Chapter 22 Felicity
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
felicity
Selena was easier to track down than I expected. Rand, Connor’s tech friend, was apparently able to remotely hack into her phone and pinpoint her exact location on campus.
It’s a little unnerving, how quickly it all happened. I can’t pretend I’m not a little concerned that Vaelor and Connor did the same thing to me when they were practically stalking me.
But I decide there are some things I’m just better off not knowing.
A group of shifters are huddled on a grassy patch not far from the cemetery. Selena’s holding court in the middle of them, and Vaelor leans down, murmuring, “Shifters,” in my ear.
It’s a warning, but I don’t need it. Humans are one of the weakest species, with zero capabilities of defense against a predatory shifter. I know that, and I’m not about to put myself in range of her claws or teeth. But that doesn’t mean I can’t hurt her in other ways.
Vaelor is walking at my side, but Connor’s a step ahead, almost hiding me from view, so she doesn’t see me as we first approach. Her eyes light up when they land on my mate.
Maybe. Still to be decided.
Either way, a seething anger twists its way around my chest, my hands curling into claws, even knowing I’ll never actually be able to do anything to this bitch.
Selena has decided to dress for the cooler weather today, bundling up in jeans and a faux fur coat. She stands up, strutting over to him, hips swaying provocatively. “Connor,” she coos. “You’ve been missing ever since—”
“You attacked my mate?” he fills in for her, and Selena thrusts her lower lip out in a pout.
“I was just trying to talk to her,” she protests, fluttering her lashes. “I always forget how fragile humans can be. I didn’t mean to hurt her.”
Vaelor scoffs. “That tends to happen when you bash someone’s skull against a stone wall.”
She sends him a vicious glare, but then steps to the side, tracking his arm to where it’s clamped around my waist, fury twisting her expression ugly.
“Why the fuck is she here?” Selena sneers at me.
I don’t react, watching her with an unwavering calm that has her faltering.
The other shifters stand and edge closer, their avid eyes watching the drama unfold.
Selena throws a quick glance at them before turning back with a serene smile, throwing her shoulders back.
“Connor,” she starts sweetly, with the slightly sharpened edge of poison.
“She’s not your mate. You have to know that.
She’s human. I understand I should’ve controlled my temper better with someone so much weaker, but…
you’re enthralled. I’m so worried about you.
” Selena takes another step, her hand reaching out to him.
He steps back, and her face falls. “The warlock has obviously done something to warp your thinking,” she continues, sending a biting look in our direction, “and is that really a surprise, after what he did to you?”
Connor barks out a laugh. “What he did to me?” he repeats. “You mean, save my life?”
Her smile turns patronizing. “Now, Connor, we all heard the tales. He was the only one there the day you were ‘attacked,’”—she finger quotes the word—“and warlocks aren’t exactly known for being truthful.
Are they?” Her eyes are soft, but there’s an expectancy in them, as if she truly thinks that Connor’s going to turn his back on me and Vaelor with just a few words from her.
“She’s actually insane,” I mutter to Vaelor, but not quiet enough. Her eyes swing toward me with the most feral gleam, her wolf prowling just under the surface.
Vaelor pushes me back a step, shielding me with his body. Selena turns back to Connor, her eyes glistening with tears.
She should go into acting.
“You can’t forsake our bond, Connor,” Selena pleads.
“Not for them, not for an illusion. You must know that.” She steps forward again.
This time, Connor holds his ground, and her eyes soften with hope.
“Our fathers have been going on runs together, and they’ve used that time to discuss an alliance with our families.
Imagine the kind of power we’d hold if the Thierras and Thorntons aligned. ”
“My father approves, does he?” Connor’s tone is mild, but there’s a note of danger lurking behind each word. Selena is oblivious, pleasure infusing her face as she takes another step, almost in touching distance now.
My mouth flattens into a line, irritation filling me at the idea of her touching him. And if he lets her…
“Hey, Con,” Vaelor clears his throat, subtly tightening his hold on me. “Is that how mates work in the shifter world? Fathers shaking hands, making deals for their children?” An intentional pause has his lips lifting in a smirk. “Like humans.”
Selena’s hiss is more feline than wolf. “Shut up, warlock.” She says it like he’s some kind of disease. A scowl twists my mouth.
