Held In Contempt (Of Magic and Contempt Book 2) Read online

  “Did she? Well, good on her. At least someone is using their fucking brain around here,” she snapped.

  “She’s his mate,” Nick said quietly.

  Everyone turned to him, shocked.

  “He hasn’t said anything, but I’ve heard his dragon say it a couple of times. If his dragon claims it, it’s a foregone conclusion that he’s telling the truth. She’s his mate.”

  “She’s Asher’s too,” Trent said from the doorway. “I heard him telling Justin. She’s also mine.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Mrs Hardinger said. “Foxes don’t have fated mates.”

  Trent growled, long and loud, the sound impressive for a fox. When Ryan looked more closely, he could see that the fox’s normally golden iris was amber and the pupil a vertical slit. The beast was near the surface.

  “Kitsune do,” he growled, and then he shifted.

  If Ryan had thought his fox was large before, it was huge now. It had grown a third again, and the fur was darker, almost a chocolate brown, while his paws and the tips of his ears and tails were black.

  Wait. Tails?

  Ryan did a double check, and sure enough, instead of one tail behind him, Trent had three. What the hell was going on?

  “A kitsune,” Mrs Hardinger breathed. “Oh boy. When word of this gets out, they’ll try to take you from her. You’re rarer than hen’s teeth, young man.”

  The kitsune gave an odd chirping yip, looking pointedly at Nick, who just stared back at him.

  “Nick,” Ryan called, knowing what he wanted. He’d spent many an hour wishing that Nick could just hear when he wanted him to. “Throw open the link. He’s trying to talk to you.”

  Nick startled, and then Trent’s voice sounded in Ryan’s head. He translated aloud for Mrs Hardinger, as nobody else thought to.

  “They can think what they want, try what they want, but she’s my mate and I will settle for nothing less. Already our bond is stronger for the time we spent last night, and if my human had listened to me, she would bear our mark on her skin. He said we must wait, and I do not understand why. It is a human thing and I do not care for it. She is ours, and we will mark her,” Ryan said for Trent, who nodded his thanks in a regal manner.

  Little shit.

  Although, now that he’d changed, he was probably on par with Ryan’s wolf when it came to size.

  “I like the new getup,” Ryan said. “But I’ll miss the short orange fuzzball.”

  Trent snarled at him, but then suddenly appeared as the smaller orange fox, although still much larger than usual.

  We take whatever form pleases us, Trent said, although his voice was a little lighter.

  “Trent?” Ryan asked hesitantly. “Do you have two foxes in there?”

  He didn’t want to sound stupid, but there were slight differences in the way the two beasts carried themselves, and it wasn’t due to size alone.

  So, you are intelligent then, Trent responded.

  “Can all kitsune do that?” Mrs Hardinger asked.

  Trent regarded her coolly, before shifting back into his human form. Ryan was shocked to note that his clothes shifted with him. They hadn’t in the past.

  “Dude,” Ryan exclaimed, excited. “Do you have magic now? Or did you always have it?”

  Trent’s gaze flicked from one to the other of them, slightly panicked.

  “Trent,” Mrs Hardinger said. “If you want, I can spell us all to keep your secrets, so they cannot be forced from us. I’d give you my word that I wouldn’t tell a soul, but given what we saw here yesterday, I don’t know if I can promise that in surety now. I believe a witch like Georgia could pry such things from my unwilling mind.”

  Trent went utterly still. “Yes, if you could do that, I’d appreciate it. If you could include Melody, Justin, Asher and Dean in that spell, without them being here, I’d appreciate it.”

  Mrs Hardinger chuckled. “I’m flattered by your confidence in my ability, but no, I need them to be here for that. However, I can add them into the spell afterward.”

  Trent nodded.

  She stood there for a moment, murmuring under her breath, and then Ryan’s nose was accosted with the pungent ozone scent that accompanied magic. Unable to prevent it, he sneezed several times. The others were hardly better.

  “I bind you all to keep the secrets about to be shared. They may only be passed on with specific permission from Trent or his foxes,” she said, moving her hand in a sweeping gesture to include them all. “There, it is done.”

