Page 80 of Awakened and Betrayed
“What was I supposed to do, swagger on up to you and be all,so you’re a Sentinel want to be friends?”
“I mean leave out the weird Eeyore, Elvis voice you just did, but yeah, that would have been a hell of a lot better than letting your dad blindside me at the weekly family dinner!”
Enoch throws his hands out to his sides in a half-defensive, half-exasperated pose. “I didn’t know he was going to do that! I swear, I didn’t know he was going to come at you that way. You’re headstrong and don’t bow down to him; I don’t think he’s used to that.”
I take a step towards him, anger simmering just below the surface. “Don’t fucking defend your dad to me, Enoch. He threatened to expose me because I wouldn’t hop on your dick and hand over my abilities! I’m not going to find him redeemable because he’s related to you, or has issues with a female having a say in her own fucking life, or who she chooses to be with!”
“Fine. Let’s leave him out of it. This about you and me anyway! I’m sorry I didn’t just come out with the wholeI know what you arething. I didn’t know how to approach it; I thought Sentinels were just stories and then there you were, and you were...you.”
Enoch motions up and down towards me and gives a slight shrug. Nash chuckles.
“What does that mean... I was me?”
“He means you’re hot,” Kallan tells me,
I roll my eyes.
“I saw the chicks you had with you at the beach; I’m not falling for theI can’t talk to pretty girlsbullshit.”
Valen interjects by walking over and wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I stare up at him, and his hazel eyes burn with an unreadable emotion as they stay locked on mine.
“You’re not pretty, Vinna...you’re everything. Everything that we could have ever hoped for, and so much more.”
Before I can shake myself out of my shocked stupor and think of a response, he turns to Enoch.
“It’s great that you guys see that about her too, but she’s our mate, and we’re here to work, so let’s get to it.”
With that, Valen guides me away from Enoch, closing the distance to the training area.
Valen’s jaw ticks as we walk, irritation radiating off of him.
“Valen, he knows what you guys are to me.”
“Yeah, I don’t think he does,” he tells me, and a strained smile stretches across his mouth. “It’s fine, your Chosen will be happy to clear things up for him; we’ll remind him—and them—for however long they need it,” he tells me, his strained smile smoothing out into something lascivious.
I laugh. “Don’t start too much shit, we need them to help, okay?”
My plea gets swallowed up by his lips when he stops at the entrance to the training arena and kisses me. It’s not anI need inside of you right nowkind of kiss, but it hints at that, and I can taste the reminder on my lips of who he is to me and who I am to him.
Nash squeezes past us mumbling. “Might as well just piss all over her.”
His grumbling steals me away from the questions Valen’s kiss has stirred up, and I chuckle.
“Nah, golden showers aren’t my kink,” I announce, as Valen pulls away from me and we follow Nash further into the sand and stone training pit.
I clap my hands together once loudly, and everyone’s eyes fall on me.
“Okay, here’s what’s going to go down.” I focus on Enoch and his crew. “ You guys are going to do what we normally do, build a course and try to keep me from getting through it.”
Kallan smiles devilishly, and the rest nod their understanding.
I turn to the serious faces that each of my guys are wearing.
"I’m going to activate runes so that you can feel and hear what I’m doing when I call my magic. Valen and I think this will be the easiest way for you guys to get a feel for the different branches of magic and how I call weapons. I’ll run their course until you feel like you’re ready to join, and then we’ll team off and try to take each other out. Sound good?" I ask, looking around at everyone.
They all nod to me, but everyone is quiet, and it’s uncomfortable. The guys go sit on the stone benches and I watch them get settled. Why are they treating Enoch and the others like they’re a threat to what we have together? I don’t mind the territorial gestures, but I do mind the fog of doubt that seems to have permeated my Chosen. Kallan walks over to me, and I set my questions aside to focus on what we’re here to do.
He nudges me with his shoulder and smiles down at me. “If I give you a hug, is one of them going to stab me?" he teases.
