Corrigan Magic (Corrigan: Blood Destiny Book 2) by Helen Harper Read Free Book Online Page B

fingernails but, when she launched a kick in my direction, I decided enough was enough, pushing her back against the wall.  I could feel her heartbeat hammering against her chest.  Ignoring her continued attempts to free herself, I ducked my head down, admiring her new look.  I much preferred her hair in its natural form, I decided, before scanning her pale features.  Despite Mack’s palpable tension, she looked none the worse for her self-imposed exile.  A few more freckles perhaps and faint bruised shadows under her eyes. I wondered if her sleepless nights had been because she was missing being amongst other shifters. 
    I moved my face closer to hers, feeling the exact moment that the tension in her body changed from the desire to bite and scratch me to something else entirely.  She exuded heat.  It was as if my skin was being scorched – although in a very, very good way.  My own body stirred again.  Screw it, I thought, dipping my head down even further.  I wanted to taste those sweet lips.
    The bedroom door swung open and Lance yelled in.  “My Lord Alpha!  There’s an intruder somewhere in the building, we need to…”
    I turned and snarled in his direction.  His face went pale.  “I’m sorry!  My Lord, I didn’t realise you … I’m sorry!”  He disappeared almost instantaneously.  It didn’t matter though.  I could already feel the change in Mack.  I silently – and rather violently – cursed the interruption.
    She cleared her throat.  “My Lord Alpha, I believe I mentioned earlier that I may have been exposed to some kind of, um, disease, on my way here.  I suggest you back away as it could very well be lethal.”
    I froze.  I’d thought she’d been in Scotland.  What if she’d been in Somerset too though?  Three shifters had already died.  I tightened my grip on her wrists and stared at her.  Was that why she had shadows under her eyes? “What kind of disease?”  There was an audible snarl in my voice that I seemed unable to prevent.
    Mack blinked as if surprised. “A terrible, terrible one.  It makes all your hair and teeth fall out and your skin turn green.” She widened her eyes and increased the melodrama and over-acting as relief began to flood through me. “Then it starts to attack your nervous system making you throw up violently.” She pointed down at the vomit she’d deposited on my floor after her arrival.  “As you see.  So you should stay away from me.  I’m sure it’s incredibly contagious.”
    “I’ll take my chances.” I adjusted my hold on her, moving my hands up to her arms so she was less like my prisoner and more like more equal.  Not that I was planning to let go of her any time soon of course.  “Now tell me where you’ve been, why you ran away and how you got here.  In that order.”
    “I’m a rogue, my Lord. I don’t have to answer to you anymore.”
    Her sarcastic emphasis on my title reminded me of old times. “Funny. I don’t think you ever answered to me, even when we first met.”  I needed to know the truth though.  Against my better judgment, I used my Voice to compel her. Tell me now. 
    She met my eyes.  “No.” 
    I felt a rush of sudden anger.  She’d smashed through my Voice once before and I’d put it down to adrenaline and the intensity of the situation.  To avoid my compulsion here and now meant that she really was no longer part of the Pack.  She really wasn’t mine.  I snapped one hand away and curled it round her throat. She was a shifter.  Shifters belonged with me. I wasn’t going to hurt her but I was very aware that every Lord Alpha in the past sometimes threatened violence was necessary to keep people toeing the line.  If I’d been thinking straight, of course, it would never have crossed my mind to try a move like that.  “Mackenzie,” I snarled, “you need to start talking before I rip it out of you.”
    Unfortunately, my mastery of the situation wasn’t as complete as I’d