“What’s your damage?” I demand, shaking off Vaelor’s hold and stepping around him. “Are you mentally unstable or something?”
She slowly turns to look at me, her stare deadly. A frisson of alarm rolls down my spine, but I lean into it, never letting it show on my face.
“Seriously,” I tell her. “You keep going on about weak humans, yet you were the one who felt so threatened by one that you had to ambush me.” Several shifters standing behind her perk up at that, their heads cocking to the side with interest. “I thought wolves came at their enemies from the front, all teeth and claws. Yet, there you were, dragging an unsuspecting human into an empty classroom, just so you could warn me off a man who’s made it extremely clear that he doesn’t want you.
” Selena’s face flushes, but I’m not quite done.
“And that’s another thing. When did no stop meaning no?” I demand, my voice climbing an octave. “You’re acting a little predatory, and not in a wolven sense, if you get what I mean.”
There’s a breathless pause before Connor adds helpfully, “She’s calling you rapey, I think.”
“Is rapey a word?” Vaelor asks with interest, but doesn’t seem to expect an answer, turning to me and saying, “This is all a little ironic, coming from you, Princess.”
“Shut up,” I mutter. “It’s still too soon. And you’re still not forgiven.” An icy touch slides down my back and over my ass, cupping me firmly.
“Whatever you say,” he says with no small amount of amusement.
“I am not rapey!” Selena lets out a piercing screech that has several shifters wincing as it echoes around us, sending birds scattering from a nearby copse of trees.
I let out a mocking, sympathetic noise. “Are you sure, though? Connor tells you he doesn’t want you, so you break into his room.
He tells you to leave him alone, so you plant cameras in his dorm room.
” Her face is an alarming shade of red now.
“That’s not normal behavior, even for someone like you. ”
“Someone like me,” she repeats, looking lost before rage chases the expression away. Her eyes glow preternaturally, fur sprouting over her skin before disappearing again, her nails sharpening into claws.
Vaelor reaches out to hook an arm around my neck, yanking me back into his arms. The move is territorial, but there’s a thrum of agitation in my chest that’s too icy and controlled to be mine.
“Connor,” he states intently, distracting me from my new discovery. But our wolf doesn’t even look at him.
“Trust me,” he tells Vaelor shortly, and then flashes his fangs at Selena. I think he’s going for a smile, but he just looks menacing. “So, Selena. The video.” His tone is conversational as the she-wolf drags her attention to him. “Why did you do it? And why block out mine and Vaelor’s faces?”
She glances over her shoulder at her audience before turning back, something calculating flashing through her eyes.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.
” There’s the slightest tremble to her voice, but I can’t tell if it’s nerves or anger.
“Maybe you should be asking your human”—she sneers—“why you’d suddenly turn on your own kind. ”
“Turn on my own kind,” Connor repeats. “Is that what I’m doing by claiming my fated mate?”
“She’s not your fated mate,” Selena screeches again. I see more than a few people sharing doubtful looks.
“Oh, really?” Vaelor murmurs, his voice carrying easily.
“Explain this, then.” Before I realize his intention, he hooks his fingers into the collar of my shirt, yanking it down to rest just above my nipples.
I make a noise of outrage, futilely trying to pull his hand away, but he doesn’t budge, and I have to give up before everyone gets a flash of my tits.
Selena’s eyes drop to my exposed chest, landing on the still-healing bite wound before shifting over to the rune, stark black against my pale skin. Her eyes widen in shock, and she stumbles back.
“W-what?”
“Hey, Con,” Vaelor calls, his other hand collaring my throat, fingers resting on my pulse. “What happens if a shifter bites someone who isn’t their mate?”
“We don’t.” Connor grunts. But Selena doesn’t seem to notice, still transfixed on my chest.
“This isn’t—She’s not—” Selena pulls in a sharp breath through her nose, like she’s trying to calm herself down. But the way her teeth lengthen out over her bottom lip gives her away. “You’re confused,” she declares patronizingly.
“Confused about what?” Connor asks. Before she can answer, one of the other shifters steps up, setting her hand on Selena’s shoulder.
“Sel,” she whispers urgently. “You need to let this go. If you piss off the Thorntons…” She gives Connor a fearful look, and he chuckles.
