Page 21 of Tethered Fates

“There’s more than that. Tell me.”

“Because I…fuck!” I hit the steering wheel. “I can’t stop thinking about him, and it’s driving me insane. Like I have to be with him now and if I don’t, then…I don’t know,” I growl. “How do you live with this?”

There’s a pause.

“What are you waiting for then? Go to him.”

My hold tightens, my breathing saws in and out of my heaving chest. I run my tongue along my teeth, only realising then my fangs have dropped. What the fuck is wrong with me? “I would if I could, but Vidar and Kai said—”

“Fuck them.”

“I’d rather not.”

“Sen.” I can hear the eyeroll in his voice. “Trust your instincts.”

I grit my teeth. “I don’t even know where he is.”

“You always know where they are,” Lucero tells me. “Trust me—trust your bond. Go find your mate.”

My teeth grind with force to continue heading in the direction of the bloodless old woman. This makes the most sense—it’s how I keep Teagan safe.

“Fuck it!” I bark, swerving the car around, causing the cars behind me to honk as I slam my foot down and gun it across the dark asphalt. Not knowing where I’m going, but knowing I have to get there. “And here I thought finding my soulmate would involve lots and lots of sex.”

Lucero snorts. “Keep me updated, okay, brother?”

My answer is to hang up and keep driving, my ever-trustworthy gut clenching. My gnawing impatience turning into an urgent insistence, and whatever it means, I just hope Teagan is okay.

***

Half an hour later, I’m parking outside a tattoo parlour called King’s, the name in red florid script above a grinning King of Hearts skeleton. I jump out, not even bothering to shut the car door as I march towards the closed and dark studio. At this time of night, no one is around. I still glance left and right, preparing for anything as I reach for the door, fully expecting it to be closed and laugh off these coiling feelings that snap at me like vipers.

When the handle clicks down and I slowly open the door, my fangs slide out—something is wrong. Very wrong.

My hand whips up to grab the bell, keeping my presence unknown to anyone who could be lurking, and I sneak inside with the quiet steps of a hunting animal.

The space is decked out in punk posters and tattoo art. Spacious with adjoining rooms that must be where the artists see clients. I keep my head tilted, eyes scanning, body tense and senses open for even the slightest shift.

Just before I’m about to call myself crazy and turn away, I spot a door labelled ‘Basement: Staff Only’, and a sliver of light peeking from the keyhole. I stride over on silent feet, reaching for that barely-there glow.

Without warning, a scream rends the air, and with it the fresh coppery smell of human blood—as well as the rotting meat stink of a blood mage.

Amid it all, a scent I’d know anywhere—warm sand and sweet tea. It’s etched into my fucking bones, saturated into my brain, and Teagan. Teagan. Teagan becomes a roar that breaks free from my chest.

Blind, consuming rage hits me like a tidal wave and any caution I had ruptures when I tear the door from its hinges and race into the basement, towards that single word.

Chapter Nine- Teagan

Istare at the unlit King of Hearts skeleton painted on the tattoo studio window and realise, even though I’ve seen him a thousand times, that his canines are actually fangs.

White headlights slowly spill over me as a car draws up, pulling me from my musings, and I turn with my hand up to shield myself just as Summer’s car parks. The engine dies, and after a beat, she steps out, wrapped in her fluffy purple coat and a backpack slung over her shoulder.

“Yo, Summer,” I call, and she returns my greeting with a tight-lipped smile. Her grip on the backpack strap clenches and unclenches like she’s about to bolt. “Don’t worry, we’ll be in and out, and if we get found out, just blame me,” I assure her.

“Don’t worry about that, babe,” she replies, stepping forward and looking me over with wet eyes, like she might start crying. “Thank you…for helping me.”

I nod and head for the entrance with Luuk’s keys in hand, the door reflecting Summer as I unlock the studio and lead her inside, the bell dinging to announce our presence to the empty parlour.

“I didn’t wanna put you in this situation,” Summer says, voice low and tight. “I promise I’ll make this as painless as possible.”