  Toby stepped forward then from the shadows, where none of them had noticed him, wrapping his arms around her.

  “I included him, Trent, you have nothing to fear from us now.”

  The magic pinched and nipped at Ryan’s skin, making him feel like it was crawling with biting insects.

  “Was that a geas?” he asked Mrs Hardinger, rubbing his arms.

  She fixed him with a penetrating gaze. “Yes, it was,” she told him.

  “Then it could be broken?” he asked her.

  “Only with my natural death. It’s not coven based, I’m not on coven lands, or using coven magic combined with others. It’s a single promise that I hold in trust, because your hearts were open to it at the time of the spell. There’s a bit more to it than that, but I’m not going into the dynamics of the magic with you. Suffice to say, it’s tied to my life force, but an unnatural death would only bind it tighter.”

  Trent nodded. “It’s fine, I know of the magic she’s talking about. Or at least my kitsune does.” He sighed and looked around, but there was nobody in sight. Closing his eyes for a moment, his hands clenched at his side, Trent stood there, as though he was seeking the courage to tell them.

  Only, Ryan got an odd scent that made him sneeze again. It felt like ozone, but it was another aroma altogether that he couldn’t place. Kind of like a new penny. Metallic, actinic, equally unpleasant.

  “I’ve never felt a ward like that before,” Mrs Hardinger said.

  “Our magic is ancient,” Trent replied, opening his eyes. “It’s merely a barrier to sound, so that nobody else can repeat what is said in here.”

  “Interesting, I wish I could study it some more, but I don’t suppose you will allow that,” she said with a sigh.

  Trent smiled and shook his head.

  “To answer your earlier question, yes. I have a fox and a kitsune residing within me. No, it’s not normal. I’m a half breed, but my fox has been dominant all my life. Until I bonded with Melody and we began the path to mating. It allowed my kitsune to emerge for the first time. I’ve suspected he was there for a while, but I wasn’t sure.”

  “So, even amongst kitsune you are rare?” Mrs Hardinger asked him.

  Trent grimaced. “Yeah, pretty sure I’m the only one of my kind.”

  “And you can do magic?” Nick asked, interested.

  “Apparently. I’m as new to this as you are, but he says yes, his magic would be very similar to yours, although not as powerful yet.”

  “Yet?” Nick was incredulous.

  “Once we’re mated with Melody, then our full potential will be realised. We would be better able to protect her, but our fox form is already more talented than we realised.”

  “You’re going to have to watch that,” Mrs Hardinger warned him. “Very few shifters speak of themselves in plural form.

  “I do,” Ryan said.

  “And me,” Oz chimed in.

  “Justin and I do too, and I think Dean does as well. I don’t know Asher well enough to say,” Nick added.

  Mrs Hardinger rolled her eyes. “Well, of course you all fucking do. How did I miss that. Fucking Apex, you’ve all got high opinions of yourselves. I’m glad Melody is here to pop those bubbles that contain your egos.”

  Oz growled, but Ryan laughed. She really had hit the nail on the head with that one.

  Sucks to be you if you can’t admit it, Ryan sent to Oz on their own pack bond. She’s right and you know it, so knock it off.

 
; Toby was growling back at them, his stance protective.

  “Oh for fuck’s sake,” Mrs Hardinger said with a snort. “Put your cocks away. You’re all big, bad and scary, and not a single one of you is going to fight the other over me. You all know I can pin you to the spot with a look, so give it a break.”

  Ryan snickered, earning him dark looks from Oz and Toby, but he ignored them. She was right, they were being dicks.

  “Melody is meant for us, but she’s been through trauma that we cannot understand,” Trent said. “And I am not using the ‘royal we’. The female is right, it is something we will watch … I will watch in my language.”

  Ryan turned to look at Trent, the odd wording tipping him off. Once again, the kitsune was talking through Trent’s mouth.

  “When I say us, I mean the shifters assembled around her. Whether they are formally fated mates, or suitable mates is irrelevant. We have all been chosen for the purpose of serving her. There is a higher power at play here.”

