Page 65 of Tangled Fates

‘Say My Name’ by Destiny’s Child started playing as I bottled up the water before I set out everything I needed to make more vials. I hummed to the song as I worked. Each song eased the tension in my shoulders. The familiarity of working put me at ease and I realized I had missed having a purpose, but the possibility of leaving also made me desperately want a life outside of these walls.

Could I leave and still make these vials?

My mind raced with the possibilities. If they could help me leave, maybe I could show Mother that I was safe on my own. I could take care of myself and still maintain a roof over my head by selling Oria.

Tay could help me?—

Then I remembered what Demitri said. Mother and Tay played me. They fed me their lies and all for what? Was it to keep me here so they could make money off of me? Anger burned through me. I needed to get away, but I knew Mother would come looking for me.

My earlier excitement and anger were snuffed out. It wouldn’t be any different than being here except here, I knew she would protect me and who knows what lengths she would go to get me back.

Dammit.

I grabbed a vial and threw it at the wall. I screamed, throwing another vial and another until tears fell down my face. My body shook with too many emotions until I heard another howl outside. I stilled instantly, wondering if all the anger and heartache I was feeling was being fueled by the guys.

Getting up, I walked to the nearest window and peered out, hoping to get a glimpse of them. They were sitting under a tree by the waterfall, all of their heads were down with Ryder’s wolf sitting in the middle.

I watched them for a few moments, wondering what had happened, when one of the twins looked up at me. He looked like he was in agony, but the longer we looked at each other, the more my anxiety and my emotions quieted. The other twin looked up at me, easing the last of my turbulent emotions. But when the wolf looked up at me, I was hit with the need to go to all of them.

My body flushed from desire. They were all mine. They belonged to me.

Ryder snarled at me before walking away from the twins and I turned away before they also walked away from me. I cleaned my mess before I went back to working on making more vials. I set out my water, putting my hands in the bowl and letting my power ease out of me.

Before I knew it, I had made two batches and put everything into vials. It looked like I had almost caught up with my work and maybe a double batch would bring me back to speed. I finished putting a few boxes away when I felt a familiar prickle of awareness.

One of the twins was close by, I felt a tug in my chest that hadn’t been there before. I looked over my shoulder to see Ryder taking up the entire space of the doorway. My heart stopped, seeing this man in nothing but black pants that had those pockets on the side, riding low on his hips.

Goddess, this man was sex personified, making me flush with desire. He was rugged, fulfilling all those mountain men book fantasies I had read. His honey-colored eyes were full of heat and desire as he licked his lips. My thighs clenched involuntarily from the simple gesture. I was ten seconds from embarrassing myself and crossing the room to make him take me right here and now.

He took a step inside the room taking a lungful of air when his eyes flashed yellow. Ryder rushed towards me towering over me, looking angry, sad and lost. I ran a hand up his chest, going up his neck to cup his face. He leaned into my hand, taking another deep breath, leaning closer to me as he wrapped an arm around my waist.

Just being close to him eased my worries and fears. We took a deep breath together, exhaling slowly, breathing together like we were each other's oxygen. I needed him just as much as he needed me. I wanted to be the reason he breathed, the air that filled his lungs, the love that kept his heart warm and sunshine that eased those dark days.

“You will never be her and I’ll never be yours,” he said calmly, as he pulled away from me. “This will never happen.”

His eyes flashed yellow, and he jerked away like he had been shocked, staring at me with disdain. His body shook like he was at war with himself.

“Never,” he said, shaking before he turned around and walked away from me.

What the hell had just happened? I clutched my chest trying to make sense of it, but I was lost.

Loki meowed, pulling me out of my thoughts and my mind went on autopilot. I walked up to the kitchen, feeding Loki, giving him a few pets before I walked up to my room, stripping out of my clothes. They smelled like him, and I wanted nothing to do with him. I looked through my drawer of shirts. I picked up one that Tay had given me. It was big and comfy and even though they didn’t know this was my small act of rebellion, I missed him, wishing whatever Demitri had said was false.

My head hurt from using my magic. I knew I needed water and food, but there was no way I was going downstairs for it. As I climbed into my bed, I glanced at my calendar. My jaw clenched in anger as I realized it was my birthday.

Well happy fucking birthday to me.

24

GRAY

The first time I met Serena, I thought she was the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on. I knew she came from a family of witches, the Belladonnas. They were infamous in the supernatural community and extremely powerful.

I had met a few during my lifetime, each one thinking they were more important than the last. We had never met a Belladonna we liked, it was more that we tolerated them at this point, but Serena was different. She and her sister Katarina were either switched out at birth or they were dropped at birth.

They were most likely dropped because Serena looked exactly like her family and even though Katarina had violet eyes, she looked a lot like her sisters too. They acted completely differently than their family, but they still had to maintain a certain facade in public, that was until Serena started dating Ryder.

That was like a double-edged sword. I wanted to be happy for my best friend, but I also wanted Serena to be mine. She was smart, funny, had a sharp tongue and she had this innate ability to make any situation better, no matter how bad it was. She was a perfect addition to our band of thievery and while she couldn’t always be with us, her alchemy was almost unmatched, making her valuable to us in more ways than one.

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