going to budge, so Janella looked at me. I didn't like the idea. I didn't want her anywhere near the Cauldon, especially now that she was pregnant. But Icould see the determination in her eyes. I either agreed or she went in by herself.

“I say try.” I grabbed her hand. “But you're not going in there alone.”

I followed her into the room, not letting her get close to it alone. The cauldron bubbled, the sound echoing off the walls. The room was colder than the hallway, and it smelled rancid like carcasses. I scrunched my nose up and held back a gag. I waved my hand and cringed.

“Does it stop bubbling?”

“No, it’s been doing that since we found it. Nothing ever comes out, and it doesn't bubble over.”

Janella moved closer, staring into it. I watched the way she swallowed, her hands shaking as she reached out to it. I watched her palm press against the metal. Nothing happened, but I could see her face shifting like she was trying to use her magic.

She pulled her hand back. She frowned. “I can feel it. It’s powerful.”

“You tried.”

She shook her head and placed both of her hands on it. But this time, I could see a shock happen. Like lightning slammed into her hands, and she quickly let go. She fumbled back, but I caught her before she fell.

I could see the hurt cross her face, and I grabbed her hands. They were uninjured, and I sighed in relief.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah, it just shocked me a little. I'm fine.”

I pulled her up and glanced back at the cauldron. We could start doing some research now that we know that it is here. I glanced over at the council, still fuming that they kept this from me. If they thought I was done yelling, they were far from it.

We left and made our way home. I shook my head, still fuming. “I can’t believe they hide it.”

“I think they were trying to think about the pack's best interest.”

“I know that!” I froze, realizing I had yelled. Her hand reached out, wrapping around my fingers. I could feel her magic soaking through, calming my irritation.

I hated how she felt the need to calm me whenever I got angry. A part of it was the bond corruption, but the other half was just my anger. The council had kept this from me. I’d been running around trying to think of things to save us. Working endless hours at the infirmary and trying to find a way to handle everything with discretion.

I pulled up in front of the house and turned to Janella. “I don’t want you to feel that you have to take care of me.”

She looked at me, a little surprised. “What do you mean?”

“I know that my emotions are connected to the bond and that sometimes they get out of whack. But I don’t want you to think it’s your responsibility to use your magic to calm me.”

Her fingers tightened around mine. “I’m doing it because I want to, not because I feel obligated to.”

“Are you sure you're not doing it because you're scared, I could do what I did to my bedroom again?”