Page 12 of Betrayed Alpha Mate

“Yo, Em, this is great!” Hunter beams at Emily. “You’re a witch, too! Now the group is complete.”

I smile, my chest filling with that same pride, along with the intense need to keep Emily safe. I know it’s my inner wolf encouraging this feeling, but it’s too intense, and I’m mentally swearing to protect her at all costs.

“I always knew Em was special…” I praise, the words filling my chest and reaching my lips. “This just proves it.”

Emily avidly averts her eyes, not meeting mine, and instead turns to the book Delilah is paging through.

“Wait!” she squeals with a hint of excitement as she presses a finger onto a particular page. “Here it is! The ritual I found. Nettle tea brewed with cinnamon bark, and hibiscus waimeae tea steeped for a week,” she reads from the book. “Add honey, and seven rose petals crushed under the full moon. Mix and drink the potion, and the magic will be unlocked.”

Emily looks up with an eager smile, but Delilah continues to read the page, a frown growing on her face.

She turns to the previous page, then gasps.

“Em…?” Delilah turns her head slowly, shock widening her eyes and paling her face. “You used this ritual to unlock your powers?”

“Yeah. Why?” Emily turns to the page Delilah has open, her face paling too as she lifts her head slowly, eyes meeting Delilah’s.

“Shit….”

“Shit,” Delilah agrees with her, then turns her attention to me. Hazel brown eyes pin me in place as if I’m a culprit of some heinous crime.

“You said you interrupted Em while she was performing the ritual last night,” Delilah says to me, and I nod slowly, confused as a frown knits my brows.

“Yeah, I did interrupt, but it wasn’t on purpose,” I say defensively, taking a step forward and glancing at the guys in confusion. They seem equally confused.

“It didn’t have to be on purpose,” Delilah sighs, and turns to Emily, who still looks like she’d seen a ghost. “Did you, at any moment since you drank the potion, have any physical contact with Sean?”

Emily looks up, her eyes blank as she stares at me and blinks. “Y-yes.”

“I took the vial out of her hands. I was curious to know what she was doing. I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?” I raise my brows at Delilah. “Did I?”

Delilah stands up and swiftly moves toward me, lifting my hand while placing the back of hers on my forehead. “Are you feeling fine? Do you feel any different? Have you had any weird sensations since last night?”

I frown at Delilah. “I feel fine, D. What are you on about?”

“Maybe it didn’t work. Maybe—”

Delilah cuts Emily off, even as she stares into my eyes. “It did work, Em. I can sense it on him.” She turns back to Emily then, and hangs her head. “Unfortunately, he’s bound to you.”

“What do you mean? What’s going on?” I ask, stepping between Delilah and Emily.

Emily drops her hand into her hands, and Delilah places a hand on my shoulder.

“The ritual Em performed wasn’t to unlock her magic,” Delilah explains, but it still makes no sense, so I shake my head.

“I don’t understand. She just said ‘drink the potion, and—'”

“The magic will be unlocked,” Delilah finishes for me. “But not that kind of magic. Not in the literal sense, anyway.”

Arianna shifts toward Emily on the couch, then lifts the book from her lap.

“Oh.”

Behind them, Gwen and Donna peek into the book from over Arianna’s head, and both say, “Oh.”

Emily finally lifts her head and meets my eyes for the first time this morning, and my heart skips a beat. I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s as if everything around us fades into a blur, and the only thing I can see is Emily.

“The ritual I performed was a binding spell,” Emily whispers, and Delilah pats my shoulder.