11. Vix

Chapter 11

Vix

F loating in the warm water made it easy to lose track of time. Vix let her thoughts scatter until there was nothing left – just the awareness that she was in this human-made cave, separated from the wildness she'd been connected to for years.

Even the cities hadn't been as dead as this place.

The scent of rock, soap, Mylo, and mate had distracted her from how this house was steeped in dark magic. Not only did it protect the dwelling from threats, but it also removed all scents of life that should be woven into it over time, along with a tiny spark of wildness on the bottom floor where it connected to the earth.

No plants to speak of inside, but her magic told her there was a place where plant-life thrived. Other than the raven, the witch, and the three tigers, everything in this dwelling was dead or silenced by magic.

It could be because the witch was keeping the tigers safe, but it wasn't necessary to remove scents to protect a place, which meant these three were definitely hiding something from her. It could be anything, but she had to wonder if they'd brought other females here and didn't want her to know.

Vix hoped it was dead bodies or maybe a dungeon. That would be better than finding out her mates had a secret lover.

Two out of three were hers, and with feline shifters…

Finding out if the alpha was definitely her mate or not was something she had to do as quickly as possible. Then she would know what to do next.

If the third was not the alpha, they'd have to go find that person, and if it was, then she needed to learn what he liked. Being an alpha wasn't his only personality trait, but he liked to pretend it was.

She sighed, wondering if he'd forgotten about her.

Thanks to her furs and underclothes, her skin wasn't all that dirty. Her face had been easy to clean with soap, and she'd already given her hair a good scrubbing with shampoo. Vix had to wait for the alpha for the rest, because if she had to try to detangle it herself, she'd rather just cut it all off.

But most males preferred long hair. It was the one thing Kenji had insisted she keep from her life as a human witch and occasionally, he'd get her charms to fix her hair, but she'd been avoiding him.

He worried too much.

Not that she didn't understand why. Kenji was sure she'd get herself killed hunting down angels and leaving all these bodies around.

It was dangerous and she had to be a special kind of crazy to leave mutilated angel bodies around in places where normal shifters could find them, but if her traps caught one inside territory lines, she usually moved the body to the fringes or up north where she didn't have as many issues with the packs.

Only a few prides and they were comprised of the kinds of cats and foxes this alpha wouldn't particularly like.

Apex predators had a bit of a complex, just like witches. It was weird, and Vix didn't think she'd ever really get it. Finding out some of her magic was ‘dark' was what had forced her out of Vancouver. The witches there had freaked .

Seattle had been much better for her since it was an unclaimed city – free from the usual politics. Chaos ruled in that place. It was where even a demon could run an organization, and witches did whatever they wanted…she'd seen enough variety to enjoy it until she'd seen him .

Did he even know what he was?

Sometimes Vix thought about going back there and finding him, maybe talking to him…but what would she even say? She didn't remember anything really. If she thought about it too much, all the tiny shards she was desperately holding on to would dissolve under her skin to become nothing, just like her.

Trailing her fingers through the water, she finally heard footsteps and closed her eyes.

Vix had almost given up, but apparently he hadn't forgotten her. That shouldn't affect her as much as it did, but she'd always been easily swayed by devoted companionship.

The alpha opened the door and then closed it behind him gently. She listened to his heart and bit her cheek to keep from smiling when she heard it skip a beat before thumping a little harder than before.

When he sat near the edge of the cavernous bath, he said nothing. Vix let his scent of frozen hibiscus and red ginger wash over her, mixing perfectly with the dark note of alpha and a hint of his tiger's icy wildness.

She opened her eyes when she heard him set something down, and Vix felt her heart thumping hard when she saw he'd removed his shirt completely.

Well, that wasn't fair.

This winter tiger was so pretty he was difficult to look at, but not in the same way it hurt to look at an angel. No, he was just so… tempting . There was a draw to him that whispered she should get a little closer, maybe taste his skin before scenting him for the mate bond.

Her eyes strayed to his dark nipples and Vix felt a wild thrill go through her as she studied the hard planes of his bare chest and the way his necklaces looked against his dusky skin. Those massive shoulders curved forward, and a strong arm rested over his knee as he waited…

What was he waiting for?