  “What do you mean, higher power?” Nick pushed.

  “I have waited a long time for this body, dragon whelp. I am older than you, your father, your grandfather. I know you do not ascribe to any sort of religious belief, but it does not mean that there isn’t some accuracy to it.” Trent explained. “You all cry out to your Goddess, you ask for things, you blame her for things, you bleat and wail and carry on. Did it never occur to you that she was real? That there was a foundation for your cries for mercy?”

  Ryan gaped. Had the little fox just told them that the goddess was real?

  “I know of who you speak,” Nick said, narrowing his eyes at Trent. “I would never have named her goddess, though.”

  Trent sighed deeply. “Because you never looked deep enough, whelp. You had a brief interaction with her, and dismissed her outright. I have served at her feet for thousands of years. I have waited all that time for this body, this situation, this woman. There is a bigger cause to fight for here than Melody’s quarrel with her aunt, although it is the match to the fuse that will set things in motion.”

  “So, you’re what? Some sort of demi-god?” Oz asked, spluttering. “We’re all supposed to bow down before you or something?”

  “You fool,” Trent hissed. “I am nothing, nobody. A mere servant. An insignificant ant. I live at the whim of the goddess, and I give thanks for every breath that fills my lungs. I am neither her hand, nor her mouthpiece. Merely her tool. As are you all. We have roles to fulfil. Supporting and protecting Melody is our greatest, and it is my pleasure to do so.”

  “There’s a war coming?” Mrs Hardinger asked.

  Trent regarded her, his unblinking stare sweeping from head to toe, making Toby growl in protest.

  “Not a war,” he said, finally.

  “If not that, then what?” Nick asked.

  “A reckoning,” Trent said, ominously. “A revolution.”

  “And Melody is at the center of it?” Ryan asked him.

  That cool gaze turned on him now, weighing, measuring, assessing.

  “Melody is at the center of it,” Trent replied.

  Ryan couldn’t help the shiver that ran down his back. This had gone from zero to a hundred in minutes. What the fuck else were they going to have to face?

  25. Melody

  Justin didn’t return that day.

  Or the next.

  Or the one after.

  By then, the academy had begun to pull itself back together. The dead students had been reclaimed and buried by their families. Nick said that he and Justin had worked together with the staff to create strong enough wards to keep the other shifters in, and uninvited witches and humans out, but although Nick came back to the cabin to see her, Justin did not.

  The academy had been without wards for almost twenty-four hours, while everyone regrouped, but several shifters were quick to take advantage of it, escaping the college’s confines when there was no barrier to keep them locked inside. Others were heard cursing for not knowing that the wards were down. It was late that night when Mrs Hardinger and several professors came to the cabin to ask for Nick’s help, not only in making the wards, but with finding Justin. It was bad enough that they had lost several shifters. If the college had allowed a dragon to escape, they would never recover their reputation.

  There was some resentment for the dragons because they helped with that, which of course meant that it spread to them all. The rumour mill was rife with not only speculation on who the new provost would be, but stories of Melody’s involvement. Many blamed her for Bestia coming to the academy in the first place. What they hadn’t realised, was that her aunt would have come anyway. With or without Melody’s help, her aunt Georgia wanted the Apex shifters.

  Melody felt more isolated from the student body than ever. She was finally free of the threat over her head, finally able to socialise, to include people in her life. The trouble was, nobody wanted anything to do with her, and anyone who had any sympathy for her quickly had it wiped out by Shawna and her crew reminding them whose fault it was.

  Nick told her that Justin had made a speech to the unattached shifters, and had made progress in getting them to support her, but it was quickly proven futile. Any shifter shown to socialise with her, was quickly ostracised by the witch students.

  Somehow, Shawna had found out that she’d been questioned for hours by the American High Council, and didn’t hesitate to speculate loudly on Melody’s guilt any time she was near.

  More and more, they stayed within the confines of the cottage.

