Page 9 of Entwined

I don’t want either of them.

The only reason I’m reacting like this is because of how long it’s been since anyone’s touched me. Dizzy gave me a taste of physical pleasure—of what it was like to have someone touch me with desire andaffection—and now my tolerance for the cold, isolated world my family has built around me is compromised.

That’s all this is.

Leaning back against the door, I press my thighs together, trying to get the pressure right where I need it. But it doesn’t feel right, and I don’t let myself dwell on why.

I slowly sink down to the floor, curling my knees into my chest, trying to pick through everything that happened, replaying every word and touch, analyzing what it could all mean.

When no answers are forthcoming, my eyes roam around the spartan room. My bed is on the left, perfectly made, the walls barren and lifeless. On my right, Dizzy’s bed is still there, just a bare mattress on a box frame—a constant reminder that she no longer exists in this space.

I was surprised that the housing director hadn’t moved me into a single room—especially if they weren’t planning on putting someone else in here with me—but it was probably my family name at work again.

It was still mind-boggling that I could be punished for fucking someone in my private dorm after another studentbroke injust because of who I am. Just because of who Connor is.

Connor and Vaelor.

Shifter and warlock.

The two of them together doesn’t make any kind of sense, but it’s obvious they are familiar with each other.Comfortable.

I rub a hand over my arm, right where vicious nails had dug into my skin, a sneering voice filling my head. It’s only been a week since my mother left her mark, but I can still smell her cloying perfume as if she’s lingering just out of sight.

Something doesn’t feel right about any of this. It’s like there’s something going on, and everyone knows about it except me. But there’s no way it’s a coincidence that she’d push me at theThornton boy, and then, suddenly, Connor and his warlock buddy are casually ambushing me in a hallway.

I’m still not quite sure how it happened, but one minute, I was trying to get away from Connor, and the next, my panties were drenched, and it felt like I was about to come out of my skin if Vaelor didn’t keep touching me.

I don’t know how long I sit here, trying to regain control over my body, trying to forget what the warlock did to me.

When I do finally stand, my knees ache from the position they’ve been locked in. I stumble to the window, shoving it open and letting the chilly breeze rush against my too-hot face.

When that’s still not quite enough, I half hang my head out the window, gasping as bitterly cold air fills my lungs. It feels like I’m swallowing needles, but it’s enough to shock me back into some semblance of sanity.

I don’t understand what’s going on or whattheywant, but today can’t happen again. They’re not part of my plan, which is to justget out. I have no problem with paranormal species—shifters, demons, vampires,whatever. But I’ve never been part of that world, and never wanted to be.

All I’ve ever wanted, and the one thing I’ve never gotten, isnormalcy.

A droplet of water hits my cheek, and I tilt my headback, catching the next one on my tongue. The drizzle of rain grows harder, pattering gently against my skin, but it only takes minutes until my hair is dripping against the sides of my face, and the shoulders of my shirt are soaked through.

It’s refreshing, like the rain is cleansing me, pulling me back into myself. The edge of tension that was writhing in my belly, that unsatisfied lust, cools and dissipates, leaving me able to reason through everything. But just as I fill my chest with air, there’s a dragging sensation over my neck.

For a heartbeat, a breath, it feels familiar—comforting. But then realization hits like a punch, settling low in my body like a rock. I shove myself backward, slamming into the window with so much force the glass rattles ominously within the frame. I stare at it, sure it’s about to shatter, adrenaline surging through my bloodstream, my heart thudding painfully in my chest.

That’s the moment I see them.

It’s not bright outside, the stormy clouds overhead completely blocking out the sun. But I catch the movement on the edge of the woods lining Bartholomew’s grounds—a dark shape that looks distinctly like a person, just standing in the shadows.

They’re too far away to make out any details, but they’re focused on me. I’m uncertain how I know, but their attention is sharp and burning, searing along my flesh even through the window. A cold sweat trickles down my back, all the anxiety from my earlier encounter with them rushing back in. There’s a bitter taste of fear in my mouth, even though there’s no way for me to know who’s out there, watching me.

I stumble a step further away, needing the distancefrom them, just as their head tips back, a dark hood falling away and showing me a flash of gold.

I’m sitting in the dining hall the next day, staring down at the hot lunch I picked up—some kind of tomato pasta dish that might as well be sawdust. I’m sitting alone, everyone around me still intent on keeping their distance just in case I breathe on them.

My eyes are burning from lack of sleep, and no matter how much concealer I used this morning, there was no covering the bruises under my eyes. Every time the building creaked or groaned as the wind buffeted against the walls, I’d jerk upright, sure that someone—Vaelor—was breaking into my room.

He’s dangerous. It’s easy enough to tell that much. But where does Connor fit in, and what the fuck do either of them want with me? They’re both older, seniors to my sophomore, but we’ve never really crossed paths before. I mean, I knewofConnor, but only because of the connections his family could provide for my grandfather—the same way I know about the Del le Fleur family.

Well, they’re also pretty infamous because it isn’t often that the King of the Fae hooks up with a human, let alone marries and has triplets with one.