23. Samuel

Chapter 23

Samuel

S amuel ignored the sounds coming from Mylo and Rune's bedroom as much as possible but it was…difficult.

He sighed and readjusted his rock-hard cock so it was tucked up into the waistband of his pants. The shirt he wore was one of Rune's so it covered what his pants couldn't.

What was even worse, though, was he couldn't stop fucking thinking about the way she'd kissed him, knowing he could have been the one getting her to make those noises if he'd given in.

It could have stayed chaste. He could have let her keep it simple with that slight brush of her lips against his, but when she'd pulled back to look at him with this overwhelming fear that he'd reject her…

His tiger hadn't been able to stand it.

Especially after washing her hair while she'd been wearing nothing but her skin.

As a shifter, he'd never really cared about nudity or modesty. It didn't matter to him and never had. But her? Jesus fucking Christ. He'd been on edge ever since she'd asked him to help her, and going in that bathroom had been just as bad as he'd expected.

It wasn't just that she was breathtakingly beautiful, or that she was curvy and feminine – delicate even. No, he'd been bewitched by all her scars and strength as well as the glowing runes on her shoulder that looked jarringly familiar and yet not.

Vix had been born to torment and tease him.

The way she reached for him was so much worse than just looking at her body too. How she called him alpha in that soft, raspy voice and the way he'd looked into her eyes and seen just how sad she was all the time, even when she was smiling or laughing.

Her mysterious grief had enthralled him, and his body—his tiger …he'd wanted to taste the melancholy emotions on her tongue and erase them with his essence just like his scent on her skin hid the fact that she had none.

All the gods, the taste of her…

For some reason, it made him think of lightning tearing across a night sky. There was a sweetness to it as well that reminded him of rich vanilla which mixed perfectly with so many flavors.

Running his hand over his face made the silver sting his skin, but he didn't care, not when he'd nearly fucked her right there on the bathroom floor.

Hearing Mylo fucking her now was almost more than he could take.

All he could think about was the heat of her on his cock through his pants, the way she'd snarled softly when he'd slid his tongue in her mouth, pressing into him like she couldn't get enough, not even flinching when all his silver burned her…

Samuel yanked open every drawer in the kitchen until he found the stash of mint candies Morgan had made for him. He shoved two in his mouth and let the magic erase the taste of her from his mouth, clearing his nose of the lingering scents too.

Just because his tiger wanted Vix more than he'd wanted anyone ever , that didn't mean he should claim her before he knew what the fuck was going on.

What he'd learned while working on her hair was more than a little disturbing.

Their mate had been named Gabriel's warrior. As in the fucking archangel.

It infuriated him that the bastard owned her when she belonged to Rune, Mylo, and Samuel.

He'd get that fucking name back if it was the last thing he did.

Shit .

What the hell was he even thinking? Why the fuck did he care what name she used?

He sighed and tried to remind himself this was what he'd been hoping for, that this was working.

Kind of.

Prowling through the house, he buried down all his hunger, frustration, and anger as far as he could. Samuel didn't want that raven confirming what his aura would no doubt tell her anyway.

Maybe Rune was right. Maybe he should have told the assassin to leave, but Morgan had been weirdly distraught when he'd asked why she'd brought a fucking raven into his house. The damn girl wasn't even fucking her.

It made no sense.

On the first floor were the guest rooms, the study he shared with Rune and Mylo, their pantry, kitchen, mudroom, and a large family room. It wasn't as big as his place back in San Francisco, but it was nice. He preferred it actually.

This spacious house in the middle of nowhere had been a place to escape to – a place where he didn't have to worry about all the curious eyes in his pride. There weren't any people living close enough either for him to worry about Mylo and Rune getting free from the cage and slaughtering them all before Samuel could catch them.

He'd even made a few additions after buying it – a witch's workroom for Morgan.

And Selene Kavanagh.

Samuel was one of the few shifters who worked regularly with witches and it was in his best interest to make sure they had everything they needed – that they were comfortable.

The witch's workspace he had added on was even larger than his study and took up almost the entire back half of the house. It connected to the greenhouse, the library, and the small house he'd built for anyone that wouldn't be comfortable sleeping under the same roof as tiger shifters.

Morgan used it the most since Selene preferred to stay in his actual house, which had honestly surprised him the first time she'd visited, especially since she was a high-society clan witch.

Standing just outside the workroom, he breathed in the smell of Morgan's dark magic, her unique scent, the raven's, and then all the books and supplies he'd made sure this place had. A lot of the harder to acquire books were kept here where it was safer.

Where sticky fox paws wouldn't steal from him.

Though, if Selene ever brought her sister, he would have an entire house full of foxes. Samuel pushed that thought away before his headache turned into a migraine.

As far as he was aware, this workroom was still spelled to keep out thoughts. It made sense when Morgan was so sensitive. Especially with…

A soft, feminine moan had his claws sliding out of his human nails against his will.

Samuel shook his head and refocused on the witch inside the workroom who was reading something that looked old and expensive, something that wasn't his. He buried down the sudden irritation that his curated collection wasn't good enough for her and cleared his throat.

There was no way she didn't know he was there, but Morgan turned her page and ignored him. Valentina smirked as she scrolled through her phone, one hand resting on Morgan's legs that were currently thrown over the raven's lap.

"Did you sleep well, witchling?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the doorframe.

"It was a pleasant nap until Mylo's and Rune's thoughts polluted my dreams." Morgan closed the book and rested her elbow on the arm of the couch, propping her chin on her hand. "Is it working?"

His gaze dropped to the book and Samuel made a note of the title. "Rune cooked for the first time in two years, so I suppose."

