Magic Rises

couldn’t possibly be buying this crock of bullshit. The man who manipulated seven different sets of alpha personalities on a daily basis couldn’t possibly be this stupid.
    “It must be lonely sometimes.”
    “It is,” Curran said.
    He was lonely. We had been together almost 24/7 for the past two months, yet he was lonely. When in the bloody hell did he have a chance to be lonely, exactly?
    “It gets to be too much sometimes for one person. I understand,” Lorelei continued. “After my mother left my father, I had to go with her, and I didn’t really have a choice. I miss my father. I miss being somebody. In Belgium, because of my uncle, my mother and I aren’t permitted to actually do anything in the pack. You can’t imagine what it’s like to be aware every minute that you are a guest and you must think over every word that comes out of your mouth. I would give anything for a place where I belong. Sometimes I wish I could sprout wings and just fly away. Just be gone to someplace better. Some place where I matter.”
    She fell silent.
    “I’m sorry it happened to you,” Curran said. “Sounds like you feel trapped and alone.”
    “I do. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to heap my problems on you.”
    “It’s alright.”
    “No, it’s not.” Lorelei sighed. “Sometimes I just feel like I have nobody to talk to. At least no one who understands me. I’m sure you know how that feels. Your mate is human. There are some things that she simply can’t understand.”
    I fought to keep from grinding my teeth.
    “We are different,” Curran said.
    Yeah, those differences didn’t bother you until now, jackass.
    “I’m sorry she couldn’t be with you and share in the thrill of bringing down the prey after a long hunt. It is such a rush to hunt next to your mate. You are so selfless to give up that joy. I don’t know if I could do that.”
    Oh, give me a break.
    “We all must make sacrifices. Hunting with my mate is just one of the things I can’t do.”
    The way he said it, with deep profound regret, stabbed me straight in the chest.
    “Perhaps she could become a shapeshifter?”
    “She is immune,” Curran said.
    Lorelei inhaled sharply. “So you gave up half of your life for her? I’m so sorry. What if her children are born human?”
    You bitch.
    “Then I will deal with it.” He sounded cold like a glacier.
    My chest hurt. The world gained a slight red tint. I concentrated on breathing. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale.
    “I shouldn’t have mentioned it. It’s just that she’s so much more fragile than we are. Humans die of disease. They’re weaker and easily hurt. If her children are born human, they would inherit her weakness . . . You shouldn’t have to give up your . . . I’m sorry. Forget I said anything.”
    Exhale. Inhale.
    “I appreciate your kindness. It’s about time for us to go back,” Curran said. “I will be missed.”
    Exhale.
    “Of course.”
    A door thumped closed. Hugh shook his head. “I wasn’t sure before, but now I know—the man is an idiot.”
    The pain sat in my chest, hot and solid. “Don’t say it.”
    “He’s a man of limited vision, Kate. All he cares about is the immediate: she’s telling him that you can’t hunt with him, you don’t grow fur, and he isn’t defending you. Sweet gods, your children might be human. The horror. He hasn’t even considered what it means to have you on his side long-term. You handed him a priceless red diamond and he’s reaching for glass beads because they are bigger and flashier.”
    “It’s none of your business.” This was it. This was his angle. Separate me from Curran and present himself as a better alternative. Hugh was playing me. I was walking along the edge of a cliff and needed to be sharp or I’d plunge down, but the red mist in my head was making it hard to concentrate.
    “There are dozens of girls like Lorelei. They think they are special because they were born shapeshifters and they are cute and spoiled. They expect the world to bend for them.” Hugh pointed toward the hall. “I can go in there right now, ask for one, and by morning I’ll have ten just like her. You are special, Kate. You were born special, and then you passed through Voron’s crucible, and you’ve excelled. Curran can’t see it. There is an old word for it: unworthy.”
    “Will you be quiet?” I ground out.
    He kept talking, never raising his voice, his tone reasonable but insistent. “I work with shapeshifters. I know