AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I give him what I hope is a reassuring smile and nod. “Yeah. I’m fine. Just feeling a little drained.”
He nods slowly, then hooks his hands under my armpits to pull me to my feet. “Yeah, I can see that. I think our date’s going to have to wait.”
“Probably,” I agree, before looking at the rest of my guys.
Fielder holds out his hand to me, glancing at Ben and Merritt on the couch. “We’ll leave you to rest, Mer.”
She pushes up onto her elbows. “Ben and I can go to his room. You guys can stay.”
Ben curls a hand around her shoulder and tugs her back down. “No, we’re staying here. You’re not moving from this couch. They have four other rooms they can go to on this floor, Mer. Just stay put.”
I nod at her, slipping my hand into Fielder’s and hustling toward the door. “Yep. Ben’s right, you stay here and rest.” Then I slip out the door and into the hall before she has a chance to protest, which I know she’s going to.
Fielder pulls me into his room and, without even talking about it, the guys prepare for another round of protection spells. I know because I recognize the chalk pattern Gideon sketches out. It’s so familiar now that I can almost draw it myself.
I eye the design with a fair amount of trepidation, already knowing it’s going to hurt. Just like it had when they first put the protection spells in place. Just like when Cohen put his own on me not long ago.
Fielder steps up behind me, folding me against his chest, his lips brushing my neck. “We’re going to work on breaking that silence spell on you, Sweeney. And when you tell us who did this, we’ll rip them apart.”
I almost roll my eyes at that, but just barely manage not to. If they found out it was Morgan or Gabe who did this to me, they wouldn’t be able to rip them apart like he promised. They’d be tied by the rules of their coven, and that means that they’d get off with a slap on the wrist. A beating in the woods. A stern talking to.
As far as I know, they’d done nothing to Morgan for siphoning me, for nearly killing me, beyond countering her spell and choosing to treat me like a human. In fact, Fielder had later handed her my biggest secret, my biggest fear, giving her more power over me. If she wanted to, she could tell everyone and my life would be hell.
I shake my head. This is what Cohen wants, to sew all these thoughts into my head, to make me feel like I can’t trust them, like they can’t do enough to keep me safe.
The problem is that I think he’s right.
And that terrifies me.
Twenty-one
The last three weeks of school fly by. We never get that break that we needed so much, instead our free Saturday was filled with re-establishing the protection spells and recovering from whatever Cohen knocked me out with.
I see him around campus now and then and I have to say it’s damn bold of him to remain so close. I’d thought he would have disappeared the second he was able, but no, he’s still here wandering around campus, watching my every move and ostensibly doing his job as a security guard.
He doesn’t talk to me though, and thank god for that, because I’m not sure what I would have said to the guys if he had tried and I punched him right in the dick instead of having a conversation with him.
He probably realizes that.
The one good thing about him taking me from the woods is that Fielder is around a lot more. Or rather, he drags me to all the places he needs to be, so that he can keep an eye on me. Usually, it’s just the library, so I don’t complain, because I can do my homework there just as well as I can in my dorm room.
Before I know it, it’s the last week of school and I’m bogged down with tests and essays, and I can’t focus on anything else. Not even my witch work. Even though it’s something I know I need to work on, even more so now that I know Cohen isn’t limited in his abilities, in the magic he can cast.
If he comes at me again, I want to meet him head on. Not that I think he’d pull the same shit again. No, he said his piece and now he’s waiting for me to decide. I wish it was easy to blow him off, to say he’s crazy and just focus on my relationship with the four guys I already have. But I find myself thinking about him more than I care to admit, considering his proposal.
Doesn’t it make sense to learn as much as I can? Doesn’t it make sense to take him up on that, at least? So that I can protect myself?
When I step out of my very last class of the year, Hardin is waiting for me, leaning against the wall opposite the door, one foot propped up, arms crossed over his chest. His tie is undone and his shirt unbuttoned halfway, revealing the tattoos on his chest. Dammit, he looks so freaking good. Too good, actually, if the hungry looks he’s receiving from the other girls and a few of the guys in the hall are any sign. Jealousy rears up.
But his blue eyes latch onto me, drink me in as I approach, and his mouth curls into a smirk that does all kinds of things to my insides and my panties. He reaches out as I get close, curling one ring covered hand around my elbow to tug me into his body, possessively. Jealousy evaporates.
“Hello, love,” he murmurs, dipping his head to brush a kiss to my lips. His chestnut hair tickles my forehead. I melt into him, pressing my breasts into his chest while his hand slips to the small of my back.
“Hi.” His free hand moves up to cup my face, push the strands that have escaped my messy bun back over my shoulder.
“How was your last test?”
I snort and press my face into his chest, inhaling his smoky, spicy scent. “We both know this isn’t my last test, Hardin.” No, this is far from it.
