Chapter 21 Vaelor
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
vaelor
She stares up at me, blue eyes bouncing between mine, desperately wanting to accept my claim, but not quite able to believe it. Not yet.
I press my forehead to hers, my hand sliding to the back of her neck and then up into her thick hair, winding the inky strands around my fist. ‘“You’ll trust me,” I vow. “You’ll believe me. And you’ll feel the bond.”
She worries her lip between her teeth. “When?”
“Can’t say for sure, but probably when you claim us back.” She furrows her brow, and I gently tug at her hair, angling her head to the side so I can press my lips to her neck. “We took most of your choices,” I admit. “But that one is yours.”
Our attention is pulled away as the door opens, Connor sauntering back in. I don’t move away, keeping my body pressed against Felicity’s, pinning her to the wall.
She may not feel the bond, but it’s there. I can see it in the little things—the way her breathing matches mine, or how she calms when my skin is pressed to hers. Her body and soul are on board. It’s just her mind playing catch-up.
“Interesting conversation,” Connor announces, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. “I was eavesdropping outside.”
“Jerk,” Felicity mumbles, making me smile.
Connor sends her an offended look, but it’s ruined by the amusement creasing the corners of his eyes.
He comes toward us, and I step back, letting Felicity go so he can draw her into his arms. She doesn’t fight it as he hugs her, her cheek pressed to his chest and her eyes drifting shut.
Our mate doesn’t hug him back, but as the seconds pass, her expression eases.
Connor locks eyes with me as he rests his chin on the crown of her head. “Rand’s working on the camera.”
I curl my lip. “He’s a weasel.”
“You think that about all warlocks.” He smirks, adding, “All shifters, too. In fact, I think anyone who’s not currently in this room could be put on that long, long list.”
I shrug. “Some are definitely worse than others, like that bitch—” I break off as a realization crashes into me, widening my eyes. “Fuck.” Felicity’s eyes flick open at my tone, but she doesn’t move out of his arms.
“What?” Connor demands, watching me with a frown.
“There’s one person who had real motive to fuck with us,” I say, “and who has a history of breaking into dorm rooms.”
Felicity scrunches her nose. “You mean Connor?”
“No.” I shoot her a dry look, and she lifts a shoulder. When they both continue to look at me blankly, waiting, I say, “Selena.”
They’re both frowning at me now, but for very different reasons, evidenced by Connor asking, “Who the fuck is Selena?”
“Seriously?” Felicity demands. “Are you kidding me?”
He gives her a bewildered look. “What?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Fucking hell. Selena Thierra,” I drag the words out slowly, lifting my eyebrows pointedly. But he just blinks blankly at me. “She-bitch, wolf shifter.”
“You found her naked in your bed,” Felicity says stiffly.
“Huh,” I murmur, stepping closer until I’m crowding her back, sandwiching her between me and Connor. “I thought you were distracted enough that you didn’t even hear that conversation.”
I reach for my power, stroking it over her stomach and delving it under the waistband of the baggy sweats. Felicity shivers as the invisible touch creeps lower, but then she throws an elbow back into my gut, making me grunt.
“Stop that!”
I ease it back with a wicked grin, but the humor falls away when Connor’s green eyes lock with mine over her head.
“Selena is the reason you turned your bed into kindling, and she’s the one who attacked our mate just over a week ago.
” I pause, fury flashing through me. “Fractured her skull and caused a serious bleed, remember?”
Felicity turns to gape at me. “She fractured my skull?”
I grimace because I didn’t actually mean to tell her that. “Yes.”
“But you healed me,” she recalls. “By taking on my injury, you had a fractured skull?” I don’t think I’m imagining the worry in her voice, and I give her a small smile.
“I had a pretty potent healing draught on hand. It’s all good.”
She doesn’t look reassured, her eyes a little wild, and Connor strokes a calming hand down her back.
“The point is, she’s fucking unhinged”—Felicity scoffs, and I pinch her ass in retaliation, making her yelp—“and she thinks she has some kind of claim over you. After her failed attempt at attacking Felicity, maybe this is the new plan for trying to get rid of her.”
“You think she planted a camera in our room?”
“So, she watched us having sex?” Felicity exclaims, horrified.
“Oh, yeah.” Connor chuckles. “She would’ve got a real eyeful. Probably why she went off her rocker, realizing what she was never gonna get.”
She harrumphs. “Did she know it wasn’t exactly consensual?”
His expression turns wicked. “Felt pretty consensual to me. I would show you the scratches to prove it, but they’ve already healed. Maybe we should go for another round.”
Felicity tries to wriggle away from him, but all it does is press her harder into me. “Keep your massive dick, your knot, whatever, away from me.”
There’s a sincerity in her tone that gets my attention. “You sore, baby?” I whisper, my lips brushing her hair.
Felicity swallows roughly, her nipples hardening against the fabric of my shirt. “Can we just focus on the problem at hand?” she asks desperately. “If you’re right, and Selena has a video of us, who knows who else she might be sending it to?”
Reluctant acceptance fills Connor’s face. “Let’s go find the batty bitch then, hm?”
“What’s the plan?” I murmur. “Maybe Felicity should stay here.”
“No way!” she protests. “If it was Selena, she did this to me. I can’t exactly punish you guys, and I can’t do anything about my grandfather. But I can do something about this.”
“You’re human,” I remind her gently. “Selena is a wolf shifter. She’s already attacked you once, and she did a lot of damage. I won’t risk you.”
Her body softens against me, and then she’s turning in my arms, staring up at me. “So you can hurt me, but nobody else can?”
“Damn fuckin’ right.” Connor grunts behind her. “And don’t act like you don’t like the way we hurt you.”
Felicity shoots him a glare over her shoulder. “You’re still not forgiven.” Facing me again, she says, “I don’t want to take Selena head-on. I’m not dumb. I know my limitations. But I don’t need to take her on.”
I stare down at her, not quite sure what she’s getting at. But then the most devious smile I’ve ever fucking seen tugs at her mouth. It’s beautiful.
“Why would I need to take her on when I can just sic my mates on her?”
Connor closes the distance in a blink, pressing up against her back, sandwiching her between us. “That your way of claiming us, Starling?”
Felicity laughs, low and disbelieving. “After what you’ve done, you think it’s that easy? No fucking way.” She pauses, eyes gleaming with more light than I’ve seen in her since Dizzy left. “But Selena doesn’t need to know that.”