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My movements are ungraceful, caught off guard by how hard his grip is. Rhenn leads us under the deck, cornering me against the bottom of the stairs and the back wall. “What are you doing? Let go.” I struggle to pull my arm back.

“Stop talking.” He places his hand over my mouth, looking up like he’s expecting something. Not even a moment later, the back door slides open. Dust falls from the wooden boards as a set of footsteps makes their way across the floor above us. The person sounds like they’re talking on their link, escaping the sounds of the party where no one else is. Rhenn is so focused on them, eyes set on the place they are. His body is nearly pressed to mine, keeping us hidden from the guy who has no idea we’re even here.

Eventually, the man hangs up, going back inside. I hear the door close, then I hear nothing. Rhenn doesn’t let go, even when I attempt to shake him off. He keeps his focus up, listening.

My mumbles go ignored, so I do the only thing I can think of. I run my tongue straight across the center of his palm. It pulls Rhenn’s attention back to me, and he slowly releases his hold. “Did you just lick me?”

“I had to. You were suffocating me.”

He wipes his hand over his shirt, and I shove past him.

“Fun tip, if you don’t want to be seen with me, stop luring me away to places.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

RHENN

“Fun tip, if you don’t want to be seen with me, stop luring me away to places,” Sumner grits, wiping the remaining makeup from under her eyes. It’s good advice. If I could fucking control it. I was annoyed that she was here. And then she decided to throw herself on Dax. Jumping into his arms, laughing at his stupid jokes. It’s like her full purpose in life is to piss me off.

I watch as she trudges up the steps, slamming the sliding glass door closed behind her.

The warmth of her body still encircles me, and I can still feel the soft strands of her hair blowing over my fingers.

She shouldn’t have come to this party. She shouldn’t tempt me the way she does.

Sighing, I head back into the house. Siena finds me immediately, honing in like a missile to its target. The joy beaming off of her, I’ve never really felt it. Especially now.

Everything about this, her and I, it’s all kind of pointless. Not only because of our orders, but because things are going to change soon, drastically, and she knows that. It’s for this exact reason that I don’t understand why she still tries so hard.

I scan the area for Sumner, realizing both she and Dax are not in my line of sight.

Great. Can’t even appreciate the party because I have to freaking babysit.

Ashen sits on the couch at the end of the living room. I pull out my link, sending him a quick message asking him to keep Siena occupied. He glances down at his own link, then looks up, giving me a nod.

There’s a sudden pounding in my head. The wonderous headaches that refuse to stay at bay. That’s the one thing I’m looking forward to, all these annoying symptoms to stop. Isn’t it bad enough it’s going to completely take me over? Do I really need these constant reminders?

The pain caused by the changes being forced on my body is almost unbearable at times. The more I fight it, the worse it gets. There are days when I want to give in, to let it live freely within me until the day it’s ready to come out. I’m just so scared I’ll lose myself entirely then.

Some would consider it a gift. Those people are either mad or will never have to go through it themselves. I wouldn’t trade my dad for the world. His blood, though, our supposed legacy, I’d give that up in a heartbeat. Maybe then I could sleep at night. Maybe then I could let go of some of this anger.

“If it isn’t my favorite love birds.” Ashen steps between us, throwing his arms around Siena and me in a way to separate us. “Hey, Siena, isn’t this that song you sang at karaoke a few weeks ago?”

Siena beams at that, smiling wide. “Yes! Do you remember the bartender there? He was totally giving out free drinks all night.”

“Actually, he was giving you girls free drinks. Mister Rugged here and I had to pay.” He squeezes my shoulder, mocking, then releases me. “I guess a pretty face can get you just about anything.”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Siena laughs. “You both have pretty faces too. Probably just didn’t bat your lashes hard enough.”

I use his distraction to slip away, disappearing into the crowd to find my naughty little Vixen who refuses to stay put. She’s definitely still here. I can feel her. The question is, where?

My first stop is up the staircase. When I find she isn’t in any of the rooms, I check the kitchen, then the hallways. Nothing. Where, oh where, is she?

There was a shit ton of people hanging out at the entrance when I got here, so I decide to try there next, until a set of voices from inside the closed bathroom stops me.

“Girl, what happened to your beautiful face?”

“The psychotic fuck-bucket.” The response comes from Sumner. I pause, listening to their conversation.