Page 2 of Bedeviled

I pause in the foyer, noticing the eerie silence in my usually boisterous house. “I didn’t realize I was supposed to answer to you.” Not for the first time, I feel deep, deep gratitude that I don’t have to.

A soft growl rumbles in Kane’s chest. “You and I both know the man is evil,” he insists.

Obviously the man is not wrong. Memnon killed many people last night and many more before that, and he will likely kill more people in the future, but none of that is going to stop this wedding from happening.

I also cannot help but think of how the Hungering Ones, the primordial beings that exist deep in the earth, nearly snatched me away last night and how, if it were not for Memnon, I might not have seen the sunrise at all.

“Thanks for the heads-up, Kane. Now,” I say, “if you want to hang out here, be my guest, but I need to go.”

Crossing the foyer, I open the front door and leave my unsettlingly quiet residence hall behind.

“Selene!” I hear the lycan behind me, and I exhale, closing my eyes briefly. It was naive of me to think Kane wouldn’t follow.

“Stop trying to run away from what I’m saying,” he says obnoxiously.

I do not, in fact, stop.

Instead, I cut across the quiet campus grounds. Out here, some witches are moving about between classes or lazing about on the front lawn. But there are concerningly few of them, either due to the recent murders or the events of last night—events that might’ve freed many of my coven sisters from magical bonds that were forced upon them.

The lycanthrope jogs up to my side. “I know you don’t want to hear any of this, but marriage is a big deal.”

“You think I don’t know that?” I say, arching a brow.

I skirt around Cauldron Hall, heading for the Everwoods. Unfortunately, it’s the same direction Kane came from.

“Then is this sentimentality?” he says, a little of his wolf roughening his voice. “You think you need to marry him because you’re soul mates or because you had something long ago?” I can feel Kane’s gaze boring holes into the side of my face. “Because you don’t.”

“Kane, you actually have no idea what you’re talking about,” I say as the two of us hit the tree line, the daylight dimming.

“Please rethink what you’re about to do,” he says. “Because it cannot be undone.”

Of course marriage can be undone, but I don’t bother mentioning that. Nor do I care to explain to him that a magical oath is compelling me to marry Memnon.

An odd, possessive emotion has taken root in me. My soul mate might be terrible and tricky and violent, but he is mine. And when the world presses in, I cannot help but feel as though my back is up against his, the two of us facing out against everyone else.

“Why do you want me to rethink everything?” I say, glancing over at him. “Why is that so important to you?”

But I already know the answer, and so does he. The truth hangs in the air between us, unspoken yet so very loud.

Kane still has feelings. Or hell, maybe it’s just his pride that’s on the line. I doubt alphas are used to rejection.

For a moment, he looks utterly caught off guard, then defensive. The expression clears and he finally says, “I just want what’s best for you.”

I bite back a disbelieving huff.

“I’m not a packmate, Kane. No amount of orders will compel me to do what you think is best. Just forget about me.”

Through the dense boughs of the evergreen trees, I make out the stone slabs of graves and the iron fence that rings them.

Last Rites Cemetery.

I can practically feel his annoyance rolling off him.

“Fine, marry the asshole,” he says as we enter the graveyard through the open gate.

“Thank you for your permission,” I say sarcastically.

The chill autumn air cuts through my shirt and stirs my hair, and I think that Kane must be particularly cold in his tank top and shorts.