Chapter 4 Vaelor
CHAPTER FOUR
vaelor
The lighter flicks open and shut, the metallic snap loud in the sparse room. The hiss of the flame feels dangerous, especially when I can feel his eyes locked on me, malevolent tension filling the air.
I press the pad of my thumb to each finger, one after the other. When I’m done, I do it again—slow and methodical—feeling the sizzle in my fingertips that cautions me of a spiral of power.
I need to purge. The magic builds, overflowing, until it feels as if the destructive force is seeping out of my pores. When it gets like this, I usually go out into the forest to “ground” the power, purging it back into the earth. But I’m not ready to be distracted.
The circular tower window is smudged and dirty, a cobweb stretching out over the top corner.
We’re in a spire on the western side of the castle, but it isn’t ours—technically.
We claimed it unofficially in our first year, wanting a retreat away from everyone else.
It only took a few weeks before word got out that bad shit happened to anyone who dared climb up here.
My lips curve. Most of it was rumors we’d spread ourselves, but there’s always a little truth in rumor.
The lighter hisses again, closer this time. A threat. But I don’t take my eyes off the grimy panes of glass, my focus fixated on the dorm building outside.
I can’t see her, but I know she’s in there. Hiding.
It bothers me when Felicity is out of my sight—more than I’d ever admit—but especially when she’s hiding away like a little mouse in her hole.
From here, there’s no possible way of knowing who she’s talking to or what she’s doing.
And both Connor and I have already experienced enough of that through her escapades with her roommate.
The power flares with my irritation, the sizzle in my fingertips spreading with a sharp surge until it feels like my entire palm is being held over a flame.
A rustle of movement, followed by stomping feet, has me glancing over my shoulder as Connor starts pacing the small room.
The lighter flicks open, flares, and then snaps closed.
I eye him, wondering how pissed he’d be if I threw the fucking thing out the window. His brows are furrowed, mouth flattened into a tight line, his steps jerky and agitated as he moves.
“I’m not sure I understand the problem,” I tell him impassively, leaning my shoulder against the window.
“You aroused her,” he grits out, jaw clenched and muscle jumping wildly.
Wide blue eyes fill my mind, dazed with desire and uncertainty. She is a delicate little thing, even for a human, and I know that Connor is going to have to watch his strength when he…handles our mate.
“Yes.”
“You fucked her with your magic.”
A sly smile tugs at my lips, but I angle my head away, knowing it won’t take much to set the wolf off. It’s fun to taunt him occasionally, but it’s a bitch healing from shifter claws, and I don’t want him to mark up my face.
Not when it’s almost time.
“I wouldn’t say fucked,” I muse. “I would say I lightly fingered her with my abilities.” Humor under control, I lazily turn back to look at him again, watching as he pockets the lighter, leaning over the back of an old settee in the middle of the room, his claws pricking into the musty fabric.
“Vaelor,” Connor says slowly, as if he’s speaking to an imbecile.
I slide him a narrow-eyed look. Connor doesn’t appear to notice as he keeps going.
“You fingered her, but didn’t get her off.
That means you left her aroused as fuckin’ hell, walking away with it dripping between her legs.
There are three scenarios I see happening here. ”
I go still, my eye twitching as a tingle flares at my fingertips. He notices, his eyes sharpening with a feral gleam. “First and least likely,” he starts, “she comes and finds us to ease the ache. Second, she goes and fucks her own fingers or a toy or what-fuckin’-ever.”
My eyes narrow, danger rising in my chest like a bubbling pool of lava. “What’s the last option?”
He stands then, two inches shorter than me but broader, and full of raw, wolven fury. “She goes and fucks someone else!” He roars, but I don’t flinch away from him, my mind whirling.
Would she?
I’ve always been a possessive male, fixated on ensuring the things that belong to me stay mine. Like Connor.
He became mine the moment I saved his life by melding our souls, ensuring there’d never be one without the other. Neither of us could have ever predicted the far-reaching consequences my choices would have that day, but I’ve never regretted my decision.
And I wouldn’t regret doing anything that bound Felicity to me, either.
“Vaelor,” Connor suddenly says, his voice calmer, edged with wariness. “Whatever you’re thinking—”
“She’s ours,” I cut him off. “And she responded to both of us today, right?” He stares at me mutinously. I don’t blink and, after a moment, he jerks his chin down, and my lips curl up. “That’s what I thought.”
He lets out a rough sigh, combing an agitated hand through his hair. “So what’s the plan?”
I crack my neck, acting like we haven’t already discussed this in-depth more than once.
My magic throbs under my skin, a barely restrained pulse.
“We’ve got a week until the party. That’s our deadline.
We use the time between now and then to ensure she doesn’t get a chance to rebuild her defenses against us. No time or distance.”
Connor scowls, his eyes narrowing on me. “And you actually think this will work? She might hate us even more.”
He’s talking about the party now, and the Mireveil hidden in the trunk under my bed—the purple draught that will ease Felicity into sleep and leave her drowning, trapped in a haze of her own want.
And we’ll be right there to satisfy it.
But I keep that to myself. “I told you,” I say succinctly, lifting my brows, “it’s not me she’s angry at. But you scented her earlier. Tell me, did she really seem furious to you? Did she smell of hatred?”
His nostrils flare, eyes going ravenous as he breathes out, “She smelled intoxicating.” His teeth snap together like he’s imagining taking a bite out of her.
I eye him, seeing the shimmer just under his skin, the wolf prowling close to the surface.
The last two years of restraint have steadily eroded his control, leaving his beast angry and violent, clawing closer and closer to the surface—knowing his mate is so close, but unable to claim her.
Even if we hadn’t made this deal with his family, I know we’re out of time.
It would’ve been different if he and I weren’t connected. If I weren’t involved, Connor wouldn’t have hesitated to claim Felicity as his, but I can’t bring myself to feel guilty about that. Not when I know that if I weren’t soul-bound to Connor, she would never have been mine…Only his.
“I need to purge.” I lift a hand as if he might be able to see the electrical current of magic pulsing under my skin.
He nods once. “Fine. I’ll go find some food and head back to our room.” Our shared dorm isn’t in the same building as Felicity’s, but it’s still closer than where we currently are. Just with less of a view.
He turns to leave, but something else occurs to me. “Connor.” He pauses, throwing me a look over his shoulder. “Is Selena going to be a problem?”
He blinks, mouth pressing into a confused frown. “Who?”
I roll my eyes. “The one who accosted you in the hallway.” His frown deepens. “Broke into our room. Naked. Burned your bed.”
“Oh.” Understanding finally crashes through his eyes. “What about her?”
“Is she going to be a problem?” I repeat.
He lifts a shoulder, shaking his head. “I don’t see why she would be. I don’t even fucking know her.” With that, he stalks out of the room, closing the door behind him and leaving me to analyze the sinking feeling of premonition settling in my gut like a stone.