Page 34 of Awakened and Betrayed
Well, at least he’s aware that there was a lamia issue last night. Hopefully, he can use that info to pull himself out of the hole he’s dug.
“Why didn’t you call for help?” The gruff paladin from Pebble’s coven asks, his eyes laced with suspicion.
“My phone was dead.”
The room grows quiet and stuffy with unspoken doubt.
“We’d like to have a word with Paladin Rock outside,” another paladin announces, his eyes trained on Enoch, but his words and suspicion aimed at Pebble.
Enoch gives a nod and Pebble and his grumpy coven all file outside slamming the door behind them.
Nash steps forward looking confused. “What the fuck is going on, Vinna? What happened last night?”
“You’ll have to talk to Pebble about what happened with him. But I hung out with a friend and ran into some lamia, and that’s that.”
“Oh,that’s that?I just ran into some supes who belong to a race that tried to abduct me a week ago, but hey, no biggie,” Kallan blows on his nails and wipes them on his chest with mock indifference. “I mean, who cares that they’re not even supposed to be able to get through the town barrier right now, but it’s all good, guys.”
I glare at Kallan, not at all amused by his high-pitched impersonation of me.
“Fuck, I need to call my dad and let him know there was a breach. You need to go.”
Enoch gestures to Bastien with one hand, while the other pulls his phone from his pocket.
“He can stay however long he wants,” I defend, finishing off the last of my cereal.
“It’s fine, Bruiser; I should go let the guys in on what’s up anyway.”
“Fine,” I grumble, already not looking forward to his absence.
I’m so much more comfortable when one or all of my guys are around. I hate feeling like a guest and tiptoeing around this house because I don’t belong here. Outside of my Chosen, I don’t trust anyone’s motivations, and I hate needing to be on guard all the time. It’s fucking exhausting. I follow Bastien over to the door like a puppy that doesn’t want its owner to leave. He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and cups my cheek.
“Don’t look so sad, Bruiser. You’re killing me. We can hang later. And don’t worry, this will all be over soon.”
I nod. Bastien leans down and kisses me. His hands slip to cup my ass, and the kiss morphs into something that ranks betweenfuck me nowandbye dear. I’m completely aware that Bastien is embracing his inner caveman and enjoying the show he’s putting on as much as he’s enjoying me right now. He’s thoroughly marking his territory, and I like it. I start to chuckle at the glint in his eyes as we pull apart. He throws me a shit-eating grin and turns to open the door.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Bastien calls over his shoulder. "Knox told me to tell you that he's picking you up tonight for a thing at his family’s coven house."
With that, Bastien leaves. I catch a glance of Pebble and his coven still locked in a heated discussion outside before the door closes, once again shutting them, and their conversation, away. I'm once again left on my own to deal with Enoch and his coven, none of which look too pleased by everything that just went down.
Enoch’s phone rings and he answers it without taking his eyes off me. I’m not really sure what to say to any of them at this point, so I walk past their impersonations of tourists at a zoo viewing some kind of caged wild animal and head toward the kitchen to clean my now-empty cereal bowl. My skin prickles from the eyes I can feel tracking me at my back.
“We’re supposed to start tutoring you on magic use today. Caster Sawyer explained that with your ability to mimic, we mostly need to show you what’s magically possible with each branch. Once you see it, you should then be able to replicate it.”
My eyes narrow at Becket’s mention of Marilyn Manson’s real name. But my irritation at having to think about that asshole dissipates with the plan to train my magic. I turn around to find that Kallan, Becket, and Nash have followed me into the kitchen, all eyes still uncomfortably trained on me. I narrow my gaze at them.
“Sounds good. But consider yourselves warned. If any of you try to pull what the elders and that asshole did the other day, I’ll fucking kill you. I don’t care who you’re connected to. I am done with being attacked. You either have my back, or you don’t.”
“We have your back. Youcantrust us.”
Enoch walks in from the living room, his eyes intense. His declaration hanging in the air amid the nods of confirmation from the rest of his coven. I release a deep breath.Looks like it’s time to see if that’s true.
19
Istare at my reflection critically one last time, wondering again if I should change. I initially thought a dress was the right thing to wear to meet the parents of the caster you've claimed and permanently marked as your own for time and all eternity. Then, I thought maybe that looked like I was trying too hard, so I changed into jeans and a t-shirt, but that made me seem like I didn't give any fucks at all. So I now stand here in dark jeans, a white fitted tank, and a lavender kimono style cardigan that I've layered on top of it.
I twist from side to side, watching myself in the full-length mirror, trying to take in all angles of my outfit. The almost sheer cardigan is a heather-gray and has large maroon and white blooms on it. I'm hoping it says fun, loving, and sorry I marked your son and unknowingly forced him into a relationship with me.
Fuck! I've never put this much thought into anything I've worn before.
