Claiming His Fire Read Online Free Page B

bubbles, avoiding her eyes. “You’re wrong. We walked away from everything we knew to not have someone rule us. I’m not about to go back into some kind of dysfunctional relationship with a man I’ve never met.”
    “I’m not wrong, and he’s your red thread. Your soul mate.”
    “Fuck that.” Tossing my towel on the counter, I shoved past her, desperate to get away. “You don’t know everything, Magic Eight Ball.”
    “Scarlett—”
    “No.” I spun, anger making my fingers burn as my beloved fire element reacted to my emotions. “No one gets to tell me how to run my life. Not you, not Zuri, not our former coven, and sure as hell not some crazy blip of the Fates you keep claiming to see. This is my life, all mine, and I’m going to run it the way I choose.”
    Stomach roiling, I rushed back into the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before the dinner and the alcohol made a reappearance. The acid burned my throat and made my nose run, but I welcomed it. Better to hurt physically than to feel that unbreakable noose of betrayal wrapped around my neck for a moment longer. Let it burn… I could handle any pain after the night of Zuri’s banishment.
    Amber grabbed my long hair and held it up as she placed a cool washcloth against the back of my neck. Always the little mother. Always the one cleaning up the messes Zuri and I made. But not this time.
    “I won’t let something as ridiculous as a vision make my choices,” I cried, spitting out the last of the sick.
    Amber shushed me and pulled my bangs off my forehead. “It’s fated, Scar. I’ve tried to look past it every way I know how, but there is no past it. Your future is decided and unavoidable. You’ll succumb to it eventually.”
    “Never.” I pushed to my feet and hurried to the sink to rinse out my mouth once more. “I will never let the Fates decide who I’m supposed to fall in love with and spend the rest of my life chasing after.”
    I rushed out the door and down the hall, desperate for the safety and privacy of my room. “I make my own choices, Amber.”
    Long, dark hair in a high ponytail, Amber shook her head, a frown on her face. “Not this time, Scar. There is no choice.”

THREE
Shadow
    I pulled up outside Phoenix’s cottage on the river early one cool morning. A light fog hung in the air, giving the place an ethereal glow. From the clean stone front to the flowers in the window boxes to the freshly painted trim, the place looked like it belonged in some English countryside or fairy tale. It felt like more than a house, exuding a sense of warmth, of home. An odd twist of pain shot through my chest and my wolf whined. This was what he wanted—to pair up, find the mate meant for us, and create our own tiny pack. I rubbed a thumb over that little ache and shook off my wolf’s sudden sense of loneliness. We had work to get done, and thinking about things that probably weren’t meant to be wasn’t going to make that work go any faster.
    Sliding off my bike, I hooked my helmet over the handlebar and took a deep breath before heading for the front door. Phoenix had been working on updating the old cottage for a couple of months from what I understood, the shifter in a mad rush to ready his den before his mate had their baby. When he called last night to ask if I could help him lay wood flooring, I said yes. It was the least I could do to help my denmate out. Plus, I hadn’t spent much time with him since he’d earned his patch. I wanted to correct that.
    Phoenix’s mate Zuri opened the door before I could knock, a big smile on her face and a red T-shirt stretched across her ball-shaped belly.
    “Morning, Shadow. Would you like a cup of coffee?”
    “No, but thank you.” As soon as I stepped inside, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I sniffed again and again, trying not to look as if I was ignoring Zuri. She continued to make small talk, oblivious to my sudden need to shift to an animal form and stalk through her