What the fuck is this thing? And why on earth does it sound Canadian?
“What did you say?” I asked in a voice that betrayed how close I was to fainting again like a damsel in distress.
Chapter Four
Vee
The frat boy was finally awake. Someone should give me an award for my patience. Judging by the wild look on his face he was drunk, scared, orboth.
“I said, ‘Can you help me out of here?’ If you don’t want to freeze you should probably get me out of this trap soon. You set this, didn’t you?”
I felt almost sorry for him when all he did was stare at me, mouthing wordlessly under his breath. He was pretty cute, but there was a lesson to be learned.
“Do you get what I’m saying?” I asked him. “Look, I know my accent might throw you off, but you should still be able to understand me, right?”
He gave a nod, and his throat bobbed.
“Yeah, man. I don’t know who you are or why you speak like a Canadian lumberjack, but I can understand you perfectly fine.”
“Atta boy. So free me then.” The way his pupils dilated slightly when I praised him intrigued me. “Why don’t you get out on your own?” Mr Alpha Sigma Sigma scrambled to his feet, still staring at me with wide eyes. I almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
“Well, you trapped me? Surely you know what that means for our future?”
“Our…our future?” he gasped, eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
“He who traps an Elvertritsch is lucky, for he catches himself a mate for life,” I quoted a piece of lore my grandmother used to tell me. I personally had never taken it seriously.
The truth was that I had no idea why I couldn’t break free. I gave it another shot, and it still didn’t work out. Every time I tried to get the net off me, I got tangled up in it more. It was frustrating as shit, but that didn’t mean we were mated.
Nope, definitely not.
The asshole blanched and sank down to sit on the cold forest floor. All the way down, his college hoodie rasped over the rough bark, and he closed his eyes as if in prayer.
Has he fainted?
“Don’t fall back asleep, mate. How cruel would it be if you died on me when you’d only just caught me?”
His eyes shot open.
“I don’t want to die,” he whispered, sounding frightened for a moment, and I…Ugh, shit. I’m too soft.
“I’m just pulling your leg,” I reassured him and a faint, hopeful glimmer ignited in his eyes. “You’re not my mate, okay? Just get me out of here, and I’ll help get you somewhere safe. You’ll freeze if you stay out here,” I added when he still didn’t move.
He stared at me, his dark eyes huge, with fear etched in every line of his body.
“Are you going to attack me if I do?” he asked. The words came out hesitant, as if he didn’t even dare voice them. And he was still staring at me out of those deep, soulful eyes.
Stop falling for his puppy eyes, Vee!
But shit, I was just a man after all. A man who had never let anyone close since I lost…
“I won’t, I promise. Ehrenwort.” I raised a hand in what I hoped even an American would recognise as a peaceful gesture. Thank the trees we weren’t in his home country. He would probably have gunned me down at first sight.
“Okay.” He clawed at the tree as he rose to his feet, then stumbled over to where I was sitting on the frozenforest floor like a foal. The net gave way immediately when he pulled on it.
He looked at me with apprehension and helped me untangle my hands. His touch was reluctant but so gentle it made my heart squeeze. Nobody had touched me like that in years, like I wasn’t seven feet and built, but breakable.
