Page 26 of Tangled Fates

My panic was coming back in full force.

“You’re all the same, always looking to get ahead of this world at any chance you get, even if it means you stepping all over me,” I said, finally looking at him.

I didn’t expect the pity, and I didn’t expect the concern in his gaze.

“Ok, I’m not looking to get ahead, but just help someone I don’t want to die. Give me what I need, and I can leave. I promise I will never return,” he said, with desperation in his voice.

He seemed genuine, but all it took last time was for me to believe the wrong person.

“I’m sorry, I can’t,” I said, walking away from the room, but as soon as I left I immediately wanted to go back in again.

What the hell was going on with me?

A loud hiss made the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up as I felt the first tripwire get triggered. Fuck. This was it. I had no idea who was here, but I couldn’t let myself be taken. I couldn’t be that defenseless girl again. This was it. The moment of truth. I just hope I survived so I could show Mother that I was capable of defending myself.

I ran to my room to hide my identity and to grab a few things I had stashed there for a moment like this; and to grab my trusty frying pan.

11

SOREN

Ididn’t even have a plan, as soon as we stepped into this piece of shit land, I was going to run to go get my brother. I was holding onto all fucking hope that he was still alive. I needed him and I wanted to tell him the one piece of information that Addie had given to me.

I have a mate.

It didn’t seem possible, but if Ryder and I were going to share a mate, there was only one person I could think of and that was Serena. What Ryder didn’t know was Gray and I were just as in love with her as he was. It was an awful secret we had kept for years, but we hadn’t planned on it.

Hell, I thought it was just me until one day I caught Gray staring at her the same way I did when he thought no one was looking. We looked at her like she was the center of our universe, like we would do anything for her. Which is why when she asked for this favor, I immediately said yes.

Gray was more hesitant, but knowing my brother he wanted to keep us all safe and he was intuitive enough that he knew it would probably hurt us.

Katarina was our friend, but like I said, I would do anything for Serena, even find the mysterious source of Oria. Now I wanted to know if Gray was also sharing our mate and if Serena was our answer and if leaving my arranged marriage had been worth it. Gray and I might get our happily ever after and with our best friend too.

“Soren, wait.” Ryder grabbed me before I was able to take off. “We need a plan, you can’t just go in there, guns blazing.”

“I’m going to get Gray out,” I snapped, getting angrier that he was making me wait.

“We need a plan, we can’t afford to fuck up again,” he growled at me.

“We are wasting time, that’s how we are going to fuck up.” I pulled my arm out of his grasp. “The longer I take to get to him the more of a chance that he gets killed.”

“And what if you get killed?” he snapped. “What good will that do for your brother? Especially just hearing we have a mate.”

“At least I’m not sitting here, wasting time while I could be saving him,” I said, trying to keep up my argument, but I knew he was right. “I’m going crazy without him, I need Gray.”

“I know, but we just need a plan so if things go south, you can come back, and we can try again or bring bigger guns.” He stood in front of me, like he was waiting for me to run off at any moment.

I took a second to get my shit together, already anxious to take off, even though this would only take us a few minutes longer to plan.

“Since you’ve been inside, you tell me what you’re thinking,” he said, crossing his arms.

“I’ll run the perimeter,” I said, thinking of the layout. “I have a cloaking gem, so I can run as fast as I can without worrying about anyone seeing me.”

“Ok, you need a silencing gem too,” he said, opening a pocket in his vest and handing it to me.

The gems were no bigger than a quarter.

“Once I can see who is outside, I’m going to make my way to the tower, see if I can get in,” I said, picturing the place in my mind. “I’m thinking they’ll keep Gray higher up in the tower, but I think I want to check that storage room just in case they put him in there.”

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