Before anyone can ask me how I know this, I add, “For witches and several other supernaturals, the new moon represents not just literal darkness but secrecy, obscurity, mystery, and confusion. It’s when witches are likeliest to perform illicit spells and forbidden magic. It’s the one night every lunar cycle when dark magic carries the most power.”
For a long moment, the room stays quiet.
Finally, Vincent lets out a long sigh and reaches into his pocket. He fishes out two vials of truth serum.
“Before we discuss anything further,” the alpha says, “I want you both to drink this so I can confirm the truthfulness of your words.”
I bite back a groan, but when he tosses the vial to me, I readily unstopper it and drink the thing down, wincing at the taste.
Memnon catches the vial lobbed at him, but he just stares at it. I can already tell he’s going to resist the alpha’s commands.
“Memnon.”
The sorcerer looks at me, the corner of his mouth curving up. He removes the cork then and holds it up.
“For you and only you,” he toasts to me, then he kicks the drink back.
The room is quiet as the potion takes effect. I can feel the magic winding around my windpipe and coating my tongue.
“Is everything you told me about the auction and the murders true?” Vincent asks me.
“To the best of my knowledge, yes,” I say.
His gaze shifts to Memnon. “Did she tell the truth?” Vincent asks.
“As she knows it, yes,” Memnon says.
“As she knows it,” Vincent echoes. “And how do you know it?”
Memnon and Vincent stare one another down.
Next to me, Kane rotates, his eyes fixed on my face.
“How did you get this information?” he asks me. What he really wants to know is what happened last night.
I blow out a breath, even as my stomach turns over. That earlier strength I felt is slipping…
You are the strongest person I know, est amage, Memnon says. Take your time. I am here.
I draw a deep breath. “The same woman who tried to bond Cara came for me last night—after the bonfire. Her name is Juliana Fortuna, daughter of Luca Fortuna. She…forced me to bond with her.”
The room is unnaturally quiet for several seconds.
“What?” Kane finally says. His voice has gone deep and gravelly. “You mean to tell me that if you had left the beach with me, this would not have happened?”
Memnon sits forward a little. “What’s this now?” His magic is beginning to unfurl out of him. He hasn’t heard about what happened between me and Kane last night because it wasn’t important. I didn’t realize we were going to have a clash over it.
“Are you still bonded to this Juliana?” the alpha cuts in.
“No,” Memnon cuts in. “I killed the sorceress.”
It’s quiet again, and I imagine Vincent, Apani, Kane, and the pack beta, Irene, are all putting together what they might’ve seen on the news with this information.
Memnon’s gaze narrows on Kane. “By then, she had spent a good hour torturing my mate. I bound the woman to me, forced her to give up the information we just shared, and then I gave her the death she deserved.”
If I expected the shifters to be horrified by Memnon’s implied brutality, I assumed wrong. They all have a slightly feral look about them, but none seem disturbed by the information. If anything, they seem to be reconsidering him.
“An hour?” Kane says, his voice rough. Clearing his throat, he runs a hand over his mouth. “Shit, Selene…” When Kane looks at me again, there is so much pain in his eyes.
I shake my head. “I’m … fine.”
Hate that word, Memnon says down our bond.
To the rest of the room, I say, “Juliana’s death freed a number of supernaturals from their forced bonds, and it’s likely some of them will bring this information to the Politia. If you have a pack member working for the authorities, this is how you can verify our story.”
The room is quiet, almost thoughtful.
“You’re planning on attending the upcoming auction?” Vincent finally asks.
“Yes, we plan on stopping it,” Memnon says. My soul mate looks like he’s relishing the thought, and why wouldn’t he? It’s undoubtedly going to get messy and violent, and Memnon was raised for battle.
Kane looks between us, frowning. “Doing so could get you killed. Why don’t you just let the Politia handle this? If supernaturals are informing them of these forced bonds like you said, they might go after the sorcerers themselves.”
Memnon leans back in his seat. “If these newly unbonded supernaturals do report their experiences to the Politia, and if the Politia believe them, and if the department’s pockets are not too weighed down by Fortuna money, then perhaps they will go after this crime ring. The stars must align just so for those cursed authorities to do anything.”
“The sorcerer has a point, Kane,” Vincent says, his eyes flicking to the shifter sitting next to me. “It’s not clear the Politia will have enough evidence or time to stop the Fortunas before this auction, especially not when they’re likely pooling their resources to hunt down a mass murderer.” Vincent’s gaze moves pointedly to Memnon.
My mate narrows his eyes at the alpha, but before he can say anything, I cut in. “They’re taking my coven sisters.” There is a whole previous lifetime of steel in my voice. “And they’re taking your pack mates.”
Irene growls at my words. “We’re aware.”
I continue. “I’m not willing to risk another supernatural dying or getting bonded against their will because these monsters care more about money than human lives.”
Vincent clears his throat. “We must discuss this with the entire pack before we make a decision about our involvement in this,” the alpha says.
Memnon leans across the table, his entire demeanor going from relaxed to malevolent in two-point-five seconds. “You will not.”
The alpha growls, his eyes shifting. “Think twice, sorcerer, before you challenge me beneath my own roof.”
Memnon’s eyes begin to glow. “We’ve discussed this before: I will not let you put my soul mate at risk because you believe everyone has a right to know this classified information.” The alpha’s growl only deepens, but now Memnon rises, leaning his hands heavily on the table. “Do you want me to tell you how the sorceress broke my mate’s bones one by one? How I heard Selene’s screams through my bond before I could get there? These are not mild people. You do not have to involve your pack in this business, but you will not risk mine.”
The air is crackling with tension. What muscles I can see of the alpha’s are taut. Something is about to happen, unless I put a stop to it.
“Once the sorceress bonded me,” I say, interrupting the standoff, “Juliana commanded me to keep our bond a secret. She then ordered me to be loyal to her above all others.”
Vincent is still squaring off with Memnon, but the other shifters are listening to me, so I press on.
“So if you want to find the shifters who might be under forced bonds,” I continue, “give your pack mates a vial of truth serum and ask each one these questions: One, did you swear an oath to secrecy with someone outside the pack? And two, were you forced to do so against your will?” Vincent has reluctantly torn his gaze from Memnon. He too is now listening to me.