“She’s not going anywhere,” he says easily. “Not until she gives us some answers.”
“I don’t owe you anything,” Selena hisses at Connor. “You’re the abomination here, and this”—she points a clawed finger at me—“proves it. It was bad enough that you had a warlock dogging at your heels, but knowing you’ve willingly claimed a human. And not just any human, but someone like her.”
Vaelor’s fingers tighten around my neck briefly, but then drop away. I take the opportunity to get out of his hold, sending him a vicious glare as I right my shirt.
“That’s funny.” I step forward, dodging away from Vaelor’s grasping hands and sidestepping around Connor. They don’t say a word, but their worry blooms bright in me, and my marks start throbbing in time with my pulse. I try to rub the unfamiliar sensation away, focusing on Selena.
“What do you mean, someone like me? Do you mean because I don’t have a wolf like you?” I blink innocently. “Or do you mean because I don’t have to stalk someone to get their attention?”
“Oh, you bitch—”
“Tell me, Selena,” I interrupt. “Did you enjoy watching them fuck me? I can still feel them, you know”—I drop my voice into a shameless whisper—“inside me. Dripping from me. They spent three days satisfying my heat, filling me up with their cum. Did you watch the entire time, wishing it was you?”
By the red faces and averted stares, every single person heard me. But at this moment, I couldn’t care less. I might be fucking pissed at Connor and Vaelor, but they are already in my blood, and that makes them mine.
And today, this bitch is going to finally understand that.
There’s a low rumble behind me. When I turn to look, Connor’s fixed his attention on me, his wolf staring out through his eyes. A muscle jumps wildly in his tight jaw, and he clenches his hands into fist, barely holding onto his control.
His desire slams into my chest like a semitruck, stealing my breath, but I don’t let it distract me.
“Look,” I tell Selena, full of amusement.
“He’s not done, either. He’ll never be done with me.
But you?” I flick her a disinterested glance.
“He can’t even be bothered to remember your name.
You’re just the crazy whore who contaminated his bed. ”
If I’d blinked, I would’ve missed it. She was standing several feet away from me, shaking with rage.
In the next breath, she’s suddenly lunging, shifting mid-motion into a dark brown wolf, jaws gaping as she aims for my throat.
The girl at her side tries to grab her, but there’s no stopping a fully grown shifter once they’re moving.
My eyes widen, but familiar tendrils of ice wrap around my body, roughly yanking me back. I collide into Vaelor’s chest, his arms looping around me just as a massive tawny wolf collides with the female, sending her sailing through the air with a yelp.
“Connor…?” I murmur, staring wide-eyed at the wolf, his fur a striking blend of yellow, brown, and gray.
The brown wolf gets to her feet, turning on the new threat with a snarl. There’s a huge discrepancy in size between them, but Selena is enraged enough that she doesn’t hesitate to dive for Connor, snapping her jaws around his foreleg.
“Connor!” I cry out, feeling the echo of his pain as if teeth have clamped around my leg. I shove at Vaelor’s hold on me, physical and invisible restraints. But he doesn’t seem to notice, watching with interest as the bigger wolf knocks Selena away right before he tears a chunk out of her side.
Selena’s friend scrambles back, crying out in fear as the wolves churn the damp grass to mud under their claws, the growls filling the air, along with the scent of copper as their strikes land. No one tries to stop them, all of them knowing better than to interfere in a shifter fight.
Vaelor leans down, resting his chin on my shoulder. His amusement curls through me like smoke. “Did you do that on purpose, Princess?”
I purse my lips. “You’re going to have be more specific.” I can’t tear my eyes away from the battle, fear lurching through me every time Selena sinks her teeth in. She’s fast, but Connor’s big, his range wider. And every time she gets close, he lands another bite, slowly wearing her down.
Vaelor hums, doubt mingling with humor. “He’s gonna make you pay for it, you know.”
“Pay for what?” I demand harshly, gesturing at the wolves. “I didn’t do anything! She’s the one who attacked me!”
“You deliberately provoked her into it, and you know it,” Vaelor murmurs, nipping my earlobe sharply. “You put yourself in danger, and he’s not gonna be quick to forget that.”