Vix slid her gaze up to those jade-green eyes and forced herself not to freak out. These green eyes were not the same as the ones that haunted her nightmares.

For some reason, the lack of a shirt made him look…untamed. Such a small change, but Vix could see exactly how dangerous he was even if his posture and appearance told her she should trust him, that he was too pretty to be a threat.

His beauty only made her more wary, but in the same way she was wary of the other two. Whatever monsters they were hiding from her…Vix's curiosity had always gotten her into trouble, but their dangerous parts made them even more interesting, more…

Delicious.

"You have magic carved into your skin," he said, so quietly she almost thought she'd dreamed those words.

She sank deeper into the water so it lapped against her chin. "Yes."

His tiger made his eyes flash gold, but she just smiled, knowing there were many things he wouldn't like and this was the least of them.

"Why?"

Why had she carved those glyphs and runes into her skin? Vix wrinkled her nose as she tried to remember, but it felt like grabbing at mist and fog. "Seemed like a good idea."

He tilted his head slightly as he absorbed that and then started untying his boots.

Suddenly, she felt nervous but not enough to ask why he was doing that.

Had her answer disappointed him?

Vix tugged on a chunk of her hair, pulling pieces apart as she tried to get a read on him, but he was more human than tiger right now – even more than before and it was nearly impossible for her to understand human motives.

"I stole things," she whispered, pulling another section of hair apart so she had something to look at other than him. "Things I wasn't supposed to keep."

The alpha didn't stop though. He pulled his boots off and set them aside before reaching for his wool socks.

It made her unreasonably anxious.

She licked her lips and glanced over when he pulled them off one at a time, so meticulous and precise as he placed them in his boots.

"I had to hide what I stole somewhere," she tried to explain, running her fingers over the runes that went down her left arm. Some of them were lined up perfectly, and others were placed strategically over energy points. "I hid secrets in my skin so he couldn't take those too."

Secrets even she didn't know.

Her body remembered what she couldn't.

Vix rubbed her temples when a throbbing pain started behind her eyes.

"Do you know anything about memory magic?" she asked.

"A bit."

She jolted when he reached over to unplug something, making the water disappear so fast she dug her claws into the rock so it didn't suck her down with it. The alpha didn't say anything as he waited until it was all gone before plugging it up and turning the faucet back on.

Usually, the water she bathed in was just shy of frozen, but this water was a lot hotter than even Mylo had made it. Vix winced when it hit her skin and she forced herself to bear it.

"Ravens can alter memories," the alpha told her, but not like he was saying it because she didn't know, more like he wanted to tell her what he knew.

It was a nice change, and Vix watched as he picked up one of the glass bottles and poured some oil into the water that smelled like tropical fruit, apples, and bergamot mixed with cardamom and saffron. It was a complex scent and warm with a hint of spice. Despite that, it didn't overwhelm her shifter senses.

"Some witches can alter memories as well." The alpha beckoned her closer with an outstretched hand, his eyes on her face. They didn't stray even once. "Why do you ask?"

"Memory magic scrambles the brain," Vix explained, waving her fingers around her head like that would somehow help him see what only a raven could. "Or maybe the mind, not the brain? Anyways, if too much is taken, or the altered memories don't sit right…"

She trailed off when she saw he was still waiting for her to take his hand. Vix walked toward him, the water up to her knees now. The scent clung to her skin too and she kind of liked that even if it didn't have the smell of winter to tell everyone she'd been carved from ice.

When she got close enough, Vix hesitated.

She stared at his hand with all that silver on it and wondered why he needed her to take it.

"I can take off my rings," he offered, his deep voice practically vibrating through her flesh and bones even if the words were quiet.

The sound of that delicious voice definitely made her feel a way. The strange inflection he'd used before hadn't returned and it no longer tasted like lies but something far more seductive.

Carefully, she set her hand in his, ensuring her claws didn't accidentally snag his skin. If she made him bleed, she might just claim him without his consent.

"You don't need to take them off," she said, letting him pull her closer until she could feel the heat of his skin, but she didn't dare touch more than he'd offered. "Pain can be comforting, and I don't want to take that away from you."

The strangest thing happened then.

His endless pumping—thumping…it stopped.