The Captive Shifter (Magic of Claddare Book 1) by Veronica Scott

Author:Veronica Scott [Scott, Veronica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: No Publisher
Published: 2017-03-23T18:30:00+00:00

She forced herself to wait until well after midnight before she ventured to see Kyler. Fortunately he was alone and awake when she scratched at his door. Seated at his desk, surrounded by blazing oil lamps, he made intricate cuts on a new sculpture.

“No one sits to keep watch on you tonight?” she teased him as she came into the room.

“I appreciate small mercies.” He set aside his knife and the block of wood. “It’s too risky for you to come here. What if the queen or Bradana find out?”

She picked up a length of wood he’d rejected for some reason, passing the rough branch under her nose and sniffing the pine scent appreciatively. “What I have to relate is important enough to take a risk or two.”

Stretching his long legs and rolling his shoulders, he snorted derisively. “Important enough to risk your life?”

“I think so.” Setting the wood on the desk, she walked to the nearest chair and sat, afraid to touch him. One touch led to another, and that road led nowhere. “Your brother was here today, along with four other shapeshifters.”

Speechless, eyes wide, Kyler was as taken aback as if she’d shifted into a cat herself.

Pleased with his reaction, Caitlyn went on with her news. “Kellan told me this is the fourth year in a row they’ve ridden from the North, trying to get you released from the Witch Queen’s spell.”

He stabbed the carving knife into the desk and pushed his chair back, rising to pace the floor. “You’ve met my brother? You talked to Kellan? I can hardly believe this. The Pack actually came on my behalf?”

“Four years in a row,” Caitlyn repeated patiently. “Margred sends them away. Today she threatened to kill them if they venture south again.”

“Let her try,” Kyler said roughly. “Unlike me, they’re under no spell that would keep her safe from claws and fangs.”

Caitlyn laughed. “Yes, Kellan said the same thing. At any rate, I had a chance to talk to him briefly, once I convinced him I wasn’t a servant of Margred’s. We arranged for them to camp at our ledge by the stream, in hopes you can slip away and meet them there in the next day or two.”

Kyler didn’t instantly agree, which surprised Caitlyn. Instead he paced the room for several minutes, finally stopping in front of her. “I’m not sure I want to meet them,” he said.

“Why not?” She couldn’t keep herself from doing a double take at this unexpected answer. She’d thought he’d be thrilled.

He raised one hand to the golden collar but didn’t quite touch it, fingers trembling ever so slightly. “My packmates never saw me like this. I can’t bear to see contempt, or worse—pity—in their eyes.”

Immediate understanding brought a prickling to her eyes and she rushed into her answer. He wouldn’t welcome pity from her either. “Your brother loves you. His emotion was plain today when we were talking. He wants to see you; to be sure you’re doing all right. Being in their presence would be good for you, might help restore your energy.

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