- 8.
Gabriel was quiet all the way home. I set my
books down and perched on his lap, looping my
arms around his neck.
“What’s wrong?”
He focused on me, his gaze dropping to my
neck. His ears turned pink. “Elisabeth, if you don’t get off, I’m going to eat you. You smell too good.”
I laughed, pressing closer. The room grew warm, filled with the sounds of rain and
something else entirely. The marks on my back
<
tingled. A gasp escaped my lips. Gabriel kissed
the sensitive skin.
“They’re getting more vibrant,” he murmured.
“Like purple irises.”
Irises. Beautiful, but poisonous. Fitting for a
witch.
When we could finally speak again, the rain had
stopped. Moonlight illuminated Gabriel’s face.
His eyes were bright. “Elisabeth…”
I nuzzled his hair and asked again, “What was
that about earlier?”
“It’s Andrew. He’s having trouble shifting.”
“So? You can handle things.”
Gabriel was almost as strong as Andrew.
Andrew became alpha mostly because of my
father’s influence.
“But the pack trials are coming up.”
I snuggled closer, finally paying attention. “Already?”
The annual trials were how the alpha solidified his position.
“Winter’s close,” Gabriel worried. “If something
happens to Andrew at the trials, the rogues will
<
914
“Don’t worry. I’ve got this.” I smiled,
summoning a flicker of purple flame in my palm.
My witchcraft training had paid off. Gabriel
relaxed, pulling me back into bed. The night was young.
Time flew. Before the trials, we visited Tanya again. Her garden was bare, awaiting spring. She was weaker, confined to her chair. She looked at me, her eyes clear and bright.
“Little witch, it’s time. Go claim what is yours. I’ll be watching.”
The marks on my back were almost complete,
only one tendril left to bloom. I knew that after
the trials, Tanya would be gone.
I kissed her cheek. At the trial draw, the pack
fell silent when Gabriel and I arrived. The official
placed the red tokens before us.
“Alpha Gabriel, you face the Alpha first.
Elisabeth, you’re against Elsa.”
Elsa was the pack gamma. As the former
Alpha’s daughter, facing her was inevitable. I
signed the pre–trial agreement, a purple iris
<
flashing across my forehead. The official gaped.
“You…you’re…”
I smiled, putting a finger to my lips. “Shh. Not
yet.” At the trials, everyone would witness my
rebirth.
