Dark Love

Part 65

"You're a dangerous woman to be around."

Saera turned at the rugged tones. The deep rumble seeming to appear straight out of the night. The man whose voice it belonged to walked forward buck naked. His gaze trained on the wolf she was leaning over, applying pressure to the wound.

"You better believe it." Saera muttered drily. Even she was starting to be afraid of herself. What was she turning into? Who had not one but two and a half souls attached to their own? Had dangerously powerful princes hunting after her? Had seemingly random and unhealthily dangerous attraction towards more men than she'd like to admit? What was she turning into?

The gleam of light seeping through the cloud shimmered over his nude form in a caressing contour that left Saera's mouth salivating. She'd seen more than her fair share of naked  men by now. There was absolutely no reason to drool over the sight of this one. Impressive or otherwise.

"You want to get this?" Saera tore her reluctant gaze away to tilt her head in an enquiring nod at the wolf she held beneath her hands.

The man tilted his own head studying her intently. "You have it all in hand."

She frowned at that. She didn't want it all in her hands. She had better things to do then play nurse to a bunch of wolves who knew better than to wonder about witch territory.

"These woods are off limits," she reminded needlessly. They both knew that. Everyone is the magical society knew these woods were off bounds to all but the students of the academy.

"Not for tonight."

Saera frowned before staring up at the moon reluctantly peeping out of the clouds to glare back down at her. Had Massey been baming her about the woods not being enchanted that night?

"I don't understand," she said shaking her head. Her hair still wound into a bun beneath her hoody fell loose. It's dark brown strands dropping over her shoulders.

The man reached out alarming her and then with a careless flick of his finger sent the hood falling back.

"You're being hunted." He generously offered, tilting his head once again to better study her features. "What I want to know is, why?"

"You and me both, buster." Saera grumbled under her breath. The Princes's were taking all this way out of context. Bringing in the weres to what was essentially a witch and wizards business, was unwarranted.

Tossing a glance back at the wolf lying prone beneath her, she released her hold on him and sat back on her haunches. While she couldn't see all that well in the dark, her hands had not felt any new gush of blood from the wound. The wolf was already patching itself back up. She shook her head marveling at their healing prowess.

She wiped her hands on the pants of her PJ's and rose to her feet to stare at the man before her. This time tilting her own head in silent contemplative study. "An alpha? Those idiots sent an actual pack, alpha and all, to hunt me down?"

He narrowed his silver gaze at her. "Yes, they are idiots." He agreed partially to her statement. "What I want to know is why? Why hunt you at all? Why come to us?"

Saera shrugged her shoulders, suddenly very tired with all the cat and mousing about the prince and her were doing. The alpha had it right. They were idiots. Herself included. She could not be playing hide and seek with the Princes forever. "Don't ask me."

Running a hand over her face in a resigned gesture, she turned back towards her trunk. "Give me a minute." She bent down to grab her satchel and slung it over her shoulder before reaching for the handle of her trunk. "Right, where to?"

"I was told, you'd know where you were expected to go," said the man still staring at her quizzically. "You have a strange scent. Do you mind?" Leaning over without waiting for her answer, he reached out to brush her hair aside exposing the line of her neck then without preamble stuck his nose into the crook of it drawing her involuntary yelp.

"Hushh." He murmured against her skin. His voice soothing as it rumbled so close to her ear sending ripples of awareness down her spine. "Hmmmm." He added, as he burried his nose against her skin.

Feeling uncomfortably turned on, Saera tore herself away, spinning about to face him accusingly. She was faced with the evidence that she wasn't the only one of the two who was turned on.

"You're shunned." Naturally he would choose to point out the most obvious of scents coating her body. The shunning done to the bloodline carried its own unpleasant scent. Leaving no one in the magical world in doubt as to her status in society. Even those whose magical abilities were limited to their heightened strength and senses, as were the weres.

"Tell me something I don't know," she returned with a sigh.

"The shunned are unclaimed and yet I can smell not one but two... and a half? Souls linked to yours. How is that possible?"

"Again, tell me something I don't know." She tightened her grip on her belongings and began dragging her trunk behind her.

"You admit you remain unclaimed?" The wolf persisted.

Saera rolled her eyes in the dark. "I am my own woman." If there was any claiming to be done, she'd be the one doing it and the chances of that happening were pretty slim. Not with all the A-holes she'd been surrounding herself with. What was the idea behind that?

A grunt was her only answer before a shift in the air behind her told her the alpha had gone all wolf on her. With a spine if steel she managed to not turn to check behind her. She was determined to show no fear. She knew the Princes's who hired the weres to reel her in would have ensured they did no more that just that. The Princes's wanted her under their thumb. Not dead.

She hoped.

The parade of weres making its way through the academy was surreal. An escort of ten seemed a bit overmuch to her but the alpha knew better who he was dealing with.