Wyrd Calling (Wyrd Bound Book 1) by Shen Hart Read Free Book Online

for his jugular. It took me a very long time to learn how to maintain the physical attributes from one aspect and the personality of another. It was, however, a handy skill at times, particularly given the comfort I took from having my jaguar tail shifted to twitch and curl up in.
    I found myself flexing my fingers and sheathing and unsheathing my claws. After what felt like an agonising eternity I looked at him with my lips pursed and my muscles braced for a fight. His icy blue eyes darkened slightly as he looked down and away, his hands fidgeting in his lap. I'd never seen him fidget before.  
    He inhaled through his nose and straightened his back before he painted a false smile on his face and said, "We're going to be living together. We have a pack. We can't be at each other's throats.”
    A growl rumbled in the back of my throat as my teeth began to sharpen. "You were the one who wronged me. You have no right to show me any sign of aggression."
    He nodded and looked away again, his hands refusing to be still and his shoulders sagging. What had happened to him? He was strong, calm. He had never been like this. I curled my lip; he'd most likely been broken by some lover or another. I took a deep breath and tried to calm the broiling rage within me. I was back in my role now. I had to be calm and focused. Calm. And focused.  
    He nodded and simply said, "I know, but we must at least show a united front. They put us here, together, for a reason."
    It fell out before I had a chance to even fully form the thought, "Sadism, my dear."
    I looked away feeling a blush of shame. That was too much. He gritted his teeth and bit back his own words as he closed his eyes for a long moment.  
    "You know that isn't true. Our past isn't pretty, but it is the past. We must move forward."
    I ran the words through my mind, but the image of those damn Sisters refused to leave me. Eventually, I relented and accepted that this was all part of it. Perhaps it was punishment for running away in the first place.  
    "So, what's the plan for those cubs then?"
    A small glimmer of his familiar spark returned to his eyes as he leapt on the new topic.
    "They've been through some training, they can do well enough. They've never been in a pack before, so they need to learn about that, but otherwise we'll see what happens, I suppose."
    I hated that concept. I needed to be prepared, and they knew I needed people around me that I could trust. I knew nothing about those cubs, yet I was expected to live with them, to trust them with my secrets and potentially my life. I muttered under my breath at the Wyrd Sisters again. If they popped up any time soon, I'd be giving them a piece of my mind.  
    "So, you know them? You've trained them...?"
    He nodded. "They were dropped in my lap a couple of months ago. I'd been given word that you were up to your old tricks on the black market, but the time wasn't right to bring you back."
    His eyes looked damp before he looked away and stood, taking a breath before he continued, "I sent them off to find you, actually. I didn't know if the Sisters were sending you back here, to me, to this, or if I was supposed to retrieve you."
    I stretched and laughed to myself. "They found me. Not that they knew it was me."
    Alex tilted his head and looked at me before he shrugged. "It's done now. You're here."
    I stretched and wriggled a little, enjoying the feeling of my muscles releasing and the soft bedding beneath me. That familiar smile sat on Alex's lips, but it never reached his eyes. Some part of me felt a touch of pain at that. The jaguar merely laughed. I sat up and looked around the room a little more closely. There were wardrobes and plenty of floorspace, should I feel the need for it. Lots of storage in the form of chests of drawers, too, and yet, not one single personal touch. There was no art, no trinkets, nothing. It was a blank canvas, and I didn't like it. I shrugged to myself and focused on the task at hand, which in