When they touch me (Shelagh Milano) novel Chapter 107

Chapter 107
Artemisia

“Missy,” Cassy breathes out, the tone of her voice sounding awfully strange.

“Missy,” she repeats as if she couldn’t say anything else.

I’d like to answer her, but my throat is too hoarse to speak, my body paralysed by the sight before me.

“What the fuck was that?” Fynn shouts, making Corvina and I look at him.

But she just giggles, and Fynn suddenly halts, his expression morphing as he turns to look at me wide-eyed.

“What the…” he whispers, and I hear Drake purr in the back of my mind.

Suddenly, Cayden and Logan stare at me incredibly too while Matthew buries his face into his hands.

“Oh, my Goddess,” Logan says, his expression becoming void while Cayden starts smiling brightly.

My gaze snaps back to Corvina who is already back smiling at me with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “I guess your wolf is talking to theirs.”

We start to laugh in unison as we see my mates enjoying my wolf reaching out to them dumbfounded. It is so cute how over-challenged they are that I even forget that there is a witch standing in my bedroom who is covered in stinky, black slime after impaling a horrendous creature that just came out of me.

I shudder, and Corvina pulls up my blanket to wrap it around me.

“Sorry,” she says gently. “I forgot how strenuous that magic is for a nearly wolfless body like yours.”

“What is this?” I ask, my heart squeezing painfully in my chest.

“Anima comedentis vermis in lupis,” she says nonchalantly, making my face fall.

“Huh?”

“Soul-eating worms,” she says with sparkling eyes. “They love to drain wolves' energies. It takes a lot before a wolf is extinguished as they have a lot of energy. So, they can feed off a host for decades until they leave their host to die. To not be discovered, they have an interesting tactic.”

I jerk back lightly, feeling as if the whole world just came crashing down around me while Corvina looks like a preschooler who is showing me her favourite insect.

“Mimicry,” Cayden says, making Corvina nod.

“They need just a handful of days of observation before they can take over fully, mimic the wolf’s voice and behaviour to their host. Naturally, there is no chance they can shift or let the human part still take advantage of the inhumane senses. That’s the main reason why they get their cover blown but also the one reason why they never get discovered. At least not until it’s already too late,” Corvina explains further, making me shudder again.

“But how did it get into her?” Matthew asks.

“And it is huge! How long has it been in her?” Logan adds with a sorrowful expression.

I pull the blanket closer, scooting back further as I’m still not convinced if I want to know more about this thing or just make them shut up.

“As it seems, it has been feeding off her wolf for about five or six years,” Corvina inspects the worm, making us gasp in unison.

“Missy, you said your wolf started acting strangely just after your rejection. Would that fit the picture?” Cayden asks and I nod.

“Yeah, but how did it get into me? I mean…” I take a break, shuddering. “Such things don’t just happen, right?”

Corvina looks at me sadly as she shakes her head, “No, this is extremely strong black magic…”

She observes me for a second, before she asks, “Was your ex-mate unfaithful?”

“Just bluntly straight to the point,” Fynn chuckles, but I’m still too confused.

“Erm… Yes, he rejected me to take a chosen mate. But how would you know?”

She shrugs, cleaning her knife with the skirt of her gown. “Those creatures can be bought at a special market that we call the Netherworld, you know, because we are quirky. Assholes often buy these for their mates because it suppresses any cheating pain completely. So, these are often given to their wives for them to play around.”

I jerk as the bed dips and Matthew crawls to hug me under the blanket. Only now do I realise how shocked I must have looked. “Everything is going to be alright. Don’t worry. Wait, I’ll warm you up a little.”

My racing heart calms down as he pulls me to his frame, my cold skin warming up comfortably.

“Thank you,” I breathe out, leaning back against his frame.

Looking at Corvina, I sigh deeply, “So, he was ready to sacrifice my life to have some fun.”