  Finally, on the fifth day, Mrs Hardinger knocked loudly on their door, Trent letting them know she was coming well before she arrived. Now that he had bonded to her, his senses had approved phenomenally. The others moved warily around him, but she didn’t understand why. Melody had never heard of anything like it.

  Mrs Hardinger plopped herself on an armchair, Toby taking stance behind her.

  “Well, how long do you plan on moping?” she asked, brusquely.

  “I’m not moping,” Melody said, confused.

  “You four barely leave the cabin, I’d call that moping.”

  She sighed. “Mrs Hardinger …”

  “Oh stuff that nonsense. We’re alone. You and you alone can call me Janet. Your boys haven’t earned it yet.” She flapped a hand at Melody for her to continue.

  “J-Janet,” she said, falteringly. “We’re constantly under attack. The hexes are more numerous, and they’re nastier. Even sitting on the lawn outside we get hit by them, and we can’t even see who’s casting them. The only space we get peace is inside these walls, and we have to maintain barriers around the cabin anyway. It’s exhausting. Combined with my studies, I just don’t have the energy to put up with the rest of the shit. So we eat here.”

  “So, you’re letting them win?” she pushed.

  “No,” snapped Dean, protective of her. “We’re recovering. Nick used a lot of magic on those wards, he doesn’t have enough to help Melody protect us. She’s also worn out. We’re down a dragon, in case you hadn’t noticed. When Nick and Mel are back to full strength, then we’ll give them all a big fuck you, but we’re not parading our wounds as weaknesses.”

  Mrs Hardinger sniffed. “Call it what you like, justify it how you want, but you’re still hiding.”

  “Of course we’re hiding, Mrs Hardinger,” Melody snapped. “We don’t have the resources not to. What do you want us to do? Wear ourselves down to the nub so they can pin us down and do some permanent damage?”

  “I told you, it’s Janet,” Mrs Hardinger snapped back. “And what I expected you to do was reach out for some fucking help. Just like I’m about to do.”

  Melody sat back, taking a moment to process that.

  “You’re not a big secret keeper anymore, Melody. You’re free, and you need to understand that. It’s okay to talk now, to reach out, to connect. There are people here who can help, at no risk to you or to themselves. It’s time you learned how to live in the real world.”

&
nbsp; “You need help?” she asked, hesitantly.

  “Good, that’s a good start. Caring for others, showing you care, and offering to help is a great start. Yes, I need your help. It’s going to be uncomfortable, and unpleasant and awkward, but it’s well within your wheelhouse. In fact, I think aside from Augusta and I combined, you’re likely to be the only person who can do this.”

  Dread pooled in her stomach. The provost and Mrs Hardinger were powerful witches in their own right, if it took the two of them to do it together, then whatever it was required a lot of magic. Still, the counsellor had contributed a lot of her magic to the temporary wards around the academy, the same wards that were helping to keep her safe from her aunt. It was the least she could do to help out as thanks, no matter how dreadful it sounded.

  “Of course I’ll help. I don’t know if I have enough magic yet, but I’ll help,” she said.

  “It’s not about expending magic, well, not directly. It’s more about how much you could potentially expend.”

  The feeling of dread grew more intense. She knew what Mrs Hardinger was going to ask of her. Yes, it was going to be awful, but it certainly was within her abilities.

  “I’ll do it, where is he?” she asked.

  The others looked at her in confusion, but she ignored them. The last thing she needed was drama over this.

  Mrs Hardinger looked taken aback.

  “I’m tired, Mrs … Janet. I’m not stupid. It’s kind of obvious when you think about it. Can we just get on with it?”

  “Watch yourself, witch,” Toby growled, instantly setting off the shifters around her.

  “Enough,” Melody snapped. “You’re right Toby, my apologies, Mrs Hardinger.”

  The counsellor, however, turned on her familiar. “Now, see what you’ve done? I came here as a friend asking a favour. I came here as her equal, and now you’ve seen fit to put her in her place? You and I, young man, will have words when we get home.”

  Toby winced. It would have been comical under any other circumstances, but even the small amount of drama made Melody exhausted.