Page 1 of Bedeviled

CHAPTER 1

Est amage, I hope you’re ready. Memnon’s silken voice raises the hairs along my forearm as he speaks across our magical bond. It’s time to get married.

Goddess.

Married.

I can barely breathe around the thought.

And yet, I can feel the magic from the unbreakable oath we swore weeks ago—the one where I vowed to marry the two-thousand-year-old sorcerer—now pressing into my flesh. It feels like a fist to my sternum, the pressure a nuisance. Having experienced this once before, I know I only have a handful of hours before it will go from merely uncomfortable to debilitating.

It kills me that I had nearly gotten out of that vow through a magical loophole. All I had to do was not fall in love with the sorcerer.

My heart is a loser.

Fingers snap in front of my eyes. “Did you hear me? Selene?”

I blink and my residence hall returns to focus.

Sitting across from me in Ravensmeade’s dining hall is Kane Halloway, my friend and one-time crush. He frowns, the coffee I made for him long forgotten. His phone still rests before me, Luca Fortuna’s succession plan brightening its screen.

“Memnon took over the Fortunas’ empire,” he says slowly, emphasizing each word. “All that shit that Luca and the rest of his family were running now belongs to your soul mate.” Kane only grimaces a little at those last two words, though it must’ve cost him. Only a short while ago we were almost a thing, and Kane still hasn’t completely given up on the idea of it, despite me having a soul mate.

It’s time to get married.

And now a fiancé.

Abruptly, I stand, sliding the phone back to Kane. “You need to go.”

Kane takes the phone but doesn’t make a move to leave his seat.

Right, alpha werewolf. They’re allergic to orders.

“That’s it? No reaction? No outrage?” the shifter says, clearly disappointed.

I feel the tightness in my chest from that unbreakable oath. I know from memory that the magic’s hold is only going to get worse until I fulfill the terms of it.

“I need to get ready.” I back away from the table, distractedly releasing a little of my magic to carry the two colorful mugs of coffee I poured for us a short while ago to a nearby bin of dirty dishes.

“Ready for what?” Kane asks, finally rising. “What could you possibly have to do today?”

Turning from the shifter, I head down the dining hall, past the connecting kitchen and into our hallway.

“If you really must know,” I say over my shoulder, “I’m getting married.”

The invisible noose around my neck seems to tighten further, and the need to run buzzes beneath my skin.

It’s quiet behind me.

“What?” Kane finally breathes. After a moment, he adds, “You can’t possibly be serious.”

“I am.”

Kane catches up to me in a few long strides. “Even after everything he’s done?”

I raise my eyebrows. “Yep.”

He shakes his head, his jaw set. “You can’t go through with this.” His voice has roughened.