The Moon, the Madness, and the Magic by Eliza March Read Free Book Online Page A

that beings were nothing but pawns, a means to fulfill the end.
    Sadly, what didn’t matter to fate she was certain mattered to the two men staring expectantly up at her.
    Her pulse raced. The man who would have to accept her as his mate glared up at her, barely masking his wary curiosity. He knew something was up. Her heart ached knowing what the future held for Rourke.
    Unfortunately, fate never gave anyone choices.
    All fears aside, when Rourke discovered what his surrogate father had done, Celeste prayed he didn’t kill the messenger.
    In defense against the open animosity she read on his face, she allowed all her virtues to climb to the surface. The hell with playing fair. She’d use the arsenal at her disposal.
    Not human.
    The Council told me he’s part human and male enough to recognize your assets. Rise up and show yourself.
    He was less affected by her glamour than Dane had been, but affected he was nonetheless. Her succubus was very talented for a novice. What Celeste didn’t see affect him, she felt. That other connection he fought, the unerring mate bond between them, was too strong to deny. She recognized the pull in the air and yet knew he’d resent it.
    She resented wanting him, too. The emotions she felt confused her.
    He wouldn’t fall easily into destiny’s trap. Good for him. She didn’t want him to be easy.
    She drew on her power. What kind of fae succubus couldn’t affect a part-human male?
    He squared his shoulders as his eyes locked with hers, looking slightly confused but stoic in his stance against her.
    Transfixed on his face, her gaze melted into his, and mixed feelings swirled within her, almost overwhelming her. He was hard and commanding, and she wasn’t sure she would bend to his will. She had been a powerful force unto herself until now and bound to grow stronger. Yet she couldn’t bear to think he’d approach their union as if he’d been compelled to it.
    Lonely. Empty. Needing. Wanting.
    I know. He’s here now. She sympathized with her inner soul, and yet her emotions were embroiled, good sense with lust. She didn’t fully understand why, but she resented his resistance to her.
    Finally. It was about time he returned to take his rightful place. Damn well time he claimed her.
    Perhaps she gave away too much. Perhaps she revealed her inner feelings in her expression.
    His jaw clenched, and she knew she’d been right. Great, he was already defensive, and she still had to convince him that his destiny was bound to hers, no matter what their own thoughts were on the subject.
    After watching his heated expression grow cold staring her down, she began to believe persuading Rourke to leave the corporate world behind would be far easier than convincing him to accept her as his mate.
    Not you. Us. And him, the succubus clarified.
    Him? Dane? A ménage? Hmm, maybe there is hope.
    Then the beast’s heated, silver haze flickered in Rourke’s brown eyes for a moment, supporting the Council’s theory and sending a frisson of concern through Celeste. Once he started to experience his first shift, especially now with his impending change, he’d take her just because the beast within him would demand it. That didn’t mean he had to like it or her.
    Even she felt the pull of the Beltane magic here and now in the bright light of day. The time of the full moon drew closer.
    She tilted her head, angling a soft, understanding smile at him, hoping to ease the strain of this first encounter. Rourke Grayland, fifth-generation shifter, was heir to the greatest seat of power over the lightest and darkest elemental beings of the known worlds, all the Others of the Lore, and Celeste was his balance, his destined mate.
    I am for you, Rourke Grayland.

    * * * *

    Until a few minutes ago, when he’d seen the blonde watching him, he hadn’t known he could be this attracted to anyone. The pull from her on every level was so strong it frightened him. After being wound too tight for so long, he could sure