Penance (Dark Alpha #5) by Alisa Woods Read Free Book Online Page A

ignored her and turned to Circe. “So, how is this going to work?”
    Circe’s earlier smiles had faded. In fact, every face had a grim look to it now, which Jak supposed was fitting for the funeral most of them knew this was about to be.
    “I’ll need DNA from both of you,” Circe said, beckoning Jak and Arianna with her long dagger-nailed fingers.
    “How’s that?” Jak asked. He really hoped they didn’t have to draw blood or do anything painful to Arianna. That might undo him.
    “Just a sample of your hair, you big baby,” Circe said, but her voice was gentle and teasing. She stepped up to them, her heels clacking on the concrete. Using two fingers, she plucked one of Arianna’s long black strands of hair, floating gently in the breeze. Then she reached for Jak’s head, but he stopped her, opting to yank out his own DNA sample for her. She twirled the two bits of hair and follicle-root into a small ball in the middle of her palm.
    Jak had seen Hecca, Circe’s sister, do something similar with the Sparks pack female, trying to force her to shift. He also remembered that being far from a painless encounter for the girl. He clasped Arianna’s hand tighter in his.
    “Is this going to hurt Arianna in any way?” Jak asked.
    Circe’s voice was cool. “It won’t be painful, so much as… uncomfortable. Her mate’s essence will not willingly leave.” She turned to Arianna, towering over her and boring a steady gaze into her eyes. “This is a dark art we are performing, Arianna. You have essentially two wolves inside your blood—yours and your mate’s. To extract one while leaving the other is a delicate thing… not unlike slicing out half of your soul while leaving the other half behind.”
    Arianna swallowed visibly. “Whatever it takes… is fine.”
    Jak could see her quivering. The witch was scaring her. “Circe.” He put warning in his voice.
    Circe threw him a sharp look. “Do you want this to succeed, little wolf?”
    He pressed his lips tight. She knew the answer to that.
    “It’s important for Arianna to understand what she will be facing,” Circe said carefully, but he got the message: Arianna had to be fully prepared for her side. Especially if she was going to be kept in the dark about Jak’s part.
    “Fine,” he said tightly.
    Circe turned her attention back to Arianna, whose eyes had gone wide. Circe’s voice softened. “The wolf essence of your mate will not want to leave. And your wolf will fight the separation as well. You must bring everything human that you have to this, Arianna. The part of you that wants to be free of your mate, that’s the part that needs to be strongest today. The spell will work… but there will be less, shall we say, damage, if you can lower your resistance to it and help force your mate’s essence away from you.”
    Arianna sucked in a breath. “What do you mean damage?”
    “It won’t be a physical thing… more of a psychological trauma. And your wolf… she will suffer the most from this. You need to let her know you’re doing it for her own best interest.”
    Jak had no idea how Arianna would do that, but she was nodding like she understood what Circe was talking about.
    “It may not be as hard as you think,” Arianna said with a soft smile and a peek at Jak. “My wolf has already submitted to Jak. She already believes he is our true mate. We both know it in our hearts.”
    The love on Arianna’s face nearly broke Jak’s heart.
    Circe smiled, tightly, and placed her hand sweetly on Arianna’s shoulder. “I’m sure that you do, dear.”
    Jak had to look away. They needed to do a whole lot less talking and get on with this, or he wasn’t going to make it through. As he was avoiding the love and hope on Arianna’s face—and her conviction that she and Jak were destined to be mates—his wandering gaze found Sarra’s face. And she was red in the face with fury.
    He whipped his gaze back to Circe. “We need to move this along.”
    She