"Why don't you sound convinced?"

Her scent and pulse told him nothing. It was aggravating how good she was at hiding shit when she wanted to. Even her voice was steady, bored almost.

Which meant there was something very wrong, and she didn't want him to find out about it.

"You saw when we found her, right?"

Her long nails tapped the book like she was trying to figure out what to tell him. "I watched everything up until you started the run back."

"And?"

Morgan sighed and looked down at her book, tracing the words in Helltongue. "What exactly are you asking me?"

"You woke up while she was still asleep. Did you walk her dreams?" Samuel tapped his arm, eyes narrowing when her complexion seemed to pale. "What was she thinking when she woke up with Mylo in bed with her?"

"I don't know."

His arms dropped to his sides in disbelief. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I may be one of the most powerful witches of my generation, but even I have checks and balances," Morgan told him as she rubbed at the gold leaf on the book, staring at it like it would make him disappear. "I can't see her past or her future. I can barely see her now. When you told me she was asleep, I tried to walk her dreams, but there was nothing for me to walk. I thought maybe…maybe she didn't dream?"

Samuel eyed the raven, but Valentina was pretending like she couldn't hear them, which he supposed was better than her commenting on his business.

"Then when I heard Mylo, it was like listening to a one-sided conversation. He wasn't shielding like he normally does, and I heard everything. But her? There was nothing even though Valentina assured me she was speaking."

It was exhausting to watch how quickly Valentina typed out her text messages – like she was a teenager talking to their crush, but her expression never changed. Why he even cared, he didn't know. It was just easier than trying to figure out why his mate was a fucking blind spot for someone as powerful as Morgan Lai Fay.

Running his hand through his hair, he wondered what he should tell the witch. None of it was really anything she could help with, especially if she couldn't read Vix's mind.

Helping her retrieve her memories probably wouldn't work either, but what did he know?

Samuel would have said he was one of the most educated shifters when it came to the subject of magic, but now he wasn't so sure.

"Can you sense what kind of witch she is?" he asked, deciding to start with something safe.

"Maybe if I see or feel her use her witch magic, but so far I've only sensed shifter magic." Morgan finally looked at him. She seemed nervous, almost like she expected him to be furious with her. "She doesn't exude magic like most witches. Can you smell anything distinct about it?"

"I can't smell her at all," he snarled softly, still staring at the book so Morgan didn't think he was angry with her. "She wears no magic and yet she has no scent. Her body is covered with scars just like that Kavanagh witch."

The raven turned her head slowly to look at him, and Samuel couldn't say he was pleased about it. "I don't think I know that witch."

"You wouldn't, no." He entered the workroom and leaned against one of the massive tables so he could face them. Tucking his hands in his pockets, he wondered if the raven would be more forthcoming with Morgan awake. "Mackenzie Kavanagh is a high-society clan witch who was born without magic, or so all the witches had thought. The coven and her clan tried to get her magic to manifest by carving runes of power into her flesh. They're all over her body."

It was always fascinating to see how ravens responded to information without a single drop of emotion. Valentina didn't seem horrified at all. She simply tilted her head as she considered that.

"Kavanagh?" Valentina's eyes narrowed then, and she tapped her phone furiously. When it buzzed in response she tsk ed. "I know of the Kavanaghs, but only because Hunter Kavanagh possesses a raven's blood token."

He briefly closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying not to wonder why the fuck that fox would possess something so incredibly rare and valuable.

"Ironically, that token belongs to one of the ravens from my partner's old collective, which means the witch you're talking about is mated to a scavenger." Valentina looked up from her phone and eyed him like she just knew how much that would bother him.

"Three scavengers," Morgan corrected, her thumb spinning her silver ring as she seemed to stare right through him. "Hunter is part of a triad of foxes who stole from Samuel a while ago. Kenzie seems to be managing them well though."

She was, but that didn't mean he wanted to deal with those three more than he had to. They were always trouble in one way or another and honestly, Samuel didn't give a fuck what they did as long as they didn't make problems for him or his pride.

"Regardless, Kenzie is a void witch," he explained to Valentina. "A class so rare no one even thought that was a possibility when her magic never manifested, so she was labeled as ‘the witch who is not a witch' until she discovered her true abilities. I'm not convinced that the woman who's supposed to be our mate wasn't tortured by someone putting those runes and glyphs all over her skin, just like Kenzie, even if she insists she put them there herself – that she wanted them."

Morgan considered that, and he honestly had no idea what either of these two were thinking. It was fucking annoying. Why was Vix somehow easier to read despite her lack of scent? She was more expressive than these two, he supposed.

This really shouldn't be bothering him.

"You keep saying runes and glyphs," Morgan pointed out, her head tilting slightly. "Why is that?"

"Because those are the words she used." Samuel tried not to snap at her, but he was losing his patience. "Some are nothing like any of the runes or sigils I've seen witches use. Especially the ones on her shoulder or the back of her hand."

"‘Glyph' is not a word witches use," Morgan muttered, dropping her gaze to the book again. "It's usually used to describe very powerful symbolic magic similar to the kind the fae use. Helltongue uses a similar system and so do angels, though I don't know what language they use. I honestly don't know anyone who's seen an angel glyph outside the fallen."

The memory of that burning magic leaving frost on his shirt was still extremely unpleasant. "You saw her using it though, didn't you?"

"I could only see you three since I wasn't able to tap into the magic of the mate bond without one of you here," Morgan admitted, making that uneasy feeling he'd had in that clearing a thousand times worse. "I couldn't see what she was doing or saying."

Well then.

This was so much worse than he'd anticipated.