Chapter 18 Vaelor
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
vaelor
Felicity didn’t want to come at first, but neither of us felt like arguing with her, which is how she ended up being carted across the campus in Connor’s arms, despite her protests.
Back in our dorm room, he sits down in an armchair with her still curled in his lap, both of them watching as I tear the room apart.
It takes me fifteen minutes before I find it. One camera—a tiny black thing, installed in the light fixture in the middle of the ceiling. I yank it out, holding it up to show them, and Felicity goes even whiter, her expression horrified. “Why would someone do this?” she whispers. “Who did this?”
Satisfaction wells at the fact that she’s already accepted it wasn’t us. Though, I’m not sure I can blame her for the suspicion.
“It has no memory of its own, which means any recordings it took had to be sent somewhere else. And it’s short-range, so they had to be close by.
” I tap my finger against my thigh, the tiny device clutched in my fist. “Who the fuck would plant something like this in here? They couldn’t have known what we planned to do. ”
My words have her eyes snapping open as she mouths the word planned. She’s facing away from Connor, so he can’t see her expression as he asks me, “You think it was planted before Saturday night?”
“Maybe,” I murmur, eyes still locked on Felicity, counting down from ten in my head. I only get to four before she goes nuclear, her eyes sparking with fury.
“What the fuck do you mean, planned?”
It’s almost like everything that happened today helped block out what came before, because I can actually see the pieces starting to connect in her mind.
“Wait, wait, wait. I woke up in your bed.” She struggles out of Connor’s arms. His wolf loudly growls his displeasure, but he lets her go. “I woke up naked in your bed.”
“Yeah, you did.” Connor smirks.
“Not the time, asshole,” I say.
Felicity doesn’t notice, her cheeks blooming crimson. “I woke up naked in your bed, sore, and I’d lost three days. I don’t—” She shakes her head. “There’s bits and pieces, but I don’t remember. What the fuck did you do?”
I step back, casually putting my body between her and the door. “I slipped a Mireveil draught into your drink when you weren’t looking,” I supply. “At the party.”
Her chest is heaving as she stares at me, but my eyes drop, realizing for the first time that she’s still dressed in my clothes. Possession swells, hot and heavy, at the subtle claim, urging me to rip the black shirt off so I can see the mark hiding underneath.
“What’s that? Mireveil?” she snaps impatiently.
Connor doesn’t seem concerned with how this is playing out, sitting back in the seat with his hands clasped behind his head. He arches a brow at me. I crack my power like a whip, smacking him around the head. “Fuck!”
Felicity startles, turning to stare at him just as I say, “A sleeping potion, essentially.” I lift a casual shoulder, sliding my hands into my pockets. “With some other side effects.”
She takes a step toward me, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. I don’t look away from her, not even to blink. “What other side effects?” she demands through gritted teeth, looking as ferocious as any predatory shifter.
I smile. “You sure you want to know, Princess?” I ask silkily. “I tell you, and you can’t hide from it anymore.”
“What. side. effects?” A step punctuates each word, almost bringing her within touching distance. I lower my head, looking at her through my lashes.
“Heat. The Mireveil brought on the mating frenzy.”
Her mouth drops open, shock widening her eyes. “Humans don’t get heats,” she protests feebly, but I see it for the denial it is. Felicity knows the truth, even if she wants to keep running from it.
Connor gets up, stepping into her back and trailing a finger over her shoulder, right above his mark. “They do,” he whispers in her ear. “If their mates are shifters.” She shivers and then flinches away from him, her mouth setting into a scowl.
“You drugged me,” Felicity reiterates forcefully. “You fucked me during an induced heat, if that’s what happened. It doesn’t make us mates.”
I tilt my head. “You sure about that?”
Connor chuckles wickedly, sliding a hand around her waist, pulling her against his body. She doesn’t fight his touch. If anything, Felicity seems to relax against him, like she knows he’s safe. My smile widens just as Connor asks, “Do you know much about knots?”
She goes eerily still. “K-knots?” Her thighs clench together, and I narrow my eyes, wondering if Felicity remembers more than she’s letting on.
“Mmm,” Connor hums. “A shifter can only knot his fated mate. Did you know that?” His hand slides down her stomach, cupping her pussy over my sweats. “Your mind might have forgotten, but I can guaran-fuckin’-tee your cunt hasn’t.”
She draws in a ragged breath, eyes glazing over, then rips herself away from Connor’s hold. He lets her go, looking relaxed and smug as she rushes to put the bed between them like a shield.
Cute.
“This is too much,” she says, a panicked thread to her voice.
“I don’t—I can’t. This is too much!” The last words come out in a shout, but neither Connor or I move, silently watching Felicity as she battles her own body’s reaction, her arousal spilling into the air.
She’s fighting it, but her fury only seems to spike it higher, lacing her scent with a dangerous edge.
She squeezes her eyes shut, taking in deep inhales through her nose and blowing the air back out. After Felicity repeats the action four times, she peels her eyes open and looks between us.
“I’m not dealing with you right now, or what you’ve done. I need to know who recorded that video”—she points at my fist, still holding the camera—“and who sent it to my grandfather. Please, just…do that for me, at least.”
My smile softens, warmth filling my chest. She’s trying so hard to be strong, to carry this on her own. Soon, Felicity will realize that she’s not alone anymore, and that we mean what we say.
“You’ll figure it out soon, Princess, but we’d do anything for you.” She stares at me with blatant disbelief. I don’t hide from Felicity, letting her see the resolve in my eyes.
“Almost anything,” Connor corrects. When she looks at him, he tells her ominously, “We won’t let you escape us, even when you wish you could.”