Chapter One
Mandrake Morgan swept down the interior stairs of the law office; his feet barely touched the carpeted steps. Anger poured off him in waves, vibrated the metal railings, and caused the air around him to hiss and crackle with electricity. He was close to losing his much-vaunted control; he wouldn't be able to explain how he survived the death and destruction that would surely follow.
He made a strong, conscious effort to dampen his preternatural powers.
As CEO of Morgan, Ltd., the corporate front for the Coven of the Wolf, the largest coven of witches in the mid-western United States, he did his best to keep humans from realizing that Morgan, Ltd. was anything other than what it seemed--an international corporate umbrella for a wide diversity of business and real estate holdings. While many of the company's employees and independent contractors were human, the upper echelon of administration in the worldwide empire consisted of witches, with a few shapeshifters thrown in for diversity's sake; all of the officers and trustees were family.
Drake's meeting with Seb Headley, a human and Morgan, Ltd.'s chief legal counsel, had been held to examine serious problems the company had experienced over the past several months. Today's meeting had primarily dealt with contract bidding information being leaked by an insider to competitor companies.
Within seconds of sitting down with Seb, Drake's empathic powers revealed the human lied to him. The who, when, where and why totally escaped Drake. Drake might be an empath, but his mind-reading abilities had only extended to his mother. The one concrete piece of knowledge he could glean from his psi ability was that Seb Headley knew more than he was telling.
For the past six months, Drake had utilized the lawyer to put together contractual bids for Morgan's far-flung construction projects, just as he had previously used Headley, Sr., the Headley on the firm's letterhead, before he'd died. Something about the younger Headley had always bothered him, but he'd never attempted to pin down exactly what it was. Now, it seemed that the problems Morgan, Ltd. experienced could be tied directly to the lawyer's taking over of its legal business.
As Drake wove his way through the maze of the law firm's offices and hallways, he struggled to contain his escalating anger over the betrayal. He mentally examined then rejected several ways to handle the problem. Turning Headley into a bug then smashing him, while a satisfying solution, was not practical and violated the coven's "do no harm" credo. Besides, Drake acknowledged, the problem extended much further than his lying bastard of a lawyer. It had been obvious to the leadership of the coven that there was a traitor or traitors in its midst.
At about the same time Headley, Jr. had taken over as counsel, the preternatural side of the coven also had experienced some trouble. Several of the younger witches had disappeared. Then, the coven security personnel noticed that someone had been tinkering with the protective wards placed on Morgan, Ltd. headquarters. Spells causing illness and dissension had been cast in various areas of the building, causing minor problems and work stoppages. Although easily reversed, the fact that someone had been able to breach the building's safety features had caused alarm. And lately, and probably most troublesome of all, someone had been changing the environment outside of the building. While the rest of Michigan Avenue experienced a sunny day, it would be cloudy and storming over Morgan, Ltd. Such phenomena could not be explained away forever by lake effect.
Someone was trying to harm the Coven of the Wolf and its followers by exposing their unusual abilities. The elders feared chaos would then ensue and make the Salem witch trials look like child's play.
Drake and the elders could only conclude that someone inside Morgan, Ltd. had either performed the dark magick or provided information to outsiders to allow the breaches. He was positive that Warrick Bettencourt, a thorn in the coven's side since he was banished from the leadership council for preaching the use of chaos magick, was behind it all.
As the leader of the Coven of the Wolf and CEO of Morgan, Ltd., Drake could no longer put it off. He needed to take direct action. Problem was, he wasn't quite sure what.
Mulling over his possible actions, he moved through the hallways as if in a trance. Just as he reached the reception area, he sensed a presence, which pushed all thoughts of traitors and Seb Headley out of his mind. It was that of a strong projector on the lower levels of the astral plane. While it was not unusual for Drake as a powerful male witch to encounter ethereal bodies on the alternate plane, usually these encounters happened when he was relaxed or asleep. Almost none of them were purposeful enough to attract the attention of his conscious mind, and when they were, the encounters usually presaged evil or danger.
This contact was neither evil nor dangerous. But, somehow, it had grabbed his sentient mind and left an indelible trace of its essence. It was unlike anything he'd ever experienced.
The energy was strong, feminine in nature, a showy blue-green aura underlain with a warm, gentle wafting of air. Like the breath of a summer breeze. It was not obviously purposeful or seeking. It just was.
Considering the fact that the energy was strong and pure, the source of the projection had to be near, within the law firm's suite of offices. Drake had to find her, not because she was a strong projector, but because her conscious mind linked to his, something that only occurred between a mother and child during a witch's pre-adolescent years.
According to legends, such a linking could only occur at one other possible time. Snippets of the stories related to him at his mother's knee flashed across his mind.
For a hereditary male coven leader there is one, and only one complement ...not all coven leaders are destined to meet their perfect mate ...those that do will recognize her by the linking of their minds ... a complete and total telepathic link, which in the control of a skilled witch can lead to total knowledge of the other ... a coven leader who mates with his complement is mated for life ...once the relationship has been consummated, no force in or out of this world can challenge the leader's power.
A satisfying warmth akin to desire, and pure, primordial male ownership swept through his body. Mine! She is mine!
Whoever she was, her strong magick complemented his, and, if the legends were correct, she'd be his future wife.
As he stalked the hallways, he maintained and strengthened the link until he was in her mind, while shielding his thoughts from her. Funny how old skills he used as a child to hide things from his mother came back to him so easily.
Using his complement's thoughts, feelings, and sensory impressions, he zeroed in on clues to her whereabouts in the suite of offices. Through her eyes, he observed a small blonde sitting across from her. The table was cheap. The room contained a refrigerator and a microwave. The space had to be an employee break room. Drake asked a passing worker where the employee lounge was located, then hurried toward it.
The door was closed. Damn. He wanted to see her. Hell, who was he kidding? Male territorial urges as old as time pulsed through him. He wanted to throw her on the floor then plunge his hard cock into her until he didn't know where he ended and she began.
The legend hadn't told the whole story. The connection was more than mental. It was a strong, primeval urge beating in his mind and body. His need to mate, to claim her, was overpowering. He managed to sequester the urges. He was damn sure that she wouldn't appreciate a total stranger knowing her carnally before they were even introduced.
Better to hide and use the unique connection they had to eavesdrop on her. Scoping out the hallway, Drake spied a closed door with a bolt lock. Using a small amount of magic, he unlocked the door and glanced inside; it was a storage closet. Perfect. When she left he could crack the door and see what she looked like. Not that her looks mattered in the grand scheme of things; according to the legend, she was his chance at unlimited powers of magick.
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