Page 18 of Entwined

Where?I want to ask.

Let me go!I want to scream.

And then he freezes, like maybe I did.

Except when he talks, it’s not to me. “What the fuck do you want?”

“For you to get your hands off what’s mine.” The voice is icy, furious, and mocking all at once. Relief fills my chest, but there’s a war in my head because that voice shouldn’t make me feelsafe.

But it does, something hot throbbing in my chest, like it’s stretching out to him, demanding his touch. The haze temporarily clears, and I see him standing there, his fists clenched at his side and his jaw gritted. His hood is pulled up, but it does nothing to shadow those preternatural eyes or the starkness of the runes against his pale skin.

“Yours?” The guy’s laugh is high-pitched—scared.

“Give her to me, and fuck off.”

There’s a long pause, but then, “Whatever. Not fucking worth it.” With a heavy push against my shoulder, he sends me stumbling with a cry. Two bruising hands latch onto my arms before I can hit the ground, yanking me into a hard body.

A hand cups my face—his palm on my chin and fingers lying against my cheek—holding me against his chest. I’m not sure if it’s a move that’s meant to trap me or help me keep my head up, and I don’t care, exhaustion pummeling me as I watch the guy stomp away through bleary eyes.

“Worked faster than I expected,” Vaelor mutters above me. And then he bends down, scooping me into his arms. His touch is soothing and inflaming at once,a strange heat unfurling in my stomach and spreading throughout the rest of my body.

“Hot.”

“I know.” There’s a strange edge to his voice, a mixture of satisfaction and concern. I don’t have time to dwell before he’s striding into the darkness of the trees, leaving the party and the sounds behind us.

“Letmego,” I mumble.

“That seems to be your mantra at the moment,” he says with a low laugh that makes my stomach clench. “But I expect that will change soon, Princess.” A week ago, he called meprincessin the most mocking voice, filled with condescension. But tonight, the word sounds soft, reverent. I know that can’t be true because if there’s one thing Vaelorisn’t, it’s soft.

At first, the silence is oppressive, but the quiet soothes the dull throb I hadn’t even realized had started in my head. I can’t fight the urge to sink against him, a deeply buried instinct reassuring me that I’m okay now…even as my mind screams with panic.

A branch breaks nearby, and Vaelor pauses. My lashes lift long enough to find his glowing eyes fixed to the left, and then they fall closed again.

A voice calls out, “TheMireveilworked then?”

“Slipped it in before you even got near the flames.” A humming sound vibrates against my ear. “I don’t think I ever understood how truly defenseless a human could be until I stood right behind her and tipped it into her cup without her ever realizing.”

What?I try to force my way up through the thick sludge to make sense of that, but it’s too thick, too sticky, pushing me back down.

A raspy chuckle strokes along my nerves with familiarity. “Yeah, well, humans don’t play with shadows as well as as you do.” A finger reaches out to trace along the neckline of the corset, teasingly tugging at it before he pulls away. My skin feels cold in the absence of his touch, and I shiver. “Gargoyles are out. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

connor

We don’t speak as we walk through the woods, heading back to the castle. A dense fog has settled over the ground, but the sounds of the party still travel through it. We veer around the cemetery, not wanting anyone to ask too many questions about why there’s an unconscious girl in Vaelor’s arms.

A piercing shriek slices through the night, followed by boisterous laughter. A quick glance shows partygoers spilling through the gates and into the graveyard, dancing around headstones, banging their fists against the doors of the old crypts.

“Fucking assholes,” Vaelor mutters when he sees what caught my attention. He shakes his head, a scowl twisting his mouth, leading us past the spiked iron fence surrounding the cemetery.

I fall back a step, a figure standing apart, catching my attention. They’re dressed in a dark hoodie, their features hidden, but it seems like they’re tracking us as we walk.

“Hey, look—” Before I even finish talking, the person turns and walks away, heading out of the cemetery andback toward the clearing, the party is still raging. I shake off my disquiet and fall back into step with Vaelor.

“You okay?” he asks, eyeing me with concern.

I tuck my hands into the pockets of my jeans, trying to find the words to describe what I am. “My wolf…He’s agitated,” I say.