Instinct by LeTeisha Newton Read Free Book Online Page A

disconcerting. Despite her job—make that former job—Siren wasn’t comfortable being the center of attention. She’d learned that too much attention could prove deadly. She was sure they all wondered who she could be so near to the Primus of all Sensers.
    A bellhop escorted them to an elevator, and they rode up in silence. When the doors opened, Leia and Oron stepped out, while the bellhop held the doors open.
    “We’ll meet you for dinner. I’m sure there is much to…discuss,” Oron said then, saluting the couple before leaving.
    “If you need me, call,” Leia said, and Siren was surprised to see the redhead was speaking to her.
    “Okay,” she whispered as the doors closed.
    “My sister will take you under her wing. There will be much you need to learn as my mate. I rule these people, and they will expect much from you.”
    “Aren’t you happy?” she grumbled, some of her spirit sparking.
    “Yes,” he said then, and her gaze jumped to his face. She couldn’t discern any sense of sarcasm in his tone or features, but she couldn’t trust that. She had felt his immediate denial when he realized she was human.
    The doors slid open once more, and Xavier escorted her out into a large room colored in slate and navy. It was inviting, to say the least, and screamed money. In the center of the room, sitting on a plush blue couch, was one of the most dazzling women Siren had ever seen. Her platinum locks swirled around her as if trapped in water, her violet eyes crackled with power, and her features were striking, all soft lines and pale skin. Her full lips split into a welcoming smile as she stood.
    “Oracle Mother,” Xavier greeted, smiling warmly.
    “You are home,” the woman whispered, her voice carrying as if on the wind. Her startled eyes shifted to Siren.
    “Welcome, mate of a child of my lines. I am Josephine.” She bowed slightly, and Siren was at a loss of how to respond. All this was surreal to her. She felt completely out of her element.
    She backed out of Xavier’s arms feeling like she was someone else. Where was the woman who’d fought Dirk tooth and nail? Where was her pride? Was she just going to be a captive once more? It may be a gilded cage now, but it was still a cage.
    “No,” Siren whispered fiercely, her eyes searching for some way out.
    She couldn’t do this. Didn’t want to do this. Xavier couldn’t act like he was suddenly happy that she was his mate. She’d felt his hatred, his anger. Rage welled up in her as she spun on him.
    “This is all a mistake. I thank you for freeing me from Dirk, but I can’t do this. I told you not to mark me. I cannot be the mate you want.”
    “You may be human, but we cannot deny the connection. We will find a way. We don’t have a choice,” Xavier returned.
    “I have never had a choice, since the day I was born. I will now,” she promised. She repeatedly pressed the button to call the elevator as Xavier stalked toward her, displeasure marring his features.
    “Do not mistake my kindness for weakness. You are my mate, and you are not going anywhere,” he growled.

Chapter Twelve
    “Xavier,” Josephine said as she moved past him, “leave us.”
    Xavier froze in front of Siren, so close she could smell his musk. A pity the scent brought moisture between her thighs. She shifted when his nostrils flared, and she knew that he could smell her arousal.
    “It’s the heat,” she said to him, denying him.
    “Whatever it is, it makes you mine. Never forget that.”
    The elevator dinged behind her, and Xavier brushed past her. Once the doors closed, Josephine walked back to the couch and beckoned Siren to follow her.
    “I think I’m fine where I am.”
    “When I became an Oracle, I never would have dreamed the future I would have. The Fates scoured the lands for the most perfect of maidens to be their conduits to man. In that time, the gods walked the earth, and humans were so very different. I was frightened, but not as terrified as the