Chapter 106

Elijah

Last night was a mistake.

At least, that was what I kept telling myself as I sat in my study, staring blankly at the paperwork spread across my desk. The words blurred together, the numbers meaningless as my mind repeatedly wandered back to Agnes—her scent, her touch, the way she’d felt beneath me… around me.

My wolf stirred restlessly, a low growl rumbling in my chest as the memory of her warmth flooded my senses.

It wasn’t just the physical act, though that had been… incredible. It was the way she’d looked at me, her eyes dark with desire but also something deeper, something I couldn’t quite name. It was the way she’d whispered my name, and the way she’d clung to me afterward, her body pressed against mine as if she never wanted to let go.

And I didn’t want her to.

But that was the problem.

I shouldn’t have let it happen. I shouldn’t have given in to the temptation, no matter how sweet it was. Because now, all I could think about was doing it again. And again. And again.

My wolf, for his part, was utterly restless. He urged me to go to her, to claim her, to make her ours in every way possible. But I couldn’t. Not with Olivia still marked, still tied to me in a way that made my stomach churn every time I thought about it.

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms as I tried to push the thoughts away. But it was no use. Agnes’s scent still lingered on my skin, in my hair, in the air around me, and it was driving me mad. I couldn’t focus, couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe without her invading my senses.

I needed to get out of here.

Grabbing my keys, I stormed out of the house, claiming that I had work to do at the office. Truthfully, I just couldn’t bear to be so close to Agnes all day, her scent overwhelming me.

I didn’t know where I was going, only that I needed to get some fresh air. So I drove.

The drive was a blur, the streets passing by in a haze as I tried to clear my head. But no matter how far I went, I couldn’t escape the pull of her, the way she seemed to have woven herself into every fiber of my being.

And then I saw it: a small, unassuming shop tucked between a bakery and a bookstore, its sign reading “Madame Celeste: Psychic Readings.”

I frowned, slowing the car to a crawl. I’d never paid much attention to places like that before, dismissing them as scams or nonsense. But something about it caught my eye, and I felt a strange pull that I couldn’t explain.

Before I knew what I was doing, I was pulling into the parking lot and climbing out of the car. The bell above the door jingled softly as I entered, the scent of incense and herbs filling the air.

The shop was dimly lit, the walls lined with shelves of crystals, candles, and jars filled with strange ingredients. A woman was sitting behind the counter, her dark hair streaked with silver.

She looked up as I entered, but didn’t look even the slightest bit surprised that the Alpha of Silvermoon had just walked into her shop.

“Welcome,” she said, standing from her chair. “I’ve been expecting you.”

I blinked. “Have you?”

She smiled. “You’re here for answers, aren’t you?”

I hesitated, suddenly feeling ridiculous. But something kept me rooted to the spot. “Maybe,” I finally said, crossing my arms over my chest. “What kind of answers can you give me?”

She gestured to a small table in the corner that had a deck of tarot cards sitting in the center. “Sit. Let’s see what the cards have to say.”

I hesitated for a moment longer before reluctantly taking a seat. “What’s your question?” she asked as she shuffled the deck.

I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly feeling very dry. “Is it possible… to have more than one fated mate?” I asked.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. “No,” she said after a moment. “There is only one fated mate for each person. But…”

“But?”

She tilted her head, considering for a moment, and then pulled one card from the deck. “I sense something strange about your bond. A tangle somewhere in the invisible red thread that connects you to your mate. As if it’s been… tampered with.”

With a flourish, she laid down the card right-side up. I leaned forward, furrowing my brow as I read the inscription beneath the image printed on the card: The Moon.

“The moon represents illusions, hidden truths,” the psychic explained, glancing at me. “And subconscious desires.”

I frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“There may be more to your situation than meets the eye,” the psychic went on, waving her hand. “Perhaps you shouldn’t trust everything you see, everything you’ve come to know. Perhaps someone has been lying to you.”

For a moment, I wasn’t sure what to say. It all sounded like nonsense, too vague to even make much sense. But as I thought back to Olivia and Agnes, I recalled the dream I’d had weeks ago.

“You were supposed to be mine,” Agnes had said in my dream. “But she took you from me.”

Was it possible that, somehow, my bond with Agnes had been tampered with in some way? Did it get muddled when she lost her wolf? Or did she lose her wolf because someone wanted to mess with our bond?

“And what about… a spell?” I asked suddenly. “A spell that could hide someone’s wolf?”

The psychic’s eyes widened slightly, a flicker of surprise crossing her face before she quickly masked it. “That’s… rare. And dangerous. But if such a spell exists, it would take a powerful witch to cast it—or break it.”

I swallowed hard, feeling even more ridiculous now. But I couldn’t help but ask, “Could you… help with that?”

She studied me for a long moment before nodding slowly. “Bring her to me. Let me see what I can do.”

I nodded, and with that I stood, the chair scraping against the floor. “Thank you.”

The psychic smiled, but when I handed her a wad of cash, she refused. “Trust your instincts, Elijah,” was all she said. “They’ll lead you where you need to go.”

I left the shop in a daze, the bell jingling softly behind me as I stepped back into the cool afternoon air. My mind was spinning, my thoughts a tangled mess as I tried to make sense of everything the psychic had just said.

None of it made sense. It sounded like hogwash, and yet… I glanced down at the cash in my hand, wondering why she might lie and then refuse payment.

I shook my head, running a hand through my hair as I leaned against my car. This was ridiculous. I was a grown man, an Alpha, and yet here I was, letting some psychic witch fill my head with nonsense.

Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something to her words. Something that resonated deep inside of me, in a place I couldn’t ignore any longer. My wolf stirred, too, restless and confused. He wanted Olivia, his mate.

And yet he wanted Agnes too, more than anything. More than Olivia. More than the bond that tied us together.

What was I supposed to do now? Bring Agnes to the witch? Try to release her wolf and see if some kind of mate bond sprang to life between us, even though I was mated to Olivia—and the mark on my neck was proof of that?

It felt like a long shot, and I felt like a fool for buying into any of this. But what other choice did I have?

I opened my eyes, staring up at the darkening sky as I made my decision. I would bring Agnes to the witch. I would see if there was any truth to her words.